Baley

I used to like the songs when I was 13. It was on this teen angst compilation. A bunch of British and American bands, Placebo, Oasis, Depeche Mode and their ilk, I think. Maybe I lost the tape or maybe it's still in one of my old shoe boxes, where shameful music is kept away from prying eyes, family tradition. Jam.

Check your PM box, gajo.

I've always thought the original New York group's goal was more personal and focused on their own existence. Petty Crime. Drugs. A bunch of rich kids learning how to live. Compare this to the Dada movement or the Surrealists. The Beats were definitely more informal, honest and casual. A good start to winning me over, you see. Though I would agree there was a change in the fifties. The Search for more of an extended-general betterment, if you will. More on the Ginsberg side. Idealists finding idols and idols finding fresh minds to shape. P, what should they have done to actively change the world? What more can writers do but write? What were you expecting? They wrote and wrote and their work inspired thousands. Change lies in numbers. Change lies in people. In young people with young thoughts in young heads tied to young beating bodies just waiting for the thrill. On the Road is dated. It existed in a time of its own. And honestly, it wasn't that good to begin with. But the one great thing it did was getting the mojo running for a bunch of boys and girls with pristine minds. And that, I think, is its most laudable gift to the world. Change.

Emotion is the key to poetry. Without it all you've got are pretty words and the Dictionary-Man flexing his dictionary muscles right in front of you. The greatest poems speak to you, in various tongues and styles. You just have to hear and feel a little. And never analyse poetry. It's a crime. To dissect words and forget their original meaning. It's murder, in a way, you're killing the sentiment. As for the Beats, what they did was crucial to both American history and the mentality of those that came in contact with their writings. There's no denying that, P. Maybe they didn't set up to change the world, few do and those few are often fools or ailing dreamers, but they managed something beautiful, especially in fighting moral conservatism and every day sanctity. From Howl and Other Poems.

I do enjoy Kerouac's writing style, but you are correct. He's tremendously overrated. And I'd only read On the Road as a historical curiosity. Few books have done so much for a country's history. My post was honest, P, but I will ask you this, did you truly get nothing from that poem I posted? No feelings? No emotions? Because, P, art is fairly immaterial once you get down to it. Sure it can inspire you, and teach you and make you feel something where it counts. But It can't keep you alive, it can't cloth you, it can't free your