Bat Macumba
Tim Dodd
anyone tell me what the song title 'Bat Macumba' means (written by Gilberto
Gil and Caetano Veloso, performed by Os Mutantes). I'm aware that Macumba is
the Voodoo-like religion in Brazil. Is the title just a play on Batman?
Thanks
Tim
Marcelo Paganini
Tim Dodd a écrit dans le message
>the Voodoo-like religion in Brazil. Is the title just a play on Batman?
( : 7 )
Marcelo Paganini
http://www.orbital.fr/paganini/index.html
"Estava tudo calmo
apareceu o outro"
O acontecimento - Marcelo Paganini
Afunkxé trip
sinist...@my-deja.com
Actually as long as I know there's no religion in Brazil called
Macumba. Afro-Brazilian religions are many, but the names vary from
Umbanda (from Rio, with much more synchretism with catolicism) and
Kimbanda (black magic, much more like vodoo) to Camdomble (more
African, from Bahia) and they are quite different. Macumba is more like
a vulgar and generic definition for everything, like a nickname. It is
often used to denominate the spells.
In that song, I believe Gil is talking about the rhythm not the
religion. So “bate macumba” means: play the drums, play the rhythm, etc.
BTW, have you seen that car advertising that is being played during the
Olympic games? I forgot which car is that, but the music goes like
… “Zoom, zoom, zoom...”
It was definitely adapted from a traditional Capoeira song: “Zum, zum,
zum, zum, zum, zum, Capoeira mata um.”
Take Care,
Luiz
In article <96932190...@shelley.paradise.net.nz>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
KSun28
Tim wrote:
<hi, I'm new on this group. Been listening to a heap of Brazilian lately. Can
Hi Tim!
Well, I might be able to help you with this question, since I have
Gil's "Todas as Letras"(all the lyrics) book, which sheds some light on how the
song was created. Since I'm not sure whether or not you understand any
Portuguese(I'm assuming you don't), I can attempt to translate Gil's comments
on the song, but please keep in mind that I am not a scholar, and my
Portuguese, although improving, is still shaky. Maybe it would be best for me
to post both the Portuguese and English paragraphs together, and perhaps others
on this newsgroup can make corrections to any of my errors? But before I do
this, I wonder if it's illegal to copy it here( excuse my ignorance!)?..if it's
not illegal, then I'll be glad do it! Otherwise, I can (attempt to) paraphrase.
Kristi
Tim Dodd
KSun28 <ksu...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000920122854...@ng-fp1.aol.com...
> this, I wonder if it's illegal to copy it here( excuse my ignorance!)?..if
it's
> not illegal, then I'll be glad do it! Otherwise, I can (attempt to)
paraphrase.
>
Copyright and Newsgroups - wow there's a big topic!
Kristi, I can't imagine that there'd be any problem here. I think what you'd
be doing would come under the heading of quotation for comment and review.
Certainly nobody is going to be making any commercial gain so I say 'go
right ahead!'. Anyway, I'm dying to know what Gil wrote.
Tim
KSun28
Hi Tim,
Here goes:
"O Caetano e eu sentados no chão do apartamento dele, na avenida São Luis,
centro de São Paulo, compondo a música: o que a gente queria, hoje me parece,
era fazer uma cancão com um dístico que fosse despida de ornamentos e possível
de ser cantada por um bando não musical, algo tribal, e que, por isso mesmo,
estivesse ligada a um signo da nossa cultura popular como a macumba, essa
palavra nacional para significar todas as religiões africans, não cristãs, e
que é um termo que o Oswald de Andrade usou.
Paraphrase:
"Caetano and I sat on the floor of his apartment, on São Luis Ave. in São
Paulo, composing music. We wanted to make a song that was stripped- down(
without ornamentation), something that could be sung by a non-musical group,
something tribal, that would be related to a symbol of our popular culture,
such as 'macumba'- this term that represents all African
religions(non-Christian), which Oswald de Andrade had used.
" O Oswald estava muito presente na época; nos estávamos descobrindo a sua
obra e nos encantando com o poder de premoniçao que ele tem. A idéia de reunir
o antigo e o moderno, o primitivo e o tecnológico, era preconizada em sua
filosophia; 'Batmakuma' é de inspiracão Oswaldiana. E concretista- na ligacão
das palavras e na construcão visual do 'k' como uma marca; no sentido
impressivo , não sò expressivo, da criação. Não é só uma canção; e uma música
multimidia, poema gráfico, feita também para ser vista. Naquele momento, nós
viviamos cercados de elementos de interesses múltiplos, ligados nas novidades
sonoras e literárias trazidas pelos poetas concretos e pelos músicos de
vanguarda de São Paulo. "
"Oswald de Andrade was very present in that time; we were discovering his
work and were enchanted by his prescience- the idea of reuniting the ancient
and the modern, the primitive and the technological, which was portended in his
philosophy; 'Batmakumba' was inpired by Oswald, and Concretism(poetry)- in the
linking of words and visual construction of the letter 'k' as a 'border'- not
only is it expressive, but 'impressive' in a creative sense. It's not just a
song, it's multimedia, a graphic poem for the eyes as well as the ears. In that
moment, we had surrounded ourselves with interesting multiple elements, the
latest sounds and literary trends by the concrete poets and musicians at the
forefront of São Paulo."
