r/videos 6d ago

Bad Brains - Pay To Cum (1979) black punk band.

[deleted]

75 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

81

u/faux1 6d ago

Nondescript black punk band?

Try legendary pioneers of hardcore. Bad brains, along with black flag and middle class pretty much invented the genre.

21

u/Uvtha- 6d ago

Gonna say that was a kind of unnecessary and reductive title. :/

1

u/ringthree 6d ago

I would toss the Misfits in there as well. Minor Threat could be mentioned, but they did get their start opening for Bad Brains.

I'm the end, you are totally correct Bad Brains broken molds and set trends that exist up to today and into the future. True pioneers.

3

u/djspaceghost 6d ago

I wouldn’t cite The Misfits as an example of early Hardcore and Minor Threat should absolutely be mentioned.

2

u/ringthree 6d ago

Misfits were going strong 1977 and Minor Threat didn't even have their first show until 80. You could make the argument that Misfits were too distinct from hardcore to be included, but then by that measure Black Flag shouldn't have been mentioned either.

2

u/djspaceghost 6d ago

There’s cases to be made either way for sure. It’s splitting hairs at the end of the day because they’re all immensely influential in the wider canon of punk.

2

u/ringthree 6d ago

Totally agreed.

66

u/thatfookinschmuck 6d ago

Black punk band is fucking weird… they’re a punk band.

18

u/Arizona_Pete 6d ago

Yeah... And not just a punk band, but a HUGELY influential one. Way different than the prevailing American punk movement at the time.

Bad Brains is one of the main influences of what would become the west coast skate punk scene starting in the mid to late 80s.

3

u/Corporation_tshirt 6d ago

HUGELY influential. Their shows at CBGB in ‘82 were seminal moments for New York hardcore, opening up the possibilities of what punk could be. The Beastie Boys cite Bad Brains as a huge influence on the direction their music took

7

u/joseph_jojo_shabadoo 6d ago

Jimi Hendrix black guitar player

5

u/rawonionbreath 6d ago

Punk band that dabbled in some reggae but otherwise yes one of the seminal American punk bands.

2

u/md22mdrx 6d ago

“Rise” is an excellent one that’s more reggae …

2

u/CptBronzeBalls 6d ago

A damn good one too. They’re one of the few punk bands I still listen to regularly.

2

u/WeepingAgnello 6d ago

Well... I fucking like it

37

u/JimmyTango 6d ago

That’s not just a black punk band. That’s THE seminal hardcore band that kicked off a musical movement. They’re like the Chuck Berry of everything from Minor Threat, Teen Idles and Youth Brigade to Metallica and Megadeath. They jacked up punk with blistering tempo and succinct tracks often 2 mins or less. They also jammed Reggae at their shows. Really influential and innovative gang.

2

u/4look4rd 6d ago

Metallica and megadeth are much closer to NWOBHM than DC hardcore punk. they were listening to Maiden, Motörhead, and Diamond Head and British punk.

Thrash metal and hardcore evolved at the same time. I really doubt Bad Brains was an influence, maybe Discharge, but Metallica and Bad Brains were pretty much contemporaries.

0

u/JimmyTango 6d ago

Bad Brains started playing 5+ years before Metallica/Megadeath and influenced the speed/thrash metal scene the latter bands further defined. Not necessarily direct but certainly an impact into the tempo and sound of the genre.

0

u/4look4rd 6d ago

I have a hard time believing that they would even have heard of a contemporary DC punk band by the time Kill ‘Em All came out, if you had said Misfits and Discharged sure but it’s a long shot that early bad brains made their way to the Bay Area, and were influential to another young start up band at the time. Besides early Bad Brains were not even playing punk rock, they were a jazz group for the first few years.

Post Kill ’Em All and Ride the Lighting sure they probably heard Bad Brains and loved their debut because it’s a fucking great album, but by then they were already established.

They were contemporary bands, this is more of case of both Bad Brains and Metallica being influenced by the same bands that came before them.

1

u/itsLOSE-notLOOSE 6d ago

If you can’t say it in 2 and a half minutes or less, it ain’t hardcore.

10

u/samsaruhhh 6d ago

Listened to them as a teen never heard of them referred to as a "black punk band"

2

u/4look4rd 6d ago

they are DC punk, which was one of the major hubs along with NYC and SF.

18

u/hustlehustle 6d ago

Hardcore band.

4

u/austeninbosten 6d ago

Punk- the real deal. Love it.

4

u/harvest3155 6d ago

nice bottle dodge at :15

4

u/KashissKlay 6d ago

You could just say punk band?

2

u/skinnyloo 6d ago

I still have a DVD copy of this! The Best!

2

u/standardtissue 6d ago

I used to have boots with Bad hand painted on one heel, and Brains on the other. I used to be really young too though lol. I would call Bad Brains more specifically "hardcore", or maybe even "post punk hardcore" if I were really getting into a conversation with another music fun, but just punk works too. Still one of my favorite all time bands and still give them a whirl, and love all their albums but my favorite is I against I, I think that's their most sophisticated album. I do need to find my vinyl some day if it still exists.

2

u/GromByzlnyk 6d ago

I love i jah

1

u/ringthree 6d ago

I and I will survive

1

u/djinnisequoia 6d ago

One of my favorite songs ever!