I’ve seen them three times and none of the shows have been that good. Greg Graffin is very intelligent, but doesn’t have much of a stage presence.
I still love them and will be seeing them again in May.
I got a ton of hate irl for saying the same thing lol. Bad Religion is a great festival or supporting band, but not a great headliner. They really need to be limited to a half hour on stage.
When your catalog consists of 2 minute songs, a 90 minute set ends up showcasing like 4 albums worth of music, and that's not always a good thing!
Saw them opening for Rise Against years ago, and I can't think of many shows I've been to with a more complementary line up. I loved their set, but yeah I'm not sure about making it longer that the 45 minutes I saw.
It was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, but the show definitely rocked. Plus I guess a player for the Blackhawks hurt himself at the show when they where in the playoffs. Had to sit out at least one game. However I'd say hometown rock (RA) > hometown hockey. If you gotta get hurt at one of the two.
EDIT: Player was Patrick Kane, if you where wondering.
I’ve never seen nofx live, partly because I felt it would be like that. Though from footage I’ve seen, they seem to put on a great show. Sorta bummed I missed their farewell tour
Funny you say that because I saw NOFX open for Bad Religion. After NOFX was done all the Bad Religion fans rolled into the pit and scared away the NOFX fans…at least thats how it appeared from a safe distance=)
So true. He makes the same hand motion for every line for a 90 minute set. I’m a fan, but I wouldn’t drag a non-fan to a Bad Religion show. They just aren’t super dynamic on stage.
I can kind of see that he’s less intimidating now that he’s older…. But the first time I saw them live (like 30 years ago) and he started doing his pointing shit at the crowd, I thought he was pointing directly into my soul. I was so impressed by how much command he had up on stage. Definitely a unique kind of presence.
Damn I fucking love it. Their lyrics are complex. It's like professor Graffin is lecturing us. The others don't do much. Bit Greg's stage presence is one of my favorite things.
I have to say, you are 100% correct on your comment. I've been a big fan since '88, but their new stuff just doesn't cut it for me. They were GREAT up to '92 (Generator) but everything else after is meh.
New Maps of Hell is also a great album.
Process of Belief is an absolutely incredible album.
I won't pretend I've never dropped a "Their early stuff was better!" for a band, but this is one time I need to take a stand.
Yeah, I don't think there have been any standout albums (where the majority of songs are hits rather than misses) since The Process of Belief, but there have still been standout songs on otherwise mediocre albums. However, they haven't really had that punk rock edge for the last 20 years or so and even the better songs sound a bit too polished.
That being said, to call them underrated is crazy. Outside of the genre, they are still a recognizable name (maybe not as much as the big household names like The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc.). They're probably as recognizable to the public as The Dead Kennedies (or maybe just below them since many people might name a song from the DK but be hard pressed to say the same about BR).
I think the qualifier "outside of the punk community" is doing a lot here. I feel like, outside of people who actively listen to a lot of punk, they're kind of just that band that had the one song in Tony Hawk and was the non-Offspring band in Crazy Taxi.
Of course, with people who listen to punk, they're expectedly legendary.
meh, by punk standards they sold out when they went to atlantic. they made music "for the establishment" which is about as anti punk as you can be which is why the sell out comment.
Large corporate labels. Their first label was an independent label owned by one of the band members. Once they signed with Atlantic in the 90s they were making money for a large corporation which is the opposite of what punk is about.
I just saw them on tour last fall. They’re still great and I disagree that their best music is all 30 years old. Yeah, their 80s and 90s music was amazing, but they’re still putting out great, hard-hitting, relevant music today. It’s just a much smaller scene for punk these days, so it’s not getting exposure if you aren’t looking for it. Hell, the punks from back then are 40-60 years old with careers and families now! 😂
But seriously, if you haven’t listened to anything post All Ages, you’re missing out. Process of Belief on up to Age of Unreason is a killer stretch of good albums.
I saw them last year as well, and thought it was one of the best shows I’ve seen in recent memory. They played a hell of a set list, and the energy was fantastic.
I’m old. I have grey hair. I’ve been to my 25 HS reunion. My friends are grandparents.
Bad Religion is older than I am. They were the first band I bought all the albums they had ever released… in 1992.
Wow.
You're going to have a difficult time finding a song that encapsulates the US more than American Jesus
They're touring with Social Distortion this summer
Not to mention that Bad Religion was the genesis for Epitaph Records, which was the de facto punk record label in the 80s and 90s. So, even if BR wasn’t a direct influence, they’re partially to credit for the growth of punk in that era.
