10 Modern Classics By Old Bands
The old dogs learning new tricks.
Every band has their time in the spotlight where they can do no wrong. Whether it's their first outing or just a chance crossover onto the charts, most bands relish the opportunity of having hits that resonate with a lot of people. However, the momentum from a band's glory years does have an expiration date as years become decades.
Over time, the public tends to get too comfortable with certain acts, which leads them to fade from public view. While they may pop up in the public consciousness every now and again, these bandshardly stand a chance at radio play as the years go on. There are, of course, exceptions though.
As bands grow and mature, they refine their sound and are firing on all cylinders to such an extent that their songwriting gets a second wind. These late-era triumphs can involve everything from the band stepping out of their comfort zone to just making a kick-ass tune that can go toe-to-toe with their classic material. With these tunes, these bands showed us they could bring their A-game no matter what era they're in.
10. Lose Your Head - Bad Religion
Bad Religion were a ravenous outfit from the California hardcore scene back in the 80's. Their nervy punk rock interspersed with incredibly melodic vocal harmonies gave them massive songs like "American Jesus" and "21st Century Digital Boy." While the band had maintained a pretty consistent track record, it was clear that the band was in danger of falling into a bit of a holding pattern.
Upon the release of their new album Age of Unreason, the song "Lose Your Head" blew out of the speakers like a life-affirming friend. Always the intellectual set, the band addresses the problems that are affecting the world today from religious unrest to the contentious political climate.
Instead of taking the anarchist approach to the lyrics, Greg Graffin offers up a comforting message of staying calm throughout these hard times and not letting all the ugliness of the world affect your soul. If we all complain about how life could end in an instant, why not enjoy the life we are living in the present moment?
In a stressful time for the world, Bad Religion delivered a track that helped us dust ourselves off and start moving in the right direction again.