Song · Bad Religion
“Los Angeles Is Burning” by Bad Religion
From the album The Empire Strikes First (2004)
“Los Angeles Is Burning” by Bad Religion appears on 17 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 2004 and 2014. It was first released in 2004 on the album The Empire Strikes First. Its best result is #21 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 2004. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #68 alternative song of 2004 and #1,988 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (Epitaph Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Los Angeles Is Burning" came out of Bad Religion's 2004 album The Empire Strikes First, hitting radio that April, and it's the band doing what it does best: a fast, furious sermon with a melody you can't shake. Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz wrote and produced it, and according to bassist Jay Bentley the target is a news media that feeds on panic. The song arrived not long after the Cedar Fire burned near the city in late 2003, but Bentley has said the flames are a metaphor.
Graffin sings lead over a three-guitar charge from Brian Baker, Gurewitz and Greg Hetson, with Brooks Wackerman on drums, plus Mike Campbell sitting in on guitar and John Ginty on Hammond organ. Joe Barresi engineered and mixed. The cut-out animated video sends a runner in a Crossbuster singlet through a burning Los Angeles while figures with TV cameras for heads breathe fire.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 25 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2004 | 107 |
| 2004 | 21 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2004 | 91 |
| 2004 | 26 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2004 | 106 |
| 2004 | 37 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 77 Songs of 2004 | 77 |
| 2004 | 34 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2004 | 101 |
| 2004 | 29 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2004 | 88 |
| 2004 | 63 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2004 | 103 |
| 2004 | 78 (tie) | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2004 | 227 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2000 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 52 | The Edge | KEDJ Top 103 on Independent Radio | 103 |
| 2007 | 641 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 847 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 867 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 899 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 893 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 899 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 935 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
Also listed as: Los Angeles is Burning.
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