Artist: Bad Brains
Song: Rock for Light
Album: Rock for Light
Producer: Ric Ocasek
Label: Passport
Year: 1983
Notes:
All you need is love. And peace. And the absence of war and violence. We might have gotten used to the presence of the last two, but we can leave better for our kids. The fact that Cars vocalist and songwriter Ric Ocasek took time between ‘Shake It Up’ and ‘Heartbeat City’ to produce this album still fascinates me.
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ —
As an adolescent he’d partner with adults running pigeon drops and lookie loos and rocks in a box, interjecting as the sympathetic third-party to sink the hook in further.
Lyrics:
So you say you gonna live the truth
Well have you checked out the future of the youth
Doesn’t seem to be much left for them
But there is an answer for all of Jah Children
We don’t want no wars
We don’t need no violence
We just want what’s right
Some peace and love
We don’t want no violence
We don’t need no wars
We just want what’s right
Rock for light
Rock for light
Rock for light
Rock for light
Rock for light
Rock for light
We come
We come to rock for light
We come
We come to rock for light
We come
We come to rock for light
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Chris Smith, Author 