Bad Religion

Bad Religion is one of those bands that I've always liked when I heard their music, but I never sought them out. I'm an NYC, English punk rocker and as such not as enamored with the west coast strain. This book opened my eyes and sent me searching for the records.

A band started by teenagers who grew into a record mogul, a doctor, and legends while holding it together for 40 years is quite the anomaly. Bad Religion is all that and more. It's an amazing tale, and if you love rock and roll and believe in its power, a reaffirmation of that and more.

Thank you gentlemen for the fantastic ride. Put this one on your list.… (mais)

Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion by Bad Religion with Jim Ruland is an enjoyable biography of the band.

Even though I had lived and gone to school in Van Nuys (a few years before the band members got together) and kept ties to the area, it wasn't until the Suffer album in 1989 or so that I heard them. Over the next 30+ years they have stayed on my radar even though I wouldn't say I was a diehard fan. But I did like their music a lot. Just wanted to preface my comments on the book with this so you'll know where my opinions come from. Basically a casual fan of the band with just a cursory idea of their history.

I found this bio of the band to be both an enjoyable read and serves to give me better insight into their music. We, meaning me of course, so often hear about musicians problems or bands breaking up and reforming that we tend to write off every instance as self-indulgence or self-destruction. While these are certainly part of most of these events, they are only small parts, much as they are for the majority of us when we go through life's ups and downs. Reading this gave me an appreciation for what they were trying to do, what they weren't trying to do (often just as important), and what simply happened and they reacted to.

I found the discussions of lyrics and what they were intended to convey enlightening. Just about the last thing I would call them is condescending, but then I am fairly secure in myself and don't feel like writers explaining what they were trying to do is an insult to whatever I took from the song. I think the tone of the book throughout was more explanatory than blind praise. In other words, it read like how most people reflect and explain their life (some subtle whitewashing but largely honest attempts at understanding and explaining) rather than a Trumpian ode to self where every failure and misstep is blamed on someone else. But then I am not from the south or a cult member, so...

I would highly recommend this to fans of Bad Religion and/or punk, as well as most music lovers who like to know the hows and whys of an artist's career.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mais)