Stray Dog in the Milky Way : The Experimental Brazilian Sound of Tom Ze

Brazilian musician Tom Z (b. 1936) is one of the most inventive artists of the past century. His transformative music and poetic lyricism received critical acclaim in Brazils Tropiclia, a countercultural movement that blended Brazilian music with global pop, psychedelia, and political critique. As many in the movement ascended to the mainstream, Tom Zs commitment to experimentalism kept him in outer orbit, drifting at the fringes of the Brazilian musical universe. That was until his imaginative art and sound captured the attention of Talking Heads front man David Byrne, who propelled Tom Z to global renown. Taking readers inside Tom Zs remarkable seventy-year career, Tropiclia expert Christopher Dunn draws upon decades of conversation to decipher the musicians unique genius, unraveling the cultural and political forces that have shaped Tom Zs life and work. Tom Z conceives of his own performances and concept albums as sung journalism, confronting issues of poverty, authoritarianism, and corruption through irreverent and playful invention. Reminding us of the power of art amid political turmoil, Stray Dog in the Milky Way offers a critical retrospective of a visionary who transcends the constraints of the earthbound here and now.