Sobre a adocao, a partir de agora, do 'k' na microestrutura do poema, em lugar
do 'c'(em decorencia do que tambem o y passa a substutuir o anteriormente
grafado 'i', para melhor expressao tipografica tipografrica da alusao ao genero
de musica estrangeiro em moda na epoca) -
" Eu tenho a impressao de que chegamos a grafar a palavra com 'k' porque vimos
que o poema formava um 'k'. O 'k' passava a ideia de consumo, de coisa moderna,
internacional, pop. E tambem de um corpo estranho; sendo uma letra natural do
alfabeto portugues-brasileiro, causava uma estranheza que era tambem a
estranheza do Batman."
Gil speaks on the use of the letter 'k', in place of 'c', in both the
(visual)structure of the poem and the spelling of 'batmakumba' :
"I got the idea of spelling the word 'macumba' with a 'k' because we saw that
the poem formed a 'k' shape. The 'k' conveyed the idea of consuming, of
something modern, international, pop. And also, a foreign construction- this
isn't a letter naturally found in the Brazilian-Portuguese alphabet, so it
expresses an oddness, that was also the oddness of Batman."
Tim- I hope this will make sense to you. It helps to have read some about the
period in which 'Batmakumba' was written, and especially about the strong
influence of the poet Oswald. (if you would like me to comment further on this,
I can, but there are certainly others here who know much more than I do about
the topic). I am still impressed/blown away by the close connection between
musicians/ poets in Brazil(and other art forms, including film), and the
intellectual nature of Brazilian music. Isn't it amazing?
Kristi (with a 'K', so I guess I'm odd, too!)
sinist...@my-deja.com
the letter "K" doesn't exist in the Portuguese alphabet. Thus the
oddity of it. It is used only for foreign words absorbed by the
comtemporary Portuguese language -- like "marketing", "link", etc.
Tim Dod was right. It had to do with Batman after all. Batman was
really a weird and huge pop culture icon of the sixties.
In article <20000921224351...@ng-fo1.aol.com>,
KSun28
Hi Sinistro- welcome back!
>Tim Dod was right. It had to do with Batman after all. Batman was
>really a weird and huge pop culture icon of the sixties.
Yes, and if you look at the shape of the poem, it can also be seen as the 2
wings of a bat!
Kristi
sinist...@my-deja.com
Tim Dodd
>
> Tim- I hope this will make sense to you. It helps to have read some about
the
> period in which 'Batmakumba' was written, and especially about the strong
> influence of the poet Oswald. (if you would like me to comment further on
this,
> I can, but there are certainly others here who know much more than I do
about
> the topic). I am still impressed/blown away by the close connection
between
> musicians/ poets in Brazil(and other art forms, including film), and the
> intellectual nature of Brazilian music. Isn't it amazing?
Thanks a lot, Kristi - I certainly found that very interesting. The version
of the song that I've heard by Os Mutantes doesn't spell the word with a 'k'
in the booklet. I guess Gil recorded the song himself? Any ideas where I
might find that? The only thing that pointed me toward Batman was that
Mutantes take such delight in delivering that line "Batma!!" with a real
quizzical twist. Nice touch about the poem looking like a bat wing too.
I'm also impressed by musician/poet connection in Brazilian music. You're
right, I don't know any Portuguese (but would love to) but where I can get
translations they really blow me away. These guys really love their
language.
> Kristi (with a 'K', so I guess I'm odd, too!)
Yeah, we're all a bit odd aren't we. :-)
Tim
Jason Witherspoon
<ti...@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
> I guess Gil recorded the song himself? Any ideas where I
> might find that?
On the _Tropicália ou Panis et Circensis_ compilation. Funny-- I don't
think it made it onto any of the GG reissues from the boxset-- woulda been
nice to have that one out there w/the improved mastering....
--
Jason Witherspoon
http://www.best.com/~arzachel
SDN...@webtv.net
"Batman " was very popular ,both with little kids and adults . You
could hear children running around singing "botchmon" trying to
pronounce the odd sounding word as best they could , while running
around with their mothers towel tied around their neck like a cape
calling for "hobing" to bring the "botchmobilé" . It was a good time .