Listening Post

While their first two records were damn near masterworks of blistering rock, Living Colour did quite a bit beyond that. Like this song, from 1993.

Here's Leave It Alone.

Listening Post

Remember what I said yesterday about the live version of Transatlanticism giving you chills?

Well, the same goes for this; the anger, passion, desperation, ferocity and, yes, hope and pride in this song have always just about knocked me flat.

Here's the mighty Living Colour -- Open Letter To a Landlord.

Happy Friday, gang.

Listening Post

In honor of what's sure to be the relentless hilarity of "Tea Bagging Day," here's the mighty Living Colour doing Desperate People.

Listening Post: Fear of a Black Rock Planet Edition

The latest issue of Spin magazine features a fantastic retrospective on the birth of the Black Rock Coalition. For the uninitiated, the BRC was founded in the mid-80s by Vernon Reid of Living Colour; it was an organization aimed at helping black bands and artists who dared to do the unthinkable as far as record producers and promoters were concerned -- that is, play guitar-heavy rock and roll -- get a leg up in the industry.

Early members included, of course, Living Colour, as well as 24-7 Spyz, King's X, Bernie Worrell, and Nona Hendryx, but the bands they helped push into the relative mainstream were as diverse as Fishbone, Bad Brains and early Faith No More.

Today, the Black Rock Coalition continues to thrive. Here in New York City, TV on the Radio and Pillow Theory (whose frontman, Kelsey Warren, has been one of my closest friends since college) are members officially and in spirit.

Here now, the mighty music of early Black Rock Coalition.



Living Colour -- Type



24-7 Spyz -- Don't Break My Heart



King's X -- It's Love