Not only were the Bad Brains a part of this whole punk/hardcore scene, but they were also quite possibly THE MOST influential bands from this era. When this band came to New York City in 1982, all the kids in CBGB's went on to form their own bands, and an entire subgenre, New York Hardcore, was born. Bad Brains were so influential in NYC that they basically gave birth to the entire next wave of bands that will come out of New York City, who were basically emulating what the Bad Brains did. I wish more people knew how influential Bad Brains were to punk rock and Hardcore Music. More people should also know how influential reggae was to this scene. Also, how multi-cultural this scene was.
American not Jamaican, though they are devout Rastafarians. Also, here in the UK, Punk and Rasta have a close connection (not sure about the US or anywhere else regarding this). But yes, the Bad Brains are Punk / Hardcore royalty and for me, nobody did it better.
54 yo American of Norwegian descent here. Got into them in 1988. Quickness was the 1st album of theirs i got (cassette, of course), but immediately afterward i bought the self titled, I Against I, & Banned in DC.
Bad Brains was the most intense, bad ass hardcore band I ever saw live .Nothing else came close. HR did fucking standing backflips on stage mid song.... their shows were insane!
The most important punk rock bands ever. Legends. Nobody did it better. Seeing them live changed my life. They started in DC, but were soon banned from playing in all the clubs so they came to NYC. Which I'm glad they did, because I grew up there.
Kia Ora hello from Aotearoa new zealand HELL YEAH MINOR THREAT and how about some FUGAZI who as well as BAD BRAINS I've been Lucky enough to have seen here in Aotearoa new zealand FKING AMAZING
@@Krust_Acean Minor Threat is one of the best but the Bad Brains is who most inspired them. Seeing Bad Brains in the 80s is still the greatest concert I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen hundreds of concerts, closest thing to a spiritual experience I had until I actually had spiritual experiences. God bless the Bad Brains!
A lot of the footage from the House of Suffering video is from a live show in Florida and theres some solid quality videos of that show. I would recommend it for a better appreciation of how tight, fast, and interesting this band is. There are some very good reggae songs they play in between the chaos. If there was one band I could go back and time and see live before I was born, it would be them. I think they were playing jazz fusion (so you know they have to be good musicians) before they stumbled upon the Ramones play and they wanted to change their sound to more effectively deliver their message. If I recall correctly from a documentary I watched about the band, their self-titled record was the fastest played album in terms of tempo ever recorded to that point.
originally called “mind power” as a jazz fusion band switching their genre in 77 to punk with a interest in reggae after seeing Marley. With rotating members there was the obvious stylistic music changes we hear in the 80s
“I gotta confront it.” Thanks for taking everybody with you. Been a Bad Brains fan forever. I assume somebody has hipped you to their Jamaican/Rasta roots, maybe HR’s long standing mental health issues, and the DC/NY hardcore scene’s intense energy in the 80’s. This stuff was underground then, and really dated now. But Bad Brains was hugely influential for a whole lot of bands (mostly comprised of angry young men).
We didn’t call it a mosh pit. We just called it thrashing, then The Washington Post ran an article titled Slam Dancing in the Big City sometime around 1981 and suddenly everyone wanted to “slam”. It was an annoying reduction of riotous enthusiasm with individual style of flailing, raging dance to an intentional contact sport. Same thing maybe, but with less style and altered intent. Moshing was just slamming with even less room for expression. It all also corresponded to more and more crowded scenes and women getting relegated further and further back. You should check out anything you can find on the Punk/Funk shows in DC in the early and mid eighties. DC’s emblematic style of music is GoGo music and combining the hardcore punk scene and the GoGo funk/rap scene totally worked. Trouble Funk were the kings back then.
Bad Brains were the epitome of the underground punk scene in the 80s. In the height of blockbuster movie soundtracks, 70s artists like Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and Rod Stewart getting there second wind in the video age and hair bands mugging for the camera, ........you had this chaos slam dancing (not moshing) in small clubs, basements, abandoned churches or wherever. One of the original hardcore punk bands. They later incorporated thrash in their music. But honestly, thrash was metal's answer to punk. So, it was all cyclical. And throwing a reggae groove on top of that. The chef's kiss! Should be in the Rock and Hall of Fame as an early influence entry, at least!
