Tag Archive: Public Enemy
Eric San Juan
February 1, 2021
It’s no exaggeration to say that Public Enemy helped change how I view the world. Much like George Orwell’s 1984, it helped me clarify thoughts I’d had and refine my overall worldview, putting to words an sounds the way I saw politicians, authority figures, media, justice, and more. I’ve extensively written about Public Enemy’s impact on me, so here I’m going to skip the formalities and get right to the song. I still remember the day I first saw the video for “Night of the Living Baseheads.” The blaring horns, pounding rhythm, thought-provoking lyrics, and insane multimedia assault of a music video was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Growing up as a sheltered white kid in a tiny New Jersey town (which I helped…
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Eric San Juan
December 1, 2016
It may seem like hyperbole to say that a music act can alter one’s worldview in a significant way, but anyone who knows me knows that music is an incredibly important, often powerful part of my life – and “powerful” is as apt a term as any for what Public Enemy has to offer. After all, Public Enemy changed the way I see the world. For those only passingly familiar with them, Public Enemy is a now legendary hip hop group best known for songs like Fight the Power, Bring the Noise, and 911 Is a Joke. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, making them a crossover powerhouse who may not have burned up the charts – they’ve…
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Eric San Juan
May 2, 2016
It’s not often that music changes your life, but Public Enemy managed the trick for me. I quote the more famous “Bring the Noise” in the title, which was covered by metal/thrash band Anthrax, but the song and video (because during this time videos were a HUGE part of music) that really blew my mind was “Night of the Living Baseheads.” Check it out, and see how video could be seen as an art separate from song, but one that worked together with music to create something entirely new: To this day I can’t quite put my finger on what it was about this that shook me and awoke me. I think it was how explosively the video and song blew up the racial stereotypes accepted in the…
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