Subject: Public Enemy

• In Brief: The Official Will Swaim Playlist

  I'm sure by now that most of you who read this are aware our editor-in-chief, Will Swaim, has resigned. What you may not be aware of, however, is our boss's penchant for singing—constantly. Seriously. Dude sings more than Rebecca Schoenkopf does. Which is A LOT. Anyway. In memorium, I'm posting the official Will Swaim playlist. If Will owned (and could figure out how to operate) an iPod, here's what would be on it: Elvis Costello, "What's So Funny (About Peace, Love and Understanding)?" T

  January 26, 2007

• Monday's Headlines

  Protesting a pedophile's presence: Members of SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) picketed at Seal Beach Sunday, warning locals that Michael Wempe, a convicted pedophile priest, was on parole and living in Leisure World. Sub resurfaces: After a nine-year death, Disney's bringing back its much-fought-for Tomorrowland Lagoon submarine ride. Confession confusion: A Garden Grove man walked into the local police department and admitted to killing his 87-year-old landlady, st

  June 11, 2007

• Rock the Bells Fest Venue Change

  The talent-heavy hip-hop festival Rock the Bells (which we previewed here) will now take place at Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen Saturday, Aug. 11. Performers include Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and MF Doom. All tickets for the originally scheduled National Orange Show Events Center will be honored.

  June 14, 2007

• White Supremacists Jury Reaches Some Verdicts

  White supremacists Michael Lamb and Jason Rump must have sighed in relief this afternoon. Despite a week of deliberations following their nine-week trial, the panel hasn't been able to reach unanimous verdicts on the murder and attempted-murder counts. But at lunchtime today, jurors announced they had found the Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squard hoodlums guilty of street terrorism and possession of a firearm by a felon. Lamb was also convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime. One jur

  July 2, 2007

• Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises

  Build It & Hope They Come: The Register reports that Irvine has approved a 5-mile, $280 million street car/bus plan that will link the future Great Park to the Irvine Spectrum and a train station by 2012. City officials, untrustworthy in the past, claim that each day 5,000 people will abandon their cars to use the system. Larry Agran's political machine asserts that the daily cost for taxpayers will be $19,000. Any bets that number will significiantly rise when reality arrives? Gunfight at the

  July 11, 2007

• OC White Supremacist Killer Avoids Death Penalty

  Just before lunch today, the jury in the Michael Allan Lamb murder case announced itself "hopelessly deadlocked" on whether the Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squad member deserved the death penalty. The vote was nearly tied after almost three days of deliberating. Six jurors wanted death; five wanted life in prison without the possibility of parole; and one person remained undecided. Lamb kept silent, but studied his fingernails after the decision. Throughout the three-month proceedin

  July 31, 2007

• DA Determined to Send White Supremacist Killer to Death Row

  Prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh announced this morning he will try a second time to send convicted killer Michael Alan Lamb, 33, to San Quentin State Prison's notorious Death Row. An Orange County jury convicted the Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squad hit man in July for the execution-style murder of a fellow gang member and the attempted murder of an undercover Anaheim police officer. After the penalty phase of the trial, the panel heard testimony about Lamb's vicious adult personality (fro

  August 21, 2007

• How Many Public Enemy Number One Death Squaders Can You Squeeze Onto Death Row?

  Billy Joe Johnson, Orange County's most infamous white supremacist and killer, inched closer this week to San Quentin State Prison's Death Row. Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh charged Johnson (pictured) with the lying-in-wait 2002 murder of a fellow Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squad member in Anaheim. In July, a jury convicted Michael Alan Lamb and Jacob Anthony Rump for the killing. But during the trial Johnson tried to save his friends from convictions by claiming he alone

  August 24, 2007

• PENI Gangster Won't See Freedom Again

  This afternoon Superior Court Judge William Froeberg sentenced convicted killer Jacob Rump, a 30-year-old Orange County gangster, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2002 ambush murder in Anaheim. Details about the case involving Rump (pictured), who is a member of Public Enemy Number One (PENI) Death Squad, can be found here, here and here. Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh also won a conviction against Rump's white supremacist cohort, 32-year-old Michael Allen La

  October 5, 2007

• Incredible Segues I Have Heard

  Last night at Kitsch Bar in Costa Mesa, DJ aDJective (Steve Fisch) transitioned from the Kingston Trio's “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” (dewy, earnest folk song from 1962) to Public Enemy's “Public Enemy No. 1” (hard-as-nails, toughness-flaunting rap track from 1987). Damn. That's some ballsy whimsy right there. (You can catch aDJective spinning at Kitsch on Thursday and Friday nights and at Memphis at the Santora on Saturdays.) While at venues where dance floors must be filled it

  October 19, 2007

• Five Songs for MLK

  From my web ed. brother in Minneapolis, Jeff Shaw: On the Dreamer's day, we offer up five divergent songs about Martin Luther King and the holiday that bears his name. They are upbeat and somber, they are angry and hopeful, they are old and new. 5. Ray Charles, "Abraham, Martin and John" First recorded by Dion, the soulful Ray Charles version is my favorite. Penned in response to the assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy, artists from Marvin Gaye to Bob Dylan have lent their voices to the

