Bad Religion :: No Control :: 1989

Ever since James Brown was dubbed the "Godfather of Soul," there have been several attempts to attach the "Godfather" title to various other artists. When Pearl Jam started playing "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World," Neil Young suddenly became the Godfather of Grunge (Quick! Name one Grunge band that sounds remotely like Neil Young). According to Wikipedia, where they know everything, Ozzy is the Godfather of Heavy Metal, George Clinton is the Godfather of Funk, Eazy-E is the Godfather of Gangsta Rap and of course Charles E. Peterson is the Godfather of Historic Preservation (I would argue it's Frank J. Biddlegum but that's just me). As for the Godfather of Punk, that title apparently belongs to both Iggy Pop and Pete Townsend, known in the tabloids as Piggy Popsend.

I'd like to add one more to that list. I would like to nominate Bad Religion as the Godfathers of Modern Punk. Of course this raises the question originally raised by Plato: What is Modern Punk? In my personal definition of Punk, i'd say bands like Liars, Lightning Bolt and even TV On The Radio would represent the newest wave but in most record stores, you'll find those bands under the "Indie Rock" banner. The bands you find in the "Punk" section are the ones you find on the Warped Tour, a much more accessible and commercialized version of Punk. So as not to go through a lengthy discussion about the essence of Punk Music, when i look at Bad Religion's legacy, it is the Warped Punk bands i'm referring to.

Of course many of you may not see that as much of a legacy. Many of you may like Punk from the 70's and 80's but not this modern wave. I think that's very fair. I'm not really a fan of many of the newer Punk bands myself but the fact is, it's a viable page in the history of Punk, no matter how commercialized. And it's important to remember that every time a kid in a Rancid t-shirt goes out and buys The Clash's first album, an angel gets its mohawk.

Bad Religion formed in 1980, influenced by standard Punk pioneers like Sex Pistols and Ramones. However, they obviously had an appreciation of more melodic Punk-influenced acts like The Jam and Elvis Costello. After that growing period a band inevitably goes through to find it's identity (including releasing a space-rock album that was almost immediately out-of-print), the Bad Religion sound was formed.

They took the speed of bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains but added a new level of production and melody to it. The music wasn't dirty and gritty and it didn't sound like it was recorded in a bathroom. The vocals weren't shouted at you. There were honest-to-God notes in there and even multi-part harmonies. But that doesn't mean it was any less abrasive. Bad Religion have always been in your face and in the face of anyone they disagreed with as much as the nastiest of the Punk bunch. Also, these guys aren't gutterpunk dropouts; these are some smart fellers (vocalist Greg Graffin, Ph.D. is a lecturer at UCLA in his spare time). A lot of the lyrics do deal with age-old punk topics such as alienation, futility and being better than everyone else. A vast majority of the lyrics also take on specific political issues such as environmentalism and a much more philosophical view of just what this crazy thing called life means. The title song on No Control begins with the lyric "Culture was the seed of proliferation/but it has gotten melded into an inharmonic whole" and later quotes James Hutton, an 18th century Scotsman considered the (god)father of modern geology. This is a far cry from Sex Pistol's "We like noise/it's our choice/it's what we wanna do."

Furthering the idea of punk rock smarts, guitarist Brett Gurewitz began Epitaph records to release Bad Religion and other punk records. While starting a punk label was nothing new, being successful was. Epitaph is easily the most successful independent label to focus on Punk music (though it has recently broadened its musical spectrum a bit). They have released records by L7, Rancid, Offspring, NOFX, The Hives, Circle Jerks, The Cramps and other well-known groups as well as spawning an offshoot record label, Anti-, which has released records by Tom Waits, Billy Bragg, Merle Haggard, Nick Cave, Neko Case and other not-so-punk artists.

The thing with Bad Religion albums is that if you like one of them, you'll probably like the rest of them. Their greatest fault is that their albums all sort of seem the same. In a career that has spanned over 20 years, they haven't exactly progressed much but i think that this may be because they just don't have an interest in doing so. Graffin has a very unique and identifiable sense of melody. The harmonies are also immediately recognizable and if they want to hold on to their Classic Punk roots then there is not much room for odd time signatures or a string section. So all the albums, by nature, are going to be similar. With that said, some albums rise above the set standard. The differences are in the way that the lyrics, the memorable hooks and the inherent punk sensibilities build up to create a passionate sound. This type of quality kind of dropped off in the late 90's but has reportedly made a comeback in the new millennium (though i have to admit i haven't heard the last few albums). Their heyday, however, was between 1988 and 1993 with the albums Suffer, Against the Grain, Generator, their major-label debut Recipe for Hate and of course No Control.

Because of the aforementioned similarities, it's kind of hard to say just what makes No Control stand out. I personally seem to relate to the lyrics, which are a little more introspective, and nearly every chorus is the kind that gets stuck in your head. But it really comes down to the fact that this one gets its strength from that oh so abstract Feeling. With 15 songs in only 26 minutes, these songs are played like the musicians truly believe that the world just might end tomorrow. There is a musical urgency, not only in speed, that matches the lyrics as if the band had a megaphone and the whole world's ear for only half an hour. They bring everything they have and never slow it down and before you know it, it's all over.

A lot of bands since have attempted to match the musicality and the lyrical brawn of Bad Religion but it just can't be replicated. Perhaps that's one reason why the revival they started - after Punk had already been declared dead - hasn't turned out to match the first few waves of Punk music. Or perhaps it's just our post-Reagan culture where everything is shiny and new and the environment just isn't right. Whatever the reason, don't let it steer you away from this bridge from the old guard to the new. Besides, blaming Bad Religion for Good Charlotte is kind of like blaming Woody Guthrie for James Taylor.