How To Get Into: BAD RELIGION (Part 1) || Crash Thompson

[@hellonurd8957]

A "Don't fuck with the formula band" done right.

[@KOSlice1560]

2 other bands who did it right (imo) are Dance Gavin Dance and Breaking Benjamin (except for Dark Before Dawn...and Saturate)

[@This_gonna_be_good_I_know_it]

For me, the BR thing is, that it's the theme covered in the lyrics that actually distinguishes one song from another. The sound really is pretty much "the same" ...but what an awesome same that is.

[@JadeCryptOfWonders]

This is one of my go-to comfort KZbin series along with your Bad Album Covers videos, well done Crash for breaking down the best Bad Religion albums to start with.

[@romankotas448]

Comfort KZbin, I love that, Crash is good for comfort KZbin

[@g.u.959]

Crash, your channel was the reason I got into Bad Religion and I can’t thank you enough. That being said - I’m still going to watch this intently and see where your picks line up, and more importantly - where into the unknown falls. Cheers!

[@SombreArtist]

I'm there with you on the 2000s game soundtracks. Soooo many bands I owe knowing of to Tony Hawk, Burnout, Guitar Hero. etc

[@mikethegrunty5968]

Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero introduced me to social D and dead Kennedy’s , and I’m eternally grateful

[@toddpacker4683]

@@mikethegrunty5968 and the suicide machines which are one of my fav bands to this day

[@mikethegrunty5968]

@@toddpacker4683 heck yeah! Love suicide machines 🤘

[@errorloadingmusic821]

Honestly I wish I had a cool backstory like the og fans, but my generation mostly discovers legacy acts through like... spotify?

[@RanterInShades]

Yup, I was one of those guys that had Guitar Hero's inclusion of "Infected" to thank for exposing me to Bad Religion. My little brother in particular had an attachment of sorts to that song in the game, and so the two of us explored their catalog together. I found "Infected" to be a catchy little tune, but I wasn't expecting their stuff to be as fast and heavy hitting as it was. "Sorrow" from Process of Belief went on to become my favorite song of theirs, and said album and No Control would be my two favorites in their discography.

[@Pepsidud32]

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IVE WAITED FOR THIS!!!

[@michaelavanessian8558]

Finding out Bad Religion were signed to Atlantic at one point is like finding out Flying Lotus doesn't actually release his albums on Brainfeeder records.

[@okwhocares]

Crash “We’ll Get Into It” Thompson. In all seriousness seeing them w/ Alkaline Trio on Halloween and I’m fucking excited.

[@ProStriker92]

I will never forget the first time I downloaded a BR album: New Maps From Hell in 2008. Since that I got hooked forever with Bad Religion. Hard to choose a favorite record, because even in their less inspired times they made fantastic music. I love "New America" (the album) for example. Can't wait for the second part!

[@NeoKokoro20]

Stranger Than Fiction is my favorite album by them. It was a good mixture of their early hardcore punk stuff and the pop punk material of their next few albums, with even a little alternative rock in the mix (such as on "Infected" and "Slumber"). I would say that's a good album to start with for anyone trying to get into the band.

[@conord9623]

My introduction was Empire Strikes First although I wore their shirt just because I loved their logo in middle school before I heard a single song

[@alanhartley800]

I can not find any flaws in How Could Hell Be Any Worse. It is in heavy rotation at my house right along with Suffer and No Control.

[@theseth455]

I still need to check out this band’s stuff after hearing the name for so long. Thanks for the video! Also, I agree that if a band for the most part sticks to their one trick I don’t mind all that much if it’s a style of music I enjoy. It’s also great to hear how BR was able to innovate through the years without departing too far from punk rock. Also, that’s a hugeeeeee discography they got. Looking forward to part 2!

[@rushguy1]

Hearing "You" on the Tony Hawk 2 soundtrack made me aware of who BR was. My cousin playing The Empire Strikes First made me a fan. I was digging the album, but once I heard Los Angeles Is Burning, I was HOOKED. That's still my favorite BR song to this day--that riff, Greg's lyrics, his vocal melody, and that absolute MONSTER of a chorus are too good to pass up.

