What I Am Listening To

The new Spotify podcast Stay Free: The Story of The Clash was released last week, with the first episode Lost Boys. A lifelong Clash fan, I have been waiting for this since I first heard of it last fall. As promised, this initial episode fulfilled the promise of telling the origin story of one of the most influential bands of the twentieth century. The impact of this episode though comes through the voice of its narrator, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. Also being a Public Enemy fan, hearing the power and strength of that clean, deep voice brought me back to the songs that made his band a force of the late twentieth century. Similar to The Clash who blurred the lines of rock and punk, Public Enemy could not be held within one genre’s definition and bridged the worlds of rap, rock, hip-hop and R&B. Chuck D expresses true admiration for The Clash in this first episode, and the similarities between the two are all too obvious. What a great start to what will surely be a fascinating trip.