Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a two part series on the African American Hardcore Punk band Bad Brains. This post showcases a performance of Bad Brains' now classic 1986 song "I Against I" and includes selected comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/01/punk-music-hardcore-punk-black-punk.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides general information about the Punk music genre and its sub-genre Hardcore Punk. That post also provides information about the African American hardcore Punk band Bad Brains.
This post is part of an ongoing series on AfroPunk music & fashion. Click the "AfroPunk music" tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the members of the Bad Brains band for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of the YouTube video that is embedded in this post.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO & LYRICS
BAD BRAINS - 'I Against I'
MeowYap Uploaded on Jul 31, 2010
MUSIC VIDEO. 720p 'HD' From the album 'I Against I' (1986)
LYRICS:
In the quest for the test to fulfill an achievement
everybody's only in it for themselves
when the fact of the matter is they just don't care
to extend a helping hand to anyone else
so tell me why, did you have to lie
and try to make me all confused about the U.S.A.
when the fact of the matter is you just don't care
to comprehend or understand a single word I say
I don't want to have I go against I
oh let me tell you
the same old story, no factual glory
I against I against I against I
and I say I don't like it, and I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I
almighty watching, almighty watching
I against I against I against I
and I say I don't like it, and I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I
I said who's gonna tell the youth about the drugs
about the drugs, mugs, bugs, and the police thugs
about the rotten stinkin' rackets and the fantasies
around the nation, around the nations
oh baby what you gonna do
I tell you the truth is looking straight at you
I got a brass continental with a 300Z, two color tv's,now a video too
I got a rest home in Jamaica for my fantasy, for my family
around the nation
around the nations
what you gonna do.
-snip-
I reformatted the lyrics that were found in this video summary to enhance their reading clarity.
-snip-
"I against I" means that a person is acting against his or her best interests. That phrase is a variant form of the Rastafarian phrase "I and I". Here's information about that phrase from http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/I-and-I/1006#.VpK6uOTwtv4:
"I and I
English Translation: Me, myself, and I
Definition: Rastafarian slang for ‘Me, myself, and I’.
Example Sentences
(patois) I and I plant the corn
(english) Me, myself, and I plant the corn".
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SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments from this YouTube video's discussion thread are presented in relative chronological order with the oldest comments given first, except for replies. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.
2010
1.
Daniel Solazzo
"This is deffinetly a diamond in the sand of the beach named punk rock"
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2. Smythe Ordo
"excellent band, combines metal with hardcore punk. Not to mention they're black dudes like i partly am."
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2011
3. Sean Burzic
"the best [f------] black punk in the world!!briliant!!"
-snip-
Profanity deleted as per the policy of this blog.
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4. Noah Johnson
in reply to Sean Burzic
"@routeamelie *best punk in the world
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5. SadSack1701
"i love bad brains harcore reggae punk band with jazz musicians besat mix think i wish more people at my school could get into this but o well evryone listens to different things and thats cool"
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2012
6. astralhed
"this band was one of the heaviest and fastest bands in the 80's hardcore scene for sure ..very original band for the time"
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7. ThirstyCraig
"If you have an ear for music, it is not that hard to discern the lyrics, or at least 90% of them...saw the brains about 10 times, each time you knew you were seeing something special-way beyond simple "punk"."
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8. Psyberpunk Brousse
"one of my favorite band ot the 80th !!! .... Thanx to open so much "bridges" with your music guys !!! big Respect"
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2013
9. PeekaPeep
"I think THIS was where the black rock movement finally got off the ground after spending nearly two decades kicking the tires. Bands like Fishbone, Living Colour, 24/7 Spyz, Follow For Now, Eric Gales Band, and even a reformed Mother's Finest (with lead guitarist Gary "Moses Mo" Moore and drummer Barry "B.B. Queen" Borden replaced by John Hayes and Dion Derek, respectively) all owe Bad Brains a huge debt for laying down the sound that would linger on until "grunge" finally buried it in '92..."
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10. hcjc57
"An absolute TRUE classic. Plain & simple. Thx 4 posting! :)"
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11. Deth43
"One of the best punk songs of all time."
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12. SuperDan
"Bad Brains is the best check out their Live in Amsterdam 1987 album its the best hardcore punk album there is.."
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13. galaxyuno1
" "I Against I" and the Brains' first album are untouchable. Throw in "Damage" by Black Flag, "Complete" by Minor Threat, and "Double Nickels on the Dime" by the Minutemen and you've got all you need!!!! Actually, there are a lot of others, but
those discs. . .MAN!!!!!"
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14. Brian Reddish
"Man,this band is SO CRUCIAL to the Hardcore Punk scene. Yeah,I know ,my user name is METALred74 but I LOVE ALL things Punk and Crusty as well! BAD BRAINS are one of THE BEST!"
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15. sigit666
"love this song, I saw them live once in salt lake in '94 ,kicked my ass. the pit went crazy in such a small club, kinda ironic I thought that I didn't see no black in audience, there were a few asians & latinos but no black ppl at all"
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16. David Beckett
"the changes in tempo are so tight"
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17. DieselDog77
"Most underrated band. Absolutely beautiful, ground breaking and brilliant. I love them so much and have for 24 years."
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18. John Doe
"Bad Brains and Minutemen light years ahead of the punk rock orthodoxy to this day."
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19. dred363
"In this voyage to infinity, can't forget to take your soul..."
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20. josh maddog
"It is so bad ass to see all the comments about people discovering the Bad Brains. They were such a giant part of my youth's soundtrack & are still on heavy rotation @ the Maddog household. One of the most powerful bands ever. Very good to see new generations digging their work 30 years later. PMA!!"
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2014
21. kirk rampersad
"I wonder what bob marley would think of these guys:)"
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22. Sleazy Ryder
Reply
"I bet he would love them!"
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23. uwcb1
Reply
"He was alive when they were playing"
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24. shonha1
Reply
"I think Bob would've loved Bad Brains, he got the Punk movement, listen to Punky Reggae Party."
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25. Wolfpack8706
"We need more "Black" Metal,Punk,Alternative bands like this"
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2015
26. badbrains1969
"all bu&&sh&t* aside, religious beliefs, intolerance, homophobia, sh&t* that still follows them around, they admitted that they got carried away with rasta at first and didn't have open minds, thy were immature and acted sh&tty* towards some groups....all that sh&t* aside they are in my opinion the rawest, fastest, tightest, energetic, best musicians, pioneering punk hardcore band of all time....not saying that they are greatest punk band of all time, but up there....for a small window of time, 4 or 5 years they couldn't be touched!!!!! Great memories indeed!!!!!!"
-snip-
*These words are fully spelled out in the comment in compliance with the policy of this blog.
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27. Chris Adams
Reply
"+badbrains1969 not the greatest of all time though. you have to give kudos to the pioneers. I would put sex pistols, black flag, stooges, Plasmatics and even suicidal tendencies above BB as far as the movement goes.... i against eye is best album is histroy though"
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28. RueMorgueDweller
Reply
"+Chris Adams Remove sex pistols, and i'll agree."
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29. Chris Adams
Reply
"im a bb fan big time but the pistols where there first"
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30. Benatarium
"First Bad Brains song i've heard as I keep seeing their name everywhere recently.
Can't believe it's taken me this long to listen to them. They're bloody awesome!"
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31. Zorgoon Trollstones
Reply
"Me tooooo!!!!! I'm shocked. That whole year I was neck deep in punk rock, hardcore and postpunk genres they would've been life changing. I'm late for stupid reasons. I simply assumed I wouldn't be interested.... I feel like a dummy now"
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This concludes this series on the Bad Brains band.
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