TIE FOR #11 - COMMON "THE DREAMER/THE BELIEVER"

Common released his latest LP, The Dreamer/The Believer in the last days of 2011, making it difficult to evaluate against other albums that I've been listening to for weeks or months.  But there were at least two songs that I've been listening to for a while: "Blue Sky" and "Ghetto Dreams," the latter featuring Nas. They are both great songs, especially "Ghetto Dreams": hearing two of the greatest MCs of our era on one song is definitely a treat.

The entire LP is produced by No ID.  And other than Nas, there are only two guest appearances: John Legend and Maya Angelou. No ID worked with Common on his early recordings; he's also the guy who introduced Kanye West to production. Common and No ID work together really well, and it was a great idea to have him do the entire album.  These days, most hip-hop albums are more like compilations with different producers, different guest stars.  The artist whose name is on the LP cover is a common thread throughout the songs.  The Dreamer/The Believer feels like an album.

One song that's getting a lot of attention is "Sweet," a song which he has said is about younger hip-hop artists, including Drake.  I'm not part of the hip-hop community, but when I saw Drake's Sprite commercial, where he raps "Last name 'ever,' first name 'greatest,'" I had to laugh and wonder if the guy had every single Eric B & Rakim LP. Or any Eric B & Rakim LP. Does he know who Rakim is? Or KRS-One, Guru, Black Thought, Nas... or Common? I realize that Common risks looking "old" or out of touch by doing a record like "Sweet," but he's a man, and it needed to be said.

Anyway, back to music. I hope Common and No ID do the next album together.  I think The Dreamer/The Believer is a great album, but his greatest is yet to come.

BEST OF 2010 - # 6 - THE ROOTS "HOW I GOT OVER"

I love both Roots albums that came out this year: their collaboration with John Legend, Wake Up, is great. But How I Got Over is a classic. I wrote about it over the summer, and I still think it is an incredible album. I am a big fan of the band and their drummer Questlove, but I don't always love their albums.

If you've seen them on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, you know what a great and diverse band they are. They can go from backing Bruce Springsteen to Black Star to Christopher Cross.  They have always been a great band, but I would argue that working on the show has made them an even better band (I wonder if they would agree).  Their guest list on the album includes Jim James of Monsters of Folk/My Morning Jacket, John Legend, the ladies from Dirty Projectors and a number of underground hip-hop artists. It never seems forced or gimmicky, it's just that they can work with anyone, and really make it work. And they make it hip-hop.  I wouldn't have thought you could do that with such an unfunky group as Dirty Projectors.

The underground MCs they work with (Dice Raw, P.O.R.N., Phonte, Blu) are great, but none are as great as The Roots' lead MC, Black Thought. He doesn't get enough credit, I think it's because he's a quiet guy when he's not rocking the mic. But listen to dude's lyrics, he really is one of the best.

Check out: "Walk Alone," "Dear God 2.0," "Radio Daze," "Now Or Never," "How I Got Over," "The Day." Really the whole album though!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ:GREAT TEAM-UPs

For those who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am-ish, I go on SIRIUS XM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick (co-hosted by Keith Price) to talk about music. Sometimes I have a theme, and tomorrow I'm going to be talking about recently released "team-up" albums. (We may also talk about the late, great Solomon Burke as well).

First off is the album by John Legend & The Roots, Wake Up. It's an album of covers of socially conscious R&B and soul covers from the '60s and '70s (as well as one new song written for the documentary Waiting For Superman). Yes, the album was inspired by Barack Obama's election, and was originally supposed to be an EP, but ended up becomming a full length album. Some people think that John Legend is too polite and that he lacks grit. ?uestlove who co-produced the album helped to change that. And as smooth as John is, he is very socially conscious, and you can definitely hear grit and fury in the cover of Bill Withers' "I Can't Write Left Handed." Lots of the songs are pretty obscure, I'd chalk that up to ?uestlove, who probably chose the songs. My one criticism: why have guest MCs, even such great ones as Common and C.L. Smooth when Black Thought is in the group (he's only on two songs). Anyway, I really dig this album.

Fistful Of Mercy is a new group that features one of my favorite artists, Ben Harper. The band also features Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison. They just released their debut album, As I Call You Down. It isn't my favorite thing Ben has done, but it has some really great songs. I recently filmed a performance by the group, I'll be posting a song soon.