Theres a good documentary about the Bad Brains. The main architect of it was the bass player Darryl Jenifer. He was in several funk bands, like the other members. He heard the Ramones, the Damned, UK Subs, etc. He turned his friends onto it and said, "This is what we should be doing." Difference is that their music had a message and purpose.
Bad brains CBGB, pffff... I don't know what happened this night but it happened. Legend. It's like a full moment of connexion of a lot of things between reggae, punk and slavery catharsis. Like a point of expression of all the american tension lines
These guys are from Washington DC,started in 77,they also play reggae..and HR their singer had a long solo career in Reggae..they are pioneers of Hardcore..which is a mixture of punk n metal..
Kia Ora hello brother from Aotearoa new zealand hay I've seen these awesome dudes here these guys changed my life direction in early 1984 14 years old. Hardcore wouldn't be what it is without BAD BRAINS. I don't understand why it's so hard to UNDERSTAND a black band doing PUNKROCK where did we get blues rock N roll ska reggae from our black brothers and sisters and i am very grateful for that
All the punk rockers would tell you how they are literally the best and the religious spiritual experiences were had watching HR perform like you need to see the vision and how dope and creative this is
@@MugnifyRTS HR also coined the term moshing originally he said mashing but bc of his accent came out as moshing and that’s how that word started. The band is known for their positive lyrics in rock music like their popular song attitude where he sings about PMA “positive mental attitude”. Most talented rock musicians and HR the best vocalist, and was very charismatic performer that people were blown away by. That man would be doing back flips at every performance.
@@MugnifyRTS yeah but rock was started by a black woman Ms. Sister Tharpe. Black people started rock because it came from blues. Little Richard? Tina Turner the Queen of rock and roll? Chuck Berry? White people might have taken off more with it but we started it..
@@MugnifyRTS they also did reggae music in the middle of their shows! Check at ‘untitled’ the bonus track on their first album. Crazy always on repeat.
I like your reaction so much. When my French black students ask me about the BB t-shirt I often wear (proudly) and then when they discover that one of the major early punk bands is black with rasta heart,...they have the same face expression. Bad Brains is like an esoteric treasure to reveal. I am very proud to be an old white punk fan with black roots. Making music is mixing colours. You must discover HR solo albums too !
Rad! I think he invented stage-diving. And he dove on me in like 2000 lol. I think I saw 2 solo and 2 Stooges reunion gigs. Iggy is the godfather (of punk)
Moshing was definitely earlier than the 90s, back then, it was called "slam dancing", or, just "slamming". In fact, the term "moshing" was actually coined by HR, Bad Brains vocalist, himself.
Nothing more punk rock than a guitar solo in a punk song. Punk was a backlash against the arena rock of the time. Bad Brains said “fuck your rules. We went punk to get away from rules.”
You asked how it happened: 1) BB started out jazz/fusion, got aggressive and 2) added hardcore punk rock, then 3) threw in some reggae, incorporated elements from all 3 styles of music... these guys somehow kept it RAW while still being very progressive. Their career arc is wild.
Punk rock, and Reggae are more similar than folks realize! We both cared not about someone’s race, or culture! We both cared about the injustices that the governments were perpetuating on the communities!
Bad Brains, to me.. are arguably one of the best punk bands to have ever been recorded in musical history. When I first heard banned in DC I was fucking mind blown by how catchy and raw that shit was. I fuckin love bad brains dude they are classic for sure
Bad Brains are said to have coined the term "mosh" due to HR (the lead singer) saying "mash" to the crowd and with his accent it sounded like "mosh" This is from ChatGPT: The term "mosh" as it relates to energetic dancing at concerts, particularly within punk and heavy metal subcultures, is generally credited to the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s. It is often associated with bands from Washington, D.C. and New York City. Specifically, the band Bad Brains, who were active in the early 1980s, are frequently mentioned in discussions about the origins of moshing. They are believed to have popularized the term "mash" which evolved into "mosh" through their energetic performances and the intense dancing that their music inspired among fans.
