The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott Heron (1974)

ideated from: 1974 was a great year for jazz

Probably not really a jazz record, and technically a compliation from previous releases, but it’s an important piece of culture.

It’s not overstating to say that hip hop came in large part from Scott-Heron’s ability to speak truth to a world that didn’t want to hear it.

If I were to go grandiose, I might speculate that as jazz expanded in the 70s, moving out of African American traditions in a lot of ways, it also was driven away from black culture in America.

So there was a large space opening up in black popular culture that was looking for more genuine expression and realism than what the monoculture was providing.

The line right here in the title track about the Beverly Hillbillies et al no longer being so damn relevant, as well as the frustration of Whitey On The Moon and even the counterpoint about being a responsible citizen in Brother express what a lot of people were feeling but not hearing from media: things need to change.

It’s a thought-provoking record that’s fun, funny, and funky. It would be nice if it felt more like ancient history than it does.