Mar Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Do we officially know WHY Billie named the song after a toilet company?
DecanoLP Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Awesome song. I love all these short snippets Billie's sometimes playing only with his guitar. They sound really good. Oh, and all the old videos are even more epic. I'm totally in love with their setlists from 1995. They opened with Armatage Shanks, followed by Brat. Holy shit, good times
Just Kate Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 this is a song about me. hands down. i absolutely love it. and it always touches me
Metanoia Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 not one of my favorites but still cool great opening track for insomniac!!!
J'net Posted October 12, 2010 Author Posted October 12, 2010 Do we officially know WHY Billie named the song after a toilet company? Well, he didn't actually name it after a toilet company. He was trying to think of a name for it, and he was washing his hands in a sink that said "Armitage Shanks" on it (must have been traveling overseas). He decided to name the song that and, of course, misspelled it. I don't know if Armitage Shanks also makes toilets. All I know about is the sinks (I had one in my hotel in Ireland last year ).
Abbey. Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Here’s a video of three very young guys performing Armatage Shanks at the 1994 VMAs: he looks pretty high in this vid.
Bastard of 1967 Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Well, he didn't actually name it after a toilet company. He was trying to think of a name for it, and he was washing his hands in a sink that said "Armitage Shanks" on it (must have been traveling overseas). He decided to name the song that and, of course, misspelled it. I don't know if Armitage Shanks also makes toilets. All I know about is the sinks (I had one in my hotel in Ireland last year ). *SNORT* Now 15 years later bj has discovered Twitter, and he still makes the damn funniest speling errorz (tho in this case, spelling Armitage as "Armatage" probably helped keep him from getting sued!) Oh well, the more things change, the more they stay the same I guess -- somebody go get that boy a spell-checker for his Blackberry! BTW http://www.armitage-shanks.co.uk/homeowners/index.html has their full catalog. Plenty of potties to select from! Anyhoo, back to the topic. As the first track on Insomniac, I think Armatage both echoes and sets the tone for the whole album. Anxiety, long, sleepless nights filled with the turmoil of self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-deprecation -- it's all right here and it literally leaps out at you and grabs you by the throat right from Tre's first downbeat. It makes you listen to Green Day's screams for relief and release from the emotional rollercoaster the bandmates are riding at this specific point in their career. Their hard work and determination had turned their scrappy Gilman Street roots into commercial success with Dookie seemingly overnight, and the "thanks and good luck" sendoff they got was that the people who used to be their friends labeled them as sellouts and ostracized them from the very environment that incubated them. At the same time that this professional upheaval is going on, Adie relocates from Minnesota to Oakland to be with Billie, and literally the day after they get married they find out that their first kid's on the way. If I'm doing the math right, Billie was the ripe-old age of 23 when all this was going on. Holy FUCK what a load that must have been to deal with -- I mean, my wife and I had our first child right before I turned *40* and now three years later I still wonder sometimes whether I have what it takes for this job!! So I think titling the song as a wordplay on the name of a toilet manufacturer is a piece of punky metaphoric brilliance in and of itself. In this case, at this specific point in time in Green Day's career -- and the commercial success of Dookie notwithstanding -- they themselves are the toilet that everything they once held dear is now shitting in. Armatage establishes the common themes of anxiety, panic, misfit, and doubt that most of the album's other songs build on -- particularly, Stuck With Me, No Pride, Bab's, Panic Song, Brain Stew, and of course, 86. That leaves the question of how any of this is still relevant today.....Green Day's recent successes of course include American Idiot (both the album and the Broadway show, plus maybe a movie in the works), 21CB to follow it up, two fantastic, multi-year world tours, high-profile appearances, a live album and DVD in the works, and the beginnings of their next studio album starting to coalesce. Edit: And how could I have *possibly* forgotten about FBHT and "It's Fuck Time"!? There's no doubt that they're at another creative peak right now....and yet, somehow, this band stays humble and grounded. At the end of every stop on this tour Billie thanked us for the last 22 years and said to us (in one form or another) "You know, you spend your fucking money to come to a fucking show and it’s my fucking honor and our privilege to be up here and to give you the best fucking show you’ve ever fucking seen." And you ask yourself why celebrity rock stars who seem to have the whole world in their hands and don't need anyone else for shit now would work as hard as Green Day does, and keep themselves so accessible to and appreciative of their fans......and then you remember where they've been and what they've had to go through to get where they are now. The best I can speculate is that *they* remember it too -- and recalling where you've been and the obstacles you've overcome is one of the best ways to keep yourself firmly grounded even when you're soaring sky high. Armatage -- and Insomniac -- stands testament to some of the worst that life threw at Green Day, and its echoes still have influence on them today.
