# One of the most poignant music videos I've ever seen.



## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Very powerful.
Epic


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Doesn't hurt that the song is awesome too.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I was contemplating posting this after catching a live performance, I like it, good tune.


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

vadsy said:


> I was contemplating posting this after catching a live performance, I like it, good tune.


The live version I've seen was stomped on( censured) killed the groove IMO.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Bubb said:


> The live version I've seen was stomped on( censured) killed the groove IMO.


what I saw live was a bit jolted out of the green room and censored, of course, this is nice because the visuals help get the point across.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Holy hell, I listened to it cranked in headphones, and was thinking how I was going to share it (family all musicians) by the time it was halfway done. Best piece of new music I have heard in a long while. Elements of Hendrix, hard coarse but modernized blues. Gonna go listen again and my first impression was, the bass is keyboard....and I don’t care but am curious.


EDIT yeah no bass guitar, but sonically what makes the song so doomy/dark is a heavy dose of loud clear very low end keyboard, probably using 3(?) different tones. Love the super heavy ‘distorted’ but clear as day bottom end tone in at least the later choruses.

I bet a very high percentage of the membership here would love this, I hope lots check it out. Maybe even add the artist in the thread title.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

This is probably what you saw, I’m guessing, and I agree though I still think Gary did an excellent delivery. Bass player was probably on stage just because he’s part of the touring group, I doubt he gets heard much in this tune.

EDIT AGAIN wrong, the bass player plays bottom, that also takes some impact away from the bottom end and the overall song.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Bump for an awesome piece of protest art. Watch full screen and headphones if you can.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I dunno. I like Gary Clark as a musician, I empathize with the point of the song and all, and as many here know, I'm a sucker for anything related to overalls. But it just seems like he was trying too hard. Admittedly not the exact same points to be presented, but I preferred Childish Gambino's "This is America". It addressed some of the same stuff more obliquely, encouraging one to wonder what the lyrics really mean, as opposed to Gary telling you overtly. Just gave TIA a listen without the video (which is what got it the attention). It seems to hold up, and I'm not that big a fan of rap or hip-hop, compared to my appreciation for hard blues. But who knows, it may grow on me.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

My brother said it was too 'bro rock' for his taste, I guess but not how I hear it. I don't mind the IN YOUR FACE message, I usually have to have the subtle stuff explained to me by others. Give it to me straight, none of this game playing passive aggressive keep me guessing BS, that I walk away from.


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## jayoldschool (Sep 12, 2013)

Holy shit, thank you for posting. I'm a decent Gary fan, I've seen him live, have some albums. I've only discussed this song with my friend, and have heard it on 88.5 Ottawa. On a little bathroom radio. Thought, "glad he's saying what he needs to, didn't really like the music." Hadn't seen the vid. So, put on the headphones, and sat back. Amazing. So powerful. The music, the videography... I hope this wins everything it's nominated for. And it had better get nominated for a lot.


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I dunno. I like Gary Clark as a musician, I empathize with the point of the song and all, and as many here know, I'm a sucker for anything related to overalls. But it just seems like he was trying too hard. Admittedly not the exact same points to be presented, but I preferred Childish Gambino's "This is America". It addressed some of the same stuff more obliquely, encouraging one to wonder what the lyrics really mean, as opposed to Gary telling you overtly. Just gave TIA a listen without the video (which is what got it the attention). It seems to hold up, and I'm not that big a fan of rap or hip-hop, compared to my appreciation for hard blues. But who knows, it may grow on me.


The first thing that got me about this song was the groove and guitar sound on the lead breaks...dragged me right in.
Then I listened to the lyrics and though,holy crap,he's actually saying something real.
I'm not a rap or hip hop fan either but I didn't really get that vibe from this tune as it is.

It really seems to about his life experience.

Did a little digging and found this Rolling Stone bit about the song,"

“*I said I wasn’t going to get into this because it makes me emotional,” Gary Clark Jr. said on a recent evening at Austin’s Arlyn Studios. His voice was quavering as he talked about his new song “This Land,” a brutally honest account of the racism he endured growing up in the American South. The emotions behind the track were so raw that Clark had not planned to discuss them at all.

