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Punk Paradox: A Memoir
A historical memoir and cultural criticism of punk rock’s evolution, by the legendary singer-songwriter of Bad Religion
Greg Graffin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bad Religion, recently described as “America's most significant punk band.” Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1980, Bad Religion has produced 18 studio albums, become a long-running global touring powerhouse, and has established a durable legacy as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time.
Punk Paradox is Graffin's life narrative before and during L.A. punk's early years, detailing his observations on the genre's explosive growth and his band's steady rise in importance. The book begins by exploring Graffin’s Midwestern roots and his life-changing move to Southern California in the mid-’70s. Swept up into the burgeoning punk scene in the exhilarating and often-violent streets of Los Angeles, Graffin and his friends formed Bad Religion, built a fanbase, and became a touring institution. All these activities took place in parallel with Graffin's never ceasing quest for intellectual enlightenment. Despite the demands of global tours, recording sessions, and dedication to songwriting, the author also balanced a budding academic career. In so doing, he managed to reconcile an improbable double-life as an iconic punk rock front man and University Lecturer in evolution.
Graffin’s unique experiences mirror the paradoxical elements that define the punk genre—the pop influence, the quest for society’s betterment, music’s unifying power—all of which are prime ingredients in its surprising endurance. Fittingly, this book argues against the traditional narrative of the popular perception of punk. As Bad Religion changed from year to year, the spirit of punk—and its sonic significance—lived on while Graffin was ever willing to challenge convention, debunk mythology, and liberate listeners from the chains of indoctrination.
As insightful as it is exciting, this thought-provoking memoir provides both a fly on the wall history of the punk scene and astute commentary on its endurance and evolution.
Greg Graffin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bad Religion, recently described as “America's most significant punk band.” Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1980, Bad Religion has produced 18 studio albums, become a long-running global touring powerhouse, and has established a durable legacy as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time.
Punk Paradox is Graffin's life narrative before and during L.A. punk's early years, detailing his observations on the genre's explosive growth and his band's steady rise in importance. The book begins by exploring Graffin’s Midwestern roots and his life-changing move to Southern California in the mid-’70s. Swept up into the burgeoning punk scene in the exhilarating and often-violent streets of Los Angeles, Graffin and his friends formed Bad Religion, built a fanbase, and became a touring institution. All these activities took place in parallel with Graffin's never ceasing quest for intellectual enlightenment. Despite the demands of global tours, recording sessions, and dedication to songwriting, the author also balanced a budding academic career. In so doing, he managed to reconcile an improbable double-life as an iconic punk rock front man and University Lecturer in evolution.
Graffin’s unique experiences mirror the paradoxical elements that define the punk genre—the pop influence, the quest for society’s betterment, music’s unifying power—all of which are prime ingredients in its surprising endurance. Fittingly, this book argues against the traditional narrative of the popular perception of punk. As Bad Religion changed from year to year, the spirit of punk—and its sonic significance—lived on while Graffin was ever willing to challenge convention, debunk mythology, and liberate listeners from the chains of indoctrination.
As insightful as it is exciting, this thought-provoking memoir provides both a fly on the wall history of the punk scene and astute commentary on its endurance and evolution.
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Published November 8, 2022
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About the author
Greg Graffin
10 books305 followersGregory Walter Graffin is an American punk rock musician and college professor. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the noted Los Angeles band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980 and has been its only continual member. Graffin obtained his Ph.D. at Cornell University and has lectured courses in life sciences and paleontology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Graffin attended El Camino Real High School, then double-majored in anthropology and geology as an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles. He went on to earn a master's degree in geology from UCLA and received his Ph.D. from Cornell University. The Ph.D. dissertation was officially a zoology Ph.D., supervised by William B. Provine at Cornell. The dissertation was entitled "Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology." It is described as being essentially an evolutionary biology Ph.D. but having also relevance to history and philosophy of science.
Greg Graffin spends most of his time in Upstate New York, and teaches Life Science 1 and Earth & Space Sciences 116 (paleontology) at UCLA during the winter or fall quarters of each school year. According to a June 2008 interview with Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley, Graffin will be teaching there from January to March 2009.
Greg Graffin received the Harvard Secular Society's "Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism" on April 26, 2008. During the award ceremony he played some acoustic versions of Bad Religion songs as well as songs from his solo career.
Preston Jones, a historian at the Christian John Brown University in Arkansas, sent Graffin an e-mail asking about one of his songs, and Graffin replied. Their resulting year-long e-mail exchange was published as a book in 2006, entitled "Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? A Professor and Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity."
In 2009 Graffin announced that he had written a book entitled "Anarchy Evolution," and that it will be published by Harper Collins with a tentative release date of April 14, 2010.
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Graffin attended El Camino Real High School, then double-majored in anthropology and geology as an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles. He went on to earn a master's degree in geology from UCLA and received his Ph.D. from Cornell University. The Ph.D. dissertation was officially a zoology Ph.D., supervised by William B. Provine at Cornell. The dissertation was entitled "Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology." It is described as being essentially an evolutionary biology Ph.D. but having also relevance to history and philosophy of science.
Greg Graffin spends most of his time in Upstate New York, and teaches Life Science 1 and Earth & Space Sciences 116 (paleontology) at UCLA during the winter or fall quarters of each school year. According to a June 2008 interview with Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley, Graffin will be teaching there from January to March 2009.
Greg Graffin received the Harvard Secular Society's "Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism" on April 26, 2008. During the award ceremony he played some acoustic versions of Bad Religion songs as well as songs from his solo career.
Preston Jones, a historian at the Christian John Brown University in Arkansas, sent Graffin an e-mail asking about one of his songs, and Graffin replied. Their resulting year-long e-mail exchange was published as a book in 2006, entitled "Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? A Professor and Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity."
In 2009 Graffin announced that he had written a book entitled "Anarchy Evolution," and that it will be published by Harper Collins with a tentative release date of April 14, 2010.
