March 21 is End Racism Day (officially named International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), did you think I'd let it pass without a lecture? Ha! An old leftie like me? No way! Commenting on society's evils has become second nature by now - you can bypass the red text and go straight to the record presentation if you like, but I'm gonna say my piece. This day was passed by the U.N. in commemoration of the murder of peaceful anti-apartheid protesters by South African police in 1960. These were the dark days of old. Nowadays not only does South Africa have a black president but the U.S. do too! Which means of course that discrimination on the basis of skin colour is forever a thing of the past. Unarmed black youths getting shot by the police in their own streets has nothing to do with their race. Salaries for black men in the U.S. are 25% lower than for whites, a fact that hasn't changed much in 40 years. Black women are worse off and Hispanics (whatever that means) earn even less - but I guess that's pure coincidence and has nothing to do with race. Coincidentally, in the UK, blacks and Pakistanis also earn 30% less than whites - as for the rest of Europe, take a stroll around Paris early in the morning: What colour are the street sweepers and garbage collectors? I'll give you a hint: It's a few shades darker than the average shopper in downtown boutiques. Not to mention The Netherlands, where I live. The Dutch manage to be incredibly racist and the picture of political correctness at the same time. Admittedly, they're nice to gays and their racism is mostly targeted at muslims and foreign workers at general rather than coloured people. They always have a very reasonable explanation why they don't like you i.e. you cost money to the state (even if it's not true, everyone will believe it), you didn't make the effort to speak their language sufficiently well, or your customs are supposedly incompatible with the Dutch samenleving. If you're a high earner who speaks perfect Dutch and generally adheres to the social norms, you still won't be an equal; you'll be an allochtoon, someone who may assimilate perfectly in Dutch society and hold a Dutch passport, even live in Holland since birth and yet is still an outsider, just like his children and grandchildren will always be. I guess now that the battle against discrimination for reasons of race and sexual orientation is won (we have, after all, a black president in the U.S. and -in Europe- gay prime ministers and cabinet members), racism mostly refers to immigrants and their status in host societies - and that promises to keep us very busy during this century. In any case, on a day like this, it makes sense to present an anti-racism activist and Black power advocate, Gil Scott-Heron.
Gil grew up in the Bronx ghetto but his writing ability soon won him a scholarship to a prestigious upper-class high school which led to a college education, publishing a couple of novels and earning a masters degree in creative writing. Even as a student he began putting his poetry to music, initially pioneering a spoken word style that would presage hip hop and later adding more jazz and soul influences. Ghetto Style offers an overview of his early years, including the greatest part of albums two (Pieces of A Man) and three (Free Will). From the spoken word debut Small Talk At 125th & Lenox we only get the same-named piece and an early version of his calling card and most famous song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" a tirade against television, pop culture, mass consumerism and the apathy of a lethargic black working class audience. Strong words, delivered with persuasion: "You will not be able to stay home, brother/You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out/You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip out for beer during commercials/Because the revolution will not be televised/The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox in 4 parts without commercial interruptions....The revolution will be no re-run brothers/The revolution will be live". On the early version he's only accompanied by a conga drum, while the version that opens the CD (from 1971's Pieces of a Man) is a fuller one, more musical with its flute and bass backing, without losing any of its punch. The rest of the songs from that album are also beautifully produced but mellower, with a soulful jazz backing so laid back it almost belies the urgency of its radical message. Scott-Heron proves that, besides a poet, he's also a great singer on tracks like the introspective "I Think I'll Call It Morning" and the celebration of jazz music "Lady Day & John Coltrane". "Home Is Where Hatred Is" is a jazz-funk masterpiece as well as a heartbreaking picture of a junkie: "A junkie walking through the twilight/I'm on my way home...Home is where I live inside my white powder dreams/ home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams/ home is where the needle marks try to heal my broken heart/ and it might not be such a bad idea if I never, if I never went home again". One of many anti-drugs songs by Scott-Heron, who unfortunately did not heed his own warnings: a great mind who spent his last decades lost in a drug haze, his crack addiction eventually leading him to prison and AIDS-related death. All of the songs from the 2nd album are fantastic, always with a jazz instrumental backing, sometimes funkier ("Or Down You Fall", "The Needle's Eye", "When You Are Who You Are") others slower and bluesier ("Sign of the Ages", "Pieces Of A Man", "Save The Children" and "Did You Hear What They Said?"). On 1972's Free Will, he alternates that style with the spoken word and percussion of his debut. Highlights include the funky "Free Will", mellow ballad "The Middle of Your Day", classic blues "The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues" and rap "No Knock". The compilation rather unevenly stacks the spoken word pieces towards the end ("No Knock", "Sex Education Ghetto Style", "Small Talk", "King Alfred Plan", "Billy Green"), but otherwise makes for a great Scott-Heron primer. The man's decline was a shame (though he did make a well-received album shortly before he died, so his creativity wasn't completely dried up after all), but his music burns bright and words still ring true. This CD is a prime example of his art.
***** for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, I Think I'll Call It Morning, Did You Hear What They Said?, Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues, Lady Day & John Coltrane, Home Is Where Hatred Is
**** for Or Down You Fall, The Needle's Eye, When You Are Who You Are, Free Will, Middle Of Our Day, Pieces Of A Man, No Knock, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised(Early Version), Small Talk At 125th & Lenox
*** for Save The Children, Speed Kills, A Sign Of The Ages, Sex Education: Ghetto Style, King Alfred Plan, Billy Green Is Dead
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