[@Alexroberts666]

Thank you for making this two parter on such an awesome band - definitely one of its kind of this platform, and such a comprehensive analysis as well

[@TheCamSays]

I’m now thinking about H2GI2: Sleater-Kinney as an idea.

[@romankotas448]

That would be good

[@lennardwillms]

Not gonna lie, I'm hearing all these songs for the first time ever pulling up spotify every now and then while I watch the video and I'm BLOWN AWAY! 😄 Thanks a lot.

[@SonofSethoitae]

Suffer and No Control by Bad Religion and Living in Darkness by Agent Orange are the records that got me into SoCal melodic punk music. So I'm pretty jazzed to see this.

[@grim1683]

I’m glad I watched this video because without it I would’ve not known where to start. Also I love these guys. Bad Religion is awesome.

[@jdgx95]

My personal strategy for getting into bands like this basically anything 90s and below is just buying whatever CDs I find of them at the swap meet and my experiences purely based on the randomness of whatever I find xD

[@xp7575]

Replace the words "swap meet" with "used record store" and that's how we did it back in the 90's

[@summerjay7505]

the work you put into these videos is insane, they’re always so in depth and enjoyable. keep up the amazing work!! can’t wait for iron maiden, and after that, man I would kill for one of these on the Chili Peppers.

[@kylehegedus5498]

He just posted one on RHCP.

[@idontnotdothings2193]

If I had a nickel for every time a popular band had one of their two original guitarists leave in the 90s only for said guitarist to return in the 2000s while the band still kept said guitarist's 90s replacement making the band a six-piece with three guitarists, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, especially when both bands would end up in the same Crash Thompson Patreon poll for this episode.

[@Replicaate]

Didn't Sum 41 do something like that too? They're not a six-piece, but there are three guitarists now. So maybe add 2.5 cents to those nickels.

[@eliasmg9144]

@@Replicaate Emmmm... HTGI SUM 41 when? 🤷‍♂️

[@EntityofDarkness696]

Been meaning to give my copy of The Process of Belief a spin, I trusted that old Album Wall of yours to be full of good stuff. BTW: Not saying bring that wall back, I like the new background, just saying that is why I picked up the album.

[@GreenBunnyLilz2821]

This is a fun watch! Might check more of this band out sometime.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

Waiting with baited breath for part 2, awesome job with this video dude!

[@gabrielcln10]

I've been waiting for this one since your Into The Unknown video!!! THANK YOU CRASH!!! ✌✌

[@marvelmite1]

Haven't watched yet but you get my thumbs up. Been waiting forever for you to get to this one. PS how long til part two? Time to dive in

[@krisdaschwab912]

I'm not sure what came first: Crazy Taxi or Guitar Hero. But both of those contributed to my interest in this band.

[@Happyal-qt3xs]

YAAAAS!!! I thought this was never gonna happen , you have made my day 👏

[@koleweisensel4451]

Crash's Bad Religion related videos make for intense drinking games.

[@zdoggzero6595]

*we’ll get to that number 22 is said (Turns into Garden Road guy)

[@atticusrosales298]

18:22 hey uh crash, you forgot Weezer’s debut album

[@tpags7398]

I absolutely adore Bad Religion. My favorite albums are a bit strange. Process Of Belief, Generator, and Against The Grain are some of my favorite albums period. Such an incredible band with great lyrics and a super distinctive sound.

[@falkofscrum]

42:09 I discovered this band on "Guitar Hero 1", and "Infected" became one of my favorite songs in the game. One month later I owned "The Gray Race" and "Generator", and I became a man that day xD

[@waywardlaser]

Finally I can stop mixing up Bad Religion and Bad Company

[@kylehegedus5498]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@newtcox9477]

Great video. I discovered them around the time Suffer came out. I was in my early teens,stuck in a tiny shithole town,and thankfully the clerk at the local Record Bar store told me about them. Since then I have been a huge fan. Been lucky enough to see them live 3 times,and they never play anywhere near me.

