The Epitome of Public Enemy

Talk about your old stand-bys. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get into Public Enemy, especially since they were around when I was starting to pay attention to both popular culture and culture at large. Yet the fact that I like them is also a little unlikely, because I (white pop kid that I am) like my hip-hop catchy and melodic, which Public Enemy often are not. They're so great, though, because they're so necessary. The Bomb Squad siren, the low, booming Chuck D. flow, the flat-out funk. Like many people, I first really heard them when I saw Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, in which Fight the Power - a second try for a theme song to Spike's movie - was used to incredible effect.

Anyway, you can probably guess why I want to post this today:

Don't Believe The Hype

Judging from the comments to Mark's great mix below, our posts about Election Day are essentially preaching to the choir. Nonetheless, the power of criticism and scrutiny are needed for four more years, and I intend to keep mine intact. I encourage you all to do the same.

(Don't worry, tomorrow we'll be back to our old selves.)

David