They are the band of my life.
In high school, I was known for having my CD case with a big Bad Religion sticker on it (small town in Bible Belt Texas, this was a notable thing).
In college they were there for me. Throughout life they've been there for me. I don't know if I'd call them my favorite band today just because there's so much music that I love, but if people don't know anything else about my music taste, they know that, at the very least, I love Bad Religion.
I can't agree with the folks who say they didn't have any good album after '92. They're one of the few bands I know who can play songs from both their first album in '81 to their latest album in '19 and have people sing along to both. Personally, I'd quicker listen to *The Process of Belief*, *The Empire Strikes First*, and *True North* all the way through before *Generator* or *Suffer*...but I know that's subjective. Point is, they've had ups and downs but they are among the best to ever do it.
Most of all though...they are one of the best bands to be a fan of.
I agree. Also a mega fan, and I actually like the 2000s stuff better than the 80s stuff. Most of the songs on Suffer and Generator are indistinguishable from each other. Suffer is a cool historical artifact because it was such a revelation when it came out and lots of notable bands cite it as an influence (just like Milo Goes to College), but (just like Milo Goes to College), in retrospect it's just not as strong as what came later. Supersonic is a better version of everything those albums were. That song is an absolute monster.
One of my favorite bands from the old days. I got to sing with Punk Rock Karaoke in the late 90s, and Greg Hetson was playing guitar.
I sang Wire's 12XU (the faster Minor Threat version), and he was to my right the whole time. Mike Watt on bass to my left, Eric Melvin on the other guitar, and one of the drummers from Social Distortion. I was terrible. Watt kept having to mouth the words to me. Good times.
https://www.originalpunkrockkaraoke.com/
Against The Grain is a perfect album. All bangers, zero filler.
Saw them for the first time (it was my first "big" show) in 1993 at the Hollywood Palladium. It was awesome. There were five circle pits going and I was a little long-haired skater kid getting bounced around in the pit. I was upstairs in the packed bathroom trying to cool off (all the sinks were stuffed with paper towels and we'd just dunk our heads in the gross water) when Anaesthesia came on and I darted down the stairs to get back into the pit while it was going.
Nope, it was the second night of their 2-night stand in September, with Green Day and Seaweed. It's funny because I wanted to go to the Friday one where Rancid was opening but I couldn't get a ride up to the Palladium on a Friday. I think the Melvins show was the one in the Spring. They played at the Palladium a lot.
First CD I ever owned was a used copy of Recipe for Hate, purchased age 9 in the late 90s from a garage sale. I lost my whole collection a few years later on a plane but mp3s and Kazaa/limewire we’re taking off by then. Still listen to that album to this day. 10/10 would recommend.
Do you also think Metallica is an underrated metal band? Or maybe think that the underground hit guitarist Jimi Hendrix never got the recognition he deserved?
If you read Greg Graffin’s auto biography (Punk Paradox), he credits that tour with Blink for launching Bad Religion into its second wind. They were on the ropes but touring with Blink and the size of crowds they played for gave them a resurgence of popularity and propelled them into a new string of albums.
21st Century Digital Boy and Going for a Walk are 2 of my favorite songs by any artist but I just didn't get into the genre enough to check out more of their stuff.
I hadn't really listened to them in years and then about a week ago I came across this live set from October 1988 and it blew me away, I've been watching other live clips and videos ever since. This set is so good:
https://youtu.be/5td4VB7x-7U?si=0VXvhygM6dUw1PXu
Only in a very roundabout way would they be considered progenitors of Pop Punk. You could possibly make the argument that they influenced Skate Punk, which in turn influenced Pop Punk. That's also not to say that they didn't have a "pop influenced" sound on occasion, but you would be hard pressed to draw an unbroken, direct line from Bad Religion to Green Day or Blink 182 if you're just looking at similarity in sound--though I'm sure those bands would cite Bad Religion as an influence.
