Line #21 Music/BadReligion


1	[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/punk_bad_religion1_1492.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:285:Bad Religion, roughly 30 years ago.]]
3
4	-> ''PunkRock with a thesaurus.''
5
6	Bad Religion is a very influential American punk rock band, founded in 1980 in Southern California. The original members were Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars), and Jay Ziskrout, who was quickly replaced by Pete Finestone (drums). In the spirit of the Do-It-Yourself ethic held by the punk scene at the time, Gurewitz created Epitaph Records soon after their formation, and most of the band's albums have since been released through this label.
7
8	The band is known for its particularly clever use of metaphor, style and vocabulary in the lyrics, as well as their peculiar vocal harmonies. Lyrics are often about philosophical, social or political concerns and tend to be critical, sarcastic, and often times harsh. Song writing is usually done between Graffin and Gurewitz, except for the period of time when the band left Epitaph for the major label Creator/AtlanticRecords (1993-2001).
9
10	During this period, Graffin took on sole song writing duties (excluding their major label debut ''Stranger than Fiction'', which was the last album Guerwitz appeared on until 2002). For the album ''No Substance'', generally considered among the band's weakest entries, song writing responsibilities were shared among the other band members. Since Gurewitz's return, he and Graffin have resumed their original song writing duties.
11
12	Since 2001, Bad Religion's lineup consisted of Graffin (vocals), Gurewitz (guitars), Bentley (bass), Greg Hetson--formerly of The Circle Jerks (guitars), Brian Baker (guitars), and Brooks Wackerman (drums). Bobby Schayer was their drummer for much of their 1990s period, but left the band after suffering a shoulder injury. In 2013 Hetson left due to personal problems (divorce) and was replaced by Mike Dimkich. In 2015, Wackerman also left to join Music/AvengedSevenfold. He was replaced by Jamie Miller.
13
14	!!Current line-up:
15	* Greg Graffin - vocals (1980–)
16	* Brett Gurewitz - guitar, backing vocals (1980–84, 1986–94, 2001–)
17	* Jay Bentley - bass, backing vocals (1980–82, 1986–)
18	* Brian Baker - guitar, backing vocals (1994–)
19	* Mike Dimkich - guitar (2013–)
20	* [[Music/{{Snot}} Jamie Miller]] - drums (2015–)
21
22	!!Former members:
23	* Jay Ziskrout - drums (1980)
24	* Pete Finestone - drums (1981–82, 1984–91)
25	* Paul Dedona - bass (1982–84)
26	* Davy Goldman - drums (1982–84)
27	* Tim Gallegos - bass (1984–85)
28	* Greg Hetson - guitar (1984–2013)
29	* Bobby Schayer - drums (1991–2001)
30	* Brooks Wackerman - drums (2001–2015)
31
32	!!Studio discography:
33	* ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' (1982)
34	* ''Into the Unknown'' (1983)
35	* ''Suffer'' (1988)
36	* ''No Control'' (1989)
37	* ''Against the Grain'' (1990)
38	* ''Generator'' (1992)
39	* ''Recipe for Hate'' (1993)
40	* ''Stranger Than Fiction'' (1994)
41	* ''The Gray Race'' (1996)
42	* ''No Substance'' (1998)
43	* ''The New America'' (2000)
44	* ''The Process of Belief'' (2002)
45	* ''The Empire Strikes First'' (2004)
46	* ''New Maps of Hell'' (2007)
47	* ''The Dissent of Man'' (2010)
48	* ''True North'' (2013)
49	* ''Age of Unreason'' (2019)
50
51	----
52	!The Empire Tropes First:
53	* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Lots. A few examples from "Parallel": "Phony [=COLLective progess=], [=ACCepting=] that it's all such a mess", and in the background, "our lives are [=paralLEL=]"... later, "watching as our [=FOUNdations=] crumble away"
54	* AlbumTitleDrop: ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' on "Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell" and ''The Process of Belief'' on "Materialist".
55	* AnimatedMusicVideo: "Dream of Unity"
56	* AudienceParticipationSong: "Sorrow"
57	* AuthorTract: Although not in a bad way.
58	* BadassTeacher: Graffin. He's taught university classes at Cornell and UCLA.
59	* BeliefMakesYouStupid: A common theme in the Graffin-penned songs. Gurewitz, not so much.
60	* BookEnds: On ''Into the Unknown'', sort of. The first song is titled "It's Only Over When..." while the last is called "...You Give Up". The whole phrase (It's only over when you give up) is uttered in the former. While no variation or part of that sentence appears in the latter (making it a case of NonAppearingTitle), some other lyrical excerpts from "It's Only Over When..." appear at the end of "...You Give Up".
61	* BrokenPedestal: Todd Rundgren, one of Greg Graffins influences growing up, produced ''The New America''. Todd was apparently very difficult to work with which disappointed Greg heavily. However they did reconcile years later.
