In Appreciation of the Greatest Band in the History of Music
When I was a youth, the only way to hear good music was via the college stations in the area and the “urban” station from Philly, but that station only came in when the weather was clear.
Being one of the few folks at my school who listened to this combo of music at the time (early-mid 80s) it was not a good time for me. Music and books were my escape then and they remain so today.
Anyway, I would sit around in my room and record these radio shows and then make mixtapes on my double cassette boom box. I would have a “punk” tape going at the same time I had a “rap” and I guess you would call it a “college rock” tape going. One of the first songs I remember hitting the “punk” tape was the Bad Brains, “Pay to Cum.”
That song was mind-blowing. It was the fastest shit I had ever heard. It blasted by in what felt like milliseconds. That song would launch my love and appreciation of the Bad Brains. Sure, I stopped buying their music after “Quickness,” but that single through the first Live LP on SST was a life changing time.
During that stretch, the Bad Brains established themselves as the best band in the history of music.
Also during that time I got to hear tales of just how good the band was live. I found that out for myself in 1989 when they played City Gardens in lovely downtown Trenton, NJ.
Leeway opened. They were not my cup of tea. They especially rubbed me wrong that night.
The room was stifling. City Gardens sat in the middle of a parking lot. It was a cinder block building and if it had AC — and I think it did — it did nothing to cool the over-packed room that night. The walls were sweating by the time Leeway came on and a mist of condensation hung in the air. It was sauna hot and when the guitar player from Leeway started in with his “good lord! How are my hands playing these lix!!” faces, I had had enough of them.
The Bad Brains did not play long because of the heat and because the power kept going out, but what they did play was life altering. Despite the short set, it was the best show I had ever seen and nothing else has ever approached it.
The Bad Brains were and are the greatest band in the history of music. You can think otherwise, but you’d be wrong.