21st Century (Digital Boy)

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“21st Century (Digital Boy)”
Single by Bad Religion from the album Stranger Than Fiction
Released	1990 (1994 rereleased)
Format	vinyl record 7"
Recorded	Original version: May 1990 at Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California Later version: 1994
Genre	Punk rock
Length	2:47
Label	Epitaph Records
Writer(s)	Mr. Brett
Producer	Andy Wallace Bad Religion
Bad Religion singles chronology
"Struck a Nerve" "21st Century (Digital Boy)" "Infected"
Stranger Than Fiction track listing
"Incomplete" "Leave Mine to Me" "Stranger Than Fiction" "Tiny Voices" "The Handshake" "Better Off Dead" "Infected" "Television" "Individual" "Hooray for Me..." "Slumber" "Marked" "Inner Logic" "What It Is" "21st Century (Digital Boy)"

"21st Century (Digital Boy)" is a song by the punk rock group Bad Religion. It was originally recorded in 1990 on their fifth full-length studio album Against the Grain and rerecorded on the 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction.

Although the Against the Grain version was not released as a single, the Stranger Than Fiction version was a popular hit.

Contents 1 History 2 Song meaning 3 Cover versions 4 Charts

[edit] History

"21st Century (Digital Boy)" was most likely written around mid-to-late 1988, while Bad Religion began writing songs for Suffer's follow-up. The band debuted the song at a concert in Northridge, California on October 15, 1988. A video clip for this version can be seen here. "21st Century (Digital Boy)" was intended to appear on the band's fourth studio album, 1989's No Control, but did not make the final cut. It is believed that this song left out because it sounded different from their faster sound. The song finally ended up on their 1990 album Against the Grain.

In 1994, Bad Religion re-recorded the song for their eighth studio album Stranger Than Fiction. Guitarist Brett Gurewitz claimed that Bad Religion re-recorded it because their then-label Atlantic Records said they didn't "hear a single" in that album and thought the song was a hit so they asked the band to redo it.

When also asked why "21st Century (Digital Boy)" would be re-recorded for Stranger Than Fiction, bassist Jay Bentley replied:

[We re-released the song] because we were playing it every night since 1989, '90. It wasn't that we weren't happy with it. I was thrilled with it. I thought it was a great fucking song. Brett just happened to think that we were playing it better than we played it on the record. He just thought it was the one song of his that had a snowball's chance in hell of being popular. I think one of Brett's quests as a song writer was to write a pop hit. That’s hard to do when you’re in a punk rock band. He always thought that song could be a pop hit, and he fought for it to get on the record and to be a single. I eventually got tired of saying 'that's not what we do'. That's what he wanted to do when he was a member of the band at the time and we all went 'well, OK, if you feel that strongly about it, we'll put it on the record'. We have a very democratic process which is that if 3 members vote one way, then it's going to happen, unless one member feels so strongly about it, then we all just concede and say that's cool.

[edit] Song meaning

The lyrics of the song could be interpreted as a rejection of modern consumerist culture, as exemplified in the lyrics "I'm a 21st Century Digital Boy / I don't know how to live, but I've got a lot of toys". This alienation and rejection of consumerism and mainstream culture is a common theme in the music of Bad Religion. The bridge includes references to the group's two previous records (as of the original recording), Suffer and No Control. It is possible the song is at least a respectful parody of "21st Century Schizoid Man", a song by progressive rock legends King Crimson. Towards the end of the Bad Religion song, lyrics from King Crimson's song are sung in the background:

Cat's foot iron claw
Neuro-surgeons scream for more
Innocents raped with napalm fire

The line "Everything I want I really need" that follows is also a reference to King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," in which the original lyric is "Nothing hes got he really needs." Immediately after that line as the song fades out, Greg Graffin actually sings "21st Century Schizoid Boy".

[edit] Cover versions

Main article: 21st Century Digital Girl

The song was covered in 2006 as "21st Century Digital Girl" by German trance/dance group Groove Coverage.

[edit] Charts

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1994	"21st Century (Digital Boy)"	Modern Rock Tracks	11

v • d • e Bad Religion Greg Graffin • Brett Gurewitz • Greg Hetson • Brian Baker • Jay Bentley • Brooks Wackerman Paul Dedona • Tim Gallegos • Jay Ziskrout • Davy Goldman • John Albert • Lucky Lehrer • Pete Finestone • Bobby Schayer Studio albums How Could Hell Be Any Worse? • Into the Unknown • Suffer • No Control • Against the Grain • Generator • Recipe for Hate • Stranger Than Fiction • The Gray Race • No Substance • The New America • The Process of Belief • The Empire Strikes First • New Maps of Hell EPs Bad Religion • Back to the Known Other releases 80-85 • All Ages • Tested • Punk Rock Songs Videos and DVDs Along the Way • Live at the Palladium Singles "Atomic Garden" • "American Jesus" • "Struck a Nerve" • "21st Century (Digital Boy)" • "Infected" • "Stranger Than Fiction" • "Incomplete" • "A Walk" • "Punk Rock Song" • "Dream of Unity" • "Raise Your Voice" • "Shades of Truth" • "The New America" • "Broken" • "Sorrow" • "The Defense" • "Los Angeles Is Burning" • "The Empire Strikes First" • "Honest Goodbye" • "New Dark Ages" Related articles Discography • List of Bad Religion band members • List of Bad Religion concert tours • Epitaph Records • California punk scene • Hardcore punk • Warped Tour Side projects American Lesion • Black President • Circle Jerks • Daredevils • Dag Nasty • Government Issue • Minor Threat • Wasted Youth