I Against I by Bad Brains

by Lana Fleischli

It’s been a minute since I’ve listened to I Against I fully, but I decided to write about it after a conversation with a friend. I talked to her about this album a few days ago and she told me to write about it from my point of view… which makes sense since that’s the whole point of this blog.

When I listened to it for the first time, I remember feeling like it was a punk rock explosion. It felt fast when I listened to it for the first time, and that’s not completely wrong because in many of the songs, the lead guitar and drums are going fast. However, the singing doesn’t go fast, which took me a minute to realize. I find that very interesting because the singing is usually the main thing I notice, but the voice threw me not because of the pace, but because of the feel. Other punk albums I had listened to don’t sing the way Bad Brains does. It feels a bit Halloween-y-- it’s haunting and dark.

While the music itself was enjoyable, after I finished listening to it, I moved on to the next album, as I usually do when I finish listening to an album. About a week later, my mom sent me an article from Pitchfork, and it really made me think about the album and music itself in general.

For those of you who are fans of Bad Brains, you probably already know all of this and will think I am an amateur because I fully had no idea. When I listened to I Against I, I did not even think to think that these late-80s punk artists might not be white. That’s all I knew in punk rock. When I learned that Bad Brains is an all-black punk band, I found that incredibly fascinating because they made history. They broke barriers as black artists and created a successful album.

The thing is, I Against I is a well-known album now, as they have really made a name for themselves, but at the time when it was first produced, it was outshined by other black artists because the other artists were doing what was considered “black music”, (rap, R&B, hip hop, jazz, etc.). Also, white artists making rock music already had an advantage. Bad Brains did not get as much attention in the public eye, but they had their fans, their cult following, which only grew over time. Perhaps that’s what comes with being a trailblazer.

I still think about this story and how amazing it is, but I also wonder if I am overlooking something, or if all of us are overlooking something. In our ever changing world, we are learning how white-washed history is, but I didn’t realize that that did not only apply to textbook history. Bad Brains made history, but it makes me wonder if we are missing out on other artists who are breaking barriers? Bad Brains already had dedicated fans before I Against I. What about the artists that don’t? It made me wonder about how many non-white artists have gone unrecognized for trying something? I hope we aren’t overlooking something.