[@jordandavis6574]

Not usually my genre but Crash can get my ass in a seat for a lesson on bands I have no experience with like no one can. Finding out Chad Wackerman has a brother who is also a virtuoso drummer but in a COMPLETELY different genre blew my mind and made my day.

[@GrimmFLawless]

Atomic Garden from Generator was in NCAA 06. That’s what got me into them. The whole soundtrack is great. It also got me into the band Jawbreaker

[@marty7902]

Thank you for including our BR Lexicon at 0:50! 👍🏻

[@CrashThompson]

Absolutely. I was able to use your site a lot to help with my own research. Nice little place. Thanks for all your guys' hard work. 🤘

[@colina1330]

Greg's lyrics a great example of what happens when someone who probably writes essays for fun starts a punk rock band. I'm really glad they figured out that experimentation didn't really work for them. I've tried to listen to "the album that shall not be named", but I just can't do it. They actually still play The Dichotomy live sometimes, though.

[@jadestar3602]

I've wanted to get into this band for a long while, I suppose now is my opportunity

[@Warstub]

During the mid-90s, '94 to be exact, a tape went around my school with recordings from VHS copy of the surfing video 'Momentum'. It wasn't video games for me, it was this tape which included songs from Against the Grain and Generator, as well as Sprung Monkey and Pennywise, that got me into Bad Religion. Such a great time for music. I think a year later I discovered Stranger than Fiction and that became one of my all-time favourite Bad Religion albums along with AtG and The Empire Strikes First. ❤

[@benhemsworth8555]

Recipe For Hate is the only album I knew of theirs before this video. Am interested to see where it does eventually show up. Also, looking forward to another review of… THAT particular album.

[@enormouslittlethings6893]

STF will forever be a favorite of mine. Great video dude! ❤️

[@chrisclark7644]

Dude thank you so much for doing this video. I'm a DIE HARD Bad Religion fan. To get this much gushyness and fan-boyishness that I do too over this epic band is just perfect

[@Replicaate]

This coming right when I heard "Sinister Rouge" on friend's Spotify playlist and I thought "Man, I love what I've heard of this band so far, and I already know how super influential and good they are, but it'd be nice to have a better idea of where to start with this massive friggin' discography!" And then you showed up. Coincidence? Probably but you could be magic, you don't know!

[@zennistrad]

You know, it's weird. Despite knowing how important it is to the band and punk rock in general I actually don't like Suffer that much. It just sounded... _off_ to me in a way I lacked the ability to articulate. But the explanation that BR didn't really nail their current audio mixing techniques until No Control probably goes a long way towards explaining why I feel that way. And Against the Grain is one of my absolute favorite rock albums of all time, so no question they had it down to a damned science by then.

[@tylerbailey9329]

You already got me into BR and I couldn't be more grateful Crash. With all the shit that's been going on in the world, this band have really helped keep me from going straight down the doomer rabbit hole. I'd have never known they'd even existed being a 21-year old living in New Zealand. EDIT: Ok, I may be just a little sad that you've put Dissent of Man above Recipe For Hate.

[@miketaylor7636]

Tyler please tell me you found them early enough to go see 'em at the Powerstation in late 2019? I hadn't seen them for 20 yrs, but they did not disappoint.

[@tylerbailey9329]

@@miketaylor7636 maaaaan, I wish. I only got into them last year. I heard about that gig and was surprised they'd even come here. If I ever get the chance again, I'll for sure go see 'em and probably get a VIP pass so I can thank Greg Graffin personally for being a legend.

[@CrimsonDeathBed]

I saw Volbeat referenced in the clips with "The Problem" I wouldn't put them in that category. Some of their stuff is Rockabilly, some is more punk-driven hard, straight-forward riffs. Some is more melodic, the new stuff I don't even like nearly as much as their earlier albums. But after Rob Caggiano joined, they left the "Social Distortion meets Elvis" genre then went to more of a metal/rock/prog sound. IMO of course

[@trainspotter360]

Against The Grain and Process of Belief are my two favorites as well. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone with either of those tattoos.

