gil scott-heron back from the dead

sounds like a poor version of the wire - series 1 - soundtrack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OET8SVAGELA

Gil in better days...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix6Kz-1ev-4

i thought for sure that fucker died like 10 years ago until last month when that skeleton skateboard music video came out. i'm downloading his new album right now.

His new album sounds like a beast . I gotta get it .

And yes...I thought he was dead .

he's been in jail for a while i think.

i met him ten years ago and got him to sign my "the revolution..." album. he was completely stoned/fucked out of his mind but so was i.

heard him interviewed on the radio the other night and he could hardly speak through his busted up crack teeth.

I used to listen to his old work in middle school, not sure if I like this. If an artist goes away for this long of a period of time I kinda feel like they should probably stay away.

what the fuck?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8vkgJs3Y8E

I've been listening to his new album and I'm Really digging it. The Robert johnson cover is easily the least impressive track on it. I don't know how you can not like a track like "New York is killing me"

best album of 2010. going to see him at bestival. and i know he only plays his older stuff live...winter in america, we almost lost detroit, etc. i'm seriously psyched.

also no one else does a groove like on "b movie" - first heard that track on underworld's back to mine, then bought all the gil lps that i could find from fopp (they used to be a fiver each, no wonder fopp went bust...).

this ain't really a life...

I wonder what prompted his downhill slide.. seems like he didn't have addiction issues in his younger years. Smoking crack is extremely self destructive but doing it into your 60s is pretty much suicidal, and he's made it pretty clear that he still uses. But I guess being an addict requires massive amounts of denial

yeah, quite. i get the impression that the drugs have been a constant in his life since the 70s and maybe before that even. i remember watching a programme (maybe newsnight?) where he was being interviewed about his life and music and contribution to black culture, and he was quite happy and cheerful until he was asked about prison time and being caught with substances whose evils he had talked about at length in his songs...his response was that he didn't necessarily practice what he preached, and none of us are perfect, but he seemed (understandably) visibly uncomfortable talking about his problems.

but yeah, i think he's happy to discuss his own failings these days...i mean, this new album is the polar opposite to his 70s and 80s political and social commentaries - this new lp focuses much more on himself and his loneliness and desperation. it's a great lp. maybe could have been a touch longer, one more song maybe.