Let the Chaos Calm You: ep27 – Nuclear War!
In September 1982, during the last phase of the Cold War, Sun Ra recorded a track with a repeating chant „Nuclear War, they’re talking about Nuclear War / It’s a motherf***er, don’t you know / if they push that button, your ass gotta go / and whatcha gonna do without your ass”. He, who was once jailed during the WWII for being against the war, was thinking that this song would be a hit immediately, but the song was immediately rejected by the major labels and was published limitedly by a small label.
After 40 years, while again there’s the fear of a nuclear war some artists have celebrated this piece by reinterpreting and remixing it, including the 18-minute breath-taking piece by the Irreversible Entanglements. This mixtape starts with Sun Ra’s original studio version and ends with his live version of the song.
- - Sun Ra Arkestra - Nuclear War (Singles, 1982 - Saturn)
- - Irreversible Entanglements - Nuclear War (2023 - Red Hot Organization)
- - Joel Tarman & Kronos Quartet - Nuclear War (Remix) (Red Hot & Ra : The Remixes, 2023 Red Hot Organization)
- - Rich Medina, MoonMedicin & Sanford Biggers - Nuclear War (Remix) (Red Hot & Ra : The Remixes, 2023 Red Hot Organization)
- - The Barrence Whitfield's Soul Savage Arkestra - Nuclear War (Songs From the Sun Ra Cosmos, 2019 - Enterplanetary Koncepts)
- - Angel Bat Dawid, Oui Ennui Cosmic Off - Nuclear War! (Nuclear War!, 2023, Red Hot Organization)
- - Sun Ra & His Arkestra - Nuclear War (Live, Paris 1983) (Nuclear War (EP), 2017 - Enterplanetary Koncepts)
