chuck d semi-disses usher and 'briefcase soul' on channel 4 teletext (UK)

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in an interview with planet sound on channel 4's teletext, chuck said PE have a new greatest hits album plus a box set due later in the year or early next year.

he also said:

'we're coming back at you, prince style. you don't have your CDs in k-mart, people think you don't exist. plus, we travel the world but unless you're in europe or the US, people forget about you.

on PE being a reaction to bland 80s soul:
'yeah, briefcase soul, you know, those boys who turned up looking like they'd be as happy with a briefcase as a microphone. '

'of course, you've got briefcase soul now - usher. people now, they want to make soul music that sounds right. as james brown said, soul music should be about messing it all up!'

'accountants run the industry now, that's why my first advice to any musician is to travel. you get out there and play shows worldwide, people will show love for it.'

'kelis, her music is too smart for the US, so she comes to europe where you've got the sophistication. so kelis travels, and you both get the benefit.'

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 08:27 (twenty-one years ago)

chuck d cares more about being right than having fun shockah

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 08:30 (twenty-one years ago)

chuck is pretty OTM i thought.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

What label is releasing the box set? I thought PE weren't signed to a label right now.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 08:56 (twenty-one years ago)

When you can get the first three PE albums for a fiver each in Fopp, a greatest hits seems pretty superfluous I must say

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i hope the box set is good and not full of after-the-fact remixes of old PE songs.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:03 (twenty-one years ago)

was there anything good on 'Muse Sick N' Hour Message'? i liked 'Do You Wanna Go Our Way?' a lot

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:17 (twenty-one years ago)

muse-sick sounds better now than it did back in 1994. it has one song white mans heaven is a black mans hell that was good (i think that might have been a cover of sorts) and race against time wasnt bad. other than that, i dont remember much of it.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I liked 'Give It Up', the single, actually, but you can prolly get that album cheap as well

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

steve -- chuck doesn't say he hates fun, he says he wants to mess it up, james brown style. i mean, he probably won't make a track as fun as 'yeah' but what the fuck, right?

― ENRQ (Enrique), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:22 (twenty-one years ago)

hang on i meant the '99 album, not 'Muse Sick n hour message'!

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:24 (twenty-one years ago)

PE used to be a lot of fun - bring the noise, public enemy number one, my 98 oldsmobile, 911 is a joke, all those songs were fun.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:24 (twenty-one years ago)

enrq i know chuck doesn't say he hates fun, but just take a look at the guys's entire career schtick. much respect for the guy but his fun-hatin' stance is towering, to the point where it's relatively amusing when he sounds off about this kind of thing.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:26 (twenty-one years ago)

that's what i liked the most about PE - Chuck D always looking and sounding like he never enjoyed for one second Flav's goofing, Shocklee's killer jams, the pure energy and strength of the output. I'm sure he did, but it's fun to make out he didn't. Maybe Chuck would hate me for doing that too.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:27 (twenty-one years ago)

i cant believe you guys think fun is big dumb 'yeah' but not early PE. you must have not been hip hop fans back then.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:32 (twenty-one years ago)

PE is the Merkin Kraftwerk obv, contrasting fun-hate image and pure pleasure sounds. But it's all about the rhythm *and* the rebel, no?

splooge -- right, thing was PE in interviews were always down on fun. But obv the records were actually fun.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:34 (twenty-one years ago)

who has said that early PE was not fun?

interesting thing tho. with such heavy political sentiment backed with great party soundtrack, just how popular were early PE tracks at clubs and parties at the time? i never heard any but of course i was too young.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:36 (twenty-one years ago)

good point about PE and Kraftwerk ENRQ - this all feels almost FT bloggable

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:37 (twenty-one years ago)

i saw chuck for the first time in concert in the late 90s and was really dissapointed that he looked like he was having fun. it was like he wasnt taking it seriously at all. smiling through half the set, even goofing around, plus the S1W dancers werent even keeping their faces as straight as they should do. wish i had never gone now.

neurotic, i was too young too, but from talking to people, PE got played along with other hip hop of the time. rebel without a pause for instance, was a club banger. and hank shocklee has been quoted as saying endless cars were playing it in new york when it came out.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:38 (twenty-one years ago)

cars a different thing tho, people tend to adopt that 'i am not having fun' look when blasting loud hip-hop music out of cars, but point taken

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:43 (twenty-one years ago)

simon reynolds smacked me DOWN for querying (or not even that actually, mentioning is more accurate) his comparison of the s1ws and the freikorps. i am glad to hear that far from overthrowing social democracy in germany, the s1ws are still dancing on stage with a pop group.
nb: s1ws IN sw1 = best concept gig ever?

― ENRQ (Enrique), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 09:46 (twenty-one years ago)

What label is releasing the box set?

A few weeks ago I was looking at Universal Music Canada's upcoming release schedule, and it had a Greatest Hits CD and DVD coming out in August, so I'm guessing Def Jam. Given the archival stuff on Revolverlution, it better be Def Jam.

― Vic Funk, Wednesday, 28 July 2004 11:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the significant quote here is "we're coming back at you, prince style." Mental image of Chuck D in stack heels and formfit jumper.

Actually, this is my career plan, too: to come back at you, prince style.

― briania (briania), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:15 (twenty-one years ago)

don't forget the name of Chuck D's recent band: Confrontation Camp. The guy's a crank, anti-semite, bitter, nut-job.

― shookout (shookout), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

dude can sure bust a rhyme tho

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:20 (twenty-one years ago)

"Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a No. 1 jam;
Damn, if I say it, you can slap me right here.

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:23 (twenty-one years ago)

see? fun hater!

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i wanna see chuck with his beer belly wearing prince's crop tops. and flavor flav dolled up in one of wendy's outfits.

i wonder what we can do to get chuck back to his fun-hating status in concert.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

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