"Geek Stink Breath" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

. It was released on September 25, 1995, by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

as the lead single and fourth track from their fourth studio album, ''

Insomniac Insomniac or The Insomniac may refer to: * A person who has insomnia Music * Insomniac (Green Day album), ''Insomniac'' (Green Day album), 1995 * Insomniac (Enrique Iglesias album), ''Insomniac'' (Enrique Iglesias album), 2007 * Insomniac (song ...

'' (1995). The song, along with " Stuck with Me", appeared on the live EP ''Foot in Mouth'' that was only released in Japan. Its music video was directed by Mark Kohr. The lyrics expound the effects of

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

on the human body; the word "geek" is slang for methamphetamine.

Composition

Written in 1994, "Geek Stink Breath" was played along with "Stuart and the Ave." during a

soundcheck A soundcheck is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small po ...

at Chicago in November 1994 (the video can be found on the video game '' Green Day: Rock Band'') and the song debuted live on December 3, 1994, during Green Day's first performance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. The word "shit" in the line "wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one gets filled first" was left uncensored since the show's production team could not understand the lyrics to the new song (closed caption typed it as "unintelligible lyrics") and were not aware that the band had sworn on TV. The song was later recorded and released on the band's fourth studio album ''

'' (1995), and as the album's lead-off single. The lyrics tell of the singer leading a "path of self-destruction" through the use of methamphetamine, and the effects of this drug on his body. The lyrics were inspired by Armstrong's own experiences, as well as the people around him that he saw lose control of their lives because of their addictions. Featuring a classic

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

three-chord riff, the song pays homage to the band's early punk influences, including the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

and the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

. The song ended up being a moderate hit. A live version of the song recorded on the band's 21st Century Breakdown World Tour in Saitama-Shi, Japan was included on the band's 2011 live album '' Awesome as Fuck'' and its accompanying bonus DVD.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "Who says they're fakes? Sounding "less British", US new punk gets its own identity on the first single off ''Insomniac'', the successor to ''Dookie''. It's got a hell of a smell!"

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Geek Stink Breath" was directed by Mark Kohr. It includes distorted, low-resolution footage of the band playing the song in a basement, intercut with graphic footage of one of the band's friends having a tooth pulled by a dentist, which was intended to only be shown during late night hours on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The footage of the tooth extraction symbolizes the effect that methamphetamine can have on one's teeth, hence the line "and it's rotting out my teeth". An edited version of the music video is shown internationally.

Track listings

7-inch Vinyl box set

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles Green Day songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs about drugs Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong Songs written by Mike Dirnt Songs written by Tré Cool