Courtesy of Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
January 24, 2023
I got this as a gift in the office secret santa last month. In the secret santa survey, I listed “rock bios” as my guilty pleasure and “punk rock” as one of my interests, so it was actually quite a thoughtful gift. Anyways, I loved Bad Religion in high school (they were a gateway punk band for me, like a million other kids in the 90s) but haven’t really listened them in almost twenty years. But hey, I retain a lot of affection for them and this was sure to have juicy details about my beloved early 80s LA scene (not that I was there or anything), so I was in.
And it’s not good. The early bits about his childhood and the early days of the LA scene are interesting, but it gets less and less so the deeper we get into BR’s career. Graffin is an academic by training and I assume a perfectly cromulent academic writer, but good god is his prose bad here. Example: “Even though the audience were less-than-enthused when we took the stage—many fans couldn’t care less about the ‘opening’ bands—we nonetheless put on our usual impressive stage show. With our legendary soundman Ronnie at the helm of our live performance, no fan of music could watch with dispassionate nonchalance.” Yikes. It needed a better editor; Graffin hammers the same points (e.g., he didn’t like the preponderance of drugs in the LA scene) over and over and over. He’s got a lot of axes to grind, and he spends a lot of time grinding them (take THAT, Another State of Mind!). He contradicts himself, he overinterprets, he emptily pontificates (he has a very narrow view of punk), he provides endless details on boring things, and skips over the interesting stuff. This is for the only the biggest possible BR fans.
On the plus side, this inspired me to revisit their better albums (Suffer, No Control, Against the Grain) and they’re still pretty sweet.
And it’s not good. The early bits about his childhood and the early days of the LA scene are interesting, but it gets less and less so the deeper we get into BR’s career. Graffin is an academic by training and I assume a perfectly cromulent academic writer, but good god is his prose bad here. Example: “Even though the audience were less-than-enthused when we took the stage—many fans couldn’t care less about the ‘opening’ bands—we nonetheless put on our usual impressive stage show. With our legendary soundman Ronnie at the helm of our live performance, no fan of music could watch with dispassionate nonchalance.” Yikes. It needed a better editor; Graffin hammers the same points (e.g., he didn’t like the preponderance of drugs in the LA scene) over and over and over. He’s got a lot of axes to grind, and he spends a lot of time grinding them (take THAT, Another State of Mind!). He contradicts himself, he overinterprets, he emptily pontificates (he has a very narrow view of punk), he provides endless details on boring things, and skips over the interesting stuff. This is for the only the biggest possible BR fans.
On the plus side, this inspired me to revisit their better albums (Suffer, No Control, Against the Grain) and they’re still pretty sweet.
January 22, 2023
I dunno like I knew he was a nerd, but a self important nerd? Naw too much
March 5, 2024
Biographie des promovierten Evolutionsbiologen Dr. Greg Graffin, Punkrocker, Vater und Sänger der Band Bad Religion, die es seit 40+ Jahren gibt.
Wir durchleben seine Jugend, intellektuelle Eltern, beides Professoren, Scheidung, Punk in LA und die Entstehung der Band. Alben, Touren, Label, Trennungen etc.
Chronologisch bis zum 40jährigen Jubiläum. Allerdings keine reine Nacherzählung, sondern ein erfahrener wissenschaftlicher Schreiber, der das Ganze auch bewertet und versucht einzuordnen. Anfangs etwas schwierig, insgesamt aber gute Bio, für Fans und Musikhistorisch Interessierte.
3,5 Sterne
Wir durchleben seine Jugend, intellektuelle Eltern, beides Professoren, Scheidung, Punk in LA und die Entstehung der Band. Alben, Touren, Label, Trennungen etc.
Chronologisch bis zum 40jährigen Jubiläum. Allerdings keine reine Nacherzählung, sondern ein erfahrener wissenschaftlicher Schreiber, der das Ganze auch bewertet und versucht einzuordnen. Anfangs etwas schwierig, insgesamt aber gute Bio, für Fans und Musikhistorisch Interessierte.
3,5 Sterne
December 12, 2022
Was hoping for a few more crazy stories from the legendary Punk Band, but this is a good picture of who Greg is and what his music stands for, along with some of the family back story that helped define the backbone narrative of the Punk Professor.
I liked it. And I think there’s more to tell. When you pair this with Do What You Want, The Story of Bad Religion by Jim Ruland and the band, you get a great picture of the band and the SoCal scene.
I liked it. And I think there’s more to tell. When you pair this with Do What You Want, The Story of Bad Religion by Jim Ruland and the band, you get a great picture of the band and the SoCal scene.
November 3, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for the advanced reader copy.
This week’s headline? Music is educational
Why this book? I like Bad Religion
Which book format? ARC
Primary reading environment? Train rides
Any preconceived notions? If I don’t like this then am I even punk? 😂
Identify most with? n/a
Three little words? “gauntlet of hostility”
Goes well with? The music of Johnny Cash, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Bad Religion
Recommend this to? Bad Religion and punk music fans
Other cultural accompaniments: https://blabbermouth.net/news/bad-rel...
Grade: 4/5
I leave you with this: “Here, among the masterworks of pop art and murals of modernism, I was starting to believe that any kind of bullshit could qualify as art.”
“Music was our family glue.”
📚📚📚
While this is first and foremost a memoir, it also delves into cultural criticism of the punk genre. Something I found interesting and didn’t know previously from reading this book is that Greg Graffin has written books about science and religion.
This book won’t be for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who’s interested in music from the 70s and wants to know more about Greg Graffin’s early life.
Punk Paradox will be released on November 8, 2022.
This week’s headline? Music is educational
Why this book? I like Bad Religion
Which book format? ARC
Primary reading environment? Train rides
Any preconceived notions? If I don’t like this then am I even punk? 😂
Identify most with? n/a
Three little words? “gauntlet of hostility”
Goes well with? The music of Johnny Cash, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Bad Religion
Recommend this to? Bad Religion and punk music fans
Other cultural accompaniments: https://blabbermouth.net/news/bad-rel...