Finally, the new duo album by Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union (produced by - of course! - T-Bone Burnett!). Leon was a huge influence on Elton, and Elton reached out to him a while back. Discovering that Leon wasn't in a great place, and bummed that he seemed to be forgotten, Elton invited him to do an album together. It shows what a giving and generous guy Elton is, despite the whole "tantrums and tiaras" thing. So that makes me want to like it. I think it is his best album since 2001's Songs From The West Coast (one of my favorite Elton albums), but not quite as good as that one. Still, there are some great songs, including the first single "If It Wasn't For Bad" (written by Leon) and "Hey Ahab" (written by Elton and Bernie Taupin).

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: FUNK AND SOUL

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET (ish) I am a guest contributor to the SIRIUS XM OutQ channel show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.  Every week I discuss music (surprise!) and this week I'll be talking about some new funky and soulful releases.

I have written about Brad before: the band features Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, along with the great singer Shawn Smith. Smith also sings for Satchel (who Stone has produced), and for the electro music project Pigeonhed (the Lo-Fidelity Allstars remix of their song "Battleflag" is probably Smith's biggest "hit"), and has done solo albums too (as well as some other projects). He is one of the best singers you haven't heard. The band's drummer is Regan Hagar (also of Satchel, he used to be in Malfunkshun with the late Andrew Wood, who went on to form Mother Love Bone with Stone). Jeremy Toback used to be the bass player (he's also done some cool solo albums) but now Mike Berg is the bassist (he's also in Satchel). Enough family tree stuff, Brad is a really soulful band. At first they both benefitted and suffered from the Pearl Jam association: they certainly got more press because of Stone, but they sound nothing like Pearl Jam, they have a much more funky and soul music-based sound. Smith is the star of the band. If you can find the first album, 1993's Shame, check it out. But Best Friends?, their forth album which just came out, is very good too, although it did take me a few listens.

Street Sweeper Social Club just put out their second release, The Ghetto Blaster EP. It rocks! It has a bunch of new songs, a remix of "Promenade" from their debut, a new version of Boots Riley's other group, The Coup's "Everythang," and covers of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out." Plus there's a few new songs. I think Boots is going to do a Coup album next, and I guess Tom Morello will do another Nightwatchman project (and maybe some Rage Against The Machine shows), before the next Street Sweeper full length.

Michael Franti has had such an interesting career. In the late '80s, he was in this angry industrial/hip-hop group The Beatnigs. After that, he had a very Public Enemy influenced hip-hop group called The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy (I saw them open for U2 at Shea Stadium, pretty bizarre). In 1994, he started Spearhead, which combined hip-hop with live music, soul, R&B and reggae, and he's been doing it for years without too much commercial success - but the band gets lots of respect in the jam band community. All of the sudden, last year, they had a hit with the very poppy "Say Hey (I Love You)," which is a classic hit single. A wonderful song. Franti's new Spearhead album, The Sound Of Sunshine, comes out September 21, and it sounds like it has a simlilar vibe to "Say Hey."

A couple of other things I'll be bringing: new songs by Cee-Lo Green (his viral hit "F*** You," and another new song "Georgia"), some Robert Randolph & The Family Band (featuring Ben Harper) and a preview of the John Legend/Roots album.

TODAY ON OUTQ: HIP-HOP: THE ROOTS, EMINEM, BIG BOI AND MORE

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am-ish, I am a guest on the SIRIUS XM Channel OutQ; I talk about new music on The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick. Today, I'll be talking about some recent hip-hop releases.

I've already written about The Roots' How I Got Over.  It's one of my favorite albums of the year, and the title track is up there as one of my favorite songs this year.  I also have a track from the Roots' upcoming collaborative album with John Legend, Wake Up, which I'll be writing more about.  It's covers of socially conscious soul tunes from the '60s and '70s.   Another one of my favorite albums this year is Big Boi's long awaited solo debut, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty.   It's amazing that Jive Records thought that this didn't have any commercial potential: Big Boi signed to Def Jam for the album (which is also odd, as they don't seem to be able to handle more "adult" or "arty" releases, such as How I Got Over. I'll also be talking about one of Larry Flick's favorite albums of the year, Eminem's Recovery. I've never been a huge fan of Eminem's (although I enjoy his SIRIUS XM channel Shade 45), but I definitely recognize the man's skills.  And there are some great songs on Recovery.