The punks pretty much invented the 'mosh pit', though it had some vague origins elsewhere, and parallel development in other genres to some extent too. Nothing was fully isolated.
ughhh House of Suffering is one of my favorite songs from them. I get just overwhelmed with emotions, goosebumps, and i dont mosh anymore becuz of back injuries BUT i will beat a mofo with a mofo and then suplex them and then flip a table and cry to this song LMAOO.
Check out there song 'I & I Survive' - I think from there first LP in 1980. The LP cover had a bolt of lightening hitting the White House. Reagan subsequently had them banned in their hometown of Washington DC.
Thank you for this. Great thoughts/comments. I’m 59 and have seen many great bands, but the Bad Brains circa early 1980s remain THEE greatest live band I’ve ever seen. No one else has really come close. I’ve heard many others say the same. I got to see them many times in 1981 and 1982 at CBGB (where the third video was shot). At that time, this type of dancing was called slam dancing; it came to be called moshing a little later. You’re right re: there not being many women in the pit in this particular 1982 clip, but rest assured there were women at these shows and many of the most important figures of the early punk/hardcore scene were women. Anyway, really enjoyed this and thx again for sharing it. PS: The Bad Brains are originally from DC and actually started out as a jazz rock fusion band. In 1977, when a buddy turned them onto then-new albums by early punk bands like the Dead Boys, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and others, they decided to play punk rock themselves; after seeing Bob Marley live they started playing reggae as well and mixed reggae songs in with the punk stuff. These guys changed my life. Greatest.
My favourite reggae song ever is I AND I SURVIVE off BAD BRAINS album ROCK FOR LIGHT. Rock for light (bad brains )and plastic surgery disasters (dead Kennedys) changed my life 14 years old 1984 here in Aotearoa new zealand and 40 years later I've still got a mowhark red green and black to show support for GAZA
In 1980 they saw Bob Marley at Madison Square Gardens in NYC. When they left the show they claimed rasta and some eventually developed fake accents. It threw a lot of people of when 4 guys from DC all of a sudden thought they were Jamaican. Becoming Rasta i get it but the accent was strange. HR and the band i guess did a few things not to be proud of but i think most of them eventually changed their attitudes. Still were a great band.
No one person or one band invents anything. Almost everything in life is created by numerous people independently not knowing others are doing the same. From punk to calculus its always more than one originator. Usually similar things start to bubble up in different locations around the same time. "Punk" bands were starting in cities in the us and uk eventually they start to learn of each other and exchange ideas. Bad Brains were jazz who morphed into punk when they caught wind of it being a new scene. They really became known for Hardcore Punk that was coming out of downtown nyc the same scene the beastie boys were in. Beastie Boys used to open for them and later they produced one of the bad brains albums and took the brains on tour but HR was going crazy so they had to drop out.
I never knew these guys were black - holy crap. Another one you may not know is Fishbone - badass ska band from the 80s/90s - Party at Ground Zero was one of their bigger songs, it's fun for sure.
the live performances are amazing, but the studio versions of these/all their songs really showcase the absolute brilliance of Bad Brains. also: usually not a lot of women in the mosh pits - if you find one, immediately marry her if you can.
Back then, moshing was called, "Slam Dancing" and no one was hurting nobody. Think of it like a workout. If you started trying to lay people out, everyone would gang up on you; so no one took it personal if you got cracked. Fall down, and we all pick you up. Blacks and whites got along just fine in the punk scene. The worse part was everyone used to spit on the band with big snotty goobers. Fun times.
Back then, moshing was termed slam dancing..... in the early days of punk and hardcore punk. Love me some bad brains. /// N check out Madball live at cbgbs.
the first song / video did you no just. audio bad and they were raw...look and see how they progressed. HR is a legend of front man. I am Mexican / American and i love that they're our African American brothers they are not just punk they are reggae too!
