Episode notes
The album: Eugene McDaniels: Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (1971)
When we approached Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman, we figured he’d go with a left-field album choice and he did not disappoint. Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse was a cult LPs for years, one of the most overtly political albums of the entire ’70s (least of all on Atlantic Records!) and might have been wholly forgotten if not for ’90s hip-hop producers rediscovering it and using it as sample fodder. However, all groovy groove aside, Headless Heroes is also an astonishing album in regards to McDaniels’ explicit politics regarding everything from the U.S. treatment of Native Americans to blue eyed minstrels to Watergate. It was supposedly blacklisted by no less than the Vice President of the U.S. (Spiro Agnew). As Chicano Batman are no strangers to merging message and music, it was the perfect LP for Bardo and us to dig into, least of all in this current political moment.
More on Eugene McDaniels and Headless Heroes
- The late McDaniels website
- Mark Anthony Neal on McDaniels’ legacy
- Testimonials about Headless Heroes
More on Bardo Martinez and Chicano Batman
- Alex Piveysky’s interview with Bardo
- Oliver’s review of Chicano Batman’s Freedom is Free
- Band Website | Twitter | Bardo’s Instagram
Show Tracklisting (all songs from Headless Heroes unless indicated otherwise):
- “Jagger The Dagger”
- Chicano Batman: “Freedom is Free” Freedom Is Free
- “The Parasite”
- “Supermarket Blues”
- “Lovin Man”
- John Lennon: “Instant Karma”
- Gene McDaniels: “Tower of Strength” Tower of Strength
- Eddie Harris & Les McCann: “Compared to What” Swiss Movement
- Eugene McDaniels: “Cherrystones” Outlaw
- “Susan Jane”
- “Freedom Death Dance”
- Eddie Harris: “Freedom Jazz Dance” The In Sound
- “The Lord Is Back”
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In this episode...
Guests
- Bardo Martinez
About the show
Hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, every episode of Heat Rocks invites a special guest to talk about a heat rock – a hot album, a scorching record. These are in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives.
Our guests include musicians, writers, and scholars and though we don’t exclusively focus on any one genre, expect to hear about albums from the worlds of soul, hip-hop, funk, jazz, Latin, and more.
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