Billyg and other Brazillian fans check it out. Os Mutantes is the only Tropicalia band who's stuff has really grabbed me. They remind me of early Pink Floyd gone Brazillian. They are reuniting (kind of) for a Tropicalia fest in London.

Tropicalia at the Barbican. Read about the reunion at Pitchfork

this could be cool or a total trainwreck... just like any reunion.
still, even if the show sucks, the news is cool.
thanks.

I would still check this show out.

That whole event looks pretty cool. In general though, I think Tropicalia is much more interesting as a cultural and political phenomenon than it is as a musical genre. I prefer Gilberto Gil's tropicalia albums to those of Os Mutantes but really there's only about ten albums that were really "tropicalia" under a strict definition and most of them aren't that great. Caetano's best work is post tropicalia.

That said the tropicalia story is a pretty amazing one and Caetano and Gilberto are beloved in Brazil today in a way that's pretty hard for Americans to really appreciate. There's really no western parallel.

Santana is sure to be in attendance to see what else he can rip off from them.

What albums would you say were actually "topicalia"?

Strictly defined its the compilation Tropicalia Ou Panis Et Circencis and the late 60's albums from Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes and Tom Ze.

There are some other late 60's psych that are similar in musical style but they really aren't part of the movement. Others like Maria Bethana (Caetano's sister) often played with them and sometimes get lopped in with tropicalistas but their/her work didn't have the same political content.

Os Mutantes Reunion Coming to U.S.

Kati Llewellyn reports:
Last month, Brazilian psych-rock legends Os Mutantes announced their first performance since 1973. Pretty rad, especially since even Kurt Cobain was previously unable to bring these guys back together. (Unfortunately we mean "guys" literally here, as brothers Sergio and Arnaldo Baptista, and drummer Ronaldo "Dinho" Leme, are set to go on without original member Rita Lee.)

As previously reported, Os Mutantes' first reunion show will take place in London in May, as part of the Barbican's "Tropicália: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture" festival. Pitchfork has just learned that the reunion has been extended to two more shows, in New York and Los Angeles this July.

The L.A. show at the Hollywood Bowl also features the Flaming Lips and Thievery Corporation. How awesome is that?

Bat macumba hey!:

05-22 London, England - the Barbican
07-21 New York, NY - Webster Hall
07-23 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *

* with the Flaming Lips, Thievery Corporation