One of the most memorable opening lines in all of hip-hop (and arguably music of any genre) of the last 50 years surely came when Chuck D rapped: “I got a letter from the government the other day/I opened and read it/It said they were suckers/They wanted me for the army, or whatever/Picture me giving a damn/I said ‘never.’”
It’s an incredible opening to a stunning song about a black man who refuses to register for military service, takes on the government, goes to jail, and then organizes a dramatic escape backed by a lot of military equipment, (un)-ironically enough. The song and the video are at the core of the classic “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” and it makes clear that the subject of the song is going to stand for his principles and fight. It remains one of the most compelling anti-war, anti-prison system protest songs I have ever heard, or again, maybe one of the most compelling songs of any kind.
So it was jarring, fascinating, and a bit surreal to hear what felt like a version of these lines open the lead single to the new Bonnie “Prince” Billy album, “A letter came to your door today/You opened it, read it, then threw it away/Didn't want to be reminded of what it had to say/Just as soon go lay on the floor.” But rather than lead on a strident, in-your-face, take-all-comers protest song, we are taken on an inward-looking journey of a character who seems beset by the world and its politics (I think that’s what happens in the video, but I am not quite clever enough and didn’t take enough theater or dance classes in college to figure out the imagery he’s going for).
