What music are you listening to / buying

[ian]

And for those who don't know what I'm talking about regarding the Ruen Brothers album cover Mat was talking about:









Just like a country and western version of 70's kraftwerk.

[ian]

http://epitaph.com/artists/bad-religion ... lp-box-set

Just purchased an open, but like new one of these box sets for a LOT! $600.
It's a lot but per record, $40 isn't too bad.

Almost worth the price for Into the unknown by itself.

[OrangeRibbon]

http://epitaph.com/artists/bad-religion ... lp-box-set

Just purchased an open, but like new one of these box sets for a LOT! $600.
It's a lot but per record, $40 isn't too bad.

Almost worth the price for Into the unknown by itself.

You want Into the Unknown?

[ian]

http://epitaph.com/artists/bad-religion ... lp-box-set

Just purchased an open, but like new one of these box sets for a LOT! $600.
It's a lot but per record, $40 isn't too bad.

Almost worth the price for Into the unknown by itself.

You want Into the Unknown?

One of their finest albums, and the only album where a Gurewitz track tops Graffin’s efforts (the dichotomy)
Yes the public, critics and band hate the album. And it caused even Bentley to leave. (Like the only release without him possibly?)

But, they made the music they wanted to make, and this prog rock entry from a punk band could be the most punk thing in the history of punk.

“Fuck you all we want synths and piano”

A fantastic album, and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise, they are wrong.

I’m actually thinking about getting an LP frame to put into the unknown on my wall above my 2 main computes.

This box set is magnificent!

[ian]

None of you have ever heard this before.. But I was WRONG!!!
I know you will all be in shock, as I have never been wrong about a single thing in the 15 years I have known some of you.
But here goes...

Bad Religions New maps of hell isn't as bad as I thought!
My friend got me the deluxe edition of the album.. And suddenly, the album has gone from having 2 OK songs (Before you die and Honest Goodbye) to having 2 ok and EIGHT FUCKING AMAZING tracks.

The acoustic inclusions of Adams Atoms and Chronophobia Are possibly the finest examples of Graffin's songwriting I have ever heard.
And the acoustic version of Dearly beloved turns a generic sounding song from Gurewitz into a fucking masterpiece.

Actually.. I would like to take my comment back about Adams Atoms and Chronophobia.. They are NOT possibly the finest examples of Graffins work.. They are great... but still not as great as "Cease" which works perfectly no matter how it's performed..

The normal version is still the worst album they've ever done... But the deluxe version is better than True North, The dissent of man, The process of belief, The new america, and how could hell be any worse...

[ian]

Hearing any Nine Inch Nails song makes you want to die...
Hearing Johnny Cash Sing hurt makes you want to die... But like in a different way.

[OrangeRibbon]

So I fell down a strange youtube hole the other day: Soviet Era Synthwave.

[ian]

Pre ordered Bad Religions Age of Unreason on Vinyl and CD

[ian]

Age of Unreason came out today... I broke out a CD player, dictionary and thesaurus and gave it a listen.
I’m pissed off that my Vinyl didn’t arrive today with the CD, as I wanted to listen to that, but I’ve waited 6 years for this album, so I wasn’t waiting another day.

Later this year also marks the 30th anniversary of No Control so I gave it a listen as well

Last year saw the 30th anniversary of Suffer.
Suffer was great, but mainly notable for the boy on fire album cover… and for giving the world of Punk a taste of what was to come.
Suffer also showed that when Gurewitz and Graffin combined to make a song, it was some of the best stuff the band ever did.. “Give You Nothing” and “Suffer” both are right up there.. but I digress.

I’m gonna start with No Control before we move on to the newest album, The Age of Unreason

No Control is in a difficult place. Wedged in between 1988’s Suffer which not only brought the band back, but showed what they, and punk music as a whole could be, and 1990’s Against the Grain. Which would be the cornerstone for what made punk music good for the next decade.

Listening to EVERY album... No control has aged better than most of the albums, it’s up there with Generator, The Empire Strikes First and in my VERY UNPOPULAR OPINION, Into the Unknown..

And even though 1994’s Stranger than Fiction is still the best punk album of all time, with the best punk song ever written ‘Inner Logic’ (if you disagree with me, go out and get a dictionary… It’s not just the fact it was my reward for beating Crazy Taxi) No control will always be right up there for me.


So lets get on to the Age of Unreason.

Firstly, let me say that the appearance of the single ‘The kids are Alt-Right’ not being included on the album was AMAZING!.
Gurewitz has said that into the Unknown was a Misstep…
I’d take 10 Bad Religion Prog Rock, New Wave, Synth POP albums before I’d want a piece of shit like this song again.
The Kids are Alt-Right is HANDS DOWN, THE WORST PIECE OF SHIT ANYONE WHO HAS EVER BEEN IN BAD RELIGION WILL EVER DO.
After hearing this song, how could ANYONE not like Into the Unknown.
Yes the public, critics and band hate Into the Unknown. It caused even Bentley to leave. (Like the only release without him?)
But, they made the music they wanted to make, and a prog rock entry from a punk band could be the most punk thing in the history of punk.
Fuck you all we want synths and piano!!
A fantastic album, and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise, they are wrong.

