Wednesday, April 5th, 2006

Peter Scholtes on Juvie and New Orleans

Peter Scholtes writing passionately and on-the-mark in “Can’t Go Home”:

“In an era when rap videos aren’t supposed to be political, ‘Get Ya Hustle On’ is dreamlike street theater. Yet it’s also a document: Months after Juvenile shot the video with director Ben Mor in December, the Lower Ninth Ward looks pretty much the same. On the afternoon of February 27, my girlfriend and I drive over the bridge on North Claiborne into what looks like a ghost town. There are cars on fences, houses blown into the middle of the street, and no working stoplights for miles. Spray-painted signs include: ‘No bulldozing,’ ‘No trespassing,’ ‘R.I.P. Fats: You will be missed.'”

posted by Jeff Chang @ 9:28 am | 1 Comment

One Response to “Peter Scholtes on Juvie and New Orleans”

Anonymous says:

April 5, 2006 at 9:09 pm

Hi Jeff,

This post is ashamedly not in response to your blog post. I’m just reading your book and I wanted to beam you a message if I can. I’m a little frustrated that there isn’t a glossary of terms – c’mon, help a hick out! 🙂

See, you reference b-boys, five-percenters, etc long before you explain what the fuck any of it means. It’s maddening. Just a sentence or two in a glossary in the back would do a world of good in a subsequent edition! And an additional appendix with entries of notable people and places would be icing.

Other than that, your book is one of the most engaging non-fictions I’ve been able to get into. (Usually, reading history is difficult and depressing for me – I don’t know why – but not the case with your book.) Thanks for writing with such verve!!

-An admirer

PS – Funny that I log on to your website the day before you’re scheduled to speak at my alma mater! You’ll like Carleton. Check out the excellent Guatamalan restaurant in downtown Northfield, as well as the British pub!

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