Public Enemy: Classic or Dud?

Are people buying and digesting the albums they make now? I always wonder.

Fassfood is a lot of fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0eOkWEAheE

I have never seen an authoritative account of what happened to the Bomb Squad and why they basically stopped working around '94. For such a groundbreaking production crew, this has always befuddled me.

BOOM, BASS IN YOUR FACE:
Here is that Chuck D & Hank Shocklee Interview

also I think you can still find the Tape Op interview with Shocklee mentioned in there for free, all you have to do is reg for the site. It's pretty eye opening.

I knew that the legalities of sampling probably had something to do with it, but I always suspected there must have been some personal stuff going on as well...? There are plenty of producers who kept working as styles shifted, just seems weird to me that they basically gave up.

https://twitter.com/MrChuckD/status/495741143918071809/photo/1

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuE58ZfIIAA025Q.jpg

Not so corny anymore huh?

Wow, I just saw that on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Monday.

Hearing whispers of a secret (short) gig at Rough Trade East tomorrow at 6:30

weird & cool: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/329701271.html

That's insane!

Time for me to exit, Terminator Brex-it.

KEXP in Seattle is playing every (discernible) recording sampled on Nation of Millions right now:

https://www.kexp.org/

That album is at least 80% the soundtrack to Wattstax don't @ me

rebel without @ pause

death row, what @ brother know

I watched this BBC documentary yesterday : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMCvWeWnsJw
It's pretty cool and reminded me how much I loved that band when I was a teenager (the release of "Fear Of A Black Planet" remains one of the great musical moments in my life !).
I had never thought about the fact that they never went the "bitches, Hos, bling" route and watching Griff talking about their project, it appears obvious.
Also the Griff/Flav relationship was pretty wild and you wonder how they managed to make it work for such a long time...

Is there a good book about them ?

I’ve read two books and neither came close to the Wax Poetics cover story (#17, 2006) on the Bomb Squad

Thanks, I will check it out !

The Whiney book about Nation is good.

Yeah, I have just ordered it !

"Fear of a Black Planet" still rules - relistening right now. I'm not gonna pretend it fully sustains for its hour-plus, but tracks 1-5 remain one of the most thrillingly paced/sequenced runs on any record, and track for track it keeps up the pace at least through the title track.

Talk to me about the future of Public Enemy


https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/public-enemy-flavor-flav-bernie-sanders-960272/

I'm kind of bummed about this. Like of course Flavor Flav has some weird ass political views that don't line up with the rest of the group. You have to let him be who he is.

future of Public Enemy Radio got a

He's left/been fired/not bothered to turn up before, he'll be back

"Like of course Flavor Flav has some weird ass political views that don't line up with the rest of the group."

Chuck D's remarks suggest this doesn't have anything to do with Flavor Flav's political zeal, but rather lack thereof.

I suppose after all this time and his many antics, they're pretty used to handle him...
He'll be back after the elections !

Also that Flav’s substance abuse has once again made him a difficult employee.

xpost

I think Mario’s post “Flavor Flav has some weird ass political views that don't line up with the rest of the group” must have been confusing Flavor Flav with Professor Griff.

nah, he said a bunch of pro-Trump nonsense during the 2016 campaign. but it's from being an a) apolitical b) idiot, not ideology.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/89254744_555480721988677_325032658125979648_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=vK9C_rPzHZQAX-58sML&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=f7edf2f55c3c3e3e233fe9731c0fdba7&oe=5EFB08C4

I'll throw my support behind "Muse-Sick-In-Our-Mess-Age" too. It's no groundbreaking landmark, but I have to disagree with anyone putting down the fine and funky production. It's like a B+ album.

I always have a soft spot for Muse-Sick, it came out right as I was starting my freshman year in college and it was one of the few cassettes I had with me for the first few months before I upgraded to a Discman.

hahaha xxp

Muse Sick's probably my third favourite after Nation and Black Planet.

lmao hate to see politics ruin Public Enemy

ppl underrate Yo! Bum Rush the Show

yeah I ignored it for years

otoh this bangs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYblg4i2HD8

head and shoulders above the album though, one of their all-time greatest

nb Bum Rush is good

Muse Sick over Bum Rush and Apocalypse 91 is a pretty good challop

I only listened to Muse Sick maybe once when it came out, and my reaction was that it was such a weak follow-up to Apocalypse 91 (which I love/loved). Wasn't there a big deal made that it cut down on the number of samples and introduced more instruments?

Nation of Millions > Fear >>> Bum Rush >>> Apocalypse 91 >>> Greatest Misses >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Muse Sick > ...those guys are still around? Oof.

That seems right but I’d flip Apocalypse 91 w/ Bum Rush

i would flip fear and nation but yeah pretty otm