PREVIEW TO THE 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS OF ALL TIME

Felipe M.


Last year, the band Bad Religion celebrated 30 years of existence and to start celebrating the next 30 years of the punk rock legendary band, we will be listing THE TOP 50 GREATEST BAD RELIGION SONGS OF ALL TIME.  


The band's entire discography is well represented and it includes tracks from the following albums:

• How Could Hell Be Any Worse?--3 Songs
• Back to the Known--1 Song
• Suffer--4 Songs
• No Control--4 Songs
• Against the Grain--3 Songs
• Generator--5 Songs
• Recipe for Hate--5 Songs
• Stranger Than Fiction--4 Songs
• The Gray Race--2 Songs
• The Process of Belief--3 Songs
• The Empire Strikes First--7 Songs
• New Maps of Hell--4 Songs
• The Dissent of Men--5 Songs

It was not easy narrowing down 30 years of punk rock music to a list of 50, but it certainly was worth the effort.  Here is a list of some notable songs that just missed the cut.  

51.  "Change of Ideas"--This song kicks off the album No Control and without a doubt, it's one of the few times the band is being overt with their lyrics as they do indeed cry out for a "change of ideas!"  Just missed the cut!

54.  "God Song"--Like a lot of Bad Religion songs, they deal a lot with the idea of a God.  Some have described it as an atheist anthem.  Some of the best lyrics you'll find from this band and one of the more melodic songs as well.

58.  "No Control"--From the album No Control, once again, no double or hidden meanings and the witty lyrics can be take at face value: even though some people believe that they have the right to take control of the world, they, like the rest of us, are not immortal and one day they will be gone from this Earth and will have to relinquish the perceived control that they thought they had anyway.  This is a fan favorite and the song is still played at their live shows.  

64.  "Ad Hominem"--Like many of the songs that missed the cut, this song, at one point was in the top 50, but was eventually dropped for other songs that proved to be "better."  This track, from the newest album The Dissent of Men, was named after the logical fallacy where one's character is attacked in order to invalidate their argument.  Near the end, the song challenges people to "divide your beliefs and ideas...from the people that you don't like."  Yet another song that cries for more cooperation among people from different backgrounds and ideals.

66.  "We're Only Gonna Die"--Still a staple at their shows, this is one, if not the, simplest songs to understand from Bad Religion.  Similar theme to the song "No Control" that was already mentioned, "...Gonna Die" plays along with the fact that even though we as humans think we're higher beings, we're no different than any other species on this Earth and we all soon dissolve and decay from this planet.  This track also has the same lyrics repeating, which is a common songwriting technique, but in this track it plays the role of a big giant cycle: "early man walked away, as modern man took control."  Control became such a mandatory and primary ideal that in order to keep it "modern man" had to start killing his own kind, his own species just to keep said control.  In the end, "modern man" will just die and then the cycle is repeated with the next verse--or next generation.  The song ends with a haunting premonition, "we're only gonna die from our own arrogance."

Other songs that were left off the list are as follows: 

• "Heroes and Martyrs"
• "Modern Man"
• "Social Suicide"
• "21st Century (Digital Boy"
• "Come Join Us"
• "Recipe for Hate"
• "Marked"
• "Kyoto Now!"
• "Big Bang"
• "Punk Rock Song"
• "Land of Competition"
• "Unacceptable"

A lot of popular songs that the band still plays live on a regular basis were left off and should make every Bad Religion fan wonder what actually made it to the list.  Stay tuned and find out.....