Grade: 4/5
I leave you with this: “Here, among the masterworks of pop art and murals of modernism, I was starting to believe that any kind of bullshit could qualify as art.”
“Music was our family glue.”
📚📚📚
While this is first and foremost a memoir, it also delves into cultural criticism of the punk genre. Something I found interesting and didn’t know previously from reading this book is that Greg Graffin has written books about science and religion.
This book won’t be for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who’s interested in music from the 70s and wants to know more about Greg Graffin’s early life.
Punk Paradox will be released on November 8, 2022.
December 15, 2022
He really speaks like that. A fascinating read, verbose and paradigm shifting in its force of insight into one of the longest serving bands in punk rock.
April 11, 2023
Jesus, what a windbag. And what editor thought that in 2022 it was a good idea to let an AARP member rhapsodize at length about some underage breasts he saw in 1981?
January 20, 2024
First of all: I adored this book. As a musician, Greg has created some of my favorite art of all time and provided the soundtrack to my life. The books by Greg and about BR, however, have always left me wanting more. They always felt so… academic. Which is fine and fitting, for obvious reasons. But I never felt like I really understood him as a living, breathing human being.
This book gave me the personal and emotional context that I’ve been missing. For example, I can’t stop thinking about the wrenching chapters on divorce and a family destroyed while listening to the Grey Race. It’s given me a whole new lens and love for that album. True to form, it’s wordy, profound, and at times, pretty damn funny. I wish the latter years were covered more thoroughly but overall this stands heads above the rest of the BR-related literary catalogue and all music memoirs for me. Ya-hay ❤️
February 7, 2023
2023 Book Review - Book No. 3: “Punk Paradox” by Greg Graffin
Date started: 1/9/23
Date finished: 1/29/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading if you like memoirs, deep thinkers, and the punk band Bad Religion)
Spoiler free review: My first memory of Bad Religion was from some compilation album I picked up at Record Revival when I was in 8th or 9th grade. The first song of theirs I recall is “I Want To Conquer The World”, a fast punk song about tearing down the current social and political structure and eventually save the whales (for real). Immediately I was struck by the vocals of their singer, Greg Graffin. His lyrics and vocabulary were like none I’d heard in music before then, and his sound was immediately distinct.
Fast forward to now. One of my goals for this year was to read more biographies and memoirs, and this one fit the bill nicely. I wondered how much could be gleaned from the memoirs of a 2 minute punk song craftsman. The answer was actually more than I expected! Then again, I guess that’s where the title, “Punk Paradox”, comes in.
Graffin is an Ivy League educated doctor of zoology whose spent as much of his life raging against the machine at 180 bpm as he has digging up fossils and exploring our natural world. Instead of simply throwing himself into music for the whole of his career, Graffin often balanced the academic work with the touring and recording schedules up until Bad Religion finally scored a major label deal. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Graffin managed to avoid the temptations of the So Cal punk scene so that he could continue his education and continue to develop his life philosophy through his educational pursuits.
All this said, the memoir was often repetitive. Numerous times it felt as if the story had progressed, only to go back in time and seemingly revisit events and times already covered. This could just be a symptom of a lack of an overall story. Graffin’s writing here is just as verbose and well written as his lyrics (not that I expected anything less). Ultimately, this was a decent memoir, but it wasn’t necessarily a must read.
Date started: 1/9/23
Date finished: 1/29/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading if you like memoirs, deep thinkers, and the punk band Bad Religion)
Spoiler free review: My first memory of Bad Religion was from some compilation album I picked up at Record Revival when I was in 8th or 9th grade. The first song of theirs I recall is “I Want To Conquer The World”, a fast punk song about tearing down the current social and political structure and eventually save the whales (for real). Immediately I was struck by the vocals of their singer, Greg Graffin. His lyrics and vocabulary were like none I’d heard in music before then, and his sound was immediately distinct.
Fast forward to now. One of my goals for this year was to read more biographies and memoirs, and this one fit the bill nicely. I wondered how much could be gleaned from the memoirs of a 2 minute punk song craftsman. The answer was actually more than I expected! Then again, I guess that’s where the title, “Punk Paradox”, comes in.
Graffin is an Ivy League educated doctor of zoology whose spent as much of his life raging against the machine at 180 bpm as he has digging up fossils and exploring our natural world. Instead of simply throwing himself into music for the whole of his career, Graffin often balanced the academic work with the touring and recording schedules up until Bad Religion finally scored a major label deal. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Graffin managed to avoid the temptations of the So Cal punk scene so that he could continue his education and continue to develop his life philosophy through his educational pursuits.
All this said, the memoir was often repetitive. Numerous times it felt as if the story had progressed, only to go back in time and seemingly revisit events and times already covered. This could just be a symptom of a lack of an overall story. Graffin’s writing here is just as verbose and well written as his lyrics (not that I expected anything less). Ultimately, this was a decent memoir, but it wasn’t necessarily a must read.
July 20, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette for an advanced digital copy of Punk Paradox. As a huge Bad Religion fan this way a truly enjoyable read. I recommend listening to Bad Religion while you read it, it really enhances the experience. I now need all the past and present members of Bad Religion to write a book as well.
April 20, 2023
I've loved Bad Religion since my early teens, and I've got huge respect for Gaffin and the whole band. That only grew reading the book. But my is it one humourless tract.
February 18, 2023
#16 - Greg Graffin, Punk Paradox. Graffin is the singer of Bad Religion, my favorite current punk band. He writes about growing up in a family with a divorce, moving from Milwaukee to Los Angeles and what led him to get into punk music.
