"Basket Case" is a song by the American rock bandGreen Day. It is the seventh track and second single from their third studio album, Dookie. The song spent five weeks at the top of Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. In 2001, the song appeared as the fifth track on their greatest hits album, International Superhits!.
Origin and recording
Green Day vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong said "Basket Case" is about his struggle with anxiety; before he was diagnosed with a panic disorder years afterward, he thought he was going crazy. Armstrong commented that at the time, "The only way I could know what the hell was going on was to write a song about it." "Basket Case" was one of the songs producer Rob Cavallo heard when he received Green Day's demo tape. He ended up signing the band to Reprise Records in mid-1993. Green Day and Cavallo recorded the version of "Basket Case" released on the trio's major label debut Dookie between September and October 1993 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.
Composition
"Basket Case", like the other songs on Dookie, was performed on instruments tuned down to the pitch of E-flat. The introductory verse features only Armstrong and his guitar. During the middle of the first chorus the rest of the band joins in, with Tré Cool adding fast tom fills and explosive transitions and Mike Dirnt adding a bass line that is reminiscent of the vocal melody. In the second verse, "Basket Case" references soliciting a male prostitute; Armstrong noted that "I wanted to challenge myself and whoever the listener might be. It's also looking at the world and saying, 'It's not as black and white as you think. This isn't your grandfather's prostitute – or maybe it was.'" The song's chord progression closely mirrors that of Pachelbel's Canon.
Release and reception
"Basket Case" was the second single released from Dookie, following "Longview". "Basket Case" peaked at number one on the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart, a position it maintained for five weeks. In 1995, "Basket Case" garnered a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group category. In 2006, on Mike Davies and Zane Lowe's Lock Up Special on BBC Radio 1, the listeners voted "Basket Case" the Greatest Punk Song of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 33rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
Music video
The "Basket Case" video was directed by Mark Kohr. The video was filmed in an actual mental institution called Agnews Developmental Center in Santa Clara County, California, at the request of the band members. The mental institution had been abandoned, but most of the structure remained in a broken-down state. The band members found old patient files, deep scratches in the walls and dental molds scattered around. The video frequently references the films One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Brazil. The music video was originally filmed in black and white and the color was added in later by Mike Dirnt, contributing to the surreal effect of the video, however the patients of the mental institution remain black and white in the video. The video was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1995: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, Best Alternative Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice Award. The video did not win in any of the categories it was nominated for.