  January 21, 2008

• Slayer Give Good Head... Protection

  Southern Cali thrash-metal legends Slayer are branching out into motorcycle-helmet designing. Working with O'Neal USA, the band known for classics like Reign in Blood and South of Heaven and being sampled by Public Enemy on "She Watch Channel Zero?!" lent their memorable artwork to the RockHard line of helmets, which go on sale Feb. 25. Remember, God Hates Us All, so best wear something that's gonna protect your noggin while riding your boss hog. You can read the full press release after the

  February 4, 2008

• The Top 10 Rap Songs White People Love. Yo.

  Brian at catsandbeer.com has bestowed what he thinks is the definitive list of rap tracks that are closest to the hearts of honkies [he posted this in Oct. 2007, but it's just come to my attention through a friend's tip]. Bri's right on right on most of the time, but I have some bones to pick. For example, this statement: "[Vanilla Ice's 'Ice Ice Baby' is] one song on the list that White People pretend to only like ironically. Don't be fooled: deep down White People still think Ice is 110% gan

  February 25, 2008

• Coachella, Day 1

  April 26, 2008

• New Music

  March 1, 2001

• Daedelus

  April 24, 2003

• Know Your Rights!

  June 19, 2003

• Locals Only

  September 18, 2003

• Daily Coachella Update: Still No Lineup, but There is a Fake One

  It's getting to the point where the idea of the Coachella lineup is actually more appealing than whatever the eventual Coachella lineup will be, even if the actual lineup is really impressive. It's like Spock said, "having is not such a pleasing thing as wanting."So yeah, still no official Coachella bill, but a relatively entertaining fake one has made the rounds, with a mix of heavily rumored names (Paul McCartney, The Killers, Fleet Foxes), reasonable estimates (The Knux, She & Him, Yeasay

  January 28, 2009

• Way Too Early Coachella Must-Sees

  I wanted to be the first person in the blogosphere to comment on what bands you should see at Coachella. So here goes. The Aggrolites -- LA's best white boy reggae/soul/funk band. They wear cool clothes and know how to throw a dance party. Thievery Corporation -- Maybe you know them, maybe you don't. The only time I went to Coachella (hello 2003), I saw these guys and they were great. Killer dance/groove stuff. Or maybe that was the weed talking. Superchunk -- They're still around? Bob Mou

  January 30, 2009

• Videos come back to MTV

  Well, kinda...For those who can stay up late, MTV has announced a novel concept called AMTV. The show, which airs from 3-9 a.m. Monday through Thursday, does nothing but air music videos for six hours. Call me crazy, but this might be the start of something new. I mean, I could even see this expanding into hours when people are actually awake.I'm not sure if AMTV is going for something particular because two nights ago I saw Billy Idol's "White Wedding" followed by some Kelly Clarkson song. Some

  April 2, 2009

• [Coachella 2009] Everything New Is Old Again--and Vice Versa

  April 9, 2009

• [Sprawl of Sound] DJ Frane's Heady Hip-Hop Goes Up in Smoke

  May 15, 2008

• Musical Trash Compactor

  The Go! Team Create Funtastic Mash-ups for People Who Don’t Like Mash-ups

  October 18, 2007

• Cream of Elite

  Sporting perhaps the greatest hip-hop bill ever, Rock the Bells enshrines rap's history—and foreshadows its future

  August 9, 2007

• Fo' Sizzle!

  Summer concerts/festivals to heat the beat

  June 7, 2007

• ADL: Orange County/Long Beach Remain Hotbed For Hate

  He Knows NothingOrange County/Long Beach bigots painted Swastikas on a liquor store, middle and elementary schools, public park buildings and even a temple--signifying an increase in anti-Semitic activity last year, according to a report issued this morning by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Kevin O'Grady, ADL's regional director based in OC, says that there's "cause for great concern" because while anti-Semitic incidents declined nationwide, the number of documented attacks on Jews here

  June 3, 2009

• Rage Against Irrelevancy

  Does RATMs left hook still have punch?

  April 26, 2007

• VH1 Is a Joke

  Public Enemy

  December 7, 2006

• The Creator Has a Master Plan

  X Clan back from the East, blackwards

  December 7, 2006

• Prostate Orgasm

  GET OUT! Nightlife and more: Dec. 7 - Dec. 14

  December 7, 2006

• In the Know

  October 6, 2005

• Black to Comm

  August 18, 2005

• Not Just Soccer Moms' Fun

  February 24, 2005

• I Am a Terrorist: I Teach

  March 11, 2004

• Noel, Noel

  December 18, 2003

• On the Outside Looking In

  September 18, 2003

• My Elvis Weighs a Ton

  October 10, 2002

• Live(ish) from Coachella: Killers? Headliners? Sure!