The Bad Brains were THE band in the 80's. Everyone loved them - well I Against I was a bit weaker than their earlier music. But all other punk bands in the USA and around the world were fans of the Bad Brains. Hardcore punk would not exist without them. FYI - the last song - that was a typical punk rock show. As to why you don't see any women is because the front of the stage was where the slam dance pit was and women did not want to go into it. So the women would stand to the side of back. But it was normal for the crowd to be diving off the stage - and the pit was all fun. You hit and get hit - no one went to punch or kick someone intentionally. It had nothing to do with manhood, we were pissed off with no power, money or say, all we had was music. All those punk shows were put on by the local punks, someone would work with the club to get the bands but all the promotion and stuff was done by the locals - it's where the term DIY came from. Punk had no corporate sponsor or popular media image, we were HATED in the 80s. I got into punk in 81 when I was 15 which got me into tons of shit and I mean adults attacking me due to me being into punk music and cops hated us. When we wanted shows or bands, we started them and the same with all the magazines - called zines - all done by local folks just for the love of the genre.
![Brits Try American Bacon in a BLT [Can't Believe It's Better Than Ours] *WTH*](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SZug5TQYRkM/mqdefault.jpg)
what you heard at first is not original punk rock but already a tendency towards hardcore punk, in fact one of the most important bands in that scene🤘
Not only were the Bad Brains a part of this whole punk/hardcore scene, but they were also quite possibly THE MOST influential bands from this era. When this band came to New York City in 1982, all the kids in CBGB's went on to form their own bands, and an entire subgenre, New York Hardcore, was born. Bad Brains were so influential in NYC that they basically gave birth to the entire next wave of bands that will come out of New York City, who were basically emulating what the Bad Brains did. I wish more people knew how influential Bad Brains were to punk rock and Hardcore Music. More people should also know how influential reggae was to this scene. Also, how multi-cultural this scene was.
there is a red head girl in front row singing along, that was CBGB NYC in 1982 that was me and my friends lol
you are inside the rabbit hole, enjoy it and love this history.
One of the best American Punk bands ever....
AMERICAN HARDCORE *
One of the best bands from anywhere full stop!!!
@@BapestaBapesta Hardcore is a subgenre of punk
You're reaction was awful. Imagine people of colour playing punk. Your ignorance is offensive
American not Jamaican, though they are devout Rastafarians. Also, here in the UK, Punk and Rasta have a close connection (not sure about the US or anywhere else regarding this). But yes, the Bad Brains are Punk / Hardcore royalty and for me, nobody did it better.
52 yr old dude from Norway here. Bad Brains on cassette walk-man as freshman 💕 Big love!
54 yo American of Norwegian descent here. Got into them in 1988. Quickness was the 1st album of theirs i got (cassette, of course), but immediately afterward i bought the self titled, I Against I, & Banned in DC.
Bad Brains was the most intense, bad ass hardcore band I ever saw live .Nothing else came close. HR did fucking standing backflips on stage mid song.... their shows were insane!
Hi. As a Punk kid in the early 80,s, we loved this Band.... Greedings from Germany. 🎸👍
You should watch this actual video until the very end.HR does a standing backflip.
The most important punk rock bands ever. Legends. Nobody did it better. Seeing them live changed my life. They started in DC, but were soon banned from playing in all the clubs so they came to NYC. Which I'm glad they did, because I grew up there.
Check out Minor Threat. They are both from Washington DC and were from the same scene.
Beastie Boys opened up for them
Kia Ora hello from Aotearoa new zealand HELL YEAH MINOR THREAT and how about some FUGAZI who as well as BAD BRAINS I've been Lucky enough to have seen here in Aotearoa new zealand FKING AMAZING
@@Krust_Acean Minor Threat is one of the best but the Bad Brains is who most inspired them. Seeing Bad Brains in the 80s is still the greatest concert I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen hundreds of concerts, closest thing to a spiritual experience I had until I actually had spiritual experiences. God bless the Bad Brains!
How the hell is thus band not in the rock n roll hall of fame?
You need to listen to them on studio recordings as well to appreciate the musicality... great reaction... ;-)
A lot of the footage from the House of Suffering video is from a live show in Florida and theres some solid quality videos of that show. I would recommend it for a better appreciation of how tight, fast, and interesting this band is. There are some very good reggae songs they play in between the chaos. If there was one band I could go back and time and see live before I was born, it would be them.
