Bad Brains - "I Against I" (video, lyrics, & comments)

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.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Punk Music, Hardcore Punk, & The Black Punk Music Band "Bad Brains"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part series on the Bad Brains band.

This post provides general information about the Punk music genre and its sub-genre Hardcore Punk. This post also provides information about the hardcore Punk band Bad Brains.

Part II of this series showcases a performance of Bad Brains' now classic 1986 song "I Against I".

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 historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT PUNK MUSIC
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock
"Punk rock (or simply punk) is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands typically use short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them through informal channels.

The term "punk" was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned in London, and Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones in New York City were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. Though originally more diverse and accepting, it evolved to create an “angry white male” punk stereotype with a “color blind” attitude.[1] An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment (ranging from deliberately offensive T-shirts, leather jackets, spike bands and other studded or spiked jewelry to bondage and S&M clothes) and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.

By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore (e.g. Black Flag) and Oi! (e.g. Cock Sparrer), as well as crossover thrash (e.g. Suicidal Tendencies), had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk and the alternative rock movement. At the end of the 20th century, punk rock had been adopted by the mainstream, as pop punk and punk rock bands such as Green Day, Rancid, Sublime, the Offspring and Blink-182 brought the genre widespread popularity."

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INFORMATION ABOUT HARDCORE PUNK (HARDCORE)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_punk
"Hardcore punk (often referred to simply as hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. Hardcore punk music is generally faster, heavier, and more abrasive than regular punk rock.[8] The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81.[9][10] Hardcore historian Steven Blush said that the term "hardcore" is also a reference to the sense of being "fed up" with the existing punk and new wave music.[11] Blush also states that the term refers to "an extreme: the absolute most Punk."[12]

The roots of hardcore can be traced back to San Francisco and Southern California.[7] The former arose as a reaction against the dominant hippie scene and was inspired by the New York punk rock and the early protopunk scene. New York punk rock had a harder-edged sound than its San Francisco counterpart, featuring anti-art expressions of masculine anger, energy and subversive humor. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the major music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock"[13] and deals with social and political subjects...

It [Hardcore] has influenced a number of music genres which have experienced mainstream success, such as alternative rock, grunge, alternative metal, metalcore, thrash metal, post-hardcore and certain elements[citation needed] of hip hop."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT BAD BRAINS [BAND]
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Brains
"Bad Brains are an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk,[1][2][3] though the band's members have objected to this term to describe their music.[4] They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk,[5] heavy metal,[1] hip hop and soul.[5] Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement.[5]

Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble under the name Mind Power,[5] Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound which came to be labeled "hardcore", and was often played faster and more emphatically than the music of many of their peers. The unique factor of the band's music was the fact that they played more complex rhythms than other hardcore punk bands, also adapting non-punk style guitar riffs and solos into their songs.

Bad Brains have released nine studio albums (one of which is entirely composed of instrumental versions of their past material). The band broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers or drummers. Since 1998, the lineup of singer H.R. (Human Rights), guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson (H.R.'s younger brother) has reunited, albeit performing sporadically
The band was first founded in 1976 as a jazz fusion ensemble called Mind Power[5] in the mold of bands such as Chick Corea's Return to Forever and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra as well as R&B musician Stevie Wonder. In 1977, their friend Sid McCray introduced the band, who were already interested in bands such as Black Sabbath, to punk rock, including the Dickies, the Dead Boys, and the Sex Pistols. Mind Power became obsessed with punk rock and changed their name to "Bad Brains",[5] after the Ramones song "Bad Brain", but with the word "bad" in the sense of "good".[5] Despite their burgeoning punk sound, the early Bad Brains, after seeing Bob Marley in concert, also delved deep into reggae music and the Rastafari movement.[6] Sid McCray became their first singer but left in the early days of the group's hardcore punk era, and guitarist H.R. became the band's new singer.[7]

The band developed an early reputation in Washington D.C., due in part to the relative novelty of an entirely black band playing punk rock, but also due to their high-energy performances and undeniable talent.[6]"...

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This concludes Part I of this series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.