Basket Case (song)
Encyclopedia
"Basket Case" is a song by American punk rock
band Green Day
. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie
. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No. 5 on the list of Best Singles of 1994.
While the song was very popular in the United States, even managing to hit number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, the lack of a commercial single prevented the song from charting on the Billboard Hot 100
.
about his struggle with anxiety
; before he was diagnosed with a panic disorder
, he thought he was going crazy. Billie Joe once commented that "The only way I knew how to deal with it was to write a song about it."
adding fast tom fills and explosive transitions and Mike Dirnt
adding a bass line that is reminiscent of the vocal melody.
" and "Welcome to Paradise
." "Basket Case" later became an even bigger hit, spending five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart; five times longer than "Longview". In 1995, Green Day was nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Basket Case". In 2006, on Mike Davies and Zane Lowe
's Lock Up Special on BBC Radio 1
, the listeners voted "Basket Case" the Greatest Punk Song of All Time. The song can also be found on their 2001 greatest hits
compilation International Superhits!
The music video can be found on their International Supervideos! DVD. A live version is also found on Bullet in a Bible
, a live album of Green Day performing at the Milton Keynes
National Bowl
in 2005. Another live version can be found on Green Day's live album Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo
. In 2009, it was named the 33rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1
.
recorded a cover, as did Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy AmiYumi
on the Japanese edition of their 2006 album Splurge, as did The Moog Cookbook
(creating a laid back instrumental version using only moog synthesizers) and Canadian pop-rock artist Avril Lavigne
covered the song in her DVD "My World".
"Weird Al" Yankovic
included the song in his 1996 medley "The Alternative Polka". The first line of song ("Do you have the time/To listen to me whine?") was interpolated into Lil' Wayne's song "Hot Revolver
". The English Oi!/Punk band The Business
covered the song on their album Under The Influence. The song has also been covered by pop-punk band Fall Out Boy
at some live performances.
The University of Alabama
"Million Dollar Band
" plays an arrangement of Basket Case during the 4th quarter of University of Alabama
football games. The arrangement was composed by Fred Chang.
In summer 2010 American singer P!nk
covered "Basket Case" during her Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour
.
in Santa Clara County, California
, at the request of the band members. The mental institution had since been abandoned, but most of the structure remained in a broken-down state. The band members found old patient files, deep scratches in the walls and dental molds scattered around. The video frequently references the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
. The music video was actually shot in black and white and the color was added in later, contributing to the surreal effect of the video. Several extras in the video are wearing the same mask as the torturer in Terry Gilliam
's Brazil
.
The video was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards
in 1995: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Hard Rock Video, Best Alternative Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice Award.
These tracks are also available on the live album
Live Tracks (EP)
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie
Dookie
Dookie is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo and its major record label debut. Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, peaking at number...
. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No. 5 on the list of Best Singles of 1994.
While the song was very popular in the United States, even managing to hit number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, the lack of a commercial single prevented the song from charting on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Lyrics
The song was written by frontman Billie Joe ArmstrongBillie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...
about his struggle with anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
; before he was diagnosed with a panic disorder
Panic disorder
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring severe panic attacks. It may also include significant behavioral change lasting at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or concern about having other attacks. The latter are called anticipatory attacks...
, he thought he was going crazy. Billie Joe once commented that "The only way I knew how to deal with it was to write a song about it."
Composition
The song is based on a very common I-V-vi-iii chord progression (one of the most common chord structures in music, sometimes referred to as the Pachelbel's Canon progression. ) The introductory verse features only Armstrong and his guitar. During the middle of the first chorus the rest of the band joins in, with Tré CoolTre Cool
Frank Edwin Wright III, a.k.a. Tré Cool, is an American drummer, best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. He replaced the group's former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990...
adding fast tom fills and explosive transitions and Mike Dirnt
Mike Dirnt
Michael Ryan Pritchard is an American musician, best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American Rock band Green Day. While at school, he would play "air-bass." While pretending to pluck the strings, he made the noise, "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt"...
adding a bass line that is reminiscent of the vocal melody.
Release and reception
"Basket Case" was released after successful singles, "LongviewLongview (song)
"Longview" is a song and the first major-label single by the American punk rock band Green Day. It is the fourth track on the band's third album, Dookie . The song was the band's first single to top the Modern Rock chart in the U.S...
" and "Welcome to Paradise
Welcome to Paradise
"Welcome to Paradise" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from its third studio album and its major label debut, Dookie. The original version of the song was released on the band's second studio album, Kerplunk and was re-recorded for Dookie in...
." "Basket Case" later became an even bigger hit, spending five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart; five times longer than "Longview". In 1995, Green Day was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Basket Case". In 2006, on Mike Davies and Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
's Lock Up Special on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, the listeners voted "Basket Case" the Greatest Punk Song of All Time. The song can also be found on their 2001 greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation International Superhits!
International Superhits!
