Against the Grain (Bad Religion album): Difference between revisions

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Against the Grain is the fifth album (and seventh release overall) by punk rock band Bad Religion released on November 23, 1990.^[1] This is the last album recorded with drummer Pete Finestone who left in 1991 to concentrate with his new project The Fishermen. Following his departure, the band's music would take a different direction on their next album, 1992's Generator.

Along with the last two albums (1988's Suffer and 1989's No Control), Against the Grain is considered by many to be the band's greatest album, and it contains many songs that are constantly cited as the band's best, including "21st Century (Digital Boy)", "Anesthesia," "Walk Away," and "Modern Man."^{[citation needed]} More than just an influential album, Against The Grain gave many punk fans and many punk bands hope for the survival of punk in the 90s.^{[citation needed]}

Like Bad Religion's albums up to Generator, Against the Grain was remastered on April 6, 2004. As of 2008, the original CD version of the album is out of print.

Against the Grain also marks the 10th anniversary of Bad Religion playing together after their formation.

Track listing

"Modern Man" (Greg Graffin) – 1:58
"Turn on the Light" (Brett Gurewitz) – 1:24
"Get Off" (Graffin) – 1:43
"Blenderhead" (Gurewitz) – 1:12
"The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" (Jay Bentley) – 0:57
"Anesthesia" (Gurewitz) – 3:04
"Flat Earth Society" (Gurewitz) – 2:23
"Faith Alone" (Graffin) – 3:40
- This song was also labeled "Faith Alone (Won't Sustain Us Any Longer)"
"Entropy" (Graffin) – 2:24
"Against the Grain" (Graffin) – 2:09
"Operation Rescue" (Graffin) – 2:08
- Features former Black Flag/Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris singing backing vocals
"God Song" (Graffin) – 1:38
- Parodies the famous short poem "And did those feet in ancient time" by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: a Poem (1804)
"21st Century (Digital Boy)" (Gurewitz) – 2:50
- Was re-recorded and appeared on their eighth full-length studio album Stranger Than Fiction, released in 1994; four years after the release of this album, and became a single.
- Was actually recorded for the previous album, No Control, but did not make the final cut. It is believed that this song was left out because it sounded different from their faster sound. So "21st Century (Digital Boy)" would end up on this album.
- This song was also labeled "Twenty First Century Digital Boy" on the cassette version.
"Misery and Famine" (Graffin) – 2:35
"Unacceptable" (Greg Hetson, Bentley) – 1:44
"Quality or Quantity" (Graffin) – 1:34
- Compares the opening riff of "Best for You" (from Suffer)
"Walk Away" (Gurewitz) – 1:52

Release history

Label	Release date	Notes
Epitaph Records	November 23, 1990	The tray card features an image of an arrow behind a corn in purple background. The back cover has the same image, but the background is white and the corn is yellow. The lyrics and the credits can be seen in the booklet as well as images of the band members.
Epitaph Records	April 6, 2004	Remastered, along with How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Suffer, No Control and Generator. Same as above, except this version feaures a different front cover and the track listing, which can be seen inside the tray card.

References

^ Although the album was released in November 1990, the re-released version in 2004 erroneously notes 1991 as the original release date, causing some confusion. Some sources also list 1991 as the release date (including some fan sites, lyrics sites, Tower.com, etc).

Personnel

Greg Graffin – vocals
Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
Greg Hetson – guitar
Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals
Pete Finestone – drums
The Legendary Starbolt – mixing
Eddie Schreyer – mastering
Joy Aoki – art direction

[date-1] Although the album was released in November 1990, the re-released version in 2004 erroneously notes 1991 as the original release date, causing some confusion. Some sources also list 1991 as the release date (including some fan sites, lyrics sites, Tower.com, etc).