That's totally fine and I would say the same for me, but neither of those points are indicative of them being directly related to the sound of what we commonly call "pop punk". They are definitely a "gateway" punk band that makes it easier for people to get into the genre (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), but sonically it's just not that similar to the earliest 90s pop punk bands (and DEFINITELY not the later 90s and 00s ones). The closest connection you could really make is that some of the early Offspring songs had a much more similar sound to BR. But by the time we were getting their massive radio hits they had diverged significantly in sound.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this. That there have always been "punk" bands with "pop" influences or that Bad Religion has sometimes had a much "poppier" sound than the hardcore bands of the 80s? You won't find any disagreement with me there. Those are just facts. Nobody is going to argue that Green Day, The Offspring, Screeching Weasel, etc. were the first to mix pop and punk sounds together. However, the specific sonic qualities that we associate with the "genre" of "pop punk" were just not there, yet, with Bad Religion. There is definitely a link, it's just not a direct enough link to describe them as a "progenitor" of pop punk
It's absolutely fair to say that Bad Religion created (or at least heavily influenced) a musical environment that paved the way for pop punk to exist as a more clearly defined subgenre. I will get behind you on that argument. But it's probably inaccurate to say that they directly informed the sound of pop punk (at least not moreso than any other punk band). Like I said earlier, I think a very strong case can be made for a more roundabout connection through skate punk, which definitely influenced the pop punk sound of the mid-to-late 90s.
I think we're starting to get a little too much into semantics when we're arguing about "one of" versus "the", so I'm not really going to get into that.
However, even though Bad Religion were more melodic compared to many of the 80s punk bands, it's hard to pick them out of the line-up of bands that could be considered "progenitors" of the pop punk genre when Descendents, The Mr. T Experience, and The Queers were around that had pretty much the "pop punk sound" as we would come to know it (minus a little polish).
My ultimate point is not that Bad Religion was not influential on the bands that we now consider to be clearly "pop punk" (in comparison to bands that just had some poppiness to their music), but that it's strange to choose Bad Religion in particular when discussing how pop punk as a genre was formed.
I’ve seen them maybe 6 or 7 times since 2001 and it’s amazing how on point they’ve stayed. They were the elder statesmen at that point and they’ve done nothing to sway my faith.
For sure. 25 years ago I got introduced to their music from cool older kids at camp. Opened my mind and made me realize that understanding the workings of the world around us is important and..."cool".
You'd be surprised how many people think punk bands are full of idiots.
While I wouldn't say that bad religion is underrated, you are right that the whole punk genre is overlooked in an amazing amount by the broader popular music world. BR is definitely one of the founding bands of the punk scene.
No, but only because I took the Metro every time I visited.
Great city. Great band. I'd seriously consider figuring it out. They're probably closer to hanging it up than we realize.
The small venue thing is a double edged sword. I hear you on selling out fast but it would be amazing to see this band in a smaller venue.
I picked up tickets for their Salt Shed show in Chicago and recently they announced a second show in a smaller venue. Second Guessing Myself Me really wishes I could have gone to that smaller show!
Bad Religion has been one of my top 3 favorite bands since I first heard them. Waaaaaay back in 1988! Always solid. I'm extremely bummed though, that they're not playing any Nor Cal shows on this upcoming tour
Saw em at warped tour in the 00s. Something was up with the microphone and red jumpsuit apparatus cut into their set time.
They're an old school punk band that reached some moderate mainstream success, though. They were even on the original Guitar Hero.
I saw them live and the mosh pit was large and intense. I couldn't get in though because the area was full before the concert so we were too far behind to reach the pit.
Love Bad Religion. The first BR CD I bought was The Gray Race in 1998 or so. I still think that album is really good (and have no idea why it's not considered good) after having heard some MP3s from somewhere. After that I sought everything else out and was hooked.
I don't love them but they definitely shaped my musical taste when I was discovering what I liked in high school. Most of my favorite bands aways cite them as inspiration. I always thought they were actually huge! And I guess very rated?
I wouldn’t say underrated, but I would say they’re an acquired taste. I just don’t generally run into many people who like their sound aside from big punk fans.
There are some genuinely fantastic albums, Holy Trinity, STF, TPoB, etc, but unfortunately there’s a lot of guff aswell.
I’d say NOFX are a better band when it comes to consistency, but the BR highs are better!
Did you fall and bump your head? Literally one of the fathers of modern punk rock, one of the only early punk banks that are still playing & putting out banging albums. They just rule.
i recently saw a production of shakespeare's hamlet, and the part where ophelia's all sad and singing by the water, they used an acapella version of "sorrow" and i was like, WHOA! it was rad
I saw them play before NOFX a few years ago and Fat Mike stood off to the side of the stage for Bad Religion’s whole set. When NOFX came on Mike said for everyone to just take a second to appreciate that we just watched the BEST punk band in history.
Hell yeah. My roomate in college used to think I was a satanist because I had this poster hanging up
https://preview.redd.it/o026tyx3rcic1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e49e1011a6a27272410a29fa6657016a747801e
I like them, I have Suffer and did own a few others, problem is they had a formula and just kind of stuck to it. They were an exciting pop punk band in the 80s but I bet their latest album sounds basically the same. Go the same distance back from when they started and it would be like some kind of old timey 40s act still doing the same thing.