-Track listing:-International Supervideos!:International Supervideos! was released on November 13, 2001, the same day as the compilation album, International Superhits!. It is a collection of all the band's videos from 1994 to 2001, excluding the music videos to "Welcome to Paradise", "Maria", and...
The music video can be found on their International Supervideos! DVD. A live version is also found on Bullet in a Bible
Bullet in a Bible
-Certifications:-Personnel:* Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, harmonica* Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals* Tré Cool – drums, percussion-Additional musicians:* Jason White – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals...
, a live album of Green Day performing at the Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
National Bowl
National Bowl
The National Bowl is an entertainment venue in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay-pit , filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area and it has a current maximum capacity of 65,000...
in 2005. Another live version can be found on Green Day's live album Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo
Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo
-External links:*...
. In 2009, it was named the 33rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
.
Covers
The song has been covered by many performers. Haruna IkezawaHaruna Ikezawa
is a voice actress born in Athens, Greece, but raised in Kanagawa Prefecture. She was formerly affiliated with 81 Produce, but as of 2002, she is affiliated with Oscar Promotion...
recorded a cover, as did Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy AmiYumi
Puffy AmiYumi
or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese rock duo that is currently signed with Sony Music Japan. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, it has adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan...
on the Japanese edition of their 2006 album Splurge, as did The Moog Cookbook
The Moog Cookbook
The Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The duo performs exclusively on analog synthesizers, especially Moog synthesizers...
(creating a laid back instrumental version using only moog synthesizers) and Canadian pop-rock artist Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
covered the song in her DVD "My World".
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
included the song in his 1996 medley "The Alternative Polka". The first line of song ("Do you have the time/To listen to me whine?") was interpolated into Lil' Wayne's song "Hot Revolver
Hot Revolver
"Hot Revolver" is the first promotional single by Lil Wayne for his seventh studio album, Rebirth. The song features uncredited guest vocals from Dre of the production duo Cool & Dre, who themselves produce the song. The song was originally intended to be included on Rebirth: however, for...
". The English Oi!/Punk band The Business
The Business (band)
The Business are an English Oi!/punk rock band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London. Their album Suburban Rebels became influential in the Oi! movement...
covered the song on their album Under The Influence. The song has also been covered by pop-punk band Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
at some live performances.
The University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
"Million Dollar Band
Million Dollar Band
Million Dollar Band can refer to:*Million Dollar Band , the marching band of the University of Alabama*Million Dollar Band , the Hee Haw television variety show supergroup comprising Chet Atkins and other famous American country music musicians...
" plays an arrangement of Basket Case during the 4th quarter of University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
football games. The arrangement was composed by Fred Chang.
In summer 2010 American singer P!nk
P!nk
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
covered "Basket Case" during her Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour
Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour
The Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour is an extension of the Funhouse Tour , the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, Funhouse...
.
Music video
This was the second music video by Green Day, and it was directed by Mark Kohr. The video was shot in an actual mental institution called Agnews Developmental CenterAgnews Developmental Center
Agnews Developmental Center is a psychiatric and medical care facility, now located in San Jose, California.In 1885, the center, originally known as "The Great Asylum for the Insane", was established as a facility for the care of the mentally ill...
in Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
, at the request of the band members. The mental institution had since been abandoned, but most of the structure remained in a broken-down state. The band members found old patient files, deep scratches in the walls and dental molds scattered around. The video frequently references the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
. The music video was actually shot in black and white and the color was added in later, contributing to the surreal effect of the video. Several extras in the video are wearing the same mask as the torturer in Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
.
The video was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
in 1995: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Hard Rock Video, Best Alternative Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice Award.
Initial pressing
- "Basket Case" – 3:01
- "On the Wagon" (non-LP track) – 2:48
- "Tired of Waiting for YouTired of Waiting for You"Tired of Waiting for You" was a hit 1965 rock song by the English band The Kinks. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 in the USA. It was recorded late August 1964 at Pye Studios , London, with additional guitar overdub at IBC Studios, London on 29 December 1964. "Come On Now" was recorded...
" (non-LP track) – 2:30 - "409 in Your Coffeemaker" (unmixed non-LP track) – 2:49
Alternate pressing/Limited Edition Pressing
- "Basket Case" – 3:01
- "Longview" (live) – 3:30
- "Burnout" (live) – 2:11
- "2,000 Light Years Away" (live) – 2:49
- (Live tracks recorded March 11, 1994 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida)
These tracks are also available on the live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Live Tracks (EP)
7" Vinyl Singles Box Set
- "Basket Case"
- "When I Come AroundWhen I Come Around"When I Come Around" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the fourth single from their third album, Dookie. "When I Come Around" was Green Day's most popular radio single in their early career, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. This was their...
" - "Having a Blast"
- "When I Come Around" (Live from Stockholm, Sweden)
Chart positions
| Chart (1994–1995) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
12 |
| German Singles Chart | 18 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
9 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 16 |
External links
- Song review at Allmusic