Stranger than Fiction (Bad Religion album)

Stranger than Fiction
Studio album by Bad Religion
Released September 6, 1994 (1994-09-06)
Recorded April–May 1994
Studio Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park, Los Angeles
Genre Punk rock, melodic hardcore
Length 38:28
Label Atlantic
Producer Andy Wallace, Bad Religion
Bad Religion chronology
Recipe for Hate
(1993)Recipe for Hate1993		 Stranger Than Fiction
(1994)		 All Ages
(1995)All Ages1995
Singles from Stranger Than Fiction
  1. "21st Century (Digital Boy)"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Infected"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Stranger Than Fiction"
    Released: 1994
  4. "Incomplete"
    Released: 1995

Stranger than Fiction is the eighth full-length studio album (tenth release overall) by Bad Religion, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music).

Release

Stranger Than Fiction was their first album released on the major label Atlantic Records (although that label re-released the previous album, Recipe for Hate), and also its last release with guitarist Brett Gurewitz, who left just prior to the album's 1994-1995 world tour, only to return to the band seven years later. On tour, Gurewitz was replaced by Brian Baker, who would stay with the band permanently.

With sales continuing 24 years after its release, Stranger Than Fiction is one of Bad Religion's most successful albums, featuring two of their well-known hit singles, "Infected" and the re-recorded version of "21st Century (Digital Boy)", which both earned airplay on MTV and radio stations, such as KROQ. The album included one more hit single, "Stranger Than Fiction", though the last one, "Incomplete", failed to make any national chart. The album also includes fan favorites, "Leave Mine To Me", "Tiny Voices", "The Handshake", and "Better Off Dead." As of today, Stranger Than Fiction remains the only Bad Religion record to obtain gold status in the United States and Canada. The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008.

In 2009, Rhino Records released a colored vinyl to coincide with this album's 15th anniversary.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[4]
Hot Press7/12[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

Stranger Than Fiction was released on September 6, 1994 and became the first Bad Religion album distributed via Atlantic Records. On September 24 of that year, the album peaked at number 87 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[7] and on March 4, 1998, also became Bad Religion's first (and only) album to be certified gold in the United States.[8]

Allmusic's Jack Rabid (The Big Takeover) praised this album as a "rare case of selling out in reverse" and songs such as "Leave Mine to Me", "Individual", "Tiny Voices" and "Marked", calling them "all uptempo barnburners, pulverizing in their rapid passion". He also criticizes "'Infected' and 'Television'" as "the two least effective songs of their 15 years, the former a third-rate 'Sanity'", referring to the seventh track on 1989's No Control.

In November 2011, Stranger Than Fiction was ranked number one on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994, with The Offspring's Smash in second place and Weezer's Weezer in third place.[9] Loudwire placed Stranger Than Fiction at No. 9 on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list.[10] In July 2014, Stranger Than Fiction was featured on Guitar World magazine's "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Incomplete"Gurewitz2:28
2."Leave Mine to Me"Graffin2:07
3."Stranger Than Fiction"Gurewitz2:20
4."Tiny Voices"Graffin2:36
5."The Handshake"Graffin2:50
6."Better Off Dead"Gurewitz2:39
7."Infected"Gurewitz4:08
8."Television" (featuring Tim Armstrong)Gurewitz, Johnette Napolitano2:03
9."Individual"Graffin1:58
10."Hooray for Me..."Gurewitz2:50
11."Slumber"Graffin2:39
12."Marked" (featuring Jim Lindberg)Gurewitz1:48
13."Inner Logic"Graffin2:58
14."What It Is"Graffin2:08
15."21st Century (Digital Boy)"Gurewitz2:47

B-sides

  • "Mediocrity" (Graffin) – 2:45

Personnel

Collaborations

In pop culture

  • "21st Century (Digital Boy)" is a downloadable song for the Rock Band video game. "Infected" also appeared on the first Guitar Hero.
  • The Japan only bonus track "Leaders and Followers" was featured in the movie Clerks.
  • The song "Inner Logic" was included on the soundtrack for the video game Crazy Taxi.
  • Tite Kubo chose "News From the Front" as the theme song of Ichigo Kurosaki, main character of his manga Bleach.
  • Progressive rock band Anathema covered the song "Better Off Dead" with female vocals. Anathema's version is very slow and involves mostly piano.
  • Early versions of the online game "Punk-O-Matic" used "Tiny Voices" as the opening song.
  • New York melodic hardcore punk band After the Fall mentioned Stranger Than Fiction in their song "1994",[13] which appears on their 2009 album Fort Orange.[14]

Re-releases

Stranger Than Fiction was re-released several times, with different labels, covers and formats in different countries (see the table below).[15]

Year Country Format Label Note
1994 Europe CD Sony 477343 2 Bonus Tracks
1994 USA Vinyl LP Atlantic 82658-1
1994 Germany CD Dragnet DRA 477343 6 Alternative Cover; Bonus Tracks; Collector's Edition
1994 USA Cassette Atlantic 82658-4
1994 USA CD Atlantic 82658-2
1995 Germany CD Dragnet DRA 477343 60 Bonus Tracks
2009 USA Vinyl LP Rhino R1 82658 Reissue; Colored Vinyl
2018 USA, Europe Vinyl LP, CD, Cassette Epitaph 86994-1 Reissue; Remaster

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1994 The Billboard 200 87

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1994 "21st Century (Digital Boy)" Modern Rock Tracks 11
"Stranger Than Fiction" Modern Rock Tracks 28
1995 "Infected" Mainstream Rock Tracks 33
Modern Rock Tracks 27

References

  1. ↑ Rabid, Jack. Stranger than Fiction at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Kot, Greg (1994-09-29). "Bad Religion Stranger Than Fiction (Atlantic)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2000-10-15). "Bad Religion: Stranger than Fiction". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
  4. ↑ Frost, Deborah (1994-09-09). "Stranger than Fiction". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  5. ↑ Kelly, Nick (1994-10-19). "Hotpress Archive Area". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 2003-05-30.
  6. ↑ Kot, Greg. "Stranger Than Fiction: Bad Religion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2005-05-02.
  7. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. February 2016. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  8. ↑ "RIAA Certification (type in "Bad Religion" in the artist box)". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  9. ↑ Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1994". GuitarWorld.com. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
  10. ↑ "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994". Loudwire. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ The Bad Religion Page Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "AFTER THE FALL LYRICS - 1994". Plyrics.com. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  14. ↑ "After The Fall (2) - Fort Orange at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  15. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction by Bad Religion : Reviews and Ratings - Rate Your Music". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
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