WE WANT THE FUNK!

Saturday was the second time I've seen George Clinton live. He played the Santa Fe Muzik Fest with his current line of P-Funk or whatever he's calling it these days.

The first time I saw him was the 1994 Lollapalooza in Phoenix. I remember that show as a weird and wonderful blast of funk.

But -- 13 years later -- Clinton's band sounded even stronger. Bootsy, Bernie, Maceo, etc. are long gone, but his current band (including greybearded long-timers like guitarists Garry "Starchild" Shider -- the guy in the diaper -- and DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight) are tight but maniacal.

Clinton is the front man, though others handle most of the vocals. He's the benevolent, grandfatherly embodiment of the spirit of the band. (Speaking of grandfatherly, his granddaughter Sativa is now part of the troupe. )

Check out my photos of the Muzik Fest over on my FLICKR site. (Gobs of Clinton and Public Enemy photos.)

ELVIS WAS A HERO TO MOST

Just about my only disappointment with Public Enemy's performance at the Santa Fe Muzik Fest last night was the fact they still have that verse, "Elvis was a hero to most" in the song "Fight the Power" and they still call him a racist.

I had read a couple of years ago that Chuck D no longer believes this. That fact is brought up in this excellent New York Times opinion piece by Peter Guralnick that Jim Terr sent me this morning.

So what's the deal with Elvis as racist? There's this nasty rumor, repeated for decades as fact that Elvis had once said something to the effect of "“The only thing Negroes can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes” in some interview somewhere.

I first heard this back in 1976 when I was doing student teaching at Albuquerque High School. I was talking music with one of my students, a Black girl. When I mentioned Elvis her whole demeanor changed. "Why don't you like Elvis?" I asked. She told me the awful thing he supposedly said, using a stronger word than "Negroes."

As Guralnick points out, this "shine my shoes" statement never has been documented and Elvis specifically denied it.

So come on, PE, if we can forgive Professor Griff for anti-Semitic statements he really did make, let's give Elvis a break for something he likely never said.

UPDATE: I just read a 2002 interview with Griff denying he said that Jews are "responsible for a majority of wickedness in the world" or whatever he was quoted saying. I'm not sure of the truth of the matter. But he apparently doesn't agree with the alleged statement. Maybe we all should take a step back from rushing to judgement.

MORE ON RICHARDSON GAY-DEBATE "SCREW-UP"

My story in Saturday's New Mexican on Gov. Bill Richardson's gay damage-control effort can be found HERE

His Friday interview with The Advocate is HERE

His Friday interview with the blog Queerty is HERE

20 YEARS STRONG

I missed just about everything else because of work, but I was excited to see Public Enemy at the Santa Fe Muzik Fest tonight.

They brought the noise! It was a wonderful, energetic show. i'm not even a huge hip-hop fan, but this is an example of a group making music so sublime that it truly transcends genre. Crazy, chaotic funk, sometimes angry, sometimes celebratory. Timeless and funky, an urban apocalyptic -- out at the Downs at Santa Fe.

Several times during the show Chuck D mentioned that this year is Public Enemy's 20th anniversary.

What a coincidence -- Friday, August 10 was my 20th anniversary for working at The New Mexican. Yep, I started there in 1987, same year Public Enemy was born. That;s so profound I don't know what to say.

Check out my photos of Friday's show on my FLICKR site.

RICHARDSON AT LOGO "GAY ISSUES" DEBATE

My story on Gov. Bill Richardson's "homosexuality-is-a-choice" gaffe at last night's debate sponsored by the Logo Network and The Human Rights Campaign can be found HERE.

Other video clips of Richardson at the debate can be found HERE. (and if you click around you'll find the other candidates too.)