It’s September y’all! It’s been a miserable, soul-wrenching slog of a year, full of gratuitous brutality and barbarism, endless war. a slow-burning slide into fascism and economic collapse. But somehow, the year has raced by. Summer is almost over. And we’re still here surviving as best as we can.
Music, art and community matter more than ever. Let’s not forget that fact. As always, I will spend some time celebrating the birthday of a series of favorites and legends while we still have them.
- Gloria Estefan celebrated her 68th birthday on September 1
- The Bee Gees‘ Barry Gibb celebrated his 80th birthday on September 1
- Soundgarden guitarist
- Kim Thayil celebrated his 66th birthday on September 4
- Freddie Mercury, one of the greatest vocalists and entertainers in rock history was born 80 years ago on September 5
- Disco and dance music icon Sylvester was born 79 years ago on September 6
- Pink Floyd‘s co-founder and creative force Roger Waters celebrates his 83rd on September 6
- Hip hop pioneer Easy E was born 62 years ago on September 7
- The legendary Patsy Cline was born 94 years ago on September 8
- Dave Stewart, best known for being one-half of smash-hit pop/New Wave duo Eurythmics, celebrated his 74th birthday on September 9
- The legendary, King of Soul, Otis Redding was born on this day 85 years ago on September 9
- Ludacris, one of the most entertaining emcees in the history of hip-hop celebrated his 49th birthday today on September 10
- Big Daddy Kane, one of the most entertaining and talented emcees in hip-hop history celebrated his 58th birthday on September 10
- Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker founder and frontman David Lowery celebrated his 66th birthday on September 10
- Cracker co-founder and lead guitarist Johnny Hickman celebrated his 67th birthday on September 10
- Aerosmith co-founder and lead guitarist Joe Perry celebrated his 76th birthday on September 10
- Roy Ayers was born 86 years ago on September 10
- The Verve‘s Richard Ashcroft celebrated his 53rd birthday on September 11
- Rush drummer Neil Peart, one of the greatest rock drummers ever, was born on this day 74 years ago on September 12
- The legendary Barry White, the Original King of Quiet Storm Soul was born 82 years ago on September 13
- Keith Murray, one of the most entertaining emcees I’ve ever seen live, celebrates his 52nd birthday on September 13
- The Church founding member Steve Kilbey celebrated his 72nd birthday on September 13
- Amy Winehouse was born 43 years ago on September 14
- Nas, one of the greatest living emcees to ever hold a mic celebrated his 53rd birthday on September 14
Bad Brains are largely considered the pioneers of hardcore punk, along with CBGB regulars Minor Threat, Cro-Mags and others — and they’ve been cited as a seminal influence to numerous subgenres in addition to hardcore punk, including thrash/speed metal, alternative metal, funk metal, grunge and more. Bands like Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, Faith No More, Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, Clutch, Green Day, The Offspring, The Roots, Lamb of God, No Doubt, Anthrax, Living Colour, Fishbone and a lengthy list of others have cited Bad Brains as influences on their work.
The Afropunk movement and the Afropunk Festival wouldn’t be possible without them and their pioneering work.
Bad Brains’ guitarist Dr. Know celebrates his 68th birthday today. Happy birthday, legend!
I shot the band once — at Afropunk in 2014:
____
The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 16 year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have.
To that end, I could use your support to continue to keep bringing you my unique global perspective on music. There are a number of ways that you can support this work.
I’ve been told that some people would prefer to make a one-time donation because it’s easy and less of an obligation. So, if you’re able to make a one-time donation, there’s a donation box below.
Make a one-time donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
If you can give more regularly, please feel free to check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement.
Anything you can give is very much appreciated. It can and does make a real difference, y’all.
I know that a lot of folks are struggling to make ends meet in an uncertain and tumultuous economic climate. So there are other, non-financial ways in which you can support this work.
You can follow me on the following social platforms:
X/Twitter: @yankee32879 and @joyofviolent
Instagram: @william_ruben_helms
Threads: @william_ruben_helms
Bluesky: @williamrubenhelms.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
As always, if there are posts that you dig, share them with your friends. The more eyeballs on my work, the better.