Exxon
First of all, you have to realize how incredibly ridiculous
this place looks in the setting of Port Richmond north Philly sprawl, where the
corners of the intersection feature a Radio Shack and some guy selling Phillies
jerseys out of a tent. The square columns for the overhang of the gas pumps are
painted with booming speakers set aflame. All windows of the "Grilladelphia"
are tinted red. Badly painted iconic images of Tina Turner, Jim Morrison
(pictured here, with an admirer), and Gene Simmons decorate the facade. Lest I
forget the giant yellow peace sign abutting an image of soot-spewing
smokestacks with the slogan "MUSIC IS OUR OIL." Who is responsible for this?
Not an Exxon conglomerate, not the gas station's owners. It's The Roots (sort
of)! The idea of the "MUSIC IS OUR OIL" World Tour is to "send America's greatest Hip-Hop and Rock artists to oil
producing countries to barter music and other essential commodities for 20
million barrels of oil. The 20 million barrels of crude oil will be transferred
into 125-gallon MIO gas cards, which will be distributed to 3.2 million
Americans thru the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) program." No
word yet on the results.
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