Songfacts®:

• Cro-Mags made their biggest impact with their debut album, The Age Of Quarrel, released in 1986 when the East Coast hardcore scene was turning ripe. "Malfunction," from that album, expresses the frustration those on the scene had with the powers that be. "Maybe I'd be better off talking to a wall!" lead singer John Joseph screams.
• Guitarist Parris Mayhew, lead singer John Joseph, and bass player Harley Flanagan were the songwriters in the group at this time and composed this song. Mayhew told Songfacts: "'Malfunction' is my favorite song off Age Of Quarrel. I wrote the music on my Martin D28 acoustic guitar. If it doesn't sound good on an acoustic, it probably isn't good."
• Even while they were making the album, fissures formed in the band. It got worse after it was released; the lineup started shifting and they didn't get another album out until three years later, which stalled their momentum. By that time, John Joseph was out of the band, but he almost got the axe before it was made.
  
  "I wrote the music during a time when we were planning on replacing our singer, John Joseph," Mayhew explained to Songfacts in 2022. "Little did he know how close he came to getting the boot and not being the singer on Age Of Quarrel and probably didn't know until now. But we didn't end up replacing him at that time, but his days were numbered, but he did came back strong and wrote the deceptively excellent lyrics for the song which we all know today."