But he did, resulting in a powerful story about what it’s like to be black in America at a time when “we’re sliding backwards,” as Clark puts it. In the first installment of our new How I Wrote This series, Clark speaks for the first time about the reality of his youth, “getting dogshit in the mailbox, people writing ‘******’ on my fence outside my parent’s house, riding around in trucks [putting] Confederate flags over my fence. That was a regular occurrence.”

The election of Donald Trump, police shootings, the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally and more headlines brought those feelings to the surface for Clark — as did a personal encounter with a neighbor at his home outside Austin. Clark remembers being approached by a local near the 50-acre home he recently bought with his wife Nicole Trunfio to raise their two kids. “My neighbor comes to me and says, ‘Who owns this house? There’s no way you can live here – who’s the owner?” says Clark, who responded that he was indeed the owner. “Maybe it wasn’t racial,” Clark says. “But in my mind I was thinking of that. And I’m tired of having to think that way.”

Clark also describes one of his several trips to the Lorraine Motel, the site of assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which is now the National Civil Rights Museum. “My people have been through a lot. And I haven’t been through shit compared to them. So if I can do anything with my opportunity and the work that they put in, the least I can do is say thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King for sacrificing your life so I can get up and have a microphone. I’m not taking this for granted.”*

Sometimes it's good to have to think about the lyrics and likewise, sometimes it's good just to have no doubt as to what the point is,just as it's possible to appreciate Ingmar Bergman films and Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner.

The whole song just struck me as one of the most honest,real statements I've heard in recent memory,and the video puts it over the top

I just like it .



keto said:


> My brother said it was too 'bro rock' for his taste, I guess but not how I hear it. I don't mind the IN YOUR FACE message, I usually have to have the subtle stuff explained to me by others. Give it to me straight, none of this game playing passive aggressive keep me guessing BS, that I walk away from.


Agree 100%, innuendo and being subtle are perfectly acceptable and have their place,but so does to the point,in your face attitude,especially if it is based on actual experience.
Sometimes you just have to say Shit Stinks .


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

mhammer said:


> But it just seems like he was trying too hard. Admittedly not the exact same points to be presented, but I preferred Childish Gambino's "This is America". It addressed some of the same stuff more obliquely, encouraging one to wonder what the lyrics really mean, as opposed to Gary telling you overtly.


Gary’s track is too uppity?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Delores Streisand said:


> Gary’s track is too uppity?


Nah. Cripes, if you want to talk "uppity", Gambino scores higher in that regard. I just appreciate a song more if the lyrical content makes you think a little bit beyond the lyrics. Clark has every right to be as angry as he clearly is. I just think he needs to up his lyrical game a bit. Sometimes you hit the bullseye, and sometimes you hit the ring around it. And in Clark's case, I think he hit the ring, and not the bullseye. Again, no dispute with the motivation or sentiment of the song, or the musicianship. And nothing especially wrong with the video portion, which is entirely separate from the writing aspects of the song.


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

mhammer said:


> I just think he needs to up his lyrical game a bit. Sometimes you hit the bullseye, and sometimes you hit the ring around it. And in Clark's case, I think he hit the ring, and not the bullseye.


I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his lyrical game. Sometimes an artist may choose to be subtle and sometimes an artist may choose to be direct and powerful. He’s clearly chosen the latter for this song, which I think is fantastic (as is the video) even though I really don’t even like blues in general. This one resonates with me in a big way. And to tell a black artist who has expressed anger over racial inequality in a direct, powerful visceral way that he should try to be more subtle in his message is REALLY missing the bullseye. You haven’t even hit the ring with that critique. I can understand that people might not like this song for various reasons, but that particular critique just smacks of calling him an uppity black man.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Delores Streisand said:


> I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his lyrical game. Sometimes an artist may choose to be subtle and sometimes an artist may choose to be direct and powerful. He’s clearly chosen the latter for this song, which I think is fantastic (as is the video) even though I really don’t even like blues in general. This one resonates with me in a big way. And to tell a black artist who has expressed anger over racial inequality in a direct, powerful visceral way that he should try to be more subtle in his message is REALLY missing the bullseye. You haven’t even hit the ring with that critique. I can understand that people might not like this song for various reasons, but that particular critique just smacks of calling him an uppity black man.


you'll have to forgive hammer, he's just trying to keep his word count up


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Oblique and subtle are two different things, as is subtle vs reticent. I'm not asking him to steer clear of the topic. Oblique can be as savage, if not moreso sometimes, than the direct. And sometimes it can get closer to the heart of the matter.

