To the left is a Pennywise icon provided by iBankCoin, but it is not the band or album featured tonight, just seemed fitting. This weekend’s album comes as one of my favorites from the time I was younger to this day. Bad Religion is a punk band that needs no introduction as they have been known to influence old and new punk bands. If you have any music with the label Epitaph Records, you can thank Bad Religion, specifically Brett Gurewitz a founding and current member.
I could go on and on about Bad Religion and how they brought a different image to punk and as their lyrics and meaning opened my mind as a young punk and continues to impress me to today. The album Suffer made an impact and was released in 1988 as their first album that was both released and distributed by Epitaph Records. The album features intellectual lyrics written mostly by lead singer Greg Graffin (who is also a college professor with a Ph.D. from Cornell University) that makes one want to reach for a dictionary. Aside from lyrics, the drum beats in this album standout to me and the entire album is under 30 minutes with most songs being under 2 minutes.
The pic below is a shirt that I bought when I was a freshman in high school and have kept the last 15 years…a favorite of mine
Lyrics from “When?”
(at 05:31 mark)
“I tried to make things make sense but I can’t
I’m happy just to watch them all and laugh
And if you think you’ve got it made just revel in your selfish ways
‘Cause when the world stops turning so will you”
http://youtu.be/LMJvRsEm8TI