I read with particular fascination his descriptions of Bad Religion's early days when they were finding their footing. There were also issues when Graffin was split between his duties with the band, to his new wife and to his academic work in Cornell. Graffin has a phd in zoology, which meant at times they could perform mostly on his summer breaks. He received his bachelors and masters degrees in geology in UCLA. He has an extinct bird named after him.
Graffin writes about how he come up with song lyrics, which are known for being articulate and
politically charged, and are one of my main attractions to the band. I also like their three-part vocal harmonies. There's also a good discussion and analysis of why fans accuse their favorite bands of being "sellouts."
This incredibly influential and popular band, who I was lucky enough to see live back when I lived in the Los Angeles area, is great and so is the book. I give it a 9.
I read with particular fascination his descriptions of Bad Religion's early days when they were finding their footing. There were also issues when Graffin was split between his duties with the band, to his new wife and to his academic work in Cornell. Graffin has a phd in zoology, which meant at times they could perform mostly on his summer breaks. He received his bachelors and masters degrees in geology in UCLA. He has an extinct bird named after him.
Graffin writes about how he come up with song lyrics, which are known for being articulate and
politically charged, and are one of my main attractions to the band. I also like their three-part vocal harmonies. There's also a good discussion and analysis of why fans accuse their favorite bands of being "sellouts."
This incredibly influential and popular band, who I was lucky enough to see live back when I lived in the Los Angeles area, is great and so is the book. I give it a 9.
April 5, 2023
This book brings back and parallels so much of my own life. Being a Midwest kid, and then because of divorce, moving to Southern California as a preteen. And then spending large parts of each year in each place. Summers with mom in Detroit, winters in San Diego and LA with dad.
And like Mr. Graffin, the activities I did with my Midwest friends differed so much from what we did back in SoCal. Midwest was baseball and sports. SoCal was skateboarding and the beach. But also like Mr. Graffin, music and expanding my knowledge were always there.
This is such well written and intelligent book. Not just on the rise of Bad Religion, but on life and being an academic in a punk band. Balancing family, PHD’s, and the love of writing and performing. Well done to you Mr. Graffin. Well done.
And like Mr. Graffin, the activities I did with my Midwest friends differed so much from what we did back in SoCal. Midwest was baseball and sports. SoCal was skateboarding and the beach. But also like Mr. Graffin, music and expanding my knowledge were always there.
This is such well written and intelligent book. Not just on the rise of Bad Religion, but on life and being an academic in a punk band. Balancing family, PHD’s, and the love of writing and performing. Well done to you Mr. Graffin. Well done.
January 12, 2023
Excellent read. A captivating look into the history of my favourite band from the perspective of its frontman.
I wish there was more detail of each and every albums conception/recording. I would have been thrilled if this book was twice as king.
The only true negative I would say is how much the last 20 years was basically an afterthought of half a chapter. Certainly the beginnings are the most interesting, but there have been many albums and band developments since Brett rejoined and very little time was dedicated to any of that.
Maybe a sequel in a few years? :)
I wish there was more detail of each and every albums conception/recording. I would have been thrilled if this book was twice as king.
The only true negative I would say is how much the last 20 years was basically an afterthought of half a chapter. Certainly the beginnings are the most interesting, but there have been many albums and band developments since Brett rejoined and very little time was dedicated to any of that.
Maybe a sequel in a few years? :)
January 2, 2023
They say never meet your heroes, and even though I've already met him a few times, I still had a bit of trepidation in cracking open his autobiography. At worst, I feared I might find he bears resentment or ill-will toward the band, the genre, or his fans; at least, I might just read another collection of anecdotes and musings I had already read elsewhere. Luckily, I'm not as smart as I think I am, and this was an intimate glimpse into someone I've looked up to for years that still surprised me and gave me plenty to think about.
Now comes the herculean effort to convince myself this (and DWYW) isn't an artist working themselves up to retirement…
Now comes the herculean effort to convince myself this (and DWYW) isn't an artist working themselves up to retirement…
January 10, 2023
I've read Graffin's other books and enjoyed them too varying degrees. I think this one is somewhere in the middle. Generally enjoyable, although some of the material is present in his other books and in the Bad Religion book that was released by the band recently.
July 6, 2023
Greg gives us more than a wee lil peek into his life and inner machinations. Even the legendary Greg Graffin has insecurities.
January 16, 2024
A great read for anyone identifying to the punk culture. Greg Graffin details his life and thoughts about his upbringing in academic households, how it fed him throughout his musical life and how his approach to punk culture actually feeds both these sides of him to this day.
Beautifully written, and as rich and eloquent as any song he has written to this day, I really enjoyed going through the 80s and 90s SoCal punk scene history depicted in the pages. Having the singer and co-writer of one of the most influential punk act of all time, a man I absolutely admire, was definitely one hell of a treat for me.
As Fat Mike of NOFX sometimes put it, having a thesaurus not too far might be a good idea while reading this book as it is definitely written in the same way Bad Religion's songs are (well, especially if English is not your first language anyway)
Beautifully written, and as rich and eloquent as any song he has written to this day, I really enjoyed going through the 80s and 90s SoCal punk scene history depicted in the pages. Having the singer and co-writer of one of the most influential punk act of all time, a man I absolutely admire, was definitely one hell of a treat for me.
As Fat Mike of NOFX sometimes put it, having a thesaurus not too far might be a good idea while reading this book as it is definitely written in the same way Bad Religion's songs are (well, especially if English is not your first language anyway)
January 14, 2025
it's an interesting read but can be a bit devoid of emotion. I would have appreciated a bit less of a clinical view of events.
September 22, 2023
I was part of the Southern California punk scene, saw Bad Religion several times, as well as every other punk band mentioned in the book.
It’s disappointing to learn what a terrible time Greg had in the scene, and how apparently bored he was by all of it.
It’s nice to have his details to fill in what happened with the band and it’s members, and every member of management and every record label executive…
But I digress. If you’re a hardcore fan of the band, give it a go, if you’re looking for stories from “back in the day”, keep looking. Maybe try Keith Morris’ book “My Damage”.
