Chicano Batman

Which new bands are doing well where you live at the moment?

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listening

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Listen to the next part of the report and make notes on the group’s logo (pictured above) on the back of the page.

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Listen to the next part of the report and make notes on what they say makes them political and the politics of their new album.

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I’m __________________ in my carUpon this crowded starIt’s been my longest nightUnder this full moon __________________As her brother Sun begins to _____________The New Year’s passed it’s almost doneMy present __________________ is this songIt turns my life into a reelI _______________ back and watch it playThe clock it _______________ it never stopsMelting memories into teardrops

Shedding my past lives, loves, and everlasting pain and _______________But I’m in the future nowWith feet on the __________________ and hands on the branches that I climbWithin the waves that carry meAnd now I’m sinking deep into her soulLike floating in the __________________ we breathe to controlThe rhythm of our place in _____________In cycles of existential rhyme

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Chicano Batman, a band from the Latin alternative scene in Los Angeles, is poised to break out in a big way. Listen to the first part of the report and answer these questions:

1 How does the presenter describe Chicano Batman’s sound?2 How does the presenter describe Chicano Batman’s look?3 What is Chicano Batman’s new album called?4 What does Future Music sell?5 Which instrument does Carlos Arevalo play?6 What inspired the sound of the group?

Listen to the next part of the report and make notes on the song La Jura.2

Listen to the next part of the report and make notes on the song Freedom is Free.2

Do you like Chicano Batman’s music?

Listen to the next part of the report and make notes on what they say about LA.2

Before listening to the song, suggest words for the gaps. Then listen and check your ideas.2

advanced (C1)week of 13.03.17

student pages 1

Transcript

Teacher’s notes 1/2

2ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: A band from the fertile Latin alternative scene in Los Angeles is poised to break out in a big way.ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Their sound - laid-back grooves, R&B with flavors from Mexico or Brazil and a funky swagger.SIEGEL: Their look - matching puffy tuxedo shirts and bow ties, as if they’re playing a prom in 1976.SHAPIRO: Even their name is unforgettable - Chicano Batman.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “FRIENDSHIP - IS A SMALL BOAT IN A STORM”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing) You’ve got an open heart. So you share what’s inside, thinking that all is said in confidence. But then you realize. Friendship is a small boat in a storm. The sun is getting heavy.SIEGEL: That’s a track from Chicano Batman’s new album “Freedom Is Free.” Our LA-based colleague Kelly McEvers paid them a visit.KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: When we asked the Chicano Batman guys to meet us somewhere, they suggested this classic joint called Future Music that sells vintage guitars and amps. The walls are covered with guitars in all kinds of colors - orange, yellow, burnt sienna. This is where a lot of local musicians hang out. And I asked the lead singer of Chicano Batman to sing for me, and he did.BARDO MARTINEZ: (Singing) This is me when I sit down. A new moon, a new light, a new focal point of sight makes me feel all right. How’s it go?MCEVERS: That’s great.MARTINEZ: Something like that. You all got to get the record.MCEVERS: That’s Bardo Martinez. He and guitarist Carlos Arevalo sat down on a few old amps and talked to me about their new album, their wild stage shows

and whether or not their sound could have only come from this city - Los Angeles. Here’s Carlos.CARLOS AREVALO: I think definitely one of the inspirations for the sound of the group is, like, what we would call low-rider oldies music, you know. And that’s a really Southwest thing. There’s a DJ out here called Art Laboe. He’s in his 90s.UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And here he is, Southern California’s number one disc jockey, Art Laboe.AREVALO: And he’s still pushing that music. And that music wasn’t lost on us. I’d - we’d tune in every Sunday night on his show. It’s syndicated. And you’d hear amazing sounds like just - you weren’t hearing in modern music. And I think...MCEVERS: Like what? Like what’s some good...AREVALO: You would hear stuff by Thee Midniters.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “I’M GIVING UP ON LOVE”)THEE MIDNITERS: (Singing) I’m giving up on love.AREVALO: The Sunglows, Ralfi Pagan, Barbara Lewis, you know, just classic music that just doesn’t go out of style ever.SIEGEL: So in part it’s the stuff you grew up with hearing that you wanted to kind of incorporate into your own stuff?AREVALO: Well, exactly. I grew up next to the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet, you know what I’m saying? So you find all these compilations made by Art Laboe, you know...MCEVERS: Yeah. So you go get records, bring them home.AREVALO: So LA is definitely like because you live here, you hear that music.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RUN”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing) This is me when I sit down. A new moon, a new light, a new focal point of sight makes me feel all right.