Imagine a love song that simply consists of how appealing the man singing the song finds various parts of a particular woman's body, and not much more than that. I'm sure he likes those things too, and it would be deceitful to say he doesn't, but it doesn't feel much like a love song, more like a banal checklist. And unless one is Beavis or Butthead and relishes a song simply because "he said booby", such a song is unlikely to stick with you.

Similarly, what I find lacking in the lyrics is that it is primarily about how he feels, and what makes him angry, and doesn't really summarize or capture the issues, in the absence of any video support (which is how one assumes the song was originally written). So, for me, as a lyric, it gets a B to B+, rather than an A of any sort. That's all. Even world-class songwriters sometimes feel, years later, that the lyrics to one of their songs needs some "repair". I'm not saying I dislike the song. It just comes up a little short. And Clark's "a little short" can often be better than some other folks' bullseye.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Decent enough tune but the subject matter has almost no relevance to me.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I need someone to write a tune like this but make it about the injustice of white people with dreadlocks


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

vadsy said:


> I need someone to write a tune like this but make it about the injustice of white people with dreadlocks


...or a song about middle-aged men suffering from fret sprout on their Tele’s. That shit can hurt, especially if you have dry skin. I think it would really connect with a lot of people.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Musically it seems a bit disjointed to me, but I guess that does fit the lyrical content somewhat.
Sad that there are still some of the issues we have--but then again it's also not surprising given what humans in general can be like.

One of the sad things about Luke Cage being cancelled is the loss of the music.
I didn't like all of it--but there were some highlights both seasons--Charles Bradley & Sharon Jones in Season 1, and Gary & Christone Kingfish Ingram in Season 2.
This song would fit in with the show as well.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

vadsy said:


> injustice of white people with dreadlocks


Dreadlocks do suffer a lot.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

Gary Clark is now 34 years old.
He has a net worth of ~$4 million USD.
Released his debut album in 2001 at the age of 17.
He has released 4 studio albums, 2 live albums, 3 EPs, and 5 charted singles.
In addition to collaborating with many of the top names in the game, he has also contributed to movie soundtracks.
He also has a few Epiphone and Gibson signature models under his belt.
He lives on his 50 acre estate, married his longtime sweetheart in 2016 and has two children.

Considering how Gary started performing professionally at the age of 12, I'd say he's done rather well in light of the injustices he references in this song.

I'd say this song was written with the late night talk show circuit in mind.


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

SG-Rocker said:


> Gary Clark is now 34 years old.
> He has a net worth of ~$4 million USD.
> Released his debut album in 2001 at the age of 17.
> He has released 4 studio albums, 2 live albums, 3 EPs, and 5 charted singles.
> ...


Wow. That’s a pretty fucking ignorant statement. Not that I’d expect anything different out of a guitar forum, I suppose. I guess you figure he should be wearing a MAGA hat, then?


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

Delores Streisand said:


> Wow. That’s a pretty fucking ignorant statement. Not that I’d expect anything different out of a guitar forum, I suppose. I guess you figure he should be wearing a MAGA hat, then?


1) Nope, just holding the subject matter up to the filter of modern times. Outrage culture is a thing these days and victimhood is trendy. There is no malice in contrasting Gary's anger against his incredible successes and accomplishments.

2) Care to clarify your disdain for guitar forums and/or those who frequent them?

3) For the record, you were the one to refer to him as _uppity _on page 1 of this thread.
_


Delores Streisand said:



Gary’s track is too uppity?

Click to expand...

Yep, 'Uppity' Is Racist - The Atlantic_


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2019)

Does anyone use *poignant *in real life?


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

SG-Rocker said:


> Care to clarify your disdain for guitar forums and/or those who frequent them?


I mean that, despite the number of people who consider themselves “rockers”, the prevailing attitudes towards art, politics, culture and society on guitar forums is pretty much the same as any group of crotchety 75 year old men who hang out at A&W in the mornings. So your expressed view didn’t surprise me.



> For the record, you were the one to refer to him as _uppity _on page 1 of this thread.