It’s disappointing to learn what a terrible time Greg had in the scene, and how apparently bored he was by all of it.
It’s nice to have his details to fill in what happened with the band and it’s members, and every member of management and every record label executive…
But I digress. If you’re a hardcore fan of the band, give it a go, if you’re looking for stories from “back in the day”, keep looking. Maybe try Keith Morris’ book “My Damage”.
February 28, 2024
If you want to read Greg Graffin talk in circles and constantly condescend everyone he's ever heard of: this is the book for you. We get it. You were born into a privileged household with 2 loving parents who worked at elite schools that granted you a better life than most. The constant theme of "I was an academic, I came from scholars, I'm better" was embarrassing. Graffin says how he was never fully accepted by his peers in the punk scene and didn't fully envelope the philosophy but goes on to call himself a punk ambassador and trailblazer. He repeatedly calls his fans junkies, speed freaks, and thugs. He criticizes everything with even remote themes of punk for not being "real punk" but later criticizes people trying to label and categorize what punk is. The entore book he talks in circles and discredits himself. He moans and whines about how long it took his band to gain popularity, but the entire time, he road the coattails of the Circle Jerks and never would have been anything without Greg Hetson. He bashes every band (save for the Circle Jerks) that's been relayed to punk. He hilariously belittled College Rick even though Bad Religion has always been known as the college rock version of a punk band. The way he speaks about friends and especially the way he admittingly has treated women is typical for a boomer but still inexcusable. I'm almost embarrassed to say I've seen them live after reading this. The elitism and ego seeping from this man is toxic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2022
Greg Graffin's Punk Paradox is a very good memoir that crosses into cultural criticism as well. Great for fans of the band Bad Religion as well as music lovers in general.
I enjoyed this book more than the last Bad Religion book I read (Do What You Want) even though I enjoyed it as well. But where the other is a history of the band (written by the band with Jim Ruland) this focuses on Graffin and one person's inside story of the band and punk music as a whole.
I was probably as intrigued by some of his thoughts that tended toward the more abstract, from rationales for songs or the scene itself to looking reflectively at his own life. While those who are fans may well enjoy it for nothing more than learning more about them (nothing wrong with that, that's what fans do) those who are more casual fans will find a lot here to keep them engaged as well.
Highly recommended for fans of Bad Religion, from the most casual to the most diehard, as well as any readers who enjoy memoirs about stars in the music industry. If you've read Do What You Want I would also recommend this as a great companion book, offering a bit more depth and a lot more personal perspective.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I enjoyed this book more than the last Bad Religion book I read (Do What You Want) even though I enjoyed it as well. But where the other is a history of the band (written by the band with Jim Ruland) this focuses on Graffin and one person's inside story of the band and punk music as a whole.
I was probably as intrigued by some of his thoughts that tended toward the more abstract, from rationales for songs or the scene itself to looking reflectively at his own life. While those who are fans may well enjoy it for nothing more than learning more about them (nothing wrong with that, that's what fans do) those who are more casual fans will find a lot here to keep them engaged as well.
Highly recommended for fans of Bad Religion, from the most casual to the most diehard, as well as any readers who enjoy memoirs about stars in the music industry. If you've read Do What You Want I would also recommend this as a great companion book, offering a bit more depth and a lot more personal perspective.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
December 8, 2022
Ein sympathisches, aber relativ langweiliges Buch. Also Greg steht nicht auf Eskapaden, aber vom Sänger einer der dienstältesten USpunkbands hab ich Spannenderes erwarter. Für Fans sicherlich unterhaltsam, aber wer nicht gerade auf Studiumsverlaufsbeschreibungen steht und bei einem Punksänger mehr Eskapaden als eine kaputte Autoscheibe beim Footballspielen erwartet, ist hier falsch. Keine Kritik am Menschen, denn der ist reflektiert, hat die richtige Einstellung und die richtigen Werte und ist jemand, mit dem ich gerne mal eine Cola trinken würde, weil er schon viel erlebt hat, aber vielleicht liegt ihm das Punksongschreiben eben mehr, als das von Büchern.
October 31, 2022
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this new musical memoir.
Punk rock is hard to define, to some hard to listen to, to some the only thing that is true and right in the world, that music starts to get popular, than they are sellouts and deserve scorn. Just because the music is loud, or it sounds like the band just met the instruments they are playing doesn't make a band punk. Staying true to yourself, living the life you want playing music studying for a PhD., making a scene and singing the truth. That's punk. And punk is Greg Graffin. Singer, songwriter and the one man to be in all the iterations of the seminal punk band Bad Religion, Graffin has seen it all and has the receipts and the diploma to prove it as he shows in his memoir Punk Paradox.
Gregory Walter Graffin was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1964. Growing up in the midwest gave him a solid grounding in life and in himself, one that helped him deal with the scene that was Southern California in the 1970's when he moved there. Music was in not just the cafes but anywhere a band could set up, clubs, youth centers abandoned buildings, and Graffin was amidst it all. At the age of 15 he co-founded the band Bad Religion in 1980 along with Brett Gerwitz who later went on to start Epitaph Records to distribute the band, but later became a major label success. Touring constantly, playing anywhere and building contacts and a support base of fans started the band up the pole of popularity. However Graffin's love of music was equal to his love of knowledge and he attended college and grad school along with touring and writing, getting a PhD in Zoology in A major label deal was in the future and great things looked to come. Until they didn't.
A memoir that is both about music, a scene at its beginning and academia. All of which is very well written and very interesting, with stories, memories, some with a little of the anger Bad Religion's songs were known for. The narrative is always interesting, with a nice propulsion that keeps things moving, never really slowing down. Graffin is honest to a fault, quick to place blame on himself for things, slow to assign. Unless Graffin is calling out the powerful, than look out. Graffin also doesn't spare many punches on the punk scene he grew up in, nor what he thinks happened. A very outspoken, honest and funny memoir.