  It's late, and I should probably sleep (or something resembling it) at this point (big day tomorrow: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, Friendly Fires, the Cure, PB&J, Lykke Li, Okkervil River etc. etc.!) but I thought I'd share the setlist (and some totally astute observations) from Saturday headliners, the Killers.The Killers have gotten a ton of crap for not being headliner-worthy, and though the crowd for them was definitely thinner than it was for, say, Paul McCartney l

  April 19, 2009

• (About to Be) Live from Coachella: The H is O

  Get ready for the longest, hottest day yet! Forecast is for 100 degrees! The Cure will probably play for like three hours! What a time to be alive. If you can manage to stay alive, at least. Never a guarantee. Huge, huge day for shows: Cure, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li, Okkervil River, K'Naan, Friendly Fires (the show we didn't get to see at Detroit on Tuesday), Clipse. Holy poop. See you out there.

  April 19, 2009

• Live from Coachella: The Body Says No (plus, Okkervil River, Sebastien Tellier, Lupe Fiasco!)

  Hey, did you know it's hot here today? 98 degrees at last word. But it "feels" like, I dunno, a billion? Yep. Pretty awesome. Trying to summon my (in?)famous reserves of ENDLESS ENERGY, but not necessarily succeeding. The Cure are probably going to play like three hours today. That's pretty cool. Is it cool enough to keep us all alive until then? Only time will tell. I'm more sweat than man at this point. Like Hydro-Man, from Spider-Man. But made out of sweat, instead of just regular water. Ther

  April 19, 2009

• Live from Coachella: Feeling the Earth Move Under My Feet (My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, The Cure)

  I just excavated myself from what seemed like miles of Cure fans. That was a close one. Check out our Twitter for real-time Cure setlist updates for as long as I can maintain such a pace; so far we've had classics like "Lovesong" and "Pictures of You" mixed in with some lesser-known tracks. Most likely they're just getting started--they got going about a half hour late, too. That picture is of the set from just before they got started, while I was still packed in with said Cure devotees. I keep

  April 19, 2009

• With 'Reefer Madness,' Maverick Theater Has a (Bong) Hit On Its Hands

  June 18, 2009

• Reefer Madness

  July 2, 2009

• Don't Be Stupid, Be a Smarty, Come and Join the Inland Empire Nazi Party!

    Orange County has its fair share of haters, racists and hater/racist skinheads thanks to the Hitler lovers of Anaheim, the Mexican bashers of Costa Mesa, the assorted white supremacists of Black Star Canyon, the Republican Central Committee of Orange County and haters and racists and supremacists and Hitler lovers and Mexican bashers and hater/racist skinheads of Huntington Beach (and, yes, not all skinheads are hater/racists, so hold that comment). Oh, yes, the

  July 30, 2009

• Street Scene Favorites This Weekend....Any Thoughts?

  ​It's not much, but consider this meager post the first preemptive stitch to our coverage of the Street Scene '09 festival happening in Sand Diego this weekend, Aug. 28-29. Before you say anything, we know that San Diego is not in Orange County. Though it could be argued that some cities at the ass end of the OC seem just a far away in the middle of rush hour traffic. But geographical questions aside, our music editor Albert Ching will be giving you some up close iPhone coverage of the whole s

  August 27, 2009

• Heard Mentality: Headed to Street Scene!

  ​Seeing as how we're the closest Village Voice Media paper to San Diego, we feel a profound sense of obligation to cover this weekend's Street Scene festival. Yes, that's right, obligation--not the opportunity to hang out in the Gaslamp District checking out awesome bands. It's all about obligation, for sure.The OC Weekly all-star team of writer Nate Jackson, photographer Beth Stirnaman and myself will be hitting up both days of the fest, checking out acts like M.I.A., Bands of Horses, Calexic

  August 28, 2009

• What You Missed: Street Scene, Los Cojolites, OC Beer Fest

  Beth StirnamanBadass gramps.​We had quite possibly the shittiest weather for a weekend full of outdoor activities--with temperatures reaching into the triple digits, we spent our weekend, well, kind of constantly moist. But that's okay: We trudged on. For you, our readers. For. You.First up, on Friday and Saturday, OC Weekly photographer Beth Stirnaman braved the heat and hit up the San Diego Street Scene music festival. The two-day event featured everyone from M.I.A., Public Enemy (a brief si

  August 31, 2009

• 12 Things I'll Always Remember About Street Scene '09

  Beth Stirnaman​It's Monday morning and another Street Scene is officially in the books. And while it's important to note that this parking lot extravaganza of fog-filled stages, oddly eclectic line-ups, mind-altering drugs and festival food has reached it's 25th year, it's also worth mentioning that I'm no longer a stranger to this two-day Coachella by the sea. Although for anyone that was there, the temps this weekend were actually fit for a desert, or maybe Satan's ass crack. But harsh heat

  August 31, 2009

• [Sound Guy] Making a Street Scene

  September 3, 2009