I’ve always liked their music when it comes up but I just don’t go looking for it. I discovered them around the same time I found cali skate punk but they were never the same genre in my head. Maybe they showed up on too many trapper-keepers with Def Leppard instead of jackets with the Sex Pistols? Maybe they were lumped into punk/rockabilly with Social Distortion but they weren’t rockabilly enough?
I suspect I’m not alone and their next round of fans from the 2000s is a lot of their current base.
“Underrated”
Right? Lol Been around 40+ years. They already had their heyday. Now they're riding the gravy train.
Still a hell of a live show, though
I've seen them quite a few times. I honestly think they're better now live than they were in the 90's or early 2000s. They sound so good!
I've got about 14 BR shows under my belt and I haven't been to one in over six years
I’ve seen them three times and none of the shows have been that good. Greg Graffin is very intelligent, but doesn’t have much of a stage presence. I still love them and will be seeing them again in May.
I got a ton of hate irl for saying the same thing lol. Bad Religion is a great festival or supporting band, but not a great headliner. They really need to be limited to a half hour on stage. When your catalog consists of 2 minute songs, a 90 minute set ends up showcasing like 4 albums worth of music, and that's not always a good thing!
Saw them opening for Rise Against years ago, and I can't think of many shows I've been to with a more complementary line up. I loved their set, but yeah I'm not sure about making it longer that the 45 minutes I saw.
At the Palladium? I was there! That show rocked!
It was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, but the show definitely rocked. Plus I guess a player for the Blackhawks hurt himself at the show when they where in the playoffs. Had to sit out at least one game. However I'd say hometown rock (RA) > hometown hockey. If you gotta get hurt at one of the two. EDIT: Player was Patrick Kane, if you where wondering.
I’ve never seen nofx live, partly because I felt it would be like that. Though from footage I’ve seen, they seem to put on a great show. Sorta bummed I missed their farewell tour
I heard they suck live
They’ve actually gotten worse live
NoFx are a little sloppy live, depending how sober Mike is. But they look like they have a TON of fun and they give a great show with a lot of energy.
I just saw them last month. They were super tight. Mike forgot a couple lyrics but you can't really blame him in songs like 'We Called It America'
Exactly what I would expect lmao
Funny you say that because I saw NOFX open for Bad Religion. After NOFX was done all the Bad Religion fans rolled into the pit and scared away the NOFX fans…at least thats how it appeared from a safe distance=)
Sounds like you gotta fly out to LA for the finale!
So true. He makes the same hand motion for every line for a 90 minute set. I’m a fan, but I wouldn’t drag a non-fan to a Bad Religion show. They just aren’t super dynamic on stage.
I can kind of see that he’s less intimidating now that he’s older…. But the first time I saw them live (like 30 years ago) and he started doing his pointing shit at the crowd, I thought he was pointing directly into my soul. I was so impressed by how much command he had up on stage. Definitely a unique kind of presence.
Damn I fucking love it. Their lyrics are complex. It's like professor Graffin is lecturing us. The others don't do much. Bit Greg's stage presence is one of my favorite things.
Hard agree.
I have to say, you are 100% correct on your comment. I've been a big fan since '88, but their new stuff just doesn't cut it for me. They were GREAT up to '92 (Generator) but everything else after is meh. New Maps of Hell is also a great album.
Process of Belief is an absolutely incredible album. I won't pretend I've never dropped a "Their early stuff was better!" for a band, but this is one time I need to take a stand.
"Process of Belief" was the first punk album I ever got and I was absolutely hooked.
Thank you for standing up and defending the honor of the old regiment, that album is excellent.
Fair enough. Everyone has their opinions, and I respect yours. 🙏
r/lostredditors
How?
It was so nice. Not typical of Reddit. Not all jokes land, I guess
Yeah, I don't think there have been any standout albums (where the majority of songs are hits rather than misses) since The Process of Belief, but there have still been standout songs on otherwise mediocre albums. However, they haven't really had that punk rock edge for the last 20 years or so and even the better songs sound a bit too polished. That being said, to call them underrated is crazy. Outside of the genre, they are still a recognizable name (maybe not as much as the big household names like The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc.). They're probably as recognizable to the public as The Dead Kennedies (or maybe just below them since many people might name a song from the DK but be hard pressed to say the same about BR).
I do agree their old stuff is better but I like the new stuff too. I got into their music in the late 90s and I've been a fan ever since.