Recommended for fans of the band, and for fans of punk music in general as the information on the scene is very interesting with a lot of fun, different stories. Graffin was and is a guy who lives by his own punk ethos, and it is good to see that that has not changed.
Punk rock is hard to define, to some hard to listen to, to some the only thing that is true and right in the world, that music starts to get popular, than they are sellouts and deserve scorn. Just because the music is loud, or it sounds like the band just met the instruments they are playing doesn't make a band punk. Staying true to yourself, living the life you want playing music studying for a PhD., making a scene and singing the truth. That's punk. And punk is Greg Graffin. Singer, songwriter and the one man to be in all the iterations of the seminal punk band Bad Religion, Graffin has seen it all and has the receipts and the diploma to prove it as he shows in his memoir Punk Paradox.
Gregory Walter Graffin was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1964. Growing up in the midwest gave him a solid grounding in life and in himself, one that helped him deal with the scene that was Southern California in the 1970's when he moved there. Music was in not just the cafes but anywhere a band could set up, clubs, youth centers abandoned buildings, and Graffin was amidst it all. At the age of 15 he co-founded the band Bad Religion in 1980 along with Brett Gerwitz who later went on to start Epitaph Records to distribute the band, but later became a major label success. Touring constantly, playing anywhere and building contacts and a support base of fans started the band up the pole of popularity. However Graffin's love of music was equal to his love of knowledge and he attended college and grad school along with touring and writing, getting a PhD in Zoology in A major label deal was in the future and great things looked to come. Until they didn't.
A memoir that is both about music, a scene at its beginning and academia. All of which is very well written and very interesting, with stories, memories, some with a little of the anger Bad Religion's songs were known for. The narrative is always interesting, with a nice propulsion that keeps things moving, never really slowing down. Graffin is honest to a fault, quick to place blame on himself for things, slow to assign. Unless Graffin is calling out the powerful, than look out. Graffin also doesn't spare many punches on the punk scene he grew up in, nor what he thinks happened. A very outspoken, honest and funny memoir.
Recommended for fans of the band, and for fans of punk music in general as the information on the scene is very interesting with a lot of fun, different stories. Graffin was and is a guy who lives by his own punk ethos, and it is good to see that that has not changed.
January 1, 2023
It is a little bit strange when you read the whole-life story of a man within a one week. It can be hard to comprehend and actually have a proper image, how the stories are related to the flying time.
Me, musician and punk myself for most of my life, can strongly relate to Greg Graffin - he is for sure one of my biggest heroes and this memoir just confirmed my personal imagination of this guy. I highly admire the work ethic, enthusiasm and inspirational ideas he put into his songwriting craft through all of those years. In fact, I little bit envy that he can always translate so many ideas into meaningful lyrics and catchy songs unbreakably.
But what is most important is the punk itself. Since my start with punk I was always sure, that it is not just cliche like "drugs, sex, rock'n'roll", that there is something more into it, and in reality punk is the exact opposite - as Greg stated at the end of the book:
"Destruction may still prevail as a punk archetype, but in our case, the only thing being destroyed is ignorance, falsehood, and superstition."
I'm sure this is the reason why Bad Religion is my absolutely favourite band for more than 20 years.
There is some peculiar stuff in the book why I cannot put 5 stars review. For example too long passages describing (by my opinion) not so important realities (like highway roads on the way to California) and some really important ones mention just briefly - or in some case not at all (there is story behind every single album except "No Control"; I'm really wondering if this was avoided on purpose or where is the problem).
Couple of notes:
- if you expect to find full Bad Religion story in this book, make sure the picture will be much more complete if you read also "Do What You Want", the band history itself
- if you expect to find complete picture about Greg Graffin, be sure you read also his other books, "Anarchy Revolution" and "Population Wars".
It was an excellent journey to read this book, my last one in 2022 and I can tell I'm more than happy that it was this one. Recommended not only to Bad Religion/Greg Graffin fans but also to all readers with stereotyped views about punk - music or lifestyle.
Me, musician and punk myself for most of my life, can strongly relate to Greg Graffin - he is for sure one of my biggest heroes and this memoir just confirmed my personal imagination of this guy. I highly admire the work ethic, enthusiasm and inspirational ideas he put into his songwriting craft through all of those years. In fact, I little bit envy that he can always translate so many ideas into meaningful lyrics and catchy songs unbreakably.
But what is most important is the punk itself. Since my start with punk I was always sure, that it is not just cliche like "drugs, sex, rock'n'roll", that there is something more into it, and in reality punk is the exact opposite - as Greg stated at the end of the book:
"Destruction may still prevail as a punk archetype, but in our case, the only thing being destroyed is ignorance, falsehood, and superstition."
I'm sure this is the reason why Bad Religion is my absolutely favourite band for more than 20 years.
There is some peculiar stuff in the book why I cannot put 5 stars review. For example too long passages describing (by my opinion) not so important realities (like highway roads on the way to California) and some really important ones mention just briefly - or in some case not at all (there is story behind every single album except "No Control"; I'm really wondering if this was avoided on purpose or where is the problem).
Couple of notes:
- if you expect to find full Bad Religion story in this book, make sure the picture will be much more complete if you read also "Do What You Want", the band history itself
- if you expect to find complete picture about Greg Graffin, be sure you read also his other books, "Anarchy Revolution" and "Population Wars".
It was an excellent journey to read this book, my last one in 2022 and I can tell I'm more than happy that it was this one. Recommended not only to Bad Religion/Greg Graffin fans but also to all readers with stereotyped views about punk - music or lifestyle.
July 23, 2023
Bad Religion was probably my favorite band when I was a teenager, and I was very excited to read this book because of that. There is a lot here that makes the puzzle pieces fall into place as a Bad Religion fan in hearing about Greg’s upbringing: his father was a college professor and his mom a dean, Greg’s mother rebelled against her preacher father’s very conservative church and spent her life trying to dilute the influence of such religions, and Greg was unwilling Californian when his mom moved him and his brother there in a post-divorce job change. There are a lot of aha moments like that where you get a good sense of where Bad Religion got their perspective from.
