Against the Grain (Bad Religion album)

Against the Grain
Studio album by Bad Religion
Released	November 23, 1990
Recorded	May 1990 at Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre	Punk
Length	34:27
Label	Epitaph
Producer	Bad Religion
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau link Ultimate Guitar link
Bad Religion chronology
No Control (1989) Against the Grain (1990) '80-'85 (1991)

Against the Grain is the seventh release (fifth full length album) 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 The Fishermen and was replaced by the next drummer Bobby Schayer shortly before their 8th release, 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." More than just an influentual album, Against The Grain gave many punk fans and many punk bands hope for the survival of punk in the 90s. Like Bad Religion's albums up to Generator, Against the Grain was remastered on April 6, 2004. The 1990 original version is now out of print. Against the Grain also marks the 10th anniversary of Bad Religion playing together after their formation.

Track listing

1. "Modern Man" (Greg Graffin) – 1:58
2. "Turn on the Light" (Brett Gurewitz) – 1:24
3. "Get Off" (Graffin) – 1:43
4. "Blenderhead" (Gurewitz) – 1:12
5. "The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" (Jay Bentley) – 0:57
6. "Anesthesia" (Gurewitz) – 3:04
7. "Flat Earth Society" (Gurewitz) – 2:23
8. "Faith Alone" (Graffin) – 3:40
9. "Entropy" (Graffin) – 2:24
10. "Against the Grain" (Graffin) – 2:09
11. "Operation Rescue" (Graffin) – 2:08
    • Features former Black Flag/Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris singing backing vocals
12. "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)
13. "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
14. "Misery and Famine" (Graffin) – 2:35
15. "Unacceptable" (Greg Hetson, Bentley) – 1:44
16. "Quality or Quantity" (Graffin) – 1:34
    • Compares the opening riff of "Best for You" (from Suffer)
17. "Walk Away" (Gurewitz) – 1:52

Release history

Trivia

• Track 13, "21st Century (Digital Boy)", was re-recorded for the band's 1994 release Stranger Than Fiction. That version would be come one of the band's well-known hit singles.
• "21st Century (Digital Boy)" was actually recorded for its predecessor, No Control, but was left out because it sounded different from their faster sound. However, it would end up on this album.

References

Personnel

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