62	* BrokenRecord: At the end of "Best For You".
63	* CallBack:
64	** ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' is Title Dropped in "Los Angeles Is Burning", over two decades later.
65	** Both ''No Control'' and ''Suffer'' are mentioned in "21st Century (Digital Boy)" on ''Against the Grain''.
66	** "Punk Rock Song" mentions "Land of Competition" and is itself mentioned in "Kyoto Now!".
67	** In an inversion, before they were made into songs themselves, "Social Suicide" and "Modern Man" appeared in "Sensory Overload" and "We're Only Gonna Die" respectively. "We're Only Gonna Die" was actually nicknamed "Modern Man" before that title was used for the song from ''Against the Grain''.
68	* CanonDiscontinuity: After disappointing sales, ''Into the Unknown'' wasn't acknowledged or reissued until it was included in the ''30 Years of Bad Religion'' vinyl box set.
69	* CareerEndingInjury: Bobby Schayer suffered a rotator cuff injury, which rendered him unable to play drums at required speed for Bad Religion. Due to his departure and without any replacement, they had to prematurely end their "The New America" tour (with only one European leg remaining).
70	* ChristmasSongs: Title of their 2013 EP, which features [[CoverVersion covers]] of various Christmas songs (and a remix of "American Jesus").
71	* CorruptChurch: "Sinister Rouge", among others.
72	* CrapsackWorld: "Leaders and Followers", among others.
73	* DateMyAvatar: song "I love my computer" rolls with this. "...'cause you are just a number and a clever screen name."
74	* DeadpanSnarker: Graffin's lyrics are usually this (Brett's not so much). Which is strange, because in-person, he's actually pretty laid back and mellowed-out.
75	* DualMeaningChorus: [[WordOfGod Gurewitz himself]] gives three explanation to "Anesthesia". One particular lyric in that song goes: "I got a little gun, here comes oblivion." It could be about a guy killing his girlfriend, or killing himself but it could also be a metaphor about taking drugs (the little gun here referring to a syringe).
76	-->“Anesthesia is kind of a short story about a guy and a girl who are in love but the girl named Anesthesia is also a metaphor for drugs. And in that song when he says, I’ve got a little gun, here comes oblivion, the little gun can be a gun. You’re not supposed to know whether or not the guy’s gotta gun and he’s gonna shoot Anesthesia and kill her or you’re not sure if the little gun is a syringe and he’s gonna shoot it in his arm and achieve oblivion that way. There’s several levels … you never really know if he’s gonna shoot her or he’s gonna shoot himself. Or if what it really means is that the little gun is a syringe and he’s gonna shoot himself up with heroin.“
77	* EpicRocking: "Time and Disregard" from ''Into the Unknown'', lasting 7 minutes.
78	* GodBeforeDogma: In contrary to what people think when first learning Bad Religion, they are not entirely against religion. Their songs mainly target those who claim they know God and use it to control the masses and exploit them for personal gain. Their message is that should a god exist, you should actually listen to him directly instead of the organized religion that tries to be his voice.
79	* GodIsEvil:
80	** "God's Love" plays with this, giving an outsider's perspective of people describing pain and suffering as "God's love":
81	-->''There's no justice, just a cause and a cure\
82	And a bounty of suffering it seems we all endure\
83	And what I'm frightened of is that they call it God's love''
84	** "Skyscraper", which tells the Tower of Babel myth from the perspective of the builders as they express their grand vision that "We'll build a city with a tower for the world. And climb so we can reach anything we may propose" and their anger at God for destroying what they had come together to build.
85	--> ''I know why you tore it down that day\
86	You thought that if you got caught, we'd all go away\
87	Like a spoiled little baby who can't come out and play\
88	You had your revenge''
89	* GodIsInept:
90	** "Better Off Dead", which is basically God apologizing for creating such a CrapsackWorld.
91	** On the other hand, it may also be a sarcastic reply to people who constantly complain about living in a CrapsackWorld.
92	* GratuitousGerman: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiBKFHJnSUI Punk Rock Song]]"
93	* HeavyMeta: "Punk Rock Song" is well, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin punk rock song]] about how in the face of the misery of the modern world, all they can really offer is a punk rock song that will most likely not be heard by anyone who wasn't already aware and in agreement about what needs to be done.
94	* {{Homage}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOEpif8Fj5Q A World Without Melody]] appears to be a homage to [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Nirvana]].
95	* InternalizedCategorism: The song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVWNDR9gM2E Broken]]" brings up the danger of putting people down, that they might start believing it themselves.
96	* LongRunnerLineUp: From 2001 to 2013: Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, Jay Bentley, Greg Hetson, Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman.
