Born in Flames podcast Born in Flames

Mississippi Goddam was the sound of Nina Simone being radicalized in real-time. For her, it revealed two universal truths- 1)"everybody knows" and 2)"goddam". Simone's "legendary cursing song" was radical not only for its profane nature, but the ways in which it challenged her white audiences to confront the question of whether they really wanted change or whether they just wanted a show. Join us as we explore black radical politics' confrontation with the institutions of white supremacy, the persistence of double consciousnesses throughout the ages, Black Power, moving beyond respectability politics and getting angry, and what the appropriate response to constant campaigns of violence is.

On this inceptional episode of Born in Flames, we lay the groundwork for music as an oppositonal current throughout the previous two centuries. We'll be looking at music that ran against the grain of its time but still has something to say about ours. We start by diving deep into the early history of the international experimental indie pop band Stereolab, focusing particularly on their song "Wow and Flutter" and its vision of a brighter future beyond "the dinosaur law", symbols of Western dominance, and other things currently thought to be eternal/imperishable.