Public Enemy’s explosion onto the American music scene in the mid-to-late-‘80s transformed the musical views of a lot of people, myself included. These guys were the full package. Sonically they fused hardcore New York rap style with militant black power lyrics and a dense, bombastic sample-heavy rhythm attack. Visually, they had a solidly political graphic style and tough, utilitarian fashion sense that accentuated their revolutionary attitude. PE were a dream come true for dorky college students like me who were in love with both serious anarcho-punk bands like the then-recently defunct Crass and black music in general—especially hip-hop. Their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is a landmark in American pop music.
PE marks their entrance into collectors’ posterity via a 3-CD/3-DVD-photo-book-and-t-shirt box set with a new video for their summer single, “Say It Like It Really Is,” shot in the surprisingly peaceful surroundings of Niagra Falls. Older, but still dangerous minds.
After the jump: a 2007 video re-contextualizing of P.E.’s 1999 tune “I”, with Chuck D. surveying New Orleans’ Ninth Ward…
Fascinating! This short film by Ivan Kral of the Patti Smith Group takes a look around a New Year’s Eve party at CBGBs. Viewing this now, it’s striking how many of these people went on to become generational icons.
New Year CBGB party filled with local bandmates like Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Lenny Kaye, JD Daugherty, Patti Smith manager Jane Friedman, Arista, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Roberta Bayley, Lynette Bean, Tom Verlaine, Richard Robinson, Lisa Robinson, David Byrne, Television, Velvet Underground’s John Cale, many more—too many to mention. All us musicians were broke and dreamed of getting a record deal. Dreams came true.
Seldom seen footage of punk-psych rockers, The Wildweeds, performing their regional hit “I’m Dreaming” in 1968. The Wildweeds are most notable today for being the first band of NRBQ guitarist, Big Al Anderson.
Not a lot of notice for this one, but some of my fellow Los Angelenos will be happy to hear that the new documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story will be getting its Los Angeles premiere tomorrow night.
With exclusive interviews from the people who knew Hicks intimately, filmmakers Paul Thomas and Matt Harlock boldly recreate scenes throughout the comedian’s life using a stunning new form of photo-animation that Esquire called “brilliant and beguiling,” allowing the audience to be immersed in Bill’s world as he moves from Houston to Los Angeles, where he achieved his first level of success at the famed Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. (His name is still featured on the Comedy Store’s wall of fame.) Hicks would go onto to make his mark not only in the LA comedy community, but nationally as well, appearing on “Late Night with Letterman” eleven times, as well as two of his own HBO specials.
His life and career, which promised even more to come, was tragically cut short when he was diagnosed at age 32 with pancreatic cancer and died in 1994 within a matter of months. Known as a comedian in the vein of Lenny Bruce, Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl who wasn’t afraid to tackle “big ideas” on politics, religion and even the meaning of life in a stand-up comedy routine, Hicks started with a cult following, first through word-of-mouth, bootlegs and VHS, and is now tipping into a much wider mainstream following.
The filmmakers comment: “Although Bill was a superstar outside America, the challenging nature of his material meant he never got the chance to be seen unedited by mainstream US audiences, but since the rise of Jon Stewart and ‘The Daily Show,’ Stephen Colbert and Lewis Black, the landscape has changed. Considered by many in the comedy community to be one of the most important stand-ups America ever produced, this firebrand comic’s freethinking message of acceptance and hope is more relevant in today’s world than ever. Above all though, his is the human story of an artist who had to overcome great obstacles, personal and professional, to try and make the world a better place. As such, its for everyone.”
The Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles, Wed., Sept, 8th, 8:00 pm at the Civic Center F. Deaton Auditorium, at corner of 1st and Main St., (i.e., across from City Hall in downtown L.A.)
Oval, the band nom-de-glitch for one Markus Popp, have made some seriously lovely records, but it’s been a long while. Nearly 10 years in fact. I have mixed feelings about this return, the extremely generous 70 song free download Lp titlled simply O. Whereas in the past I was mystified by the variety of worn and dirty, clean and pristine textures which were somehow woven into delicate melodies, this new stuff sounds like someone futzing around with some guitar and drum simulation software. I’m going to stick with it, though. Could be a grower.
Reggie Watts fooling around in a feedback loop with his new reverb box. We set up a mirror so he could watch himself and interact with the colors live!
Chuck Close’s anamorphic portrait of Philip Glass.
Tara has some pretty hard and fast rules for this blog. Decrees like “IT’S GOTTA BE DANGEROUS”; “THIS IS ON EVERY OTHER BLOG, I’M PULLING THIS POST” and of course, her classic commandment: “NO LEGO” are now legendary… around my house at least…
I’d argue that this piece is a (perhaps admittedly rare) exception on the Lego front. It’s a animated Lego version of Philip Glass’s minimalist opera, Einstein on the Beach. I think even my Lego-hating editrix wife might like this one. Plus it’s “dangerous” (Philip Glass is no MC Hammer!) and I haven’t found it on a ton of other blogs. She’s still sleeping, so if this post vanishes soon, you’ll know what happened!
Incidentally, the person who made this, did it to help a friend pass a high school art class! As one of the commenters on YouTube asked “What’s next a Lego Koyaanisqatsi?” Fingers crossed.