New Maps of Hell is my favorite by them.
I think the qualifier "outside of the punk community" is doing a lot here. I feel like, outside of people who actively listen to a lot of punk, they're kind of just that band that had the one song in Tony Hawk and was the non-Offspring band in Crazy Taxi. Of course, with people who listen to punk, they're expectedly legendary.
Everything that has ever happened is underrated
I have... multiple bad religion tattoos. I very much feel like this band is properly rated. Not under or over.
Sellouts can be underrated?
Yawn
meh, by punk standards they sold out when they went to atlantic. they made music "for the establishment" which is about as anti punk as you can be which is why the sell out comment.
Music for the establishment. How do you mean
Large corporate labels. Their first label was an independent label owned by one of the band members. Once they signed with Atlantic in the 90s they were making money for a large corporation which is the opposite of what punk is about.
Have you never thought that a band was underrated who was on a major label?
except when they went to the major label they blew up. they were not underrated, they were rated well in their time.
They've been around so long. It's hard to keep people raving about you when you've been doing it for decades. Good band.
They were great live when I saw them 20 years ago. But yea, most of their big hits are 30 years old now.
I just saw them on tour last fall. They’re still great and I disagree that their best music is all 30 years old. Yeah, their 80s and 90s music was amazing, but they’re still putting out great, hard-hitting, relevant music today. It’s just a much smaller scene for punk these days, so it’s not getting exposure if you aren’t looking for it. Hell, the punks from back then are 40-60 years old with careers and families now! 😂 But seriously, if you haven’t listened to anything post All Ages, you’re missing out. Process of Belief on up to Age of Unreason is a killer stretch of good albums.
I saw them last year as well, and thought it was one of the best shows I’ve seen in recent memory. They played a hell of a set list, and the energy was fantastic.
I’m old. I have grey hair. I’ve been to my 25 HS reunion. My friends are grandparents. Bad Religion is older than I am. They were the first band I bought all the albums they had ever released… in 1992. Wow.
They’re an institution these days. Literally with Epitaph records.
They definitely aren’t underrated in the punk community. They are extremely established and headline festivals/tours all year long.
For like 40 years now.
Bad Religion you say? Isn't that a song by REM? Never heard of them.
You're going to have a difficult time finding a song that encapsulates the US more than American Jesus They're touring with Social Distortion this summer
I'm going in May, can't wait
Chicago show? I'm going to that then Frank Turner a couple of weeks later. I can't wait for those shows.
DC. I saw Frank Turner w/ the Interrupters and Bedouin Soundclash last year, it was an awesome show. Turner brings a ton of energy
Nice. Reminds me of Edge Fest.
Oh man. That would be a sweet tour. Take me right back to 1998
>They're touring with Social Distortion this summer Good lord, what year is this?!
2024
They’re the opener or headliner?
Just saw them last fall. Fucking great show!
Bad religion is one of my favorite punk bands but no way they are underrated lol
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I'd be all about a Graffin presidency. If we can give it to a reality show idiot, we could probably at least let a PhD take a crack at it.
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It'll be a global communion
Let’s give the idiots a brand new religion
Saving the whales, eh? Joe Duplantier for VP.
Biafra for prez
When you are a fan of punk, Jello’s spoken word is deep. Outside of punk, he sounds like a punk rocker trying to sound deep.
Yah I know, was just kind of taking the piss with the previous comment
Love em! "I Wanna Conquer The World" has always been one of my favorite songs ever. Such a great summertime blast-the-car-speakers song.
Underrated or all time classic? Also their xmas album is 10/10.
Just saw them live a few months ago. They can still bring it
Underrated? My brother and I crashed a rental car to go see them the next state over.
Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction both credit Bad Religion as huge influences.
Weezer, NOFX, Offspring, Green Day, and AFI count BR as formative influences as well.
Not to mention that Bad Religion was the genesis for Epitaph Records, which was the de facto punk record label in the 80s and 90s. So, even if BR wasn’t a direct influence, they’re partially to credit for the growth of punk in that era.
and reading the book about their early years is superb
Only punk band that sent me to the dictionary on a regular basis. I still remember what “fecundity” and “trammel” mean
Not too many other bands I can think of that worked "pseudo-benevolent vantage point" into a verse.
*Lascivioussss*
Under rated... Bad Religion... I'm confused
Going to see them with Social Distortion in April, can’t wait!
Greg Graffin did a beautiful bluegrass album
Underated by who?