I think they were playing jazz fusion (so you know they have to be good musicians) before they stumbled upon the Ramones play and they wanted to change their sound to more effectively deliver their message. If I recall correctly from a documentary I watched about the band, their self-titled record was the fastest played album in terms of tempo ever recorded to that point.
Bad Brains influenced so many bands.
originally called “mind power” as a jazz fusion band switching their genre in 77 to punk with a interest in reggae after seeing Marley. With rotating members there was the obvious stylistic music changes we hear in the 80s
The mighty Bad Brains! Thank you!
These guys were a huge influence on this 80s suburbia kid. You gotta check out 'I against I,' next.
American punk royalty
Soul Craft from “With The Quickness” 1990ish.
“I gotta confront it.” Thanks for taking everybody with you. Been a Bad Brains fan forever. I assume somebody has hipped you to their Jamaican/Rasta roots, maybe HR’s long standing mental health issues, and the DC/NY hardcore scene’s intense energy in the 80’s. This stuff was underground then, and really dated now. But Bad Brains was hugely influential for a whole lot of bands (mostly comprised of angry young men).
Punk rock and hip hop were intertwined by us the people and just kids growing up. Music unites.
They also played reggae in their set.. the singer had a solo albums strictly reggae. hR
We loved the Bad Brains back in the day. The pit was all in good fun, we came back with black eyes from every show.
BAD BRAINS one of the most influential bands of the genre.
I caught Bad Brains at so many shows over the years in DC. HR was famous for his repeated backflips on stage.
We didn’t call it a mosh pit. We just called it thrashing, then The Washington Post ran an article titled Slam Dancing in the Big City sometime around 1981 and suddenly everyone wanted to “slam”. It was an annoying reduction of riotous enthusiasm with individual style of flailing, raging dance to an intentional contact sport. Same thing maybe, but with less style and altered intent. Moshing was just slamming with even less room for expression. It all also corresponded to more and more crowded scenes and women getting relegated further and further back. You should check out anything you can find on the Punk/Funk shows in DC in the early and mid eighties. DC’s emblematic style of music is GoGo music and combining the hardcore punk scene and the GoGo funk/rap scene totally worked. Trouble Funk were the kings back then.
Best band ever
The Bad Brains were what really sold me on Punk.
Bad Brains were the epitome of the underground punk scene in the 80s. In the height of blockbuster movie soundtracks, 70s artists like Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and Rod Stewart getting there second wind in the video age and hair bands mugging for the camera, ........you had this chaos slam dancing (not moshing) in small clubs, basements, abandoned churches or wherever. One of the original hardcore punk bands. They later incorporated thrash in their music. But honestly, thrash was metal's answer to punk. So, it was all cyclical. And throwing a reggae groove on top of that. The chef's kiss! Should be in the Rock and Hall of Fame as an early influence entry, at least!
You're a fan for life now!
Theres a good documentary about the Bad Brains. The main architect of it was the bass player Darryl Jenifer. He was in several funk bands, like the other members. He heard the Ramones, the Damned, UK Subs, etc. He turned his friends onto it and said, "This is what we should be doing." Difference is that their music had a message and purpose.
Bad brains CBGB, pffff... I don't know what happened this night but it happened. Legend. It's like a full moment of connexion of a lot of things between reggae, punk and slavery catharsis. Like a point of expression of all the american tension lines
These guys are from Washington DC,started in 77,they also play reggae..and HR their singer had a long solo career in Reggae..they are pioneers of Hardcore..which is a mixture of punk n metal..
Kia Ora hello brother from Aotearoa new zealand hay I've seen these awesome dudes here these guys changed my life direction in early 1984 14 years old. Hardcore wouldn't be what it is without BAD BRAINS. I don't understand why it's so hard to UNDERSTAND a black band doing PUNKROCK where did we get blues rock N roll ska reggae from our black brothers and sisters and i am very grateful for that
I understand where punk rock is a child of, I just didn't think a Jamaican band would be there mother of it all
All the punk rockers would tell you how they are literally the best and the religious spiritual experiences were had watching HR perform like you need to see the vision and how dope and creative this is
The whole experience was just me trying to process in my mind that Jamaican's pioneered punk rock to some degree
@@MugnifyRTS HR also coined the term moshing originally he said mashing but bc of his accent came out as moshing and that’s how that word started. The band is known for their positive lyrics in rock music like their popular song attitude where he sings about PMA “positive mental attitude”. Most talented rock musicians and HR the best vocalist, and was very charismatic performer that people were blown away by. That man would be doing back flips at every performance.
