Re: Olympics opening ceremony

Quote

Should've had Terry Gilliam

Quote

We've got Moby-Dick, Elvis, and Dylan.

Quote

"....But when "Don't Believe the Hype" comes on, I'm disoriented — I know I'm listening to one of the most acclaimed rap records of all time, but nothing grabs me and sucks me in. Chuck D.'s unvarnished vocals sit front and center in the mix, accompanied only by percussion that, to me, sounds thin and funk guitar samples that, frankly, I find cartoonish.

To me, Chuck D.'s legendary flow also comes across like a caricature. His syncopation strikes me as strange, foreign — and when he does reach for melody, like in the opening verses of "Night of the Living Baseheads," it ascends harshly like the bark of a drill sergeant. It's rough, rugged, built like a tank — and I'm coming at it expecting a Bentley.

I think it's telling that my favorite track on It Takes a Nation is "Show 'Em Whatcha Got," a short interlude with few lyrics. Absent is any narrative development; instead, faceless vocals crawl from beneath cobwebs of radio static and vinyl crackle to join Chuck D. and Flavor Flav's chopped chants to remind us that "freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes."

"Show 'Em" is, in its own way, a pleasant surprise: its ambient, referential construction reminds me more of eerie, nocturnal electronic music perfect for post-club comedowns – like that of UK dubstep producer Burial – than mainstream contemporary hip-hop.

But Public Enemy and I are on the same page only briefly: immediately following "Show 'Em" is the alarmingly dated rap-rock fusion of "She Watch Channel Zero?!" I simply cannot get past the bizarre, jolting juxtaposition of bludgeoning, Metallica-style guitar riffs and Flavor Flav's ebullient rhymes. I find myself more inclined to laugh than dance.

As a whole, It Takes A Nation leaves me similarly perplexed. But what Public Enemy does offer me is the context to understand how much hip-hop — and I — have changed since our childhoods. Two years ago, I wouldn't have even thought to give It Takes A Nation a listen, much less spend weeks processing and writing about my reaction to it. 10 years ago, very few would have pointed to Toronto as a hub of hip-hop creativity.

Ultimately, I have no regrets leaving It Takes A Nation on what is now an entirely metaphorical shelf. I'll gladly say thank-you, but given the choice, I'm going to blast Drake's infectiously triumphant mp3s every time

Quote

I feel like that NPR intern listening to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back...