Blink and you'd have missed it. But forty-four years ago, with little to no fanfare, Bad Brains’ “yellow tape” dropped. Punk, hardcore, and metal would never be the same again.
The ROIR cassette never really did it for me. I was getting into HC/Punk in the late 80's and "i against i"was what hooked me as it did everyone who skated/rode BMX back then. It was haunting and crazy and was a great stepping stone from the Minor Threat records to my ears to the next sounds.
Then sadly (as you mentioned) they went too deep into Rasta's homophobia and alienated people like me who never really gave a damn about them after BNB.
Hard to argue. I certainly heard I Against I first, or parts of it, and was intrigued. But there’s something about the velocity and single-mindedness of the ROIR tape that still floors me. Both great; just different…..
I took that cassette to college in the late 80s, and lost it. DUH.
About two decades later one of my old friends found some strange red cassette under a radiator in a building he was renovating, I am pretty sure that it was my cassette.. LOL
A friend put "Let Me Help" on a mixed tape for me and it blew me away. Nothing else like it.
WE AGREE TO AGREE.
The ROIR cassette never really did it for me. I was getting into HC/Punk in the late 80's and "i against i"was what hooked me as it did everyone who skated/rode BMX back then. It was haunting and crazy and was a great stepping stone from the Minor Threat records to my ears to the next sounds.
Then sadly (as you mentioned) they went too deep into Rasta's homophobia and alienated people like me who never really gave a damn about them after BNB.
Hard to argue. I certainly heard I Against I first, or parts of it, and was intrigued. But there’s something about the velocity and single-mindedness of the ROIR tape that still floors me. Both great; just different…..
But my cassette was RED!!! :P Anyways...
This was my first choice go to in the 80s for hardcore punk.
My memory is dim from my teenage years, but this one stays with me forever.
I was so incredibly happy to see the re-release of the recordings on CD.
Shit that was over 20 years ago.
Time is passing, my friends.
Thanks for the article!
Funny story:
I took that cassette to college in the late 80s, and lost it. DUH.
About two decades later one of my old friends found some strange red cassette under a radiator in a building he was renovating, I am pretty sure that it was my cassette.. LOL
Ahh well.
Ha! Well, good thing it didn’t…melt?
Appreciate that! And agree: There is just something otherworldly about what they accomplished. Jaw-dropping.