"Insomniac" | ||||
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Single by Echobelly | ||||
from the album Everyone's Got One | ||||
Released | March 1994 | |||
Genre | Britpop | |||
Length | 4:15 | |||
Label | Fauve, Rhythm King | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sonya Madan, Glenn Johansson | |||
Echobelly singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Insomniac" is a song by the Britpop band Echobelly. 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 .
"Insomniac" was composed by band members Sonya Aurora Madan and Glenn Johansson. [1] 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. [2]
Billboard wrote that the song is a "gentle warning of the dangers of snorting too much speed". [3] However, according to Britpop and the English Music Tradition, the song might be a "dig" at Britpop's cocaine-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"). [2]
"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. [4] The song was also included on the band's 2001 compilation album I Can't Imagine the World Without Me and their 2008 release The Best Of Echobelly . [4] [5]
The single received positive reviews from music critics, who called it "stunning" [6] and "one of the best singles of 1994". [3] According to author John Harris, "Insomniac" was one of Echobelly's two best songs, along with "Bellyache". [7] Allmusic'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." [8]
Morrissey praised the song in an interview, stating that it was, "in a sane world, an indisputable top five record. It is astonishing." [9]
"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. [10]
"Insomniac" was featured on the soundtrack for the film Dumb and Dumber. [11]
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 T-shirt; and a red sequined dress and blonde wig. The video "takes full advantage of Madan's dramatic presence", [12] 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. [13]
Chart | Peak position |
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UK Singles [10] | 47 |