Grapthar's Song of the Day: Bad Brains 'I Against I'
Bad Brains - I Against I
Bad Brains are definitely one
of the seminal bands to emerge from the American Hardcore Punk scene of the late '70s and early '80s. They began as a jazz fusion band, but after discovering the punk bands coming from the U.K. and New York city, decided to write in that style and found an awesome niche there. They were faster and more technical than a lot of their contemporaries, writing songs that were harmonically complex and incorporated a lot of ideas from reggae and dub, something that most of the American punk bands avoided (though bands like The Clash had been doing this in the U.K. for a while).
Listen to I Against I by Bad Brains here.
This song appeared on their
1986 album of the same name, but this recording is from many years before. It was recorded in 1980, along with 4 other tracks, but was not released until 1990. While I do like the album version, I am much more partial to this one, as it still has that raw, DIY sound that their earlier stuff was known for. I love the chord progression here, it's so unique and has a darkness to it that makes this song really stand out. The break of the song shows of singer H.R.'s unique vocal quality, with some really cool group backing vocals.
Enjoy today's song! Thanks for checking out my blog, and Steem On!
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