97	* LyricalColdOpen: "Voice of God Is Government", "The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking", "Come Join Us", "The Day That the Earth Stalled", "Won't Somebody", "To Another Abyss" and a couple other.
98	* ManipulativeEditing: "Stealth" samples former U.S. president George H.W. Bush's State of the Union address, but puts excerpts from it in a way, so that it sounds, as he was promoting drug use.
99	* NewSoundAlbum:
100	** ''Into the Unknown'' is a ProgressiveRock album. According to Mr. Brett, "not much thought" was put into the album's recording, and the change of style was due to the fact that the band didn't take itself seriously and thought it wouldn't last for very long, so they decided to try and explore some other styles. Two of the members, drummer Pete Finestone and bass player Jay Bentley, quit before the album was recorded because of the change, and the album was met with a great deal of negativity from the fans who embraced the band's previous HardcorePunk sound; only 12 people showed up to see the band introduce the new material. As a result of the poor reception of this material by fans, this album is somewhat considered OldShame by the band members, who named their next release (which returned to HardcorePunk) ''[[DiscontinuityNod Back to the Known]]''. Despite the commercial failure and fan backlash of the album, it actually got positive reviews from critics, and is pretty good music coming from a bunch of 19-year-olds with no experience in that particular genre. It was reissued on vinyl as part of the ''30 Years of Bad Religion'' box set, although it's never been released on CD.
101	** While most of their albums tended to have their trademark sound, various added elements throughout (mostly based on the time)
102	*** ''Generator'' featured experimentation (especially with songs like "Two Babies in the Dark")
103	*** ''Recipe for Hate'' added AlternativeRock and grunge elements (that got refined in their next few albums)
104	*** ''The New America'' feature far more personal lyrics and somewhat more poppy sound
105	*** ''New Maps of Hell'' is by far their heaviest album, bordering on AlternativeMetal
106	* OneSteveLimit: Greg Graffin and Greg Hetson and from the original line-up, Jay Bentley and Jay Ziskrout.
107	* PrecisionFStrike: "Fuck You" is about this.
108	* ProtestSong: Almost everything they play.
109	* RearrangeTheSong: ''Live at Palladium'' DVD has a version of "Cease" performed solely by Graffin on piano. It was based on the version that appeared on his solo album ''American Lesion''.
110	* ReligionRantSong: Frequent.
111	** "Come Join Us," which is about the way that organized religion preys on lonely people and the uneducated.
112	-->Don't you see the trouble that most people are in\
113	That they just want you for their own advantage\
114	But I swear to you we're different from all of them\
115	Come join us! \
116
117	** "Sinister Rouge" is about the wrongs of the Roman Catholic Church, from Crusades and the Inquisition to covering up pedophile priests.
118	** "Skyscraper" tells the story of the Tower of Babel from the builders' side, describing God as "Like a spoiled little baby who can't come out and play".
119	** "Materialist" is essentially an AuthorFilibuster in favor of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism materialism]] (the belief that matter is the fundamental substance of all phenomena, including consciousness)
120	* [[SelfTitledAlbum Self Titled EP]]: With a self-titled song, which would later be re-recorded for Back to the Known.
121	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness:
122	** Lots of songs, but "Germs of Perfection" is the most blatant example.
123	** "Beyond Electric Dreams" is another.
124	** It's really easier to list the Bad Religion songs this trope doesn't apply to. The quality of their lyrics is often half attributed to the fact that they pull out interesting vocabulary and find a way to work it into conventional pop rhyme schemes.
125	*** Apparently, sometime after Mr. Brett left the band, he'd mock the band for being "the rotting corpse of thesaurus rock" (which was definitely classier than Greg Graffin changing a lyric in Brett's song "Stranger Than Fiction" to make fun of his struggle with drug addiction whenever it was performed live).
126	* ShoutOut: Lots of them.
127	** In the song "You", the line "there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend" is taken from "[[Music/TheBeatles We Can Work It Out]]".
128	** Another one to The Beatles is in "Anesthesia": "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, all good children go to heaven." (Taken from "You Never Give Me Your Money").
129	** "21st Century (Digital Boy)" references "21st Century Schizoid Man" by Music/KingCrimson.
130	--> '''Schizoid Man'''
131	--> "Cat's foot, iron claw
132	--> Neurosurgeon screams for more
133	--> Innocents raped with napalm fire
134	--> Nothing he's got he really needs"[[note]]First two lines are the first lines from the song, last two are each third lines of second and third verse respectively.[[/note]]
135	--> '''Digital Boy'''
136	--> "Cat's foot, iron claw
137	--> Neurosurgeon screams for more
138	--> Innocents raped with napalm fire
139	--> Everything I want I really need"
140	** After this, on ''Against the Grain'' version (the booklet of which even blatantly states "Outro lyrics to Digital Boy stolen from 21st Century Schizoid Man"), Greg sings "21st century schizoid boy...". Brett's record label Epitaph Records is also titled after another King Crimson song.