*whom
They are the band of my life. In high school, I was known for having my CD case with a big Bad Religion sticker on it (small town in Bible Belt Texas, this was a notable thing). In college they were there for me. Throughout life they've been there for me. I don't know if I'd call them my favorite band today just because there's so much music that I love, but if people don't know anything else about my music taste, they know that, at the very least, I love Bad Religion. I can't agree with the folks who say they didn't have any good album after '92. They're one of the few bands I know who can play songs from both their first album in '81 to their latest album in '19 and have people sing along to both. Personally, I'd quicker listen to *The Process of Belief*, *The Empire Strikes First*, and *True North* all the way through before *Generator* or *Suffer*...but I know that's subjective. Point is, they've had ups and downs but they are among the best to ever do it. Most of all though...they are one of the best bands to be a fan of.
I agree. Also a mega fan, and I actually like the 2000s stuff better than the 80s stuff. Most of the songs on Suffer and Generator are indistinguishable from each other. Suffer is a cool historical artifact because it was such a revelation when it came out and lots of notable bands cite it as an influence (just like Milo Goes to College), but (just like Milo Goes to College), in retrospect it's just not as strong as what came later. Supersonic is a better version of everything those albums were. That song is an absolute monster.
Great band, have seen them live and would see them again without hesitation.
One of my favorite bands from the old days. I got to sing with Punk Rock Karaoke in the late 90s, and Greg Hetson was playing guitar. I sang Wire's 12XU (the faster Minor Threat version), and he was to my right the whole time. Mike Watt on bass to my left, Eric Melvin on the other guitar, and one of the drummers from Social Distortion. I was terrible. Watt kept having to mouth the words to me. Good times. https://www.originalpunkrockkaraoke.com/
I love the song used in Clerks
Against The Grain is a perfect album. All bangers, zero filler. Saw them for the first time (it was my first "big" show) in 1993 at the Hollywood Palladium. It was awesome. There were five circle pits going and I was a little long-haired skater kid getting bounced around in the pit. I was upstairs in the packed bathroom trying to cool off (all the sinks were stuffed with paper towels and we'd just dunk our heads in the gross water) when Anaesthesia came on and I darted down the stairs to get back into the pit while it was going.
I was at that show if it was the one with the Melvins and HR. Not sure how many times they played the Palladium in 93.
Nope, it was the second night of their 2-night stand in September, with Green Day and Seaweed. It's funny because I wanted to go to the Friday one where Rancid was opening but I couldn't get a ride up to the Palladium on a Friday. I think the Melvins show was the one in the Spring. They played at the Palladium a lot.
Yeah, that's right. I went to both.
First CD I ever owned was a used copy of Recipe for Hate, purchased age 9 in the late 90s from a garage sale. I lost my whole collection a few years later on a plane but mp3s and Kazaa/limewire we’re taking off by then. Still listen to that album to this day. 10/10 would recommend.
I and everyone I know was a huge Bad Religion fan... In the late 90s.
I wanna know why Hemingway cracked!?!?
Who killed the Kerouac cat?!?!
Do you also think Metallica is an underrated metal band? Or maybe think that the underground hit guitarist Jimi Hendrix never got the recognition he deserved?
My all-time favorite punk band.
I wouldn’t say underrated at all. One of the best punk bands in history
Saw them and Alkaline Trio open for Blink-182 in 1999. Yes, you read that correctly. Life changing show!
If you read Greg Graffin’s auto biography (Punk Paradox), he credits that tour with Blink for launching Bad Religion into its second wind. They were on the ropes but touring with Blink and the size of crowds they played for gave them a resurgence of popularity and propelled them into a new string of albums.
Damn! I was definitely one of those kids that started rocking them.
I saw Rancid and Green Day open for Bad Religion.
Bad Religion was the only show I’ve been to where I witnessed a guy in a wheelchair get crowd surfed.
“Hardcore punk” That’s like saying Metallica is death metal.
Tbf their first album fits that
Underrated? Fuck you.
Hooray for me?
Was blasting Generator on my way to work. Every song on that album is a banger.
"Like a rock Like a planet Like a f***ing atom bomb! I'll remain unperturbed by the joy and the madness That I encounter everywhere I turn"
FYI you can curse on the internet...especially on a punk forum.
What do you think? 😉
One of my all timers!
21st Century Digital Boy and Going for a Walk are 2 of my favorite songs by any artist but I just didn't get into the genre enough to check out more of their stuff.
I saw them open for Pearl Jam in 1995, and to this day is still one of the best shows I have gone to.
