I've never been one to be overly political - nor do I think Joe
or Chuck are overly political ( though right now they seem like it because there
seems to be absolutely NOBODY talking about real shit any more) There I go. Sorry.
I just wonder why there aren't voices like these guys any more? Where did that punk
rock attitude go? I mean Joe Strummer is Hip-Hop and Chuck D is Punk Rock,
if you know what I mean. That's a sort of measurement I use to judge just
about all art. Does it have that edge to it?
Which nowadays only those of us aware of older Hip-Hop even thnk
of it as something of a counter-culture or dare-I-say revolutionary,
because its SO far removed from that moment.

Joe and Chuck had that fuck you attitude, but they were sharp,
intelligent, powerful voices with real urgency. That's what I like. Dylan is Dylan.
He's one in a million and he's an elusive character. Similarly KRS personality
gets in the way of his message. Well, maybe his message gets in the way of
his message. Either way, as much as I love KRS, he can be didactic and
downright incoherent.

But Joe Strummer and Chuck D
were real people and made themselves accessible by having radio shows.
They both had that rare thing that seems to be missing in music and politics
these days: INTEGRITY

IS it a coincidence that both rock n roll and hip-hop are so soft right now?
I can't even tell which is softer! The thing I don't get about the "hipster"
thing, is that you can't even call it anything. Its not a movement, its not
even about music, its about an aesthetic that is totally transparent and
available for anybody to flock to. There's something so soft about that
too. UGH here I go complaining again. I just find it odd that in this
internet age where there is so much freedom and so many ways to
express one's self, its seems to me that conformity has never been more
limpid. Anyway. . My thoughts are scattered.

The Clash always have and always will be my favorite band of all time.
I play their records all the time. Not only because I love them, but because I feel
a lot of it sounds new still - and by that I mean a lot of bands now are so
derivative that I rather just go hear the real thing.

But as far as PE goes, i mean, I WISH I could say there was something out there now
that was derivative of them, but there's not, not even close. I think that's weird man.
Don't you guys think that's weird? I think Rising Down was probably the only album
that made me think of PE since Lets Get Free. (Or I guess Game Theory)

But I'm not just talking about being political for the sake of it - no one likes that-
I'm talking about making powerful music that stands for something. Who is really
doing that?

I know this is all over the place. I always loved The CLash but its not until somewhat
recently, last few years, that I got really into Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
and his other solo stuff. Maybe I was resistant to it for a while 'cause it seemed
like Diet The Clash to me or something - maybe I'm getting older - but Joe made some fantastic music later in his life.
Too bad he passed so young.

As for Chuck, well he's alive and well and always representing. There should be a
statue of him somewhere. He is one of the true knights of Hip-Hop.

and this has been I like Joe Strummer and I like Chuck D by L.E.S.

I'm sure if it wasn't 2 a.m. and I hadn't had a few beers and watched the Knicks
lose miserably to Golden State I could have written a profound comparative
praise of Joe and Chuck. But, well, y'all already know. I hope.