t/s: last poets vs gil-scott heron

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

???

― moonship journey to baja, Thursday, 22 February 2007 07:38 (nineteen years ago)

I have to give it to Gil Scott. His first album is one of my favorite of all time.

― filthy dylan, Thursday, 22 February 2007 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

oh come on, i can't believe only two people on ILM have an opinion on this.

ilxors are scared of revolution.

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 25 February 2007 01:49 (nineteen years ago)

I like me some Gil-Scott, but haven't really heard any Last Poets stuff, so...

― The Reverend, Sunday, 25 February 2007 02:15 (nineteen years ago)

c or d: dud (last poets) or classic (scott-heron)

― the table is the table, Sunday, 25 February 2007 05:17 (nineteen years ago)

Is there any particular Last Poets stuff I should search?

― The Reverend, Sunday, 25 February 2007 05:22 (nineteen years ago)

I just found out tonight that a good friend of mine once opened for Gil-Scott Heron. I was a bit in awe over that. I have no reason to think she's lying either because I found it out from a mutual friend.

― Bimble, Sunday, 25 February 2007 07:44 (nineteen years ago)

Gil-Scott because he did "Whitey On the Moon" and "The Bottle." But the Last Poets are good, too.

― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 25 February 2007 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

The Last Poets. I can't take Gil-Scott quite as seriously due to the preponderance of "The X will not be Y'd" parodies. Totally not his fault, though.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 25 February 2007 20:03 (nineteen years ago)

The Last Poets are pretty bad. The lyrics can be interesting, but that's about it.

― Chris H., Sunday, 25 February 2007 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

Do you mean "can be interesting" vs. "can be good"?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 25 February 2007 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

last poets = pretty bad?

i think their early percussion jams are fantastic, actually. and the 80s jazz-funk stuff isn't so far off from gil scott-heron's work with brian jackson. the last poets work that i can't get into, interestingly, is their mid-to-late 70s material with bernard purdie.

i guess one thing that i am wondering about is comparing + contrasting their respective takes on life in america and social justice and progressive politics.

is it fair to say they're coming from the same place, or different? are either of them more convincing to you? is it fair to say the last poets are more militant? more confused? both?

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 25 February 2007 23:00 (nineteen years ago)

my kneejerk response to this sort of thing is "artifacts of their era", but is that entirely fair??

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 25 February 2007 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

finally, can we place the blame for backpacker rap solely on the last poets?

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 25 February 2007 23:02 (nineteen years ago)

I think Scott-Heron contradicts himself more than the Last Poets do - compare "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" with that song where he rips into a black militant dude for shouting a lot instead of helping build "working structures for black capitalism". Predictably enough, this actuallay makes me pay more attention to him politics-wise than to the Last Poets (for whom relics of an era really does apply I think) and at least he's never veered as close to anti-semitism as the Poets have.

― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 26 February 2007 00:01 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe not anti-semitism, but how about "The Subject was Faggots"?

― Chris H., Monday, 26 February 2007 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

I only have a Last Poet's compilation (can't remember the name right now), but the message way overwhelmed the music. The "chant" and "song" versions seem redundant too. "The White Man Has a God Complex" is good and it was shocking to hear the origin of "party and bullshit."

― Chris H., Monday, 26 February 2007 20:02 (nineteen years ago)

ten months pass...

Both are good, but I have a slight preference for Scott-Heron.

And at least both are MUSICAL. Nikki Giovanni is classic on the page, but doesn't really make it on a record. As verbal as the Last Poets are, at least they flow with the music. As offkey as Melvin Van Peebles is, at least HE flows with the music. Giovanni, on the other hand, just straight-up TALKS, with no musical cadence at all, which is kinda jarring.

― Rev. Hoodoo, Monday, 21 January 2008 22:54 (eighteen years ago)

lsdd out last poets is the most lyrical i've ever heard on everything

― Arms, Monday, 21 January 2008 22:58 (eighteen years ago)

table is such a bitter hater

― deej, Monday, 21 January 2008 23:02 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

which came first, "the revolution will be televised", or "when the revolution comes"?

― jesus mighty lord chewy (stevie), Friday, 25 September 2009 11:14 (sixteen years ago)

five years pass...

when the revolution comes

i'm on a bit of a last poets kick just now

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 17 March 2015 22:15 (eleven years ago)

i mean a lot of this stuff sure doesn't age well but it's hella interesting

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 17 March 2015 22:29 (eleven years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.