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Cover of Insomniac by Green Day
Cover: Insomniac

Song · Green Day

“Geek Stink Breath” by Green Day

From the album Insomniac (1995)

“Geek Stink Breath” by Green Day appears on 40 radio countdowns from 17 stations between 1995 and 2023. It was first released in 1995 on the album Insomniac. Its best result is #16 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #28 alternative song of 1995, #1,055 alternative song of all time and #278 of the '90s.

40countdowns
17stations
#16best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1995–2023years charted

Watch

Green Day - Geek Stink Breath [Official Music Video]

Video from YouTube (Green Day). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Geek Stink Breath" was the lead single from Green Day's fourth album, Insomniac, released on Reprise in 1995, and it's a nasty little portrait of what methamphetamine does to a body, "geek" being slang for the drug. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the words and sings them with Mike Dirnt, while Dirnt's bass and Tré Cool's drums grind along with a mean, bleary swagger, and Armstrong's guitar sounds like it hasn't slept in days. Rob Cavallo produced it with the band, and Jerry Finn mixed it.

The song was already old news to the band by the time it came out: written in 1994, it got its live debut that December during Green Day's first appearance on Saturday Night Live, where a curse word slipped past the censors because nobody in the control room could make out the lyrics. Mark Kohr directed the video.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 56 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 107
1995 16 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995 91
1995 41 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 101
1995 63 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 100
1995 64 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104
1995 21 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95 103
1995 46 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995 100
1995 37 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 95
1995 36 WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 484 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 937 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 377 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 1012 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1479 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 725 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1479 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1482 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1480 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1621 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1461 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 180 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 322 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1461 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 213 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 1459 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 802 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 474 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 258 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 927 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 489 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 914 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 933 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 962 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 994 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1015 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1072 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 245 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 256 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 254 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 256 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420

Also listed as: Geek Stink Breathe.

Charting alongside it in 1995

Best songs of 1995 →
  1. 1You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette
  2. 2LumpThe Presidents of the United States of America
  3. 3Lightning CrashesLive
  4. 4Bullet With Butterfly WingsThe Smashing Pumpkins
  5. 5NameGoo Goo Dolls
  6. 6My FriendsRed Hot Chili Peppers

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