Bad Religion's Greg Graffin has announced a new book. The frontman will expand his bibliography with memoir Punk Paradox, set to arrive November 8 via Hachette Books.
Punk Paradox is billed by the publisher as both "a historical memoir and cultural criticism of punk rock's evolution."
Graffin is said to reflect on his own life before and during the genre's early emergence in Los Angeles, and observe on the genre's later explosion and his band's place within it, to ultimately argue "against the traditional narrative of the popular perception of punk."
An abstract for the book reads as follows:
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.
Punk Paradox is now available for pre-order. It follows Graffin's 2015 book Population Wars: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence, which came with a bonus 7-inch of acoustic versions of songs from the Bad Religion catalogue.
Graffin and his Bad Religion bandmates celebrated 40 years of music-making with 2020 band autobiography Do What You Want.
After delivering most recent album Age of Unreason in 2019, the band followed up with singles "What Are We Standing For" and "Emancipation of the Mind" in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Graffin also released solo album Millport in 2017, and performed one of its tracks live for Exclaim! TV's No Future that same year.
Punk Paradox is billed by the publisher as both "a historical memoir and cultural criticism of punk rock's evolution."
Graffin is said to reflect on his own life before and during the genre's early emergence in Los Angeles, and observe on the genre's later explosion and his band's place within it, to ultimately argue "against the traditional narrative of the popular perception of punk."
An abstract for the book reads as follows:
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.
Punk Paradox is now available for pre-order. It follows Graffin's 2015 book Population Wars: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence, which came with a bonus 7-inch of acoustic versions of songs from the Bad Religion catalogue.
Graffin and his Bad Religion bandmates celebrated 40 years of music-making with 2020 band autobiography Do What You Want.
After delivering most recent album Age of Unreason in 2019, the band followed up with singles "What Are We Standing For" and "Emancipation of the Mind" in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Graffin also released solo album Millport in 2017, and performed one of its tracks live for Exclaim! TV's No Future that same year.