Kanye West has a crazy new song called "Power," which samples King Crimson's "21st Century Schitzoid Man." Amazing song, and I have that one. Also a new song from T.I., one of his first since leaving prison.  Also, music from two newer artists -- neither of whom I really "get," I confess -- B.o.B. and Drake. Tune in (SIRIUS 109, XM 98), call in (866-305-6887) and tell us what you think!

A NEW CLASSIC: THE ROOTS "HOW I GOT OVER"

So now I have three favorite albums of 2010. The Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do, The Black Keys' Brothers and now I'll add The Roots' How I Got Over.

It's not secret to long time No Expiration readers know that I'm a big fan of The Roots and their drummer Questlove.

I'll admit that I was a bit worried when I heard that they were collaborating with indie-rock artists (many of whom they met on Jimmy Fallon's show).  Questlove is the kind of guy who appreciates all kind of music, and who seems to get along with everyone. The ladies from Dirty Projectors (one of the most overrated bands in recent memory - but the ladies did a great job backing up Black Star on Fallon a few months back) sing on the intro piece, "A Peace Of Light." Some of the guys from Monsters Of Folk are featured on "Dear God 2.0," a sequel to their song "Dear God" written by Jim James (of My Morning Jacket). That works really really well. Indie harp artist Joanna Newsom is on "Right On," and Patty Crash is on "The Day," which is one of the true highlights. My favorite collab is with John Legend, who sings on "The Fire." (They also sample him on the previous song, "Doin' It Again.") (Now I really can't wait for the Legend/Roots album featuring a number of socially relevant covers).

The Roots have always been great at collaborating without losing their sound, and I think the Fallon show has only strengthened that, so it always ends up sounding like them. There's also hip-hop guests, some who have worked with the band before (Peedi Peedi, P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw), and at least one newer name (STS).

The centerpiece of the album, and my favorite song, is the title track, which features Dice Raw.  And I think Black Thought even sings a bit on that track! The lyric is one of their best ever: "Out on the street, where I grew up, first thing you learn is not to give a fuck.  That kind of thinking will get you nowhere. Someone has to care!" Who else is writing stuff so simple, poignant and elegant these days.  That puts them in Marvin Gaye/Curtis Mayfield turf. When you're there, you don't have to worry about keeping up with wacka flacka or drake. They're not so much about this moment in hip-hop, they're timeless.  That's how I've always felt about the group, but this album hammers it home.

SMOKEY, DYLAN, LEGEND PAY TRIBUTE TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

In honor of Black History Month (February), The White House is hosting "A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" on February 11 at 8 pm ET. President Barack Obama and The First Lady will be there and performers include Smokey Robinson, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, and more, with Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah hosting (c'mon, Queen, you're not gonna do "U.N.I.T.Y."?).

BEST OF THE 00s: KANYE WEST

No, I don't endorse Kanye West's behavior. My first and only encounter with him was bizarre and not super fun.

It was the Grammy Awards in either 2003 and I was doing interviews for VH1. Most artists who do press at events like this are nominees, or performers or at least presenters.  I don't think Kanye was any of the above. He may have been nominated for something, because he was an established producer at that point (notably for Jay-Z), although he hadn't released a solo record yet.

So he shows up in our interview room with a mascot -- literally a guy dressed in the mascot costume that is on the cover of his debut The College Dropout. He actually had a bit hit at that moment: he produced and rapped on Twista's song "Slow Jamz" which also featured Jaime Foxx (and which was later released on The College Dropout). I thought he'd be happy that I even knew who he was, but he was dwarfed by the chip on his shoulder. Before the cameras rolled, I mentioned that I would ask about "Slow Jamz" and then go on to his upcoming debut. He doesn't look at me but was like "OK." So I ask the question, he answers and then I ask a followup and he's like "Ya'll know I got my debut album coming out February (whatever), right?" Don't f*** with me like that I'm doing an interview, kid. I was like, well, I'm not using this anyway, and if I need to do a news package on this clown, I'll interview him again later. But I did decide that anyone this arrogant and rude had to have something to back it up. So despite the fact that I felt he was rude, I bought his album the day it came out. His ego is all over the place, as is the giant chip on his shoulder, but you can't deny it is a classic, probably the best hip-hop record of the decade.

