"Tecumseh's Curse" (1976): New Soundtrack by Spindrfit

In its ongoing effort to bring the undiscovered films of J.X. Williams to the viewing public, The J.X. Williams Archive has teamed up with rock music outfit Spindrift to score Tecumsehs Curse (1976), one of the auteurs least known and most significant films.

Mixing the dusty, cinematic soundscapes of old spaghetti-western films with the mind-expanding Psych Rock of modern practitioners like The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre (not to mention drone forefathers The Velvet Underground), L.A.s Spindrift makes music that sounds like what one would hear while tripping in the desert on a vision quest.

The first five minutes of the film are currently available for viewing online with Spindrift's new soundtrack.

The picture is based upon Tecumsehs Curse, a notorious legend concerning the unnatural death of American Presidents who were elected in years ending in zero. According to the legend, the curse was pronounced originally against General William Henry Harrison after the Shawnee tribes disastrous loss at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1820. In revenge for the killing of his brother Tecumseh, the Indian prophet Tenskwatawa called upon the spirits for the early death of his nemesis. General Harrison became President Harrison and died of pneumonia only a few months into office.

Since that time, every President who was elected in a year ending in zero died in office for over a century:

1860: Abraham Lincoln: Assassination
1880: James Garfield: Assassination
1900: William McKinley: Assassination
1920: Warren G. Harding: Heart Attack
1940: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Cerebral Hemorrage
1960: John F. Kennedy: Assassination

President Ronald Reagan broke the curse in 1980 after Hinckleys foiled assassination attempt.

Produced in 1976, Tecumsehs Curse takes place in the near future (1980) and concerns a covert CIA operation to locate a native American witch doctor who can lift the curse off the U.S. Presidency. Though originally marketed as an exploitation vehicle during its short run in regional drive-ins and grindhouses, critics have recently re-evaluated the picture as a provocative critique of Manifest Destiny and a sympathetic portrayal of the native American struggle against U.S. cultural hegemony.

Please consult jxarchive.org and spindriftwest.com for more details soon

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Spindrift
• J.X.
• Williams
• Tecumseh
• Techumseh's_Curse
• Shawnee
• Tenskwatawa
• Exploitation
• Brian_Jonestown_Massacre
• Black_Rebel_Motorcycle_Club

[timskates]

Spindrift are amazing. Hands down best band of this century.