Then there’s the Kids are Alt-right. UGH!
It’s not even the songs message I have a problem with.. The song could have been released by generic wannabe punk band #587
The universal hate the single got, was not people not ‘getting’ it, it was that this is a song by Bad Religion, and we’ve all known from 35+ years of good music that they can do better!
Very saddened to report that the kids are Alt-right IS ON THE FUCKING ALBUM AFTER ALL.
They tacked it on to the end of what tomorrow brings.... FUCK YOU, now I have to edit the song out of my rip.

Now let’s get to the albums first highlight. Which happened before I even started listening.
When I saw the track listing when the album was announced ‘The Profane Rights of Man’ didn’t make it on to the album.
Which I thought was a shame, because it’s a good song.
I get a True North vibe from the music with bits of The Dissent of Man and just a touch of Empire strikes first in the lyrics.
I was delighted upon receiving the CD that the song is a bonus track.

Musically speaking, the album is very hard to place with other bad religion releases.
Just when you start to think HEY! This sounds like True north, a track like ‘The Candidate’ comes on and you think it’s an acoustic song in the middle of the album, and then it changes to become like listening to Against the Grain.
When you start to get the dissent of man vibes.. NOPE.. Now it’s The Grey Race.
It’s hugely varied in it’s pacing and style, but still knows what it wants to be. It works very well I think, like a best of without being a best of.

Lyrically speaking is where the album starts to stammer slightly. Genius shines through, and it lives up to the 'thesaurus rock' that the band has always been known for. But then gets trapped by repeating of phrases..
‘The Approach’ is probably the best song on the album, and candidate for instant classic Bad Religion, because the average goober wouldn't have a clue what half of the words are... then it gets followed by the worst song of the album ‘Lose Your Head’ well it was the worst, till the kids are Alt-Right makes it look fucking incredible..

I’ll use 2013’s True North as the most extreme example of what I’m talking about. When you have lyrics like:
“I'm just a termite on an ant hill
I think about it every single day
A senseless being lacking inspiration
Just waiting to be blown away”
and then follow that up with “Everybody, everybody, everybody knows” 400 times. It detracts from the effort you put into the initial statement.
Nothing wrong with either of those styles.. As you all know quite well, I like repetitive music.
But the pop audience is likely to be confused by the messages of the album, and the Punk audience don’t want acoustics in the middle of an album.
And the bad religion audience typically don’t want things like “Don’t lose your head” 5 times after hearing some great lyrics.
The worst example of this happening on this album is the song ‘Lose your Head’
“I ain't superstitious but hey do you know a good exorcist?
Despite darker tendencies I've always had a strong bias to exist
And though recent developments seem like bad news for humanity
Self-pity is always a case of mistaken identity

Don't lose your head
Don't lose your head
Don't lose your head
Don't lose your head
Before you lose your head, yeah”

Bad religion is better than this, and this trend happens on a couple of songs, although not as severe and not enough to detract seriously from them.
The track ‘Big Black Dog’ has something similar with:
“I’ll be right here, when I disappear” repeated at the end of the song.. But it’s an incredible song that should have been a single instead of that alt-right shit, so I’ll forgive it because it’s like a fade out…
I can forgive any track that sounds like 'Where the Fun Is' from 2010's the Dissent of Man.
The only other odd thing with the lyrics, is it has more “YEAHS” than a modern Metallica album, and not a single “LET’S GO!” No let's go's on a bad religion Album. WHAT?!?!?!

Biggest surprise track on the album is ‘What Tomorrow Brings’ It sounds like ‘The New Dark Ages’ from 2007’s New Maps of Hell… I HATE NEW MAPS OF HELL (almost as an unpopular opinions as my love for Into the Unknown) but this song actually works. Then they go and ruin it by tacking shit onto the end of it..

This is the longest time it’s ever taken Bad religion to put out an album, and Graffin said they wanted to make an album better than True North… They’ve well and truly topped True north.

But have they topped the older albums? I guess you’d have to give it a listen and decide for yourselves.

Because while I care enough about Bad Religion to write all this up, and Greg Graffin is my musical soul mate, and I really hope it’s not 6 years until the next album (OR them coming back down under) my opinion is entirely worthless in the grand scheme of things… Like all music reviews.

TLDR:
No Control is 30 later this year, still great, listen to it if you haven’t already.
In my opinion Age of Unreason is one for Bad Religion fans, others might not find the album as strong or accessible as other works.
'The kids are Alt-right' being included is a monstrosity, and I suspect they took it off the track listing because if people saw that shit, they would avoid the album because of it...

Discuss and proceed to tell me my opinion is wrong

[Dr. Zoidberg]

They should have put a cover of John Farnham's Age Of Reason on it.

[ian]

A punk version of that would have been better than the kids are alt-right.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Just listened to the Age Of Unreason you posted in the new music thread, it's not bad.

[ian]

one of the more classic sounding songs on the album

[Bandit]

The new Slauson Malone

[ian]

I have become the first person in human history to listen to all of Yello, and Skip Oh Yeah in my play through.

[pixel]

I have become the first person in human history to listen to all of Yello, and Skip Oh Yeah in my play through.

That's understandable, Oh Yeah doesn't even sound like music anymore because it's been played so much.

[pixel]

I'll admit it: What a Fool Believes by the Doobie Brothers has been one of my favorite songs since I was a kid. I've been listening to this disco/funk version for the Aretha Franklin for the past year:

[Bandit]

[pixel]

God I always wanted that music nook

[pixel]

Jimmy Messina, how's it blowin?