My Halloween Jam

This is my Halloween Jam.  It's on heavy rotation in my latest iTunes mix and it's rapidly become one of my favorite songs.  Obviously, there's the title:  'Zombie'- but to me, the track has a nice voodoo flavor that makes the idea of zombies shuffling around easy to imagine.  But the artist, Fela Kuti is worth a peek if you haven't heard of him.  One of the progenitors of Afrobeat, the man was also a fierce political activist and opponent of the military regime in Nigeria.  The backstory on 'Zombie,' courtesy of Wikipedia:

In 1977, Fela and the Afrika '70 released the album Zombie, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military.  The album was a smash hit and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic, during which one thousand soldiers attack the commune.  Fela was severely beaten, and his elderly mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries.  The Kalakuta Republic was burned, and Fela's studio, instruments and master tapes were destroyed.   Fela claimed that he would have been killed had it not been for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten.  Fela's response to the attack was to deliver his mother's coffin to the Dodan Barracks in Lagos, General Olusegun Obasanjo's residence, and to write two songs, 'Coffin for Head of State' and 'Unknown Solder,' referencing the official inquiry that claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier.

Wrap that around your minds for a moment.  The man's mother is killed by the military and what does he do?  Sends her coffin to the General's barracks.  Stone cold steel cojones on this guy...  like an angry version of Bob Marley with just as big an influence on world music.