[@fearjunkie]

...I got into Bad Religion from Bleach. The manga had character notes from the creator Tite Kubo; notes that included what song the creator associated with each character. 'News From The Front' was the song for the protagonist, Ichigo. Strangely enough, it's also how I got into Radiohead.

[@danemcdonaldsouth7593]

Yeah mate good on you

[@geneyounkin6789]

“…And eternity my friend is a long fucking time,” from You may be my favorite three seconds in punk rock.

[@Fejrus887]

Been waiting for this one for ages :D Finally and it didnt dissapoint ^^ only thing I find slightly odd that you put Generator with Suffer, No Control, Against The Grain and Recipe for Hate with the Atlantic records. I personally Think Generator and Recipe For Hate Form this nice Transition era, where they start to Experiment with their Sound more, but not Nailing it 100% yet and they started having music Videos with Generator too. Im interested to see why Age Of Unreason is an outlier in the late Bad Religion stuff for you (except of Brooks and Greg not being there)

[@danielwetteland9015]

Good take. I got in to BR in Jr high so 94. And I bought my first punk CDs off a kid at school for 5 dollars “ no control” and Peboy “strong reaction” loved them both but the bad religion just hit different with my life and what I was going through.

[@faronsquare]

This video is 2 years old, but Bad Religion is still and always will be the greatest punk band of all time. The soundtrack to many eras of my life, and now my 6 year old's favorite band.

[@xXMachineGunPhillyXx]

Bad Religion is the most underrated punk band of all time. They have SEAS of great songs and yet it seeks like 2/3 of it gets ignored. An American treasure.

[@AlexseyShiryaev]

8:51 Lay off the Yes shit - I dunno why, but i find this line absolutely hilarious

[@YouCanCallMeXoe]

I will say, if there was anything that 2020 was great for, it was catching up on bands that I had yet to truly delve into. Not only did it introduce me to my favorite band of all time (Propagandhi), but it really gave me time to dive into Bad Religion more. Against The Grain and The Empire Strikes First were real standout treats for me (I had started listening to Process before the Pandemic really started.). Hell, I was planning on getting a tattoo of the ATG album cover myself back halfway through 2020, but never got around to it for financial reasons... looks like ya beat me to it lol. (Also, for those curious, PLEASE, I IMPLORE YOU!! Look up the acoustic version of Sorrow from the deluxe version of New Maps Of Hell. It's fucking amazing~)

[@samuelblinne6040]

How could hell can be any worse is my favorite album by bad religion

[@TheIbanez21601]

Any chance we can maybe get a How to get into Trivium at some point?

[@ericrojasvelez8891]

That's a good way to put it...THE PROBLEM...but you know what when become to bad religion I'm ok with THE PROBLEM

[@chauncymcbaddass]

I got into BR in 1992 when I was a sophomore in HS, Generator had come out and a friend of mine that I skated with, loaned Generator and Against the Grain to me. At the time I was more into alternative stuff like the Chili Peppers, and Hip Hop and Rap but I was familiar with other bands like NOFX and Offspring on the Epitaph label. I really got into it. My friend sold the cassette tapes to me and rebought them on CD lol. For the longest time those were the only two that I had. Back in those days you had to actively seek out music. Eventually I picked up No Control on vinyl as well as 80-85 (on CD) and Suffer on cassette. When Recipe for Hate came out my friends and I pretty much were not interested, we saw this as them "selling out" leaving their own record label and all. I have since changed my mind and listened to some of the "newer" stuff, but I still haven't listened to any album after Generator in its entirety. I really ought to change that.

[@Someguywhocooks]

6:28 Brb, I'm bringing a shot glass and booze for Crash Thompson Drinking Game

[@nicklane6084]

Definitely first heard of them because of Tony Hawk Pro Skater, then bought suffer, and unfortunately never listened to anything else, didn't know where to go, so thank you for this.