Your reading comprehension is brutal.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

zontar said:


> Musically it seems a bit disjointed to me, but I guess that does fit the lyrical content somewhat.
> Sad that there are still some of the issues we have--but then again it's also not surprising given what humans in general can be like.
> 
> One of the sad things about Luke Cage being cancelled is the loss of the music.
> ...


Loved the show, and like yourself, the music. I just hope that, given the passing of both Bradley and Jones, that appearing on Luke Cage isn't a curse of some kind. Didn't Gary Clark Jr. perform at the club in one of the episodes?


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Player99 said:


> Does anyone use *poignant *in real life?


Yes. But I'm in a degree program full of useless words.


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2019)

cboutilier said:


> Yes. But I'm in a degree program full of useless words.


At least nobody is anthropomorphizing stuff.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Player99 said:


> At least nobody is anthropomorphizing stuff.


Quit being so flibbertigibbet.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Delores Streisand said:


> Wow. That’s a pretty fucking ignorant statement. Not that I’d expect anything different out of a guitar forum, I suppose. I guess you figure he should be wearing a MAGA hat, then?


That’s a righteuos angry response. Put it to music and you’re current.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

LanceT said:


> That’s a righteuos angry response. Put it to music and you’re current.


They're putting words to music and not just beats now? That's so 1990s.


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2019)

High/Deaf said:


> Quit being so flibbertigibbet.


Now you are being obstreperous.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

Sorry for the late reply, sometimes work gets in the way of stirring the pot.



Delores Streisand said:


> I mean that, despite the number of people who consider themselves “rockers”, the prevailing attitudes towards art, politics, culture and society on guitar forums is pretty much the same as any group of crotchety 75 year old men who hang out at A&W in the mornings. So your expressed view didn’t surprise me.


- To presume upon the age of the membership is ignorant. Furthermore, to presume the opinions held by persons based on age meets the definition of ageist.

the definition of ageist



Delores Streisand said:


> Your reading comprehension is brutal.


- To use a racially-charged word like _uppity _particularly in the context that you chose to use it (to describe an African American voicing a strong opinion) meets the definition of racist. No amount of '_I was just kidding' _or '_your level of reading comprehension precludes you from appreciating my attempt at racial humour' _changes the effect.

Perhaps you need to reread my original post and comprehend what _I_ was saying.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

SG-Rocker said:


> Sorry for the late reply, sometimes work gets in the way of stirring the pot.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Except for the part where he wasn't calling the artist uppity. Again, reading comprehension, man.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

keto said:


> Except for the part where he wasn't calling the artist uppity. Again, reading comprehension, man.





Delores Streisand said:


> Gary’s track is too uppity?


There are many other words that could have been used in place of _uppity_.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

SG-Rocker said:


> There are many other words that could have been used in place of _uppity_.


yeah, he (or she, speaking of reading comprehension) was paraphrasing someone else, looking for clarification. Again, reading comprehension. Don't bother.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

keto said:


> yeah, he (or she, speaking of reading comprehension) was paraphrasing someone else, looking for clarification. Again, reading comprehension. Don't bother.


Might wanna go back and re-read the thread..... first instance of the word uppity was in post #13.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Loved the show, and like yourself, the music. I just hope that, given the passing of both Bradley and Jones, that appearing on Luke Cage isn't a curse of some kind. Didn't Gary Clark Jr. perform at the club in one of the episodes?


He did in season 2


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

SG-Rocker said:


> 1) Nope, just holding the subject matter up to the filter of modern times. Outrage culture is a thing these days and victimhood is trendy. There is no malice in contrasting Gary's anger against his incredible successes and accomplishments.
> 
> 2) Care to clarify your disdain for guitar forums and/or those who frequent them?
> 
> ...


The racist connotation is news to me


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

cboutilier said:


> The racist connotation is news to me


It's a thing though I feel it's more of an American South thing rather than a universal thing.

I am also team "y'all have poor reading comprehension".

The OP who used the word uppity was trying to imply that mhammer felt that Gary was uppity. By extension he was implying that mhammer was racist for disliking Gary's lyrical style. That is, IMHO, a slightly ludicrous leap in logic. The content was not criticised nor was the message. A preference for subtle or less overt lyrics can be a preference across musical boundaries and races and is simply an aesthetic preference. A less racially charged example would be me saying that I prefer John Donne's poetry to Charles Bukowski's because more is left to the imagination. Both are awesome, one is just not my cup of tea. Or perhaps that's problematic because I'm choosing a poet from a former imperial power over a poet from one of its former colonies? I dunno, I've been out of academia for too long lol.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

jimmythegeek said:


> It's a thing though I feel it's more of an American South thing rather than a universal thing.
> 
> I am also team "y'all have poor reading comprehension".