The followup, Late Registration, was great also, and Kanye also spent time bringing the great R&B singer John Legend to the world, and exposing Common to a larger audience. Graduation wasn't as good, and the last album with auto-tune, was really dull. But neither or those take away from how great the first two were.  And despite Kanye's humongous ego, he is still a good collaborator: other than producing Common and John Legend, he's also done tracks for Jay-Z, Nas, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, among others, since becoming a star in his own right. He's also shared the mic on some great collaborative tracks, including "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" with Nas, KRS-One and Rakim, "Swagga Like Us" with Jay-Z, T.I. and Lil' Wayne and "Run This Town" with Jay-Z and Rihanna.

His verbal beatdowns have been embarassing three times as often as they've been cool: he shouldn't have bitched about Gretchen Wilson when she won Best New Artist at the American Music Awards (I've interviewed her as well, and she could probably physically kick his ass), he shouldn't have complained about Justin Timberlake winning an award that he was nominated for, and of course the Taylor Swift thing was ridiculous.  On the other hand, his post-Katrina televised bitch slap of bush II was awesome and a classic TV moment. But hopefully Kanye will get his stuff together: I'm sure he has lots of great music in him for the '10s.

MR PRESIDENT - DON'T STAND FOR ACTA

The other day, I was reflecting on how great I, and millions of other people in the United States and around the world, were feeling a year ago, when Barack Obama was elected President Of The United States Of America. I was so elated. So proud. So relieved. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

The celebrations were awesome. Some of the greatest artists on earth campaigned, hard, for the man. Including no less than Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder. Bruce did a gig with Billy Joel (they played as one band, not co-headliners, it was Billy's first political type gig, and John Legend was also there). And of course, huge stars, including Bruce, Stevie, John Legend, and other great artists performed at the various celebrations. It was a historic moment in time, and a great one.

Of course, that wasn't the end, it was the beginning. Getting elected was the easy part. Not too easy, but he was running against a candidate who the Republicans had repeatedly said "no" to, who had choosen a running mate with a popularity cycle akin to that of an indie rock band (everyone loves her! no, she's overrated! no, we hate her, it was all a mistake!). But still, it isn't easy for a black man, or a politically progressive person to get elected, and he pulled it off. Since then, he has had to deal with the most partisan opposition I've seen in my lifetime (sorry, way worse than what the Democrats gave bush), and, as is his habit, he is trying to meet these people halfway. People will criticize him for literally anything. He wants to speak to students on the first day of school. "It's an outrage!" He is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, surprising even him. "It's worthless!" He tries to get the Olympics for Chicago. "We hope he fails!" I mean, come on. Why did he get the Nobel Peace Prize anyway? For not being bush. The award was for America as much as it was for Barack. It was for what he symbolizes.

Barack Obama isn't just a man, although he may wish he was. He represents a lot of things to a lot of people. He represents a hope for the future - bush's followers may have said the same about him, but bush used fear in a way that Barack doesn't, and doesn't need to. I think it is inevitable that Barack (I hope no one is offended by my using his first name) ends up letting some people down. I have a lot of hope for him, I think he will be one of the finest Presidents our country has ever had.

What does this have to do with my blog, other than that it is my blog? Well, as I wrote in my headline, there is this thing called "ACTA" going down - The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It is, as the writer James Love puts it, a "patriot act for the internet." I'm not a great tech or politics writer, though, so check out what he has to say about ACTA. Is is ironic that a man who has benefitted so heavily from the internet would do something that essentially shuts it down, and would endorse meetings held with a rove-ian level of secrecy. I like to think that this hasn't really reached his radar yet, and when he finds out about it, he won't tolerate it.

BRUCE, STEVIE, BONO AND OTHERS TO PLAY INAUGURAL CELEBRATION

I wonder if Washington D.C. has ever seen anything like the excitement for Barack Obama's inauguration. Certainly the concert that will take place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial this Sunday for the We Are One celebration is kind of unprecedented: Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, James Taylor and will.i.am are among the artists who will be performing at this historic event. The show will be open to the public: I think it is supposed to be freezing that day, but who cares? I wish I was going.

