Armstrong revealed in a 2024 podcast interview that around 1992–93, while living with bandmates, he wrote an early version of the song as alove song using afour-track recorder. He wrote the lyrics while oncrystal meth, thinking he "was writing the greatest song ever" but finding them "embarrassingly bad" once sober. He set the song aside before eventually returning to rewrite the lyrics around his experiences withpanic attacks, saying this was "the best decision I'd ever made, probably, as a songwriter". The band subsequently demoed the rewritten song atAndy Ernst's Art of Ears studio inSan Francisco.[3]
"Basket Case" was one of the songs producerRob Cavallo heard when he received Green Day's demo tape. He ended up signing the band to Reprise Records in mid-1993.[4] Green Day and Cavallo recorded the version of "Basket Case" released on the trio's major label debutDookie between September and October 1993 atFantasy Studios inBerkeley, California.[5]
"Basket Case" is apunk rock[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] andpop-punk song,[13][14][15][16][17][18] performed in the key of E-flat major.[5] Fred Thomas ofAllMusic described the track as a "neurotic punk rockcardio workout".[19] The introductory verse features only Armstrong and his guitar. Towards the end of the first chorus, the rest of the band joins in, withTré Cool adding fast tom fills and explosive transitions andMike Dirnt adding a bass line that is reminiscent of the vocal melody. The song's chord progression closely mirrors that ofPachelbel's Canon.[20][21]
In the song's second verse, the lyrics reference soliciting a maleprostitute. Armstrong explained: "I wanted to challenge myself and whoever the listener might be. It's also looking at the world and saying, 'It's not as black and white as you think. This isn't your grandfather's prostitute – or maybe it was.'"[21]
"Basket Case" was the second single released fromDookie, following "Longview". It peaked at number one on theBillboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, a position it maintained for five weeks.[5] In 1995, the song garnered a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group category.[1]
In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton wrote, "Something of an instant classic [...] it is certainly one of the most alternative Top 10 smash sinceRadiohead's 'Creep'. As to where it goes next it is hard to tell but it could potentially open the door for a flood of the post-Nirvana young American rock bands who are currently making waves on the other side of the Atlantic."[22]Andrew Mueller fromMelody Maker commented, "Green Day themselves are an enthusiastically rockin' kind of act who've learnt a neat trick or two fromThe Buzzcocks andThe Ramones and are the sort of band I'm regrettably likely to think are the future ofrock'n'roll if I've drunk enough to stun an ox."[23]Music Week gave the song three out of five, describing it as "the Generation X-flag-wavers' splenetic slice ofBay Areapunk".[24] John Mulvey fromNME wrote, "Long-time heroes of the USskatepunk scene. Green Day areThese Animal Men without the crap Brit-mod trappings and with slightly better songs. Bouncy, a bit fraggly and a bit annoying, but there are worse things in the world. Like 'Speed King', for starters."[25]
Upon the re-release, anotherNME editor,Andy Richardson, praised it as "an irresistible punk snort, a ripping three-minute blast or the ultimate good mood record to play before you go out, depending which way you look at it."[26] Paul Evans fromRolling Stone declared it as a "rave-up", noting that Green Day's lyrics "score graffiti hits".[27] Mark Sutherland fromSmash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five and named it Best New Single. He wrote, "Their last single 'Welcome to Paradise' grazed the top 20 here but this is the one to make your mum hammer on your bedroom door 'cos it sounds like you're smashing up your wardrobe. And the funny thing is — you will be 'cos it's quite the most fantastic bedroom-trashing anthem in too long a while."[28]Charles Aaron fromSpin ranked "Basket Case" number 19 in his list of the "Top 20 Singles of the Year" in December 1994.[29] Troy J. Augusto fromVariety described it as "psycho-rave".[30]
The accompanying music video for "Basket Case" was directed by Mark Kohr.[31] It was filmed in an actual mental institution calledAgnews Developmental Center inSanta Clara County, California, at the request of the band members. The mental institution had 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.[32] The video frequently references the filmsOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest andBrazil. The video was originally filmed in monochrome with the colors "painstakingly" added afterward, which yields whatKerrang! describes as an "over-saturated, surreal look".[33]
The video was nominated for nineMTV Video Music Awards in 1995: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, Best Alternative Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice Award. The video did not win in any of the categories it was nominated for.[34]
In 2006, onMike Davies andZane Lowe's Lock Up Special onBBC Radio 1, the listeners voted "Basket Case" the Greatest Punk Song of All Time.[7] In 2009, it was named the 33rd best hard rock song of all time byVH1.[35] In 2021,Kerrang! ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Green Day songs,[36] while it was ranked number 150 inRolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" that same year.[2] In 2022,American Songwriter ranked "Basket Case" number two on their list of the 10 greatest Green Day songs.[37] According toLoudwire, lyrics for the track were among the most-searched in thepunk rock genre according to a study that examinedGoogle searches from January 2019 through July 2023.[38] In 2024,Forbes magazine ranked it number 36 in their list of "The 50 Best Songs of the 1990s". Hugh McIntyre noted that the song "somehow managed to blend the ferocity and fury of punk with top 40-ready hooks, making the angsty tune an unlikely, and rollicking, hit".[39]
In August 2017, the English bandBastille released a version of the song for thePeter Serafinowicz seriesThe Tick,[41] but the song was never used in the show.
The song has also been covered and released as a promotional single byAvril Lavigne, who performed the song during her first headlining tour, the Try to Shut Me Up Tour, as seen on her live albumAvril Lavigne: My World.[42]
In 2024, it was added toFortnite inFortnite Festival as a jam track alongside "Welcome to Paradise" and "When I Come Around".[43]
^Punknews Staff (July 30, 2014)."Green Day - Dookie".Punknews.Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2022."Basketcase" and "When I Come Around" were the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of the punk genre
^"Green Day - Fantasy Studios"(PDF). Fantasy Studios. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on June 24, 2011.Issued in February 1994, Dookie would spawn five hit singles — 'Longview', 'Welcome To Paradise' (a re‐recording of a track on Kerplunk), 'Basket Case', 'When I Come Around' and 'She' — and, with worldwide sales of over 16 million units, would prove to be the group's most popular work, while establishing them at the forefront of the neo-punk scene.
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