I'm going to say something that most on this board will think is insane... but early Bad Brains is what I consider to be one of the pinnacles of rock music. Rock for Light is equally important, impressive, and has as much value to me as any rock, metal, whatever classic. If I chose one record to take into the future from the 1980s, it would be Rock for Light. I would flush VH I, II, any other more standard '80s rock record right down the drain. Gary Miller has more influence on my playing and tastes in guitar music than any 'guitar idol'. This band was nearly perfect and 40 years later, nobody yet matches the songs, the performances, the personality that comes through the records. I respect and adore Bad Brains more than I can even put into words. As far as I'm concerned, they perfected punk/hardcore, and to me it's the most meaningful and valid form of rock and roll. I'll gush endlessly about them. It's not only the music, but the factual stories, history, the lore, the band has almost a mystic quality to them... fuck.