[@andrewbair7810]

Crash just showed us all his punk rock O-face talking about those first three POB tracks. Hearing you talk about your love for this band gives me all of the feels. Man BR is fucking legendary. My first encounter was hearing the All Ages comp in a Tower Records listening station. Not only was I Want to Conquor the World the first BR track I'd ever heard but my first album was a best of the best from what is arguably the most iconic collection of punk rock ever assembled. Fucking legendary.

[@fehzorz]

There'd be a good video in surprisingly good late career releases from bands. True North would be on there. As another example I think Deep Purple's 1996 Album Purpendicular stands toe to toe with any of their albums from the 70s. Maybe EWBAITE counts. There'd be a lot of fans of bands out there who only listen to their "golden era" and might miss late gems. Plus it's cool to see bands release something amazing past the point people think they're done.

[@leftofpunk]

So I never played Crazy Taxi. I'm a bit older so my first introduction to BR was Stranger Than Fiction because I was 16 in 1994 which was a fantastic year to be a teenager for both music and movies. I was buying tons of music funded by my first job and 1994 was the year punk broke as they say. Punk-O-Rama Vol 1 was absolutely vital.

[@unclerubo]

Am I the only one who actually enjoys listening to Into the unknown every once in a while?

[@chrisold97]

It’s a great album with terrible production

[@_fabio1978]

🙋‍♂️

[@Squad21Photography]

It’s a good album

[@jamesb1988]

Something that has always confused me about Suffer/No Control... why does Greg Graffin sound 5 years younger on No Control?

[@ChrisNorwood3]

The Problem, or as I call it...The AC/DC problem! :) Fellow Turbo Nerd here and Empire Strikes First is my top album!

[@XDetoursX]

As far as "The Problem" goes. I agree. That's why their best albums are How Could Hell, Into the Unknown, Back to the Know then Suffer. All sound different and are great in their own way. "The Problem" really only applies to everything after Suffer with a couple kinda differences.

[@progandcompany2601]

See Crash is best boy because he appreciates the Dreamcast Also yes, there is nothing in Indiana but Corn

[@Huskers_fan99]

As someone from Greenfield, which is east of Indianapolis, I also can attest to that. SO MUCH CORN!!! 😂😂

[@EmilyDavisOfficial]

Your take on “Boot Stamping…” had me cackling. So glad you did this!

[@CrashThompson]

Thanks Emily! Glad you were able to catch it. Are you still making music, btw?

[@EmilyDavisOfficial]

@@CrashThompson I am! I have an EP coming out later this year. Hope you’ve been well!

[@CrashThompson]

Awesome! I'll be sure to check it out. Same to you eh! Nice hearing from ya. 🙂

[@kodajk7192]

As a fellow Hoosier I feel the same about corn

[@kev25811]

Thank you so much for this. Now I don't have to make a significantly worse video nerding out over this band. You said everything I would've but better (except for your low opinion on Recipe which has earned you one demerit for being wrong). Thanks for reminding me to listen to them again. It's been a few months.

[@jefferyjones8399]

I’ve met Bobby Schayer and he’s an awesome dude.

[@TheWolfGuardians]

My first exposer to Bad Religion was actually someone taking footage of "Super Sonic" from "Sonic the Hedgehog" to the song "supersonic" stuck with me back in 2009.

[@No_Avail]

24 minutes in and great stuff so far. Just had to stop at this point for a my-two-cents-remark: While I think the Atlantic era's NS and TNA were lyrically inferior to most of their pre-Atlantic releases (obviously making an exception for TGR, which is tied with everything that preceded it, and yes, I mean lyrically), I still think that melodically as well as structurally, BR did keep progressing in an overall positive direction during this time. The arguable clunkers on NS and TNA are more than compensated for by the standout tracks.

[@thetonytaye]

I recently went through BR’s discography. I like them fine, but I do admit that I don’t find myself too inclined to come back to them too much because of “The Problem” mentioned in this video.

[@talkgoodenglish7500]

Didn't realize that Greg and Brett didn't write The Positive Aspect Of Negative Thinking. What a banger.