You may be correct. 

Perhaps I was caught off guard by Delores' strong reaction to my suggestion that the song in question may have been written to cash in on outrage culture.
It seemed hypocritical that someone who would react with such disgust to my suggestion would also would float terms like _uppity._

Now if you'll excuse me, Matlock is about to start.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

jimmythegeek said:


> The OP who used the word uppity was trying to imply that mhammer felt that Gary was uppity.


This seemed pretty obvious to me as well. And I could be wrong, but it seemed @Delores Streisand was giving mhammer a little jab, perhaps jokingly. Certainly enjoying Delores perspective on various issues, anyway.


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

jb welder said:


> This seemed pretty obvious to me as well. And I could be wrong, but it seemed @Delores Streisand was giving mhammer a little jab, perhaps jokingly. Certainly enjoying Delores perspective on various issues, anyway.


I totally agree. Delores is bringing some great perspective. As for "outrage culture" I'm not sure that pointing out the racism that black people have experienced and, in many cases still experience, in America/Canada/Western society in general is really a product of a generation offended by every perceived slight. It's simply pointing out a fact that makes white people (myself included) incredibly uncomfortable. Your, my or anyone else's discomfort is kinda beside the point. The truth is the truth 

Less sombre sidenote: Gary's absolutely filthy, old school fuzz tone- while sometimes muddy live- is the bee's knees on record. Discuss


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

jimmythegeek said:


> I totally agree. Delores is bringing some great perspective. As for "outrage culture" I'm not sure that pointing out the racism that black people have experienced and, in many cases still experience, in America/Canada/Western society in general is really a product of a generation offended by every perceived slight. It's simply pointing out a fact that makes white people (myself included) incredibly uncomfortable. Your, my or anyone else's discomfort is kinda beside the point. The truth is the truth
> 
> Less sombre sidenote: Gary's absolutely filthy, old school fuzz tone- while sometimes muddy live- is the bee's knees on record. Discuss


Anyone that might inspire a kid or two to pick up an electric guitar is great, IMO.

He's a good player, with great tone and great feel.


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

“I said I wasn’t going to get into this because it makes me emotional,” Gary Clark Jr. said on a recent evening at Austin’s Arlyn Studios. His voice was quavering as he talked about his new song “This Land,” a brutally honest account of the racism he endured growing up in the American South. The emotions behind the track were so raw that Clark had not planned to discuss them at all.

But he did, resulting in a powerful story about what it’s like to be black in America at a time when “we’re sliding backwards,” as Clark puts it. In the first installment of our new How I Wrote This series, Clark speaks for the first time about the reality of his youth, “getting dogshit in the mailbox, people writing ‘******’ on my fence outside my parent’s house, riding around in trucks [putting] Confederate flags over my fence. That was a regular occurrence.”

The election of Donald Trump, police shootings, the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally and more headlines brought those feelings to the surface for Clark — as did a personal encounter with a neighbor at his home outside Austin. Clark remembers being approached by a local near the 50-acre home he recently bought with his wife Nicole Trunfio to raise their two kids. “My neighbor comes to me and says, ‘Who owns this house? There’s no way you can live here – who’s the owner?” says Clark, who responded that he was indeed the owner. “Maybe it wasn’t racial,” Clark says. “But in my mind I was thinking of that. And I’m tired of having to think that way.”

Clark also describes one of his several trips to the Lorraine Motel, the site of assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which is now the National Civil Rights Museum. “My people have been through a lot. And I haven’t been through shit compared to them. So if I can do anything with my opportunity and the work that they put in, the least I can do is say thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King for sacrificing your life so I can get up and have a microphone. I’m not taking this for granted.”


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Delores Streisand said:


> Clark also describes one of his several trips to the Lorraine Motel, the site of assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which is now the National Civil Rights Museum.


I spent the best part of a day touring both sites (half of the museum is across the street from the Lorraine Motel) and it literally brought me to tears.


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