Gil Scott-Heron, "I'm New Here"
Wow wow wow! The title track to Gil Scott-Heron’s latest album, I’m New Here, is incredible! The album came out a few months ago to rave reviews, and I’d heard some stuff that proved the once-great groove poet was back in strong form after years of horrible addiction and jail. (This was warm relief. I saw him in the mid-’90s, and he looked like a person who might not be living very much longer.) But I hadn’t heard this one til the video came out yesterday. It’s a cover of a Bill Callahan song. And while Callahan (a.k.a. Smog) is an old favorite of mine, I believe his song has just been taken away from him forever.