@@MugnifyRTS yeah but rock was started by a black woman Ms. Sister Tharpe. Black people started rock because it came from blues. Little Richard? Tina Turner the Queen of rock and roll? Chuck Berry? White people might have taken off more with it but we started it..
@@MugnifyRTS they also did reggae music in the middle of their shows! Check at ‘untitled’ the bonus track on their first album. Crazy always on repeat.
@@Lovergirlstudiio aight I'll look at it
look up the doc A BAND CALLED DEATH to check out some proto punk from the 70s coming from detroit
I’m 49. Bad Brains are legends and our heroes. Their reggae is legit too. Peace.
I like your reaction so much. When my French black students ask me about the BB t-shirt I often wear (proudly) and then when they discover that one of the major early punk bands is black with rasta heart,...they have the same face expression. Bad Brains is like an esoteric treasure to reveal. I am very proud to be an old white punk fan with black roots. Making music is mixing colours.
You must discover HR solo albums too !
Yeah, shit was crazy. Here's one girl that was quite proud of the lumps and bumps I got at an Iggy Pop show 😮💜
Rad! I think he invented stage-diving. And he dove on me in like 2000 lol. I think I saw 2 solo and 2 Stooges reunion gigs. Iggy is the godfather (of punk)
Iggy doesn't weight much so diving on fans is not assault.
Hay that's LORD IGGY POP please
Moshing was definitely earlier than the 90s, back then, it was called "slam dancing", or, just "slamming". In fact, the term "moshing" was actually coined by HR, Bad Brains vocalist, himself.
Nothing more punk rock than a guitar solo in a punk song.
Punk was a backlash against the arena rock of the time.
Bad Brains said “fuck your rules. We went punk to get away from rules.”
the first pioneers of punk band came from LIMA PERU
Los Saicos formed in 63-64
Every hardcore band tried emulating the Bad Brains. They are legendary.
They got on stage abd played. Thats how it happened. Early English punks were very influenced by Jamaican and island sounds.
Yes you can even hear it in the music!
The second video is the latest one chronologically. 1987. I saw them that year, in fact, in London. Also I saw them in 83 in Brixton, London.
punk royalty. Saw a modern lineup of Bad brains in the 90's. it's a crucial to black music history.
You asked how it happened:
1) BB started out jazz/fusion, got aggressive and
2) added hardcore punk rock, then
3) threw in some reggae, incorporated elements from all 3 styles of music... these guys somehow kept it RAW while still being very progressive. Their career arc is wild.
A cornerstone band in the punk/hardcore scene. Their influence is immeasurable.
Punk rock, and Reggae are more similar than folks realize! We both cared not about someone’s race, or culture! We both cared about the injustices that the governments were perpetuating on the communities!
Bad Brains, to me.. are arguably one of the best punk bands to have ever been recorded in musical history.
When I first heard banned in DC I was fucking mind blown by how catchy and raw that shit was. I fuckin love bad brains dude they are classic for sure
GOAT.. can you check out the song Coptic Times… very relevant for today.. love the page!
Bad Brains are said to have coined the term "mosh" due to HR (the lead singer) saying "mash" to the crowd and with his accent it sounded like "mosh"
This is from ChatGPT:
The term "mosh" as it relates to energetic dancing at concerts, particularly within punk and heavy metal subcultures, is generally credited to the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s. It is often associated with bands from Washington, D.C. and New York City. Specifically, the band Bad Brains, who were active in the early 1980s, are frequently mentioned in discussions about the origins of moshing. They are believed to have popularized the term "mash" which evolved into "mosh" through their energetic performances and the intense dancing that their music inspired among fans.
