Bad Religion- Do What You Want Book Review
I’ve been a fan of Bad Religion for what seems like forever. I just feel like they have always been in the back of my life. I’m gonna say it was probably in college when I was really discovering music and stuff that I liked without the options of people around me who had shitty taste in music. So when I first saw this book coming out I bought it so fast I didn’t realize it was a hardcover which I hate. So it took me a while to read it cause I like to be able to have a book that works for me and whatever mood I’m in at the time. I got like 3 chapters in and stopped. I was back to taking calls at work a few weeks so it made it easy to read at my desk between calls.
This book came out on August 18th, 2020, and was written by The various member of Bad Religion throughout the years and rock author Jim Ruland. The Title of it is from a song from their album Age of Unreason, which is their 17th studio album that came out in May of 2019. The band started in 1980 and it starts off from there. You heard about basically everything from then until now.
You will hear about the changes not only with the band but within their own lives. The lineup changes in the band, who joins and rejoins, the boys going to college, all their personal struggles, and, the side hustles they have including the start of Epitaph which is a big part of the book. Honestly, I didn’t know a lot of this stuff and it’s pretty cool to learn fun random facts about one of your favorite bands. I think that’s why I love music autobiographies so much. I did find myself going down rabbit holes with this one where I would read a name or something and couldn’t figure out how I knew it or why. It’s from reading other books or being in other bands I like. I really love books that send me down rabbit holes. Also, I like hearing things about other bands or artists. The one that hurt me in this book was Brett asking Darby Crash why he didn’t sing his lyrics on stage and him saying it’s cause he couldn’t remember them. If you ever listen to The Germs Darby is know for his poetic lyrics so that’s a fucking gut check. I get it though Darby has some issues and apparently died just a couple of weeks after this conversation. You also hear about the stage collapsing during a performance overseas and other fun things that happen on tour or in the studio.
If you are a fan of the band or just have a love of Punk music then go grab this book. It’s a damn good read.
Book Page on The Band's website. It also included a playlist on Apple Music or Spotify.
