Issue #88: Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction

Released:  September 6th, 1994

Recorded:  April – May 1994

Genre:  Punk, Pop Punk, Melodic Hardcore

Record Label:  Atlantic

Duration:  38:28

Producers:  Andy Wallace, Bad Religion

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Stranger Than Fiction is One of My Favorites

Everyone remembers Smash and Dookie from back in ’94, though Bad Religion’s Stranger Than Fiction is often overlooked.  Bad Religion had been active in the hardcore scene for years, finally gaining their greatest degree of mainstream success with this album.  Though their material took on a poppier style at a time when punk was quickly growing in popularity, these guys remained more firmly entrenched in the underground than their contemporaries.

I’m not sure how I ended up with this album, but I’d be willing to bet that it was during a short period where I was attempting to dig a little more into what real punk was since everything on the radio was derided for not being punk enough.  I’m sure I gave it a spin here and there, but it wasn’t as immediately catchy as the music I was used to.  So when did I hear it enough to ever consider it a favorite?  Well, I have to give credit to the appearance of “Infected” on Guitar Hero.  I knew who Bad Religion was and I had a vague recollection of the title, and there I found it, sitting on Stranger Than Fiction.

On some level, I’ll admit that these songs have a same-ness about them.  Is it consistency?  Is it the idea that punk is more about energy than musicianship?  Something else?  I don’t know.  On the one hand, it’s easy to know what you’re getting into; on the other, if you don’t really like it, it can get boring quickly.  Stranger Than Fiction falls on middle ground between more traditional punk and the poppy variety that was just beginning to gain momentum in 1994.  The instrumentation is simple and the setup is basic, but it’s not so abrasive and angry that it drives listeners away.  This album is actually fairly middle of the road music, but it’s good, satisfying middle of the road music, and all that “same-ness” makes for a cohesive package as an album.

I’m not so sure if Stranger Than Fiction fits the mold for pop punk, but it definitely laid down some of the hallmarks that would come to define this more “commercially viable” version of the genre.  The rhythms are simple head-bobbers, the guitars are just loud and crunchy enough to give it that energetic edge, and the vocals are catchy and uplifting.  The big difference here is that Graffin’s voice melts into the background like another instrument.  I don’t know if I quite like it or not; on some songs it really works, though I feel like others would gain some needed urgency if the vocals were pushed to the forefront.  The use of 2 guitar players adds considerably to the depth of most tracks, and with the other band members contributing to the vocals, there are some simple harmonies present at times.  Half, if not more, of these songs feature a little “mini-solo” near the end to kick up the diversity a notch.  This pretty much describes each and every track from Stranger Than Fiction, but I do have a few favorites to touch on.

“Leave it to Me” is a straightforward rocker with some of the album’s most prominent vocals.  A start-stop rhythm drives the song, and the guitars are brighter than the crunch, downtuned sound we’d come to recognize in the near future.  “Stranger Than Fiction” edges awfully close to the pop punk sound, not that I’m complaining.  Graffin never hits the nasal whine that would become so common.  Instead, he’s a bit gruff, which helps give the songs some gravity and seriousness.  However, he does get a little higher than usual here.  The track chugs along with a catchy melody like a lot of pop punk, but either due to production or something else, it’s a touch rawer and less polished.

“Tiny Voices” is one of the faster songs, notable for the rudimentary harmonizing of at least 2 or 3 backing singers.  Again, it flirts with the pop punk sound, but a more relentless assault of guitars keeps it feeling a little heavier.  “Better Off Dead” may not be inherently optimistic, but it does have that high energy bounciness that makes music like this so accessible.  This is a good example of one of those tracks where I wish Graffin’s voice wasn’t so lost in the guitar fuzz.

I don’t think I ever paid much attention to “Infected” before Guitar Hero, but when I started listening to Stranger Than Fiction, it was the only song I was really familiar with and I grew quite fond of it.  This track aims more for melody than anything else; then again, Bad Religion seems more content to actually sing rather than shout, which, for the most part, works out well.

“Slumber” is another song that focuses mostly on melody.  It’s a slower, mid-tempo number that borders on alt rock, though it keeps itself simple.  “Marked” is a hard hitting, grinding, blistering track that dials straight into the hardcore sound.  Unfortunately, Graffin’s vocals sink beneath the guitars and drums.  “Inner Logic” again flirts with the poppier side of the genre, with softer verses, loud choruses, and rhythmic start-stop guitar.

“21st Century” is probably the most recognizable song from Stranger Than Fiction, deftly sliding between pop and something just a hair grittier.  It’s an interesting commentary on youth’s rising reliance on technology that holds even more weight 20 years later.  I guess everyone saw it coming, but it’s always fun to go back in time and hear things like this, deriding how isolated and superficial our culture is becoming due to technology.

The remaining tracks are all decent (“Television” seems a tad out of place), and at under 40 minutes, Stranger Than Fiction flies by in no time.  It’s an album that I’ve enjoyed listening to in recent years, especially places like the car, cooking or doing things around the house, or even trying to bang out computer related work when the TV is too much of a distraction.  It’s been a while since I really plucked out individual songs, and after taking a careful look at it, it just isn’t the kind of record with the sorts of peaks and valleys that we generally associate with an album.

No Control is probably the definitive Bad Religion album to own, but Stranger Than Fiction is a worthwhile addition to the canon of mid 90s punk revival records.  It may not be as in-your-face as similar works, but it fits comfortably within the folds of easily accessible punk.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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