Public Enemy puts spotlight on skid row

At Operation Skid Row, Chuck D and Public Enemy, and other acts bring attention to downtown Los Angeles' homeless district with a politically charged free show.

The concert stage for the Operation Skid Row festival was set up on Gladys Avenue between 5th and 6th, in the heart of downtown L.A.'s homeless district. As a white SUV turned onto Gladys, a murmur rippled through the crowd, turning into a roar as the hip-hop legend, elder statesman and co-organizer of the event, Public Enemy's Chuck D, exited the vehicle.

The goal of the free show Sunday was twofold: for hip-hop artists to perform gratis for skid row residents, and to spotlight the economic and political plight of L.A.'s homeless. It was no coincidence that it was scheduled the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. As speakers would pointedly note from the stage, this is also the 20th anniversary year of the Rodney King riots and the 25th anniversary year of Public Enemy's existence.

After leaving his vehicle, Chuck D spent a good 15 minutes walking through the crowd (a mix of skid row residents and fans from across the city), hugging attendees and posing for photos.

The necessity of erasing lines of privilege between celebrities and civilians, rich and poor, was a point Chuck drove home repeatedly in his roles as master of ceremonies and performer. His group Public Enemy headlined the largely old-school, West Coast-heavy lineup, kicking off the four hours-plus show and setting the performance bar so high it was only intermittently reached again.

With Public Enemy's Flava Flav, Professor Griff and scowling S1W in tow, and backed by a full band and DJ, Chuck D led the collective through a blistering set that included classics "Shut 'Em Down," "Can't Truss It," "Bring the Noise," "911 Is a Joke," "By the Time I Get to Arizona," and — of course — "Fight the Power." The scaldingly political and timely (if not timeless) lyrics, along with the group's high-octane energy level (yes, middle-age black men can jump) sent the crowd into a frenzy that held from the first note to the last.

Thom Yorke, Massive Attack perform to support Occupy movement

As America's Occupy movement begins to sort out its second phase of operations after nationwide evictions from campsites, London's protests have gotten a high-profile endorsement. Today, Radiohead's Thom Yorke joined Massive Attack and producer Tim Goldsworthy for a concert at an occupied office building in the London borough of Hackney, the Bank of Ideas, which was owned but abandoned by the bank UBS.

The event streamed live on the Occupy London livestream, which also reports that new music from the ad hoc combo might soon be available on Occupation Records, a music-centric fundraising arm of the movement. 

Yorke and Radiohead have been outspoken in lyrics and in interviews about their fears of corporate influence, and Massive Attack recently launched a Soundcloud page devoted to new mixes and tracks from artists inspired by the global Occupy movement.

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-- August Brown

Photo: Thom Yorke performs at L.A.'s Orpheum Theatre. Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times

Occupy Wall Street gets a benefit album

Those cynics who told the incessant drummers of Occupy Wall Street in New York not to quit their day jobs might be reconsidering -- they just got a record deal (of sorts).

Acts including Third Eye Blind, Lucinda Williams, Ladytron and a smattering of the Zuccotti Park drum circle regulars have all contributed tracks to "Occupy This Album," a full-length compilation to benefit the Occupy Wall Street group recently evicted from its base camp in lower Manhattan. Crosby, Stills & Nash, Toots & the Maytals, Yo La Tengo and director Michael Moore also contributed tracks to the effort, including new singles inspired by the movement (such as Third Eye Blind's "If There Ever Was a  Time"), live cuts and unreleased songs. Offerings from more obscure musicians participating in the occupation are also on the effort.

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Proceeds will be split between the main New York group (which has a war chest of several hundred thousand dollars' worth of donations) and other OWS-affiliated groups that apply for grants. Musician Jason Samel, who curated the effort, said a digital-only release is set to launch first this winter, with plans for a physical product still up in the air. 

Music has been a fundamental part of the OWS campaign, with artists such as Tom Morello, Pete Seeger, David Crosby & Graham Nash and Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum performing at the Zuccotti Park campsite in weeks past. Occupy Musicians, a new online resource for artists and producers to volunteer their skills in support, has received contributions from Lou Reed, Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye and Laurie Anderson, among many others.

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-- August Brown

Photo: An Occupy Wall Street drum circle in New York's Zuccotti Park. Credit: Andrew Burton / Associated Press