March 27, 2009: Public Enemy - "Welcome to the Terrordome"

25 Albums That Shaped My Life
#4

Public Enemy
Fear of a Black Planet
Def Jam, 1990

I was introduced to Public Enemy and Fear of a Black Planet by my friend and neighbor Tommy, who lived across the street from me for a couple years. His family moved to Plymouth, Minnesota from Cincinnati. We hit it off immediately and were damn near inseparable until his family moved to Florida.

Tommy was unlike any of the other friends I had in my lily-white suburb. He idolized Bo Jackson and Ickey Woods and on occasion would proclaim, "I want to be black!" Before he got Fear of a Black Planet, my exposure to rap music was limited to the humorous (Beastie Boys) and poppy (MC Hammer) mainstream acts. Fear of a Black Planet was an eye-opener. At 12-13 years old, I was well on my way toward seeking rock music of substance, so I guess it makes sense that Chuck D's words had such a profound impact on me.

Tommy is now Tom. After losing track of him for about 15 years, he tracked me down on Myspace a couple of years ago. He is a stand-up comic in Los Angeles. He's bigger and hairier than I remember him, and I can only assume he wears sweatpants in public less frequently, but he's always been the funniest dude in the room. Thanks for the PE, Tom.



http://www.publicenemy.com/
http://www.tomsegura.com/

January 26, 2009: Kurtis Blow - "The Breaks"

I lost my iPod on Saturday. I think it fell out of my jacket pocket at some point. It probably landed in the snow somewhere. I didn't notice it was gone until Sunday afternoon, and I started freaking out.

I still haven't found it, and it sucks because I've only had it for a few months and I can't afford to keep losing expensive toys. I don't know, maybe God is trying to tell me that all this fancy new technology is still no substitute for listening to an album on a kickass stereo.

Anyway, I stomped around for a while. I was in a bad mood for a while. Then I accepted there was nothing more I could do. Maybe it will turn up, but it's probably gone and there's nothing I can do. It's just a thing. An expensive thing, but just a thing.

These are the breaks.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurtis_Blow

January 19, 2009: Public Enemy - "By the Time I Get to Arizona"

Chuck D will always speak his mind, and I love him for it. Former Arizona governor Fife Symington took office in 1991 and refused to recognize Martin Luther King Day as an official holiday. So, Public Enemy wrote a protest song and made a video with some not-so-subtle depictions of an assassination orchestration aimed at the governor. Hardly in the spirit of Dr. King, but hey... Chuck was fired up.

All irony aside, "By the Time I Get to Arizona" is a great song. It's a totally dope beat built on a Mandrill sample and Chuck D's flow is in top form.

Happy birthday, Dr. King. Thank you for your dream. Thank you for so much.



http://www.publicenemy.com/

December 21, 2008: Eric B & Rakim - "I Ain't No Joke"

My wife has been lobbying for some hip hop on Greatest Song of the Day for a while, so I thought I might as well start with the best.

Though their partnership was short and their breakup ugly, the combination of the respective talents of DJ Eric B and emcee Rakim produced some of the greatest and most innovative old school hip hop. I do not consider myself a hip hop connoisseur by any means, but I know what I like and I consider Rakim to be the best rapper I have ever heard. The first two albums in particular (Paid In Full and Follow the Leader) should be staples in any music library that contains the likes of Nas, Jay-Z, or Mos Def.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_B._&_Rakim

November 20, 2008: The Clash - "The Magnificent Seven"

As we wrap up the first calendar week of The Greatest Song of the Day it seems like a fine time to celebrate my all-time favorite band, The Clash. Besides, seven days of this experiment... "The Magnificent Seven" ... neat trick, eh?

Corny tie-ins aside, "The Magnificent Seven" is an absolutely fascinating cut. The Clash was such a fearless band, never content with one sound. They were desperate to discover new music from all over the world and were always willing to let these new influences reshape their structure.

This was certainly the case when the band took up residence in Brooklyn in 1980 to start work on their everything-and-the-kitchen sink ("warts and all" is how Joe Strummer would later describe it) triple album Sandinista!. The Clash - especially Mick Jones - ended up immersing themselves in the city's burgeoning hip-hop culture. The Clash were always a socially conscious band, so it makes sense that, given the socially conscious nature of most early rap music, "The Magnificent Seven" would have a little bark to its bite. Strummer's fantastic anti-consumerism lyrics are would pushed this song from a fun historical footnote to a modern classic.

For more fun, check out this great performance on The Tom Snyder Show.



http://www.theclashonline.com/