Elvis Ate Dynamite

I’ve posted a lot about Joe Strummer, the Clash, Bruce Springsteen, and the Pogues lately — all acts that I started listening to decades ago. I’ve been a Springsteen fan for nearly 50 years, a Clash fan for at least 45 years, and the Pogues are the most recent of the bunch: I started listening to them about 40 years ago. I’ve got nothing against new acts, but this is a prerogative that comes with age: you get to a certain point where you are free to revel in the music you love without worrying about staying current. 

And as I’ve said (probably too may times, to be fair), current events often bring me back to the music I grounded my values in. My Patron Saints of Rock ’n Roll, like Bruce and Joe.

Anyway, Living Colour is another band I think about all the time. Comprised of four absolute virtuosos — Vernon Reid on guitar, Corey Glover on vocals, Doug Wimbish on bass, and Will Calhoun on drums — they are one of the best (and loudest!) hard rock bands of all time. My wife and I were lucky enough to see them a few years back at City Winery in Chicago, right up next to the stage, and I’m pretty sure my ears are still ringing.

But like the Clash, the Pogues, and Springsteen, aside from making great music, Living Colour is a band that always has something to say. Whether it’s an original song like “Cult of Personality,” “History Lesson,” or “Open Letter (to a Landlord),” or a cover like their incredible take on Notorious B.I.G,’s “Who Shot Ya?,” few bands have been more in tune with social and political issues than Living Colour. 

I go back to their music all the time because it’s as educational as it is cathartic. No band plays socially aware hard rock like Living Colour.

So, if you’re not familiar with them or you haven’t listened to their music lately, put the headphones on and crank it up. Your brain will thank you.

And if you like Bruce Springsteen, you’ll be blown away by their cover of “American Skin (41 Shots),” a song that’s more than a little timely these days.