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!

"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

[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

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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