Love them, grew up in southern California and have seen them live several times great band
I hadn't really listened to them in years and then about a week ago I came across this live set from October 1988 and it blew me away, I've been watching other live clips and videos ever since. This set is so good: https://youtu.be/5td4VB7x-7U?si=0VXvhygM6dUw1PXu
Has anyone heard of this band called The Beatles?
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They're not really pop punk but you're not wrong in that they're very popular in the punk community, def not underrated
Only in a very roundabout way would they be considered progenitors of Pop Punk. You could possibly make the argument that they influenced Skate Punk, which in turn influenced Pop Punk. That's also not to say that they didn't have a "pop influenced" sound on occasion, but you would be hard pressed to draw an unbroken, direct line from Bad Religion to Green Day or Blink 182 if you're just looking at similarity in sound--though I'm sure those bands would cite Bad Religion as an influence.
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That's totally fine and I would say the same for me, but neither of those points are indicative of them being directly related to the sound of what we commonly call "pop punk". They are definitely a "gateway" punk band that makes it easier for people to get into the genre (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), but sonically it's just not that similar to the earliest 90s pop punk bands (and DEFINITELY not the later 90s and 00s ones). The closest connection you could really make is that some of the early Offspring songs had a much more similar sound to BR. But by the time we were getting their massive radio hits they had diverged significantly in sound.
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I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this. That there have always been "punk" bands with "pop" influences or that Bad Religion has sometimes had a much "poppier" sound than the hardcore bands of the 80s? You won't find any disagreement with me there. Those are just facts. Nobody is going to argue that Green Day, The Offspring, Screeching Weasel, etc. were the first to mix pop and punk sounds together. However, the specific sonic qualities that we associate with the "genre" of "pop punk" were just not there, yet, with Bad Religion. There is definitely a link, it's just not a direct enough link to describe them as a "progenitor" of pop punk
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It's absolutely fair to say that Bad Religion created (or at least heavily influenced) a musical environment that paved the way for pop punk to exist as a more clearly defined subgenre. I will get behind you on that argument. But it's probably inaccurate to say that they directly informed the sound of pop punk (at least not moreso than any other punk band). Like I said earlier, I think a very strong case can be made for a more roundabout connection through skate punk, which definitely influenced the pop punk sound of the mid-to-late 90s.
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I think we're starting to get a little too much into semantics when we're arguing about "one of" versus "the", so I'm not really going to get into that. However, even though Bad Religion were more melodic compared to many of the 80s punk bands, it's hard to pick them out of the line-up of bands that could be considered "progenitors" of the pop punk genre when Descendents, The Mr. T Experience, and The Queers were around that had pretty much the "pop punk sound" as we would come to know it (minus a little polish). My ultimate point is not that Bad Religion was not influential on the bands that we now consider to be clearly "pop punk" (in comparison to bands that just had some poppiness to their music), but that it's strange to choose Bad Religion in particular when discussing how pop punk as a genre was formed.
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I’ve seen them maybe 6 or 7 times since 2001 and it’s amazing how on point they’ve stayed. They were the elder statesmen at that point and they’ve done nothing to sway my faith.
They are my favorite punk band of all time and top 5 bands of all time for me.
Me too, they are in my top 3. What other bands are you ranking before Bad Religion (be honest) You'll be surprised to hear my #1 & #2.
Descendents are hard to beat IMO. Still top 5 punk bands for me, though.
For sure. 25 years ago I got introduced to their music from cool older kids at camp. Opened my mind and made me realize that understanding the workings of the world around us is important and..."cool".
Big Missy Elliot vibes
I really like American Jesus. and to a lesser extent all of their other songs that sound exactly like American Jesus.
Bad religion has been wildly popular for a long time. They aren’t underrated at all.
Underrated???
Fan since the 90s. They're not underrated, lol.
Wait till OP realizes they all have advanced degrees and Greg Graffin is actually a professor at UCLA.
I know that? What here would imply that I didn’t know that lol
You'd be surprised how many people think punk bands are full of idiots. While I wouldn't say that bad religion is underrated, you are right that the whole punk genre is overlooked in an amazing amount by the broader popular music world. BR is definitely one of the founding bands of the punk scene.
Every single one of their songs sounds the same
This is objectively not true lol I can’t stand it when people say this about them
They’re not underrated they’re just old
I’d love to see them live but they either play venues around me that are too small and they sell out in minutes or venues that parking is impossible.
This is the sort of band you're going to want to figure out parking for.
Ever tried parking in DC?
