Skip to main content

The True Story of Thanksgiving: Eugene McDaniels' "The Parasite (for Buffy)" & Iron Maiden's "Run to The Hills" (Atlantic/EMI)


Now, don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving just as much as every other warm-blooded American citizen; Gotta love those celebratory, non-present giving holidays! But I must digress a tad but, and admit that the historical roots of said festivities aren't as "cookie-cutter" as we are all generally led to believe. For argument's sake, majority of us were taught back in grade school that the Indians/Pilgrims met, laughed, united, and collaborated to produce the joyous, harmonious feast that was forever immortalized as "The First Thanksgiving." According to various alternative accounts, the settlers at Plymouth Rock were in fact a very cruel, conniving brand of people.

"They landed at Plymouth with a smile on their face /
They said, "We're your brothers from a far away place" /
I know the Indians greeted them with wide open arms /
Too simple-minded and trusting to see through the charms /
In came the religions, the liquor, and the guns /
They claimed to be good guys, yeah but they acted like huns /
Creating chaos, spreading disease /
As agents of God, they did damn well what they please..."

- Eugene McDaniels (1971)



This brings us to Eugene McDaniels' 1971 anti-hit, "The Parasite (for Buffy)." Headless Heroes of The Apocalypse's closing movement chronicles the vast racial undertones of "The First Thanksgiving" dinner and the tragic events that would unfold soon thereafter. It starts off pretty modest and Soulful and gradually gets more and more disturbing, slowly inching towards the 10-minute mark. McDaniels essentially repeats the same verse a number of times, raising the disturbia bar with each ongoing stanza. Eugene McDaniels' vocal delivery slowly deconstructs, along with "The Parasite"'s frail-frantic instrumental backing. The artist formerly known as "Gene McDaniels," was responsible for penning such popular 1960-70's standards as "Feel Like Making Love" and "Compared to What." Following Headless Heroes...'s imminent release, McDaniels quickly found himself neck-deep in hot water.


In a wild mis-use of power, Spiro T. Agnew (Nixon's VP) somehow managed to force Atlantic Records to pull the album, drop McDaniels like a fly, and effectively blacklisted him from playing club gigs. Headless Heroes of The Apocalypse would go on to become a "cult hit," eventhough it remained out of print for the bulk of the next 30-some odd years. This however, did not stop Hip-Hop luminaries like: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Beastie Boys, Pete Rock, Common, Eric B. & Rakim, and Quasimoto from sampling magnificent breaks culled from the album's 8 tracks. Now, please don't let this short editorial tarnish what we all know and love as customary present-day Thanksgiving festivities. This is simply just a mere alternative theory [account]. Take it as you may - Just try to take this "grain of salt" as some food for thought. Here's to a safe and HAPPY THANKSGIVING Day Weekend to all!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

3 Feet High & Rising: Band of Bearded Brothers Cellar Door Moon Crow Unleash Rollicking Single "Whistler" from Upcoming Blues Rock EP (Bandcamp, self-released)

Whistler by Cellar Door Moon Crow British Rock 2-piece band Cellar Door Moon Crow mysteriously found and Followed The Witzard (@SharpCheddar856) on Twitter a few months ago. Their Facebook About section simply lists a brief, yet fitting, mission statement: "Band ~ Beards ~ Brothers Goodwin brothers Phil & Tommy . Sheffield, UK " and their accompanying Biography section contains a similar refrain: "Band ^ Beards ^ Brothers," as well as their Bandcamp page. There really isn't much else to be known about twin brothers Phil & Tom Goodwin , aside from the fact that they make infectious, down and dirty Rock "N" Roll —all entirely written, recorded, produced, and mixed in-house by Cellar Door Moon Crow (CDMC) themselves. CDMC 's Bandcamp page often tags their musical output as " British Rock , Rock, Blues Rock , two-piece band, Sheffield " and I would best liken their sound to a stylistic mix between The Black Keys , Thir

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of