However, when it comes to the individual songs and albums, Greg says almost nothing about their songwriting or recording. The classic period from the albums Suffer to Stranger Than Fiction gets almost no coverage in terms of what went into those records artistically. Instead, Greg spends a lot of time talking about how their tours were organized and the marketing campaigns around promoting those albums. It’s interesting, but the lack of insight into the songs themselves was a strange and unfortunate omission. This becomes even clearer when Greg actually goes into some detail about the songs from the Gray Race, whose societal critiques double as metaphors for the divorce he was going through at the time. That’s interesting! I wish he would have shared more about other albums in the same way. The music and lyrics deserved more analysis and introspection than this book gave them.
Overall Greg comes across as just another guy trying to balance a demanding career with a fulfilling family life, and instead of coming across like a rock star he is as oddly relatable as any other white collar guy climbing up the ladder. But it still feels like there were some missed opportunities, and I don’t see how this book would really appeal to anyone who was not already a huge Bad Religion fan. But if you don’t know them, please get a copy of their All Ages compilation and see if that might be your thing! It’s a better starting point than this book.
However, when it comes to the individual songs and albums, Greg says almost nothing about their songwriting or recording. The classic period from the albums Suffer to Stranger Than Fiction gets almost no coverage in terms of what went into those records artistically. Instead, Greg spends a lot of time talking about how their tours were organized and the marketing campaigns around promoting those albums. It’s interesting, but the lack of insight into the songs themselves was a strange and unfortunate omission. This becomes even clearer when Greg actually goes into some detail about the songs from the Gray Race, whose societal critiques double as metaphors for the divorce he was going through at the time. That’s interesting! I wish he would have shared more about other albums in the same way. The music and lyrics deserved more analysis and introspection than this book gave them.
Overall Greg comes across as just another guy trying to balance a demanding career with a fulfilling family life, and instead of coming across like a rock star he is as oddly relatable as any other white collar guy climbing up the ladder. But it still feels like there were some missed opportunities, and I don’t see how this book would really appeal to anyone who was not already a huge Bad Religion fan. But if you don’t know them, please get a copy of their All Ages compilation and see if that might be your thing! It’s a better starting point than this book.
January 2, 2023
Full disclosure: the author of this memoir is the lead singer and only constant member of my putative favorite band, a band that has existed for 42 years, and one I've listened to intently for over 25 years. Which is to say, I've read I think 2 of his other books and a couple of the articles he had previously written (his "Comment on Responsible Voting" and "A Punk Synopsis," both from 1997, remain keystone-type readings for me). In other words, I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting into.
Despite enjoying the depiction of Graffin's early years in Wisconsin (geographic and temporal familiarity do not breed contempt, it turns out, for me), and learning quite a bit, I found myself feeling a little nonplussed by around the halfway point. Graffin's prose style can feel on the clinical side for me sometimes, tending more towards analytical than emotional. Things picked up for me for what I think is the most interesting (if least-satisfying) part of Graffin's musical career, when he found himself as the sole songwriter in the band. Graffin's growth as a songwriter during this time is reflected, I think, in how he approaches the memoir here - he provides more emotional insight here than he did for a lot of the rest of the book, which helped it end on a pretty satisfying (if maybe a little abrupt/early) note.
In the end I wound up on 4/5 stars and a keen interest in what someone who isn't a fan of Bad Religion would think of the book. As I wrapped it up, I found myself thinking about a tweet from 2018 from Graffin: a picture of him and Mr. Brett with an acoustic guitar captioned "new songs in the pipeline." I recall taking a moment to stop and appreciate that an old guy like me still had a favorite band that was actively making (excellent, if you happened to pick up Age of Unreason) music. I concluded with a similar feeling about Graffin's memoir - having the chance to read the memoir of someone who has hugely influenced my own thinking and brought me untold amounts of joy over the past quarter-century plus is, ultimately, a privilege a lot of people don't get. It's hard to have much other than gratitude for the opportunity to get more insight from a guy who's already provided so much insight.
Despite enjoying the depiction of Graffin's early years in Wisconsin (geographic and temporal familiarity do not breed contempt, it turns out, for me), and learning quite a bit, I found myself feeling a little nonplussed by around the halfway point. Graffin's prose style can feel on the clinical side for me sometimes, tending more towards analytical than emotional. Things picked up for me for what I think is the most interesting (if least-satisfying) part of Graffin's musical career, when he found himself as the sole songwriter in the band. Graffin's growth as a songwriter during this time is reflected, I think, in how he approaches the memoir here - he provides more emotional insight here than he did for a lot of the rest of the book, which helped it end on a pretty satisfying (if maybe a little abrupt/early) note.
In the end I wound up on 4/5 stars and a keen interest in what someone who isn't a fan of Bad Religion would think of the book. As I wrapped it up, I found myself thinking about a tweet from 2018 from Graffin: a picture of him and Mr. Brett with an acoustic guitar captioned "new songs in the pipeline." I recall taking a moment to stop and appreciate that an old guy like me still had a favorite band that was actively making (excellent, if you happened to pick up Age of Unreason) music. I concluded with a similar feeling about Graffin's memoir - having the chance to read the memoir of someone who has hugely influenced my own thinking and brought me untold amounts of joy over the past quarter-century plus is, ultimately, a privilege a lot of people don't get. It's hard to have much other than gratitude for the opportunity to get more insight from a guy who's already provided so much insight.
November 19, 2025
At only about 360 pages I imagined this to was going to be a brisk run through the career of one of the most influential bands in my life...what I got was not that. 50% of this book is spent in pre-1985 it seems. 25% is spent on the academic ventures of Mr. Graffin, 10% is spent talking about nature or architecture and about 15% is actually talking about Bad Religion. Only one album gets run through song for song on deeper meanings and discussing the intent behind the lyrics, every other album is acknowledged and then quickly left behind to discuss something else.