(RED) WIRE ABOUT TO LAUNCH

Over the summer, I wrote about (RED) WIRE, the online music magazine that is part of the Product (RED) project. Basically it features big name artists contributing exclusive songs - they hope that you subscribe to dig the tunes, and the money will go towards fighting hunger and disease in Africa. Learn more about it here. I just watched U2's cover of Greg Lake's (!) "I Believe In Father Christmas," John Legend's cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and The Police with Elvis Costello & The Imposters' mash-up of "Watching The Detectives" and "Walking On The Moon." Pretty cool stuff. I'm happy to pay for this stuff.

SOUL MEN

Even though Soul Men hasn't gotten great reviews, I want to see it. I was always a big fan of Bernie Mac - I loved the first season or two of his own show, plus the Oceans films and also Bad Santa. And I've written about the late Isaac Hayes. It's eerie that those two legends, both in the film, died one day apart in August.

The film, also starring Samuel L. Jackson, is a fictional story based in the Memphis soul scene of the '60s and '70s, which makes it of interest to me. I don't have the soundtrack, but I did download a few songs from iTunes.

"I'm Your Puppet" is a song from the era sung by John Legend (in the film, he was the original lead singer of the group that Bernie and Sam were in). John sings it well, but Sam and Bernie's backing vocals are kind of funny. It probably works in the film.

"Water" is another Stax song, this one covered by the great MeShell NdegeOcello. She's great at this kind of song. Unless she gets too jazzy or too out there, I usually enjoy her stuff.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings cover The First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." The First Edition featured Kenny Rogers on vocals (the original was used to great effect in The Big Lebowski). Great version.

The Sugarman 3 & Lee Fields: "You Don't Know What You Mean (To A Lover Like Me)." The Sugarman 3 is from Daptone Records, the label that puts out Sharon Jones' music. They are sort of revivalists, which I think is cool.

All of these songs are available at the iTunes store, they're worth the combined $3.

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: Q-TIP, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, JOHN LEGEND, KANYE

So this week's theme is going to be
hip-hop and R&B. First off is Q-Tip's new album, The Renaissance. I'm glad it came out at all - his last two albums were shelved by his record labels. He is a really ambitious artist, and doesn't pander, and that may be why he has never sold tons of records, but it's also why people still care about him after all these years. His last album came out in 1999! That's a long time in any genre, especially hip-hop. He has some cool guests on the album, including Norah Jones, D'Angelo (also on sabbatical) and Raphael Saadiq. It's a really ambitious album, and I really dig it.

Speaking of Raphael, I really dig his album, The Way I See It. It's more than a tribute to Motown, it's more like a thank you letter. I believe in saying "thank you," and I love old Motown, so I'm cool with this album. I'm sure some people will complain that it sounds too old-school Motownish. This is my favorite of the albums I'll be talking about this week.

I was really looking forward to John Legend's new album, Evolver. I like it, but don't love it. it sounds very contemporary R&B, and is a bit more Brian McKnight than Al Green or Marvin Gaye. That's just my take. I like "Everybody Knows," and also his Estelle collaboration, "No Other Love," which features the great reggae sax player Dean Fraser. I also like his Barack Obama tribute song, "If You're Out There." The great thing about John Legend: you don't have to enjoy every album equally, he's gonna be around for a long time.

I'm also talking about tracks from upcoming albums by Common and Kanye West. Common's has a very Afrika Bambaataa electro sound (the songs were actually produced by Pharell) and I like them. I'm not super into Kanye's new autotune heavy singing.

NOT QUITE "VOTE FOR CHANGE"

The Obama/Biden campaign is selling a CD to help raise funds for their campaign. Yes We Can: Voices Of A Grassroots Movement features mostly previously released tracks by Buddy Miller, keb'mo, Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow. But the coolest track on the album is John Legend's cover of U2's "Pride (In The Name Of Love)." You can get the CD here. 

JOHN LEGEND: ON "TARGET"

John Legend has just released a live album exclusively at Target. This will be seen as overly corporate by some. But as Sonic Youth's members pointed out when they signed an exclusive deal with Starbucks, one giant corporation isn't any better or worse than any other.

