When asked which Bad Religion song best represents the band, Jay enthusiastically responded with “Do What You Want” from the album Suffer. He explained that the song captures their attitude of “hey, do what you want” and reflects their belief in individual freedom. However, he also mentioned that Brett adds the line “but don’t do that around me” to express his desire to keep negativity out of his life. Overall, the song embodies the Bad Religion philosophy of thinking for oneself and not imposing on others. An acoustic version of the song was recorded at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark in 1993. Brett further explained that the song explores the punk rock ethic of doing what you want and connects it to Nietzsche’s philosophy of the will to power. He clarified that when he says he doesn’t believe in God, he means he doesn’t believe in the Christian concept of God. The video for “Do What You Want” is widely discussed and is likely the one found on the compilation album Punk Rock Songs (The Epic Years).
This content was originally written by the badass contributors of thebrpage.net, the best superfan resource and website that exists for any band, let alone the best band in the whole entire world. I’ve been lurking on that site for over 20 years and if you’re into Bad Religion as much as I am, I’m sure you’re familiar. If you are not, go there right now and never come back to this site again. You should, and I totally understand.
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