141	** At least two song titles on ''The Empire Strikes First'' are this. "Let Them Eat War" is a variation on not actually UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette's "Let them eat cakes" and "Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever" is the second half of a quote found in Literature/NineteenEightyFour by Creator/GeorgeOrwell.
142	--> "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face... forever."
143	** Some of their song feature excerpts from known poems, often varied.
144	--> "And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green
145	--> And was the holy Lamb of God on England's pleasant pastures seen!" (William Blake's poem).
146	--> "And did those feet in ancient times trod on America's pastures of green
147	--> And did that anthropocentric God wane with their thoughts and beliefs all unseen?" (Bad Religion - God Song).
148	--> "Here's the church, there's the steeple
149	--> Open the door and see all the people." (Nursery rhyme)
150	--> "Here's the church, there's the steeple
151	--> Open up the door, corporations are people." (Bad Religion - Robin Hood in Reverse).
152	** One in "You Don't Belong" on ''The Process of Belief''.
153	--> [[Music/{{Descendents}} Milo went to college]] but you knew about that
154	* [[SingerNameDrop Band Name Drop]]:
155	** Aside from [[TitleDrop an obvious one]] on "Bad Religion", there is also one in "No Direction".
156	--> No Bad Religion song can make your life complete.
157	** Graffin sometimes also does it for individual band members during live performances. Some examples:
158	--> '''Do What You Want'''
159	--> "My moniker is man and I'm rotten to the core" (studio)
160	--> "My moniker is Greg and I'm rotten to the core" (live, on Big Band VHS for example)
161	--> '''Stranger Than Fiction''' (90's only)
162	--> "I want to know why Hemingway cracked" (studio)
163	--> [[TakeThat "I want to know why Gurewitz cracked"]] (live, less frequently he also used to sing "I want to know where Brett gets his crack")
164	--> '''Infected''' (also 90's only)
165	--> "Don't be mad about it, baby" (studio)
166	--> "Don't be mad about it, Bobby" (live)
167	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Quite literally a case of DependingOnTheWriter. Graffin's lyrics tend to fall more on the cynical side, while Gurewitz's tend to be more on the idealistic side. However, there are exceptions to this; and from both writers, no less.
168	* TheSomethingSong: "God Song", "Punk Rock Song"
169	* SophisticatedAsHell: "Fuck You" maintains the lyrics writing style while dropping the F-bombs.
170	--->You can even get cerebral if you want to\
171	Make a radical assessment that sticks like glue\
172	Sometimes, it takes no thought at all\
173	The easiest thing to do\
174	Is say "fuck you!"
175	* SpellingSong: "The Empire Strikes First"
176	* SpokenWordInMusic: "Voice of God Is Government" begins like this, while "The State of the End of the Millenium Address" is entirely spoken.
177	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Brett in the bridge for "21st Century Digital Boy," at the end of "Infected" and entire "Dharma and the Bomb" and Jay towards the end of "Punk Rock Song". When playing live, Jay also performs the rap towards the end of 'Let Them Eat War'.
178	** Live backing vocals example - during much of their '90s era, Greg Hetson would perform backing vocals on the outro to "American Jesus" (the "one nation under god" bit), while Brian Baker played the lead riff.
179	* StopAndGo: "I Want Something More".
180	* SurfRock: Brett allegedly tried to write a surf / punk rock song with "Dharma and the Bomb". The biggest issue here proved to be Greg Graffin. As he is from Wisconsin, he was unable to convincingly imitate the desired Californian accent. Eventually, Brett had to sing the song himself (althogh Greg still performed backing vocals).
181	* TakeThat: "Hate You" by Gurewitz's brief solo project Daredevils is sometimes considered to be about Jay Bentley. Then there was also the lyrical change in "Stranger Than Fiction" during Gurewitz's absence.
182	* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Brett Gurewitz. {{Subverted\|Trope}} since everyone uses "Mr. Brett" (which in itself is a subversion, by combining the trope with FirstNameBasis); he himself doesn't seem to mind.
183	* TitleTrack: Most of their albums.
184	* VerbalTic: Before a solo, Greg tends to yell "One two!" or "Let's go!"
185	* VocalEvolution: Greg's voice is still recognizable on ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'', but he does a lot more HardcorePunk-style shouting than singing. Oddly, ''[[CanonDiscontinuity Into the Unknown]]'' was the first album where he started taking a more melodic approach to his vocals.
186	* WarIsHell: "Heaven is Falling"
187	* WordSaladLyrics: "The Positive Aspect Of Negative Thinking"
188	* AWildRapperAppears: Sage Francis, making a guest appearance on "Let Them Eat War".

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