[@charlisebar-shai2613]

I feel like the fact that I'm a complete word nerd is a big factor as to why I enjoy this band lmao

[@lenbones7940]

As a late 30s punker I must admit alot of punk bands I love have the problem but if this makes any sense in punk rock the music style is so common I feel like it's one of the few genre's where a band can wear the problem like a badge of honor for instance if a friends punk band reminds you of a problem band and you say so instantly your homie will be like "sweet" they kill it hahaha

[@danpantzig7266]

Way late to the party, but this just hit my recs, so here's my How To Get Into Badger Legion: 1. Be young, or at least have a teen's mindset 2. Listen to Suffer and you're done. The rest will fall into place naturally.

[@veenghar1]

Crash, I Love your videos I have no idea what your t-shirt is but I dig it

[@Warstub]

This was so great to listen to while cooking dinner and drinking Jameson's Whiskey.

[@Squad21Photography]

29:03 just a quick correction, Brian was Brett’s replacement, not Greg’s. 😁 great video.

[@enzprintco.8625]

FAVORITE BAD RELIGION SONG…GO! Anxiety or parallel. FAVORITE RECORD…GO! The grey race.

[@Hepler-s2b]

I'm not shocked that the polling was so close, but I am shocked to bad religion just barely squeaked it out. given the two bands and how frenzy both fan bases can be, I kind of would have figured iron maiden would have been the one to win. But that said love bad religion, can't wait to see part two

[@kylehegedus5498]

Bad Religion should get inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

[@enfercesttout]

Think before you die is one of the best advices you can give.

[@kylehegedus5498]

They played that when I saw them at Warped Tour in Detroit in 2009!!!! 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

[@Rountree1985]

Also, yeah my first time hearing Bad Religion was hearing You in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1.

[@mountnstream]

I'd take a shot for each "We'll get to it", but I care about my well being.

[@michaelgreen1496]

my sisters meth dealer was stealing my slayer tape from my boombox and i caught him. he gave me 80/85 and dead milk men

[@vengeance_falls_9610]

New Maps of Hell is my favorite punk album

[@takodabostwick8507]

Bad Religion Albums Ranked 1. Suffer 2. No Control 3. Recipe for Hate 4. Age of Unreason 5. Stranger Than Fiction 6. The Empire Strikes First 7. Against the Grain 8. How Could Hell Be Any Worse? 9. True North 10. Generator 11. The Gray Race 12. The Process of Belief 13. The New America 14. Into the Unknown 15. New Maps of Hell 16. The Dissent of Man 17. No Substance

[@stevenhaefner7686]

I hope you do Weezer and Green Day in this style. Your retrospectives on those bands are some of my favorites of your videos, so how a How to Get Into on them would rule.

[@nicklane6084]

He wants nothing to do with Weezer anymore... also he did full retrospectives on both bands so I doubt he would.

[@stevenhaefner7686]

@@nicklane6084 Oh well, a guy can dream,

[@ronjames4151]

It's not a problem. Bad religion does it right.

[@Eyedunno]

"Greg, look, we love you; we know you're a very smart boy, but please put the thesaurus down." On screen: "Sometimes It Feels Like", lyrics by Brett Gurewitz. Previous song establishing "Greg's" dictionary rock credentials ("phantasmal myriads of sane bucolic birth"): "1000 More Fools", also written by Brett Gurewitz. OK then. As for favorite album, I'm back and forth between The Process of Belief and The Empire Strikes First. TPoB was their Revolver, and the high points were REALLY high (Evangeline, Epiphany, The Defense, Can't Stop It) but it also has a bit of filler (The Lie comes to mind). TESF is their Sgt. Pepper's, a little bigger and more consistent throughout its running time.

[@zdoggzero6595]

Oh wow, surprised to see only Into the Unknown in the must hears Edit: Yeah Wackerman is bar none their best drummer, one of the best in the genre

[@jamesb1988]

The two massive additions that VASTLY improved Bad Religion's sound: Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman. Blow every other guitar and drummer out of the water, respectively. There's a reason The Grey Race then The Process Of Belief are the two largest jumps sound improvement wise.

[@ronjames4151]

They have been my favorite band since 1995