Tropicalia

Musically the records are interesting in the range of styles it covers (you can hear that in some of the arrangements in 'africa...'). My portuguese is very rusty so I unfortunately can't comment on the lyrical content right now.

It was 'political' (the military were in at the time, as i recall) but I'd guess it was a brief moment and probably overstated nowdays to give more of a reason to buy the reissues.

"Deadweight" as well. isn't a lot of Mutations tropicalia-ish?

x-post

x-post: bossa nova, late 50s whereas tropicalia refers to musicians that emerged from '64 onwards. Bossa nova is 'lighter' of the two.

On the other hand, bossa nova was only like 15 years old when tropicalia hit, and Caetano's first album was straight bossa.

there's a great new album out by Arthur Verocai on Ubiquity. it sounds like a lost Milton Nascimiento album with beautiful orchestra and some psych guitar moments. very summer-y. you can read the whole of the liner notes and a little bit discussing the connection between the music and the opressive military regime at this link: http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/lh042.html

(christpost)

It is no stretch to call the music/movement political in its original context. But since much of it was a rebellion against tradition and authority, in post-1960s America its message is not terribly subversive (since this sort of rebellion has long been coopted).

I don't understand why Brazilian sounds aren't adopted by American pop artists more often ("Da ya think I'm sexy" notwithstanding). They have the best pop music going.

after hearing Jogos de Armar, it just felt like more of the same. kinda uninspired.

there's even a remix album from the Fabrication Defect period that has a few interesting tracks. my biggest qualm with the remix album is that a bunch of artists remix the same source songs.

Actually, bossa nova started in '58, so it was only about 9 years old. Gil's first LP "Louvação" was '67. In Brazil, Gil and Veloso caught flack from the Left because they liked bossa, a "middle-class" music. João Gilberto re-thought earlier Brazilian stuff in much the way that Sinatra re-thought the American Songbook and all that. Bossa was a way out of provincialism/nationalism for the tropicalists in much the same way the the Beatles were a way out of boring folk music for Americans. Tropicalismo is unthinkable without bossa nova.

I would say that the movement ended around 1970. Gil made good records up until the mid-'70s; "Refazenda" is commonly regarded as the last truly great Gil record, altho I like the '79 "Realce" and find much to enjoy in some of his '80s work. I like Veloso but I think Gil is the true giant of Tropicalismo. If I had to POO from the era, I'd go with Gil's '68 self-titled LP, the one with "Frevo Rasgado" and "Sunday at the Park."

I've been re-reading Perrone's book on MPB, Veloso's "Tropical Truth" and Ruy Castro's "Bossa Nova," as well as reading an online-only bio of Elis Regina, so I'm really into this right now.

tropicalia
was a movement more than a
genre, overall

africanismo
was a normal smooth outgrowth,
not any "ending"

the first New York City- heck, the first AMERICAN screening of the brand new “Tropicália” documentary at Videology (308 Bedford Ave) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this Friday, Nov. 8th, at 8 PM. Not only will we be showing the film, but we are going to be raffling away some sweet Brazilian vinyl, downing some tasty Caipirinha, and cutting a rug to the sounds spun by DJ Cleary. So be sure to come- vai ser muito bom!

New Zealand reviewer doesn't like movie doc

http://www.viewauckland.co.nz/films/tropicalia-film-review-32314.html

To put it bluntly, Tropicalia is all over the place and as a documentary it’s increasingly hard to follow. It all starts with the film’s rather weak introduction, which lacks the structure and magnetism to really win over the viewer’s attention and from there Tropicalia loses focus and shifts in tone all too often and quickly. As a result, the documentary can be rather confusing and unless you’re fluent in Portuguese, it can be exceptionally challenging to stick with.

i've tried a few times to get into tropicalia - it seems like something that i would like - but i find a lot of it really boring to listen to?

x-post--http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1497880/

What do you find boring-- the rock aspects? the samba? Do you like earlier Brazilian music-- bossa nova? Or how about Jorge Ben, who is only loosely connected to Tropicalia.

i guess it was specifically the bossa nova + its influence that i found boring - kinda like easy listening elevator music? i tried joao gilberto, joyce, that far out bossa nova comp, antonio carlos jobim, tropicalia ou panis et circencis (os mutantes i liked the most), caetano veloso i wasn't so into.

i guess i was hoping the psychedelia would resonate w/ my interest in african psychdelic sounds but it's really its own thing entirely - and lacks a lot of the funky energy i think appeals to me about 70s nigerian + ghana music

go listen to some tom ze or more, much more mutantes + early gal costa and gilberto gil. jobim, joao gilberto, joyce and that bossa nova comp are definitely NOT tropicalia.

the documentary is all over the place and assumes the viewer has quite an in depth knowledge of tropicalia and brazilian politics of the time. still enjoyable though with some astonishing old footage.

if you don't like bossa you don't like life

Yeah, some bossa is great---best to check the history of samba (originally considered bad-boy music, incl. its smoove moves), and all the rest of Afropop Worldwide's Brazilian stash on Soundcloud. Mordy, you might dig this, well-described by xgau (keeping in mind that he loves Tom Ze and Jorge Ben, usually enjoys Gil, considers Veloso's *solo* work very much an acquired taste, though also rightly regards Veloso's generations-in-the-making book, Tropical Truths, to be psychedelic and illuminating as hell):
Tropicália Essentials [Hip-O, 1999]
Relics of a cultural revolution--14 1967-1969 songs, all except the Tom Zé written by Caetano Veloso or/and Gilberto Gil and most performed by them. Although these songs outraged their world merely because they weren't Brazilian enough, what's striking at this distance is the Brit specifics of their internationalism, idealizing not the hippie '60s of spaced-out pastoral but the mod '60s of trippy pop. For all the deep rhythms and avant-garde sounds, the guitars are drunk on Revolver and Out of Our Heads, the orchestrations full of Blow-Up and Modesty Blaise. Decades later, we can hear how Brazilian their cheese and lyricism remained. But these particular Brazilians were the premier melodists of their generation, and they considered it trippy to juxtapose bright, rebellious music against grim antijunta fables. Translations provided--read them. A-

ooo, this is great. i'm digging it.

I had a hard time getting into tropicalia initially too, veloso's "the empty boat" ended up being my entry point. the fuzz gtr @ 2:18 sealed the deal for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjNanbciqSE

tropicalia was long over at this point but if don't like this I fear for yr immortal soul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db2_TWq7nfs

one of the freakiest tropicalia albums apart from mutantes stuff is gal costa's second self-titled from '69

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vXfPjd0Q4Q

and if you want funky energy tom ze brings it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVAhDsrRzAI

not Tropicalia but Mordy have you heard Tim Maia's 70s stuff?

this thread covers everything that was released under the banner of Tropicalia, which is a pretty clearly demarcated subset of 60s Brazilian pop. Bizarre that anyone would suggest that Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Joyce or any bossa nova are Tropicalia, which was a very specific, and very brief, cultural movement initiated and participated in by a relatively small group of people.