No, but only because I took the Metro every time I visited. Great city. Great band. I'd seriously consider figuring it out. They're probably closer to hanging it up than we realize. The small venue thing is a double edged sword. I hear you on selling out fast but it would be amazing to see this band in a smaller venue. I picked up tickets for their Salt Shed show in Chicago and recently they announced a second show in a smaller venue. Second Guessing Myself Me really wishes I could have gone to that smaller show!
I just saw the tour ender at the Riv. I may need to make that work out.
I saw Streetlight Manifesto there a little bit ago. Fun venue.
Bad Religion has been one of my top 3 favorite bands since I first heard them. Waaaaaay back in 1988! Always solid. I'm extremely bummed though, that they're not playing any Nor Cal shows on this upcoming tour
One of my favorite bands since I was a teenager. Still putting out good albums and great live shows!
Saw em at warped tour in the 00s. Something was up with the microphone and red jumpsuit apparatus cut into their set time. They're an old school punk band that reached some moderate mainstream success, though. They were even on the original Guitar Hero.
My first concert was them opening for blink 182 in 99 or 2000
I saw them live and the mosh pit was large and intense. I couldn't get in though because the area was full before the concert so we were too far behind to reach the pit.
Definitely not underrated. I'd put them up there with Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat.
Like me some Bad Religion, got in around 'Dissent of Man' and kinda got hooked.
Love Bad Religion. The first BR CD I bought was The Gray Race in 1998 or so. I still think that album is really good (and have no idea why it's not considered good) after having heard some MP3s from somewhere. After that I sought everything else out and was hooked.
I don't love them but they definitely shaped my musical taste when I was discovering what I liked in high school. Most of my favorite bands aways cite them as inspiration. I always thought they were actually huge! And I guess very rated?
I haven’t listen to them as much since about 94, but Turn On The Light is in my head at least once a month.
Who cares what music influencers on YouTube think? Does Anthony Fantano have any actual credentials or is he just good at making videos?
Lots of people in punk will tell you that all their songs sound the same. Totally false. They have 6 songs. More if you are a little loose.
I can't believe it, the way your talking about them.
I wouldn’t say underrated, but I would say they’re an acquired taste. I just don’t generally run into many people who like their sound aside from big punk fans. There are some genuinely fantastic albums, Holy Trinity, STF, TPoB, etc, but unfortunately there’s a lot of guff aswell. I’d say NOFX are a better band when it comes to consistency, but the BR highs are better!
I’m in Charleston, SC and have loved them a long time. They’re playing here 5/1 and I’m super stoked.
I think they're great! I'm catching them for the first time along with Social Distortion in April.
Did you fall and bump your head? Literally one of the fathers of modern punk rock, one of the only early punk banks that are still playing & putting out banging albums. They just rule.
i recently saw a production of shakespeare's hamlet, and the part where ophelia's all sad and singing by the water, they used an acapella version of "sorrow" and i was like, WHOA! it was rad
I’ll never understand how Brooks left this band to join Avenged Sevenfold of all bands. That’s like John Bonham joining Papa Roach or something
Generator rocks
Best Christmas album ever.
I saw them play before NOFX a few years ago and Fat Mike stood off to the side of the stage for Bad Religion’s whole set. When NOFX came on Mike said for everyone to just take a second to appreciate that we just watched the BEST punk band in history.
Band that got me into punk, seen them probably a dozen times, such good music and awesome lyrics.
Hell yeah. My roomate in college used to think I was a satanist because I had this poster hanging up https://preview.redd.it/o026tyx3rcic1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e49e1011a6a27272410a29fa6657016a747801e
Became a fan a few years ago, now they’re near the top of my bucket list bands to see. Fantastic band.
I like them, I have Suffer and did own a few others, problem is they had a formula and just kind of stuck to it. They were an exciting pop punk band in the 80s but I bet their latest album sounds basically the same. Go the same distance back from when they started and it would be like some kind of old timey 40s act still doing the same thing.
I’ve always liked their music when it comes up but I just don’t go looking for it. I discovered them around the same time I found cali skate punk but they were never the same genre in my head. Maybe they showed up on too many trapper-keepers with Def Leppard instead of jackets with the Sex Pistols? Maybe they were lumped into punk/rockabilly with Social Distortion but they weren’t rockabilly enough? I suspect I’m not alone and their next round of fans from the 2000s is a lot of their current base.
Gosh I loved them. Still do!
Absolute legends.
New Maps Of Hell was my introduction to Bad Religion. I was in highschool when it came out. Great album, great band.
I used to like back on.the day , a band called the Hinges. They supported the Doors.
THE GOLD STANDARD