Rock of Nations with Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern · Rock of Nations with Dave Kinc

#357 #LivingColour’s #VernonReid Talks “Hoodoo Telemetry”

·34 min·3 clips

Vernon Reid reveals why 'Beautiful Bastard' is a non-gendered exploration of intimate, complicated relationships.

Living Colour guitarist and co-founder Vernon Reid joins hosts Dave Kinchen and Shane McEachern to discuss his new solo album, "Hoodoo Telemetry." Reid is a foundational figure in the Black Rock Coalition and a revered guitarist known for his work in Living Colour. The conversation explores the album's themes, the creative process, and the role of art in contemporary society. Reid explains the title of his single "Beautiful Bastard," playing with gendered language and the dynamics of a complicated "situationship." He dedicates the album to his late friend, the critic and Black Rock Coalition co-founder Greg Tate, who died on December 7, 2021. Three tracks on the record feature the ensemble Burnt Sugar, including "Bronx Paradox" and "Freedom Jazz Dance." Reid describes the album's narrative arc, starting with "Door of No Return" and ending with "Brave New World." He reflects on Living Colour's song "Cult of Personality," expressing both gratitude for its continued relevance and horror at the enduring reality it describes. The discussion touches on his collaboration with the late Wayne Kramer of MC5, for whom Reid has deep respect. Reid shares that the song "In Effigy" is a personal vocal performance, encouraged by both his wife and Greg Tate. He analyzes the "cult of personality" as a non-partisan human phenomenon, citing figures from Stalin and Kennedy to Obama and Trump. He argues that powerful music, whether Sabbath's "War Pigs" or Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name," must work as a compelling tune first for its message to land. Reid is fascinated and concerned by the rise of AI, predicting it will fundamentally disrupt creativity and that someone will eventually create a moving, AI-generated hit song. He highlights contemporary artists like folk singer Jesse Wells and rapper Chris Casey as carrying the torch of socially engaged music. The tone is a thoughtful, meandering conversation between knowledgeable music fans. The style is reflective and philosophical, weaving personal anecdotes with broader cultural commentary. Fans of guitar music, music history, and deep dives into the creative process will love this episode. Listeners seeking only light entertainment or quick hits of music might find the discursive pace too slow.

As heard by us

A loose, thoughtful rock talk that turns Beautiful Bastards into a wider meditation on language and history.

Beautiful Bastards opens into a talk about how language lingers, shifts, and gets used against people. The strongest part is the way it moves between wordplay and history without losing its ease, with Dave and Shane keeping the room relaxed enough for the ideas to land.

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Why you'd press play

For a musician talk that starts with a song title and runs through language, Cold War nerves, and AI dread.

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