[1]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ==Track listing==
-All songs written by [[Greg Graffin]], unless otherwise noted.
+#"Modern Man" ([[Greg Graffin]])&nbsp;– 1:58
+#"Turn on the Light" ([[Brett Gurewitz]])&nbsp;– 1:24
-#"Modern Man" – 1:58
+#"Get Off" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 1:43
-#"Turn on the Light" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 1:24
+#"Blenderhead" (Gurewitz)&nbsp;– 1:12
+#"The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" ([[Jay Bentley]])&nbsp;– 0:57
-#"Get Off" – 1:43
-#"Blenderhead" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 1:12
+#"Anesthesia" (Gurewitz)&nbsp;– 3:04
+#"Flat Earth Society" (Gurewitz)&nbsp;– 2:23
-#"The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" ([[Jay Bentley]]) – 0:57
-#"Anesthesia" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 3:04
+#"Faith Alone" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 3:40
-#"Flat Earth Society" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 2:23
-#"Faith Alone" – 3:40
 #*This song was also labeled "Faith Alone (Won't Sustain Us Any Longer)"
-#"Entropy" – 2:24
+#"Entropy" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 2:24
-#"Against the Grain" – 2:09
+#"Against the Grain" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 2:09
-#"Operation Rescue" – 2:08
+#"Operation Rescue" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 2:08
 #*Features former [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]]/[[Circle Jerks]] singer [[Keith Morris]] singing backing vocals
-#"God Song" – 1:38
+#"God Song" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 1:38
 #*Parodies the famous short [[poem]] "[[And did those feet in ancient time]]" by [[William Blake]] from the preface to his epic ''[[Milton: a Poem]]'' (1804)
-#"[[21st Century (Digital Boy)]]" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 2:50
+#"[[21st Century (Digital Boy)]]" (Gurewitz)&nbsp;– 2:50
 #*Was re-recorded and appeared on their eighth full-length studio album ''[[Stranger Than Fiction (album)|Stranger Than Fiction]]'', released in 1994; four years after the release of this album, and became a single.
 #*Was actually recorded for the previous album, ''[[No Control (Bad Religion album)|No Control]]'', but did not make the final cut. It is believed that this song was left out because it sounded different from their faster sound. So "21st Century (Digital Boy)" would end up on this album.
 #*This song was also labeled "Twenty First Century Digital Boy" on the cassette version.
-#"Misery and Famine" – 2:35
+#"Misery and Famine" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 2:35
-#"Unacceptable" ([[Greg Hetson]]/Bentley) – 1:44
+#"Unacceptable" ([[Greg Hetson]], Bentley)&nbsp;– 1:44
-#"Quality or Quantity" – 1:34
+#"Quality or Quantity" (Graffin)&nbsp;– 1:34
 #*Compares the opening riff of "Best for You" (from ''[[Suffer (album)|Suffer]]'')
-#"Walk Away" (Gurewitz/Graffin) – 1:52
+#"Walk Away" (Gurewitz)&nbsp;– 1:52
 ==Release history==

v t e Bad Religion
Greg Graffin Brett Gurewitz Jay Bentley Brian Baker Mike Dimkich Jamie Miller Jay Ziskrout Pete Finestone Paul Dedona Davy Goldman Greg Hetson Tim Gallegos John Albert Lucky Lehrer Bobby Schayer Brooks Wackerman
Studio albums	How Could Hell Be Any Worse? Into the Unknown Suffer No Control Against the Grain Generator Recipe for Hate Stranger than Fiction The Gray Race No Substance The New America The Process of Belief The Empire Strikes First New Maps of Hell The Dissent of Man True North Age of Unreason
EPs	Bad Religion Back to the Known Christmas Songs
Other releases	80–85 All Ages Tested Punk Rock Songs 30 Years Live
Videos and DVDs	Along the Way Live at the Palladium
Singles	"American Jesus" "21st Century (Digital Boy)" "Infected" "Stranger than Fiction" "A Walk" "Punk Rock Song" "Sorrow" "Los Angeles Is Burning" "The Devil in Stitches"
Related articles	Discography Members Epitaph Records Punk rock in California Hardcore punk Warped Tour
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