John Legend is no dummy: I think he actually worked as a business consultant before he signed his record deal. As he said in a recent interview with Fast Company, he looks forward to a day when he can put out his music without the help of a traditional record label. And, of course, the labels aren't doing too well.

Business stuff aside, I saw John on his last tour, and I thought it was great. The live album seems to be a similar set - The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," Sly & The Family Stone's "Dance To The Music" and a cover of "Where Is The Love" with opener Corinne Bailey Rae that I didn't love, plus most of the songs from his two albums.

Good move by John - I look forward to picking this one up.

P.S., John has a new song out: it was a digital release single called "Sun Comes Up" that came out in October. It's acoustic guitar based, I don't think it has any piano. Great song. I hope John has a new studio album due out this year.

GREAT SONGS FROM 2007 - part 3

Q-Tip : "Work It Out" Tip deserves a post of his own, actually, and I'll have to get to that. I've written about how much I like his former group, A Tribe Called Quest, and I just think he's one of the best MCs out there. I didn't love his solo debut, Amplified, although "Vivrant Thing" is a classic record. His next two albums were shelved by their respective record labels. Not one album shelved. Two. In a row. But here's hoping that his next one will come out in 2008 as planned. "Work It Out" is the lead single, and it's a great one. Will "the streets" think it's "hott." Who knows.

Black Eyed Peas featuring Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo and John Legend: "Like That" Actually this came out in 2006, but I only heard it last year. BEP are about as criticially reviled as you can be in hip-hop without calling yourself "vanilla ice." I remember interviewing the editor of a high profile magazine in the hip-hop/R&B world, and when I asked about Black Eyed Peas performing at the Democratic National Convention, and did that mean anything for hip-hop, my interview subject got all Excorcist on me. Eyes changing color, a hot wind started blowing, levitation, etc. "THEY'RE NOT HIP-HOP!" What do you say to that? I liked BEP's albums when they were a backpacking "alternative" hip-hop group. Of course, they went "pop" when Fergie joined and they started collaborating with people like Justin Timberlake. I've liked some of thier songs from this era, but for sure not all of them. This one, though, is great. And if Q-Tip and Talib Kweli are on your album, does it matter whata magazine editor says?

The Hives: "Tick Tick Boom" The Hives kind of took things by storm in the U.S. in about 2002 when their single "Hate To Say I Told You So" was a hit. By their next album, people were over them. The truth is, they're a great garage band who don't care about trends. This is a great song, I have to listen to the album a bit more though.

Arctic Monkeys - "Brianstorm" It's pretty amazing how huge these guys are in thier native U.K. I don't consider them one of the best bands of all time, but I've enjoyed both of their albums so far. This is a cool song from their newest, Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Still more great 2007 songs to come.

VEDDER AND LEGEND TO CONTRIBUTE TO HOWARD ZINN DOC

I heard that Eddie Vedder and John Legend will contribute music to a documentary miniseries based on Howard Zinn's book A People's History Of The United States. People have recommended Mr. Zinn's book to me, so this is as good a reason as any to check it out.

Eddie Vedder gets bashed a lot for his politics. I, for one, often feel proud to be a fan when he speaks his mind. I know he's been a "fan" of Zinn (I don't think "fan" is the right word) for a long time: Pearl Jam's song "Down" quotes Mr. Zinn. I think the line is, "You can't be neutral on a moving train." Ain't that the truth.

I'm a big fan of John Legend as well. I interviewed him a few weeks before his debut album came out. I was equally impressed with his music and his politics, and how eloquent he was at voicing his motivations behind both. Not a lot of artists in the pop/R&B/hip-hop arena want to say much more about politics than vague stuff like "vote or die" (did anyone actually die from not voting?) but when John Legend talks, you can see him running for office at some point. I saw John Legend perform earlier this year, he was really great. I'll have to write more about him in the future.

There's been a lot of talk in the media recently about celebrities being unqualified to discuss politics. Well, if you want to discuss qualifications, you can start with the current president, he's not qualified to discuss politics, as he proves whenever someone puts a mic in his face. Plus, "political commentators" like Bill O'Riley are as much entertainers as anything else.