LEGENDS! Best live band I’ve ever seen
Everything that you think came out of the 90s was actually just a carbon copy of something from the 70s or 80s, just made more maudlin.
The first Punk band is believed to be this band from Detroit. …and they’re black
ua-cam.com/video/RDPDm9_nX0o/v-deo.htmlsi=NEpZC1siNHN94D8c
The punks pretty much invented the 'mosh pit', though it had some vague origins elsewhere, and parallel development in other genres to some extent too. Nothing was fully isolated.
This was birthed by jazz fusion. It's a Return To Forever.
There from the Bronx were wild some one don’t saw live the lead singer don’t listen out there the best heavy metal punk listening to more Bronx group
Punk rockers come in every color and shape and size part of what we were
ughhh House of Suffering is one of my favorite songs from them. I get just overwhelmed with emotions, goosebumps, and i dont mosh anymore becuz of back injuries BUT i will beat a mofo with a mofo and then suplex them and then flip a table and cry to this song LMAOO.
Glad you discovered some of our history
One of the greatest bands ever, saw them in the Uk about 1982, awesome, this is proper music, none of your Britain/ America's got talent nonsense ✊️
I’m a huge killswitch Engage fan the singer Jesse always gives props too the Bad Brains. I did a research on them, hands down too this dope Band 🤘🏽
Their performance of HOUSE OF SUFFERING in Florida is the heaviest shit ive ever seen!
House Of Suffering says "Oh where can Jah love be now? My dear, it's here in the underground. Inside the hearts of your own children"
Check out there song 'I & I Survive' - I think from there first LP in 1980. The LP cover had a bolt of lightening hitting the White House. Reagan subsequently had them banned in their hometown of Washington DC.
Bad Brains!!!! That Right Brigade performance was amazing!!!!!! HR!!!
Godfathers of hardcore, breakdowns etc absolutely the best
Ska Reggae punk since I was a kid, I'm now 59 and nothing's changed.
Sublime covered House of Suffering in concert.
Now listen to The Youth Are Getting Restless , Day Tripper/ Shes a Rainbow. Baddest Reggae jams for sure!!
It doesn't matter how you feel,that's the point!
Slam dancing started in San Francisco California
If its not been mentioned before, you need to watch the "Finding Joseph I" to fully understand HR, the lead singer of BB. The guy is a tortured soul
Thank you for this. Great thoughts/comments. I’m 59 and have seen many great bands, but the Bad Brains circa early 1980s remain THEE greatest live band I’ve ever seen. No one else has really come close. I’ve heard many others say the same. I got to see them many times in 1981 and 1982 at CBGB (where the third video was shot). At that time, this type of dancing was called slam dancing; it came to be called moshing a little later. You’re right re: there not being many women in the pit in this particular 1982 clip, but rest assured there were women at these shows and many of the most important figures of the early punk/hardcore scene were women. Anyway, really enjoyed this and thx again for sharing it.
PS: The Bad Brains are originally from DC and actually started out as a jazz rock fusion band. In 1977, when a buddy turned them onto then-new albums by early punk bands like the Dead Boys, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and others, they decided to play punk rock themselves; after seeing Bob Marley live they started playing reggae as well and mixed reggae songs in with the punk stuff. These guys changed my life. Greatest.
Check out this clip from 1980. H.R. would often do standing flips on stage, as seen here.❤
ua-cam.com/video/13nSspcBiyc/v-deo.htmlsi=kKE_-tngKYk-EbFQ
Pioneers. Pure raw energy!!!
Funny how your ego took you to "I woulda folded someone" hilarious
Slam dancing and moshing in 1982! Still great!
Others have mentioned the band Minor Threat!!!!!
Bad brains coined the term moshing. It started with them. They were the greatest.
My favourite reggae song ever is I AND I SURVIVE off BAD BRAINS album ROCK FOR LIGHT.
Rock for light (bad brains )and plastic surgery disasters (dead Kennedys) changed my life 14 years old 1984 here in Aotearoa new zealand and 40 years later I've still got a mowhark red green and black to show support for GAZA
Pure punk rock. Outstanding!
11:35 is that the guy from BEASTIE BOYS??
