Tropicália: Brazil pt.2

Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

In this week's podcast Jeremy and Tim continue with the second of three episodes evaluating Brazilian music from 1965-1975 as they turn their attention to Tropicalia. We hear about the origins of Tropicalia, or Tropicalismo, set against the turbulent political climate and eventual military coup of the country in the mid-'60s. Via music from the Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, Caetano Veloso and more, Tim and Jeremy show how the genre articulated an aesthetic of 'cannibalism' consonant with Brazil's multiplicity and cultural fluidity, but also how it leaned heavily on Anglophone psychedelic rock and vague trends and styles of the Counterculture for much of its inspiration.

Tim and Jeremy problematise the period of Tropicalia, asking questions of its political valiancy, discuss whether it was actually radical or should be understood instead as an expression of liberal modernity, and examine the movement's rejection of paternalism in keeping with other youth scenes internationally.
Join us next time for the final part of this series-within-a-series, as we move to the Seventies to discover some truly astounding music.

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley.
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Tracklist:
Caetano Veloso - Tropicália
Gilberto Gil - Domingo No Parque
Gal Costa - Mamãe, Coragem
Tom Zé - Gloria
Os Mutantes - Panis Et Circenses

Books:
Naomi Klein - The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Gilberto Freyre - The Masters and the Slaves
Roberto Schwarz on Caetano Veloso, New Left Review: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii75/articles/roberto-schwarz-political-iridescence