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Chicano Batman listening

MCEVERS: You guys have a logo. And it’s like a combination of basically the superhero Batman and the United Farm Workers’ eagle. What’s that all about? Explain the thinking there.MARTINEZ: You know, it’s just to empower. And it’s

just like the UFW, the logo, it’s just as powerful as Batman, you know, creating a voice for the voiceless. You know, and that’s kind of like a part of Chicano Batman’s identity. But that’s not the principle. I mean, we’re many other things as well.

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3 MCEVERS: Yeah. So you’re many other things. But one of the things it sounds like you are is political...MARTINEZ: Yes.MCEVERS: And unapologetically so. I mean, I think people have been afraid to be political. We’re obviously in a different moment right now.MARTINEZ: Right.MCEVERS: Has that always been true? Again, does that just come from who you are as people, or is that something you kind of decided on?MARTINEZ: I think it’s - implicitly it’s been political.

I mean, the fact that you have four, you know, very brown Latinos going out there and playing music on these stages that usually people like us, that look like us haven’t really been represented on. That’s a political statement, you know.MCEVERS: Yeah.AREVALO: And are our songwriting and messages have always been about, you know, love and acceptance and positivity. With this new record, we’re being a little bit more explicit in terms of the political slant.

MCEVERS: What’s an example of a song on the new album that you feel like is, you know, getting into the world of the political?AREVALO: There’s a song called “La Jura” that Eduardo, our bass player, wrote. And that’s basically a Spanish language Black Lives Matter song.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LA JURA”)

CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing in Spanish).MARTINEZ: (Speaking Spanish).(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LA JURA”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing in Spanish).MARTINEZ: (Speaking Spanish). You know, the other night was a terrible night. They killed a friend of mine. And so the next line is like, (speaking Spanish). I don’t

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MCEVERS: You guys have a big US tour planned. I mean, you’re getting this kind of nationwide push. Like, it’s getting big. It’s happening. Does that mean LA’s going to lose you?AREVALO: No. LA will always be, you know, our home base. LA’s so rich culturally, you know. And that’s something that I personally took for granted and didn’t

realize I was taking it for granted until I traveled the country in this band, you know. And there’s some places that just don’t have as much diversity, you know, for whatever reason, you know. It’s not a negative thing. It’s just how life is in some of those places. That’s a real blessing to be able to be here and thrive here.

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I’m driving in my carUpon this crowded starIt’s been my longest nightUnder this full moon lightAs her brother Sun begins to riseThe New Year’s passed it’s almost doneMy present situation is this songIt turns my life into a reelI sit back and watch it playThe clock it ticks it never stopsMelting memories into teardropsShedding my past lives, loves, and everlasting pain and joyBut I’m in the future nowWith feet on the earth and hands on the branches that I climbWithin the waves that carry meAnd now I’m sinking deep into her soulLike floating in the ocean we breathe to controlThe rhythm of our place in timeIn cycles of existential rhyme

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MCEVERS: There’s another one called “Freedom Is Free.”MARTINEZ: Yes.MCEVERS: And when you first listen to that song, it’s gray. It’s like kind of trippy. It just like puts you in this really good mood. It feels very SoCal.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “FREEDOM IS FREE”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing) Nobody likes you. Nobody cares. Nobody wants you. Nobody cares to extend a greeting, a connecting glance. Life is just a jaded game to them. They won’t give it a chance.MCEVERS: It’s awesome. But then you start to think about it. And then I read something too where that’s political, too. Explain that one.AREVALO: It’s the title track of our album.MCEVERS: Yeah.AREVALO: And I’ll say that, you know, I’m free inside. And no one can change that. No matter, like, what war you’re trying to fight, you’re not fighting for my freedom. My freedom’s inside me. It’s always been

that way.MCEVERS: Well, also I was thinking of this idea of, I mean, we heard it during the Iraq War.AREVALO: Exactly.MCEVERS: You say freedom isn’t free.AREVALO: Right. Exactly.MCEVERS: Is, like, is this your response to that?AREVALO: It is our response to that.MCEVERS: Yeah.AREVALO: My freedom is completely free, you know. My interpretation of the, I mean, for me, it’s an empowering song. There’s a lot of fear happening right now, you know. And I feel like people are making decisions based on fear. And if you look back in history, you’ll see that those decisions usually lead to a lot of human suffering, you know. And I think if people can put those fears to rest and look inside themselves, then their mind and spirit is truly free.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “FREEDOM IS FREE”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing) Freedom is free.

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understand why those who are supposed to protect us, like, do the opposite.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LA JURA”)CHICANO BATMAN: (Singing in Spanish).

advanced (C1)week of 13.03.17

Teacher’s notes 2/2

Chicano Batman listening