Graffin also spends an inordinate amount of time defending himself from punk, seemingly having someone in the room with him constantly questioning his punk credentials, but as a reader it made me feel like he was trying to convince ME that he was actually punk. Far be it from me to say what should be in someones book but the lack of depth that went into the discussion of very influential music was a constant sticking point with me as I read through it.
The book was published in 2022 and the last meaningful date talked about is 2004...take off a year for the time to publish and that is 17 years worth of life just left off from this book. The prose in which this is written is at points unnecessarily verbose and dense and at a few points filled with jargon most people will not understand. There were portions of this book that read like an academic paper, others that read like a creative writing assignment. Some buildings get more time spent on them in the book than albums by the band.
I'm a massive fan of Bad Religion, their logo has been a focal point on my concert gear and on my playlist since I was 13 back in 2009 ripping their songs off limewire...I made it through the book. If you want to know about the music I'd say stay away, but if you're deathly curious about the inner minutia and stream of consciousness of Greg Graffin then go ahead and pick it up.
Graffin also spends an inordinate amount of time defending himself from punk, seemingly having someone in the room with him constantly questioning his punk credentials, but as a reader it made me feel like he was trying to convince ME that he was actually punk. Far be it from me to say what should be in someones book but the lack of depth that went into the discussion of very influential music was a constant sticking point with me as I read through it.
The book was published in 2022 and the last meaningful date talked about is 2004...take off a year for the time to publish and that is 17 years worth of life just left off from this book. The prose in which this is written is at points unnecessarily verbose and dense and at a few points filled with jargon most people will not understand. There were portions of this book that read like an academic paper, others that read like a creative writing assignment. Some buildings get more time spent on them in the book than albums by the band.
I'm a massive fan of Bad Religion, their logo has been a focal point on my concert gear and on my playlist since I was 13 back in 2009 ripping their songs off limewire...I made it through the book. If you want to know about the music I'd say stay away, but if you're deathly curious about the inner minutia and stream of consciousness of Greg Graffin then go ahead and pick it up.
November 3, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for the advanced reader copy.
This week’s headline? Music is educational
Why this book? I like Bad Religion
Which book format? ARC
Primary reading environment? Train rides
Any preconceived notions? If I don’t like this then am I even punk? 😂
Identify most with? n/a
Three little words? “gauntlet of hostility”
Goes well with? The music of Johnny Cash, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Bad Religion
Recommend this to? Bad Religion and punk music fans
Other cultural accompaniments: https://blabbermouth.net/news/bad-rel...
Grade: 4/5
I leave you with this: “Here, among the masterworks of pop art and murals of modernism, I was starting to believe that any kind of bullshit could qualify as art.”
“Music was our family glue.”
📚📚📚
While this is first and foremost a memoir, it also delves into cultural criticism of the punk genre. Something I found interesting and didn’t know previously from reading this book is that Greg Graffin has written books about science and religion.
This book won’t be for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who’s interested in music from the 70s and wants to know more about Greg Graffin’s early life.
Punk Paradox will be released on November 8, 2022.
This week’s headline? Music is educational
Why this book? I like Bad Religion
Which book format? ARC
Primary reading environment? Train rides
Any preconceived notions? If I don’t like this then am I even punk? 😂
Identify most with? n/a
Three little words? “gauntlet of hostility”
Goes well with? The music of Johnny Cash, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Bad Religion
Recommend this to? Bad Religion and punk music fans
Other cultural accompaniments: https://blabbermouth.net/news/bad-rel...
Grade: 4/5
I leave you with this: “Here, among the masterworks of pop art and murals of modernism, I was starting to believe that any kind of bullshit could qualify as art.”
“Music was our family glue.”
📚📚📚
While this is first and foremost a memoir, it also delves into cultural criticism of the punk genre. Something I found interesting and didn’t know previously from reading this book is that Greg Graffin has written books about science and religion.
This book won’t be for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who’s interested in music from the 70s and wants to know more about Greg Graffin’s early life.
Punk Paradox will be released on November 8, 2022.
May 13, 2023
For a songwriter, the book is a dispassionate reportage rather than a lyrical composition of literary merit. Interesting, still, especially the life experiences and reasoning that explains the endeavor to advance the values of the enlightenment through punk rock music and the choices he makes along the way.
Grounded in music as entertainment, an art, a pursuit, I don't think he understands quite what punk rock means to some of us. The music could disappear tomorrow and we'd still be down with a different way to live. For instance, he relates how his view of punk rock in the late 90's and early 2000's was that there was little happening and it wasn't interesting. My experience is exactly the opposite, being in contact with punks around the world operating in small to medium scenes and actively using the mail and the new means of communications to make connections. I was trading zines and music with people on Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, UK, and elsewhere.
This took a long time to finish because it was my morning ten minutes to read before work each day, not because it wasn't entertaining. 3 stars for general audience, 4 stars for punk fans with the window into early LA from someone not getting wasted all the time, and 5 stars for Bad Religion fans.
Grounded in music as entertainment, an art, a pursuit, I don't think he understands quite what punk rock means to some of us. The music could disappear tomorrow and we'd still be down with a different way to live. For instance, he relates how his view of punk rock in the late 90's and early 2000's was that there was little happening and it wasn't interesting. My experience is exactly the opposite, being in contact with punks around the world operating in small to medium scenes and actively using the mail and the new means of communications to make connections. I was trading zines and music with people on Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, UK, and elsewhere.
This took a long time to finish because it was my morning ten minutes to read before work each day, not because it wasn't entertaining. 3 stars for general audience, 4 stars for punk fans with the window into early LA from someone not getting wasted all the time, and 5 stars for Bad Religion fans.
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