Do What You Want

Great book about one of the most influential punk bands, period. Reading this was a great trip down memory lane to my youth, and realizing how much BR and their peers meant to me.

great band, pedestrian prose

Bad Religion is my favorite band. They've been my favorite band since I was in middle school. I've been there with them through a lot of ups and downs, not from the beginning but from success to turmoil and back again. That's why it pains me to say this: This book sucks.Written like an extended Wikipedia page, I'm not entirely sure who this biography is for. On one hand, a new fan is going to want something a lot more concise or just ask friends. On the other hand, long term fans aren't going to read much of anything they didn't already know. And the casual fan? Probably gonna skip this.The book is mostly in chronological order, spanning high school years of the original band members all the way up to Jamie joining the band and the release of Age of Unreason. There are a few cool anecdotes scattered here and there, but most of this book is told pretty matter-of-factly. The reader doesn't get a lot of fun stories one would expect out of a book like this. For example, in NOFX's [b:NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories 25898266 NOFX The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories Jeff Alulis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455172307l/25898266.SX50.jpg 45781138], Fat Mike tells a story about playing with Bad Religion and Brian Baker yelling “I invented straight edge” every time he did a line of cocaine. Why aren't there more stories like that? Is a band that's been around for 40+ years really that concerned about their image? I know that's not flattering, but other than Brett, everyone comes off as squeaky clean and boring when I know that's not the case.Now that leads me to another thing: Brett's multiple rehab stints are chronicled. Jay's alcoholism is mentioned. Then, when it comes to Hetson, they kind of just casually mention that his pill use got him kicked out of the band. Behind the scenes, it sounds like he was promised he could come back if he got clean, but apparently the band hired Mike in his place. The authors state that Hetson was allowed to tell his side of the story but refused. Good for him. What a “fuck you” to a guy that was the backbone of the band for so many years. Whereas Brett and Jay had not only become dependent on substances, they also both walked out and Hetson stayed loyal. Now, yes, Greg H could've spoken up in the book, but in my opinion, Bad Religion did a real shitty job of not looking like goons there.Tl;dr version - Just read their Wikipedia page if you want a quick history. Check out https://www.thebrpage.net/ if you want a better, more in-depth history on pretty much anything you could ever want to know about the band. Save your money and skip this one.