The Greatest Albums EVER: Recipe For Hate

We here at The Nothing Files have decided that I will start a new column, The Greatest Albums EVER. It's always been kind of our thesis to cover not only upcoming cool stuff news, but to return to the past for stuff that we love and not everyone might have caught. It is in that spirit that I'm doing this new column. I'll be picking out albums that are some of my favorites of all time, and writing them up here, for you. You're welcome.

To start this was a no brainer. It had to be Bad Religion's Recipe For Hate. Bad Religion is one of my all time favorite bands, and there was a run there in the 90's when they could do no wrong. BR formed in 1980 in California from high schoolers Greg Graffin, Jay Bentley, Jay Ziskrout and Brett Gurewitz. The lineup has changed off and on over the years, most notably when Gurewitz, guitarist and co-lyric writer, left the band for years. I know that it's not as punk to talk about Recipe For Hate, because it's the first album after BR left punk label Epitaph for Atlantic Records, but it's such a fucking good album. The following album Stranger Than Fiction is what put BR on the mainstream radar with 21st Century Digital Boy, a redux of the track from Against the Grain. This is also the last album before Gurewitz left the band under bad terms to focus on Epitaph. He wouldn't return until 2002's The Process of Belief. Finally, Bad Religion is one of the only bands ever that you probably need a thesaurus to understand all the lyrics. Lets get into this album...

The album starts with the title track, Recipe For Hate. It's a ripping track that sets the tone early on. Greg listing off his Recipe For Hate is the hook, and it's a scathing indictment of human history. The second song is by far one of my favorite Bad Religion songs of all time, Kerosene. BR does a great job of being hard rocking and melodic at the same time and this is a great example of that. It's a fuck you punch about being homeless and having only kerosene to keep you warm. Greg sounds disgusted that people in the world are dying of exposure and he's fucking right. As BR so often does, this track kicks ass and has a good social message. Great job you fuckers. Track three is probably the most famous BR track, and arguably one of the most popular punk rock songs of all time, American Jesus. It's a BR staple to adopt the persona of the white upper-middle class male and sing from his disdainful standpoint about the world around him. This track is indicative of that. And this came out years before David Bowie said God is an American. We can do whatever we want, cause we're Americans and we have our own Jesus. The song ends with the chant One Nation Under God. It is one of the greatest tracks ever. If you don't know it, stop write now and download this track. It'll make you rock by at least %29 more. Other standouts from the album are All Good Soldiers, BR's look at the American Military, Struck a Nerve, another great track about poverty, My Poor Friend Me, an introspective track about isolation and depression, and Don't Pray On Me. It has one of my favorite lines ever; And custodians of public opinion stay fat after vainly discussing her rights. Lay hands off her body. It's not your fuckin' life.

I could go into every track on this one but that's just too much. This album fucking rocks and has a great message that more people need to hear. Bad Religion is working on a new album that is expected sometime next year. Graffin off and on teaches Life Science 1 and Earth Space & Sciences 116 at UCLA. How many punk bands have a college prof as a lead singer? That's right. Go buy this album now. Seriously, it's sad you haven't already.