Bad Brains are an American band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip hop, and soul. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the mother of all black hard-rock bands", and they have been cited as a seminal influence to numerous other subgenres in addition to hardcore punk, including various subgenres of heavy metal, such as thrash/speed metal, alternative metal, and funk metal. Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement.
40oz. to Freedom is the debut studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, originally released on June 1, 1992, on Skunk Records. It was later reissued by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska, rocksteady, roots reggae, and dub along with hardcore punk and hip hop.
In God We Trust, Inc. is an EP by hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys and the first of the group's releases with drummer D.H. Peligro. The record is a screed against things ranging from organized religion and Neo-Nazis, to the pesticide Kepone and government indifference that worsened the effects of Minamata disease catastrophes. In God We Trust, Inc. is also the first Dead Kennedys album released after the presidential election of Ronald Reagan and features the band's first references to Reagan, for which they—and hardcore punk as a genre—would become notorious.
7 Seconds are an American hardcore punk band from Reno, Nevada, that was formed in 1980 by two sets of brothers. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes over the subsequent years, with only Kevin Seconds, Steve Youth and Bobby Adams remaining constant members.
Black Dots is a demo album by the American rock band Bad Brains, released in 1996 by Caroline Records. It consists of one of the band's earliest recording sessions, which took place in 1979 at Inner Ear Studios with recording engineer Don Zientara. Black Dots features early versions of several songs that were later recorded for the band's first two studio albums, as well as songs that had never previously been released in any versions. The album showcases the band's hardcore punk origins, as well as their early foray into reggae with the song "The Man Won't Annoy Ya."
ROIR, or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.
Articles of Faith was a Chicago-based hardcore punk band originally active between 1981 and 1985. The band's later work is credited with superior songwriting and with foreshadowing the emo sound. Originally a Springsteen/Clash cover band called Direct Drive, the group changed both its music and name after frontman Vic Bondi visited Washington, D.C. in 1981 and saw a Bad Brains show that he describes as an “epiphany.” AoF typically showed funk, reggae and jazz influences, accompanied by lyrics bemoaning the difficulty of finding freedom and fulfillment in consumer society. While the band's influence was blunted by being based in Chicago, it maintained close musical and thematic ties to the Washington DC / Dischord Records scene. Drummer Bill Richman, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party briefly left the band in 1984 due to the waning of the band's political emphasis; he returned later to record In This Life. Bondi had already left Chicago by the time AoF disbanded in 1985; In This Life was issued two years later. The original lineup reunited for a European tour in 1991. The final show of this tour was recorded and issued as part of the Your Choice Live series.
Let Them Eat Jellybeans!, subtitled "17 Extracts From America's Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States and its original release included an insert of all of the punk bands known to be playing in the U.S. and Canada at that time. The first side of the LP features songs by a number of bands that formed the canon of American hardcore punk in the 1980s, while the second side features more of an art rock sound.
Rock for Light is the second full-length album by hardcore punk pioneers Bad Brains, released in 1983. It was produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars. The 1991 re-issue was remixed by Ocasek and bass player Darryl Jenifer. The re-issued version has some extra tracks, an altered track order, significantly different mixes and, on most tracks, a speed increase of the master which results in a raising of the pitch by one-half step.
The Youth Are Getting Restless is a live album from hardcore punk and reggae pioneers Bad Brains. It was recorded at the Paradiso Theater in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1987 by the VPRO. The show was part of the band's I Against I tour. It remains one of the group's best selling albums.
The Omega Sessions is a 5-song EP recorded by hardcore punk/reggae pioneers Bad Brains in 1980 and released in 1997. The tracks were recorded and mixed at the original Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, Maryland. The EP contains early versions of songs that eventually appeared on later releases, including a rendition of "I Against I," which would not appear on an official Bad Brains release for another six years.
Vic Bondi is an American singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of political Chicago hardcore punk band Articles of Faith. He went on to form Alloy, and Jones Very after AoF's demise. At the time of AoF's original breakup Bondi was working as a history instructor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Bondi's subsequent day jobs included working on Microsoft's Encarta as well as other projects in educational and media software. After a hiatus in the late 90s, Bondi resurfaced with new bands, Report Suspicious Activity and Dead Ending. He was featured in the documentaries American Hardcore and You Weren't There.
Live at CBGB 1982 is a live album and DVD capturing hardcore punk/reggae group Bad Brains in concert at the historic New York City club CBGB in December 1982. The show features several tracks from the first three Bad Brains albums - Black Dots, Bad Brains, and the soon-to-be-released Rock for Light. The album also contains previously unreleased material, such as the reggae tunes "King of Glory" and "I And I Rasta."
Banned In D.C. is a compilation of hardcore punk and reggae songs by Bad Brains.
New York Thrash is a hardcore punk compilation album released by ROIR in 1982.
Even Worse was an American, New York City-based punk rock band, formed in 1980. Drummer Jack Rabid was the only constant, as the band lineup changed numerous times over the course of the band's four-year existence. Other members included vocalists John Pouridas, John Berry, Garth Ripton, Rebecca "R.B." Korbet and Ken "Tantrum" Tempkin; guitarists Dave Stein, Robert Weeks, Thurston Moore and Steve Waxman; and bassists Nick Marden, Eric Keil and Tim Sommer.
Angst was an American band from San Francisco, California.
This is a comprehensive discography of Bad Brains, a Washington, D.C.-based hardcore punk band that also plays reggae and uses styles of funk and heavy metal into their music. To date, the band has released nine full-length studio albums, four EPs, four live recordings, one compilation album, one demo album, and more than a dozen singles.
Sublime is an American rock band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's original lineup consisted of Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson (bass), and Bud Gaugh (drums). Lou Dog, Nowell's dalmatian, was the mascot of the band. Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, resulting in the band's breakup. In 1997, songs such as "What I Got", "Santeria", "Wrong Way", "Doin' Time", and "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" were released to U.S. radio.
Neil Cooper (1930–2001) was the founder and head of independent US cassette and record label ROIR.
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