"Insomniac" is a song by the
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
band
Echobelly
Echobelly are a British rock band, debuting in 1994 with their album '' Everyone's Got One''. They were often compared to Blondie and The Smiths; Morrissey becoming a fan of the group.
The most prominent part of Echobelly's success formula wa ...
. It was released as a single in March 1994 and was included on the band's album, ''
Everyone's Got One''. The song, written by Sonya Madan and Glenn Johansson, is primarily about drug abuse.
The single received positive critical reviews and peaked at #47 on the UK music charts. It was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''
Dumb and Dumber
''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey a ...
''.
Background
"Insomniac" was composed by band members Sonya Aurora Madan and Glenn Johansson. It is based on a 4/4 alternating verse/chorus structure and may be a musical homage to one of Echobelly's major influences,
Morrissey.
[Bennett, Andy and Stratton, Jon. ]
Britpop and the English Music Tradition
' (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010), p. 67.
''
Billboard'' wrote that the song is a "gentle warning of the dangers of snorting too much speed".
[Sinclair, David]
"Global Music Pulse"
''Billboard'', Oct 14, 1995, p. 53. However, according to ''Britpop and the English Music Tradition'', the song might be a "dig" at Britpop's
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
-driven lifestyle at the time (which is highlighted by the lines "Whatever turned you on/You put it up your nose" and "No sleep at all/Carry me home").
Release
"Insomniac" was released as a single in March 1994 with the b-side "Talent". It was then included as the seventh track of Echobelly's debut album, ''Everyone's Got One'', which was released in August 1994.
The song was also included on the band's 2001 compilation album ''
I Can't Imagine the World Without Me
''I Can't Imagine the World Without Me'' is the first greatest hits album released by alternative rock band Echobelly in 2001. The album is heavily biased on the bands' first album '' Everyone's Got One'', with 9 of the 18 songs coming from th ...
and their 2008 release
The Best Of Echobelly
''The Best of Echobelly'' is the second greatest hits collection from rock band Echobelly, released in 2008. The songs on the album all come from the band's first three albums, '' Everyone's Got One'', '' On'' and '' Lustra''.
Track listing
:All ...
''.
Critical reception
The single received positive reviews from music critics, who called it "stunning" and "one of the best singles of 1994".
According to author
John Harris, "Insomniac" was one of Echobelly's two best songs, along with "Bellyache".
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
's Ned Raggett wrote that "at the band's best ... Madan grapples with personal politics and dreams full on -- "Insomniac" and "Close...But," with its pictures of relationships fracturing on all fronts and resolution to look beyond them for something better, make for entertaining blasts of inspiration."
Chart performance
"Insomniac" charted at #47 in the UK for the week ending on April 2, 1994. This was the single's only appearance on the music charts.
In popular media
"Insomniac" was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''Dumb and Dumber''.
Music video
The song's music video features three performances by the band, with songwriter-vocalist Madan wearing three different outfits: black clothes and black make-up; a white
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
T-shirt; and a red sequined dress and blonde wig. The video "takes full advantage of Madan's dramatic presence", and she dances in front of the camera for the duration of the song in the three contrasting outfits, before taking the wig off at the end.
Track list
7"
[Strong, Martin Charles. ]
The Great Rock Discography
' (The National Academies, 2002).
# "Insomniac" - 3.46
# "Centipede" - 4.03
# "Talent" - 2.07
*Tracks 2 & 3 were re-released on the expanded version of Everyone's Got One.
Charts
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1994 singles
Echobelly songs
Songs about drugs
1994 songs