Bad brains rules. They’re from D.C. big punk scene. They started in the late 1970s
Glad you checked out different eras of Bad Brains. I see clips of God of Love and Soulcraft here. Both are great songs.
I love punk rock and in my opinion the bad brains were the best man that has ever walked this Earth
In 1980 they saw Bob Marley at Madison Square Gardens in NYC. When they left the show they claimed rasta and some eventually developed fake accents. It threw a lot of people of when 4 guys from DC all of a sudden thought they were Jamaican. Becoming Rasta i get it but the accent was strange. HR and the band i guess did a few things not to be proud of but i think most of them eventually changed their attitudes. Still were a great band.
Black Dots the whole album talk about DIY! 🤗 Still my favorite Bad Brains album! They're also a killer reggae band😊
How did this happen?
MAGIC HAPPENS
No one person or one band invents anything. Almost everything in life is created by numerous people independently not knowing others are doing the same. From punk to calculus its always more than one originator. Usually similar things start to bubble up in different locations around the same time. "Punk" bands were starting in cities in the us and uk eventually they start to learn of each other and exchange ideas. Bad Brains were jazz who morphed into punk when they caught wind of it being a new scene. They really became known for Hardcore Punk that was coming out of downtown nyc the same scene the beastie boys were in. Beastie Boys used to open for them and later they produced one of the bad brains albums and took the brains on tour but HR was going crazy so they had to drop out.
I never knew these guys were black - holy crap. Another one you may not know is Fishbone - badass ska band from the 80s/90s - Party at Ground Zero was one of their bigger songs, it's fun for sure.
Rock was started by black people. Sister Tharpe was the very first to introduce this sound as well as Little Richard and Tina Turner
This feels like an odd place for this comment, was this meant for the main?@@Lovergirlstudiio
The violence wasn't directed against you
Great band.hard to believe they are from Jamaica huh?
No they're from Wash DC. But they moved to NYC
bad brains started hardcore punk with minor threat, one of the best of all time
The middle video was the newest early 90s
Oh yes black folks have been the innovators music in this country since the beginning
the live performances are amazing, but the studio versions of these/all their songs really showcase the absolute brilliance of Bad Brains.
also: usually not a lot of women in the mosh pits - if you find one, immediately marry her if you can.
Back then, moshing was called, "Slam Dancing" and no one was hurting nobody. Think of it like a workout. If you started trying to lay people out, everyone would gang up on you; so no one took it personal if you got cracked. Fall down, and we all pick you up. Blacks and whites got along just fine in the punk scene. The worse part was everyone used to spit on the band with big snotty goobers. Fun times.
bought this tape when I was in high school. Most ain ready for this. Its PUNK sir
Back then, moshing was termed slam dancing..... in the early days of punk and hardcore punk. Love me some bad brains. /// N check out Madball live at cbgbs.
the first song / video did you no just. audio bad and they were raw...look and see how they progressed. HR is a legend of front man. I am Mexican / American and i love that they're our African American brothers they are not just punk they are reggae too!
HR is a prophet in my opinion. This is my gospel music. "Let me help" he sings right out of the King James bible they are Rastafarians.
The Bad Brains were THE band in the 80's. Everyone loved them - well I Against I was a bit weaker than their earlier music. But all other punk bands in the USA and around the world were fans of the Bad Brains. Hardcore punk would not exist without them. FYI - the last song - that was a typical punk rock show. As to why you don't see any women is because the front of the stage was where the slam dance pit was and women did not want to go into it. So the women would stand to the side of back. But it was normal for the crowd to be diving off the stage - and the pit was all fun. You hit and get hit - no one went to punch or kick someone intentionally. It had nothing to do with manhood, we were pissed off with no power, money or say, all we had was music. All those punk shows were put on by the local punks, someone would work with the club to get the bands but all the promotion and stuff was done by the locals - it's where the term DIY came from. Punk had no corporate sponsor or popular media image, we were HATED in the 80s. I got into punk in 81 when I was 15 which got me into tons of shit and I mean adults attacking me due to me being into punk music and cops hated us. When we wanted shows or bands, we started them and the same with all the magazines - called zines - all done by local folks just for the love of the genre.