Alan86 Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 I don't know if Armitage Shanks also makes toilets. All I know about is the sinks (I had one in my hotel in Ireland last year ). They definetly do make toilets too. I'm from Ireland and worked in a place for years that sold bathroom appliences including armitage shanks products. I always just assumed that green day were just continuing the same toilet based jokes from their previous 2 albums I didn't know it was from a sink that he took the name. I'm slightly dissappointed now
Undómiel Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Song from Insomniac! Love this song - it's such a great opening to the album and everytime I see 'Armatige Shanks' written on the school basins or whatever it makes me smile. Lol.
Axel Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 why does is seem like whenever one of these song of the week threads are made everyone's like "LIKE OMG BEST SONG EVUUR <333333" Seriously.
TheSaltOfTheEarth Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I never knew this was a toilet company until I went to London on vacation I saw the sink and I'm like Oh Billie and his spelling mistakes Anyways. I love this song. It was the song I most related to a few weeks ago when high school started. I don't know, but that was my interpretation of it. It was my perfect anthem - it had the elements of feeling maladjusted, alone, not fitting in, a sort of lack of self-worth, I guess (I perfected the science of the idiot; I'm getting pissed, I'm a worthless pessimist). I'd say one of my favourites off Insomniac, but I could say that for almost all of the songs on that album, so...
Of Rage and Love Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I actually didn't know that the song was named after a toliet company till I went to enlgand this summer xD
Gwen Stacy Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 This week I set about memorizing the lyrics to Insomniac and have been listening to Armatage Shanks all week. Then I log on and what's the song of the week? Once again, great pick J'net!
Bastard of 1967 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 why does is seem like whenever one of these song of the week threads are made everyone's like "LIKE OMG BEST SONG EVUUR <333333" Seriously. Some people like to discuss the songs in more or less depth than others. My own personal preference (as if it isn't brutally obvious ) is to really dig into the lyrical content, the message, the meaning, since Billie's songwriting usually gives you so much to sink your teeth into; Angeline (justcause) typically goes for the emotional and even the spiritual impact they have on her -- and she often reaches a level with her posts that literally brings tears to my eyes. . Other folks just like to give us a quick take -- thumbs-up/thumbs-down. To each his own. And - if you want to see the substantive vs. basic content of the SOTW threads improve, pleasepleaseplease post your own feelings, interpretations, etc. here. Don't be bashful, we don't bite -- and the threads will only become as meaty as we collectively can make 'em! This week I set about memorizing the lyrics to Insomniac Good to hear I'm not the only one around here who likes to do that every once in awhile.
Isabel Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Great SOTW choice! I love this song alot...nearly died when Billie started playing this last year at the Belfast show!!! Only a handful of us knew what song it was though
Bastard of 1967 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Thanx so very much. right back at ya. So...what's your take on this beast?
Slappy. Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I guess it's one of those songs that I don't really immediately think about when choosing my fave songs. But then thinking about it now, I love the tune, the lyrics are great. I think it definitely needs more credit.
Clayish Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Best Green Day opener. This song kicks so much ass, in so many ways.
Maura99 Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 Kick-ass song indeed. I love the little sound Billie makes at the beginning... it immediately contributes to the whole atmosphere of the album. Great opening track!
Karen. Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 *SNORT* Now 15 years later bj has discovered Twitter, and he still makes the damn funniest speling errorz (tho in this case, spelling Armitage as "Armatage" probably helped keep him from getting sued!) Oh well, the more things change, the more they stay the same I guess -- somebody go get that boy a spell-checker for his Blackberry! BTW http://www.armitage-shanks.co.uk/homeowners/index.html has their full catalog. Plenty of potties to select from! Anyhoo, back to the topic..................... Great post - you made some really good interesting points. I'm also trying to re-learn the lyrics - I think the lyrics on many of the Insomniac songs are the hardest to get right without looking them up - more emotion than enunciation!
Stuart&Ave Posted October 13, 2010 Posted October 13, 2010 I think it's the perfect song to start an album like Insomniac. It is one of my favourites on this album. I couldn't believe it when they played it during the soundcheck and then during the show when I saw them back in August. I just love the melody and the lyrics of this song.
theclassof13 Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 awesome song, great way to start insomniac. LOVE IT!!
Marki. Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Armatage Shanks! Love this song, as well as whole Insomniac And I didn´t know that they played it in London last year :-O Such an amazing show, I would love to hear it some day...
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