Song: "Incomplete"
Artist: Bad Religion
Album: "Stranger Than Fiction"
Year: 1994
Place Of Origin: Los Angeles, California
Years Active: 1980 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Incomplete" is a song that appears to be about not having much self-confidence in one's self. The vocalist lists a bunch of self-deprecating examples as to why he doesn't feel whole as a person. It's gotta be tough going through life feeling like you don't add up or not feeling as though you are complete as a human. This song is the vocalist expressing his frustration with being incomplete.
BAD RELIGION DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1982 - How Could Hell Be Any Worse (Epitaph Records)
1983 - Into The Unknown (Epitaph Records)
1988 - Suffer (Epitaph Records)
1989 - No Control (Epitaph Records)
1990 - Against The Grain (Epitaph Records)
1992 - Generator (Epitaph Records)
1993 - Recipe For Hate (Epitaph Records)
1994 - Stranger Than Fiction (Atlantic Records)
1996 - The Gray Race (Atlantic Records)
1997 - Tested (Epitaph Records)
1998 - No Substance (Atlantic Records)
2000 - The New America (Atlantic Records)
2002 - The Process Of Belief (Epitaph Records)
2004 - The Empire Strikes First (Epitaph Records)
2007 - New Maps Of Hell (Epitaph Records)
2010 - The Dissent Of Man (Epitaph Records)
2010 - 30 Years Live (Epitaph Records)
2013 - True North (Epitaph Records)
2019 - Age Of Unreason (Epitaph Records)
CURRENT STATUS OF BAD RELIGION:
Bad Religion formed as a band back in 1980. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the band established their roots in hardcore punk. Bandmember Brett Gurewitz had formed a record label called Epitaph which would distribute all of Bad Religion's albums except for a 6 year stretch that they spent on major label Atlantic Records. After the band's debut album, "How Could Hell Be Any Worse", the band had a major hiccup with their follow up, 1983's "Into The Unknown". The band went from hardcore to prog rock! Not a good move. Things were so bad that the band basically dissolved. Luckily for everyone who loves punk rock music, the guys decided to get back together and what came out of that was one of the most important and iconic punk rock albums of all time, 1988's "Suffer". As a musical shift in the landscape was happening up in Seattle, Bad Religon soldiered on with more great albums. "No Control" in '89. "Against The Grain" in '90. Their first album to sell over 100,000 copies. "Generator" in '92. Their first album to have a music video, "Atomic Garden". And, 1993's "Recipe For Hate" which spawned the singles "American Jesus" and "Struck A Nerve" and peaked at #14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Now it's 1994 and there's a full on punk rock revival going on. Bands like Green Day, Offspring and Rancid are selling more records than any punk bands ever have and Bad Religion was right there on that train as well. Like many other bands, Bad Religion signed a deal with a major label, Atlantic Records, and released "Stranger Than Fiction" which would become gold certified. With things getting crazy at Epitaph because of the success of The Offspring and Rancid, Brett Gurewitz decided to depart the band to focus on his record label, leaving lead singer Greg Graffin to handle all of the songwriting duties. To close out the 90's, Bad Religion released "The Gray Race", "No Substance" and "The New America" to complete their deal with Atlantic. The band returned to Epitaph in 2002 for the release of "The Process Of Belief". This also saw the return of Gurewitz and the return of a faster, more aggressive style that harkened back to their early Epitaph days. From 2004 to 2013, Bad Religion released four more great albums. "The Empire Strikes First". "New Maps Of Hell" which reached #35 of the Billboard 200 charts. "The Dissent Of Man" which reached #6 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. And "True North", which peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 charts, Bad Religion's only album to hit the top 20! Most recently, Bad Religion's new album, "Age Of Unreason", was released on May 3, 2019. This marks the longest time between releases for the band. What can you say about Bad Religion? This band is iconic. Arguably, the greatest punk rock band of all time. I'd take it even further. They are one of the greatest bands of any genre of rock music. They are that damn good. Their influence spreads all over punk rock circles. Bands like NOFX, Pennywise, Rancid, Offspring, No Use For A Name and Good Riddance all hold Bad Religion in the highest regards. The whole "skate punk" style could easily be traced back to the music of Bad Religion. Lyrically, Bad Religion is not shy about shining a light on government corruption, religious hypocracy or human behavior towards each other. The band has been together for almost 40 years and they are still totally relevant and their voice is still as strong as it's ever been when speaking of the ills of society. Iconic and legendary are the two words that come to my mind right off the bat about Bad Religion but just those two words alone don't do enough justice to what Bad Religion is as a band.
TEN BAD RELIGION SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Generator
2. American Jesus
3. Sorrow
4. The Devil In Stitches
5. Punk Rock Song
6. 21st Century (Digital Boy)
7. Infected
8. Do What You Want
9. Los Angeles Is Burning
10. Fuck You
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