Slappy

Slappy is the second EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released in the summer of 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Billie Joe Armstrong cited the extended play as the one on which Green Day began to find its sound.

This article is about the extended play by Green Day. For the cartoon character, see Slappy Squirrel. For the Goosebumps character, see Slappy the Dummy.

Slappy
EP by Green Day
Released	1990
Recorded	April 20, 1990 (1990-04-20) at Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California
Genre	Punk rock
Length	10:07
Label	Lookout!
Producer	Andy Ernst Green Day
Green Day chronology
39/Smooth (1990) Slappy (1990) Sweet Children (1990)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Liner notes

Recorded in a few hours on April 20, 1990 at Art of Ears Studio with Andro Engineering and mixed April 23 in a few more hours. Produced by Andro and Green Day. Mastered by John Golden at K-Disc, Hollywood. Front cover photo by Al Sobrante, back Sean Hughes Layout and "Green Day Bitz" by Aaron Cometbus. Green Day's 39/Smooth L.P. and 1,000 Hours E.P. were also available on Lookout.

Album information

"Paper Lanterns" was a popular Green Day song and a live staple for many years and was brought back for the 2010 leg of the 21st Century Breakdown World Tour. "Why Do You Want Him?" was the first song Armstrong wrote,[2][3] back when he was fourteen.[2][3] He expressed in a 2010 interview that contrary to the common belief, the song is not about his stepfather.[4] The title "409 in Your Coffeemaker" is taken from a prank Armstrong pulled on his teacher. It was later re-recorded during the Dookie sessions. Although it was omitted from the album, it was released on the "Basket Case" CD single in the United Kingdom. "Knowledge" was originally performed by Operation Ivy. Green Day still performs the song live, often inviting fans onstage to play the band members' instruments for them during the performance of the song.

All four tracks from Slappy were included on the compilation album 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours in 1991. Slappy remained in print until August 2005, when Green Day removed its catalog from Lookout! Records.

Since March 24, 2009, Slappy (along with 1,000 Hours) has been back in print as a bonus to the vinyl reissue of the 39/Smooth album. However, a possible error may have been made as Slappy's artwork is now tinted pink instead of dark red.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Paper Lanterns"	2:23
2.	"Why Do You Want Him?"	2:31
Total length:		4:54

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"409 in Your Coffeemaker"	2:54
2.	"Knowledge" (lyrics written by Jesse Michaels; music composed by Operation Ivy; originally performed by Operation Ivy)	2:19
Total length:		5:13

Personnel

• Billie Joe Armstrong — lead vocals, guitar
• Mike Dirnt — bass, backing vocals
• John Kiffmeyer — drums
• Aaron Cometbus — backing vocals, "teeth" on "Knowledge"[2]

Notes

• The dog on the cover of Slappy was known as Mickey. "Slappy" was a nickname given to him by Mike Dirnt's friend Jason Relva (the subject of Green Day's later song J.A.R.).
• "Why Do You Want Him?" was reportedly written by Armstrong when he was 14 years old and was the first song he wrote.[2][3]
• "409 in Your Coffeemaker" was re-recorded for the group's third studio album Dookie in 1994. However, the band declined having it put on the record. The Dookie recording of the song can still be found in "unmixed" form on the U.K. "Basket Case" single. Armstrong has also stated that "409 in Your Coffeemaker" is his favorite song on Slappy.

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Green Day Bits, 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours liner notes. Retrieved 2011-07-30
3. MTV News Raw interview October 16, 1995. Retrieved 2011-07-30
4. "Green Day - Billie Joe and Mike Mayer [Interview". YouTube. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2012-03-09.