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One of punk rock group Green Day's best known songs, "Basket Case" was a major step in the careers of the three member group in January 1995. This song ended up being a hit, appearing in two albums, "Dookie" and "International Superhits." It received constant play on MTV and is noted as one of Green Day's most famous accomplishments on their album Dookie. The music video depicts a mental institution, and the song's lyrics describe insanity. This song, along with When I Come Around, propelled Dookie to become a major success among most mainstream rock listeners. Billie Joe Armstrong was troubled about his constant anxiety (which he thought might be mental illness) and so decided to write a song about it. He later found out that he had a panic disorder. The chords in this song sound very much like Pachelbel's Canon in a different key. It can also be noted that on the album version, voices can be heard at the very end of the song, whilst it is fading out.
Careful listeners note that Billie Joe's vocals feature an interesting juxtaposition. He "went to a shrink...she says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down," but in the next line, he "went to a whore, he said my life's a bore, so quit my whining 'cause it's bringing her down" This could be clever choice of words conveying the fact that Billie Joe's anxiety has so thoroughly disturbed his mind that he accidentally mixes up their genders.
The song was covered by Avril Lavigne and by Freefaller. Another clever cover was by the Stanford Harmonies collegiate a capella group, who played the song entirely on pitch pipes- the only instrument used in a capella. Puffy AmiYumi also covered the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their new album Splurge.
This song was also featured on episodes of Gundam Wing and Inuyasha. Dale Oliver from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling made a ripoff of this song for Phi Delta Slam.
At the "Edit Gametypes" menu on the multiplayer of Combat Evolved, there is a line from "Basket Case".
Track listing
- Basket Case
- Longview (live)
- Burnout (live)
- 2000 Light Years Away (live)
Chart positions
Year Chart Position 1994 Modern Rock Tracks (US) No. 1 1995 Official Norwegian Singles Chart No. 2 1994 Official Sweden Singles Chart No. 3 1994 Official UK Singles Chart No. 5 1994 Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) No. 9 1995 Official Irish Singles Chart No. 11 1994 Top 40 Mainstream (US) No. 16 1995 Official German Singles Chart No. 18 Sample
See also
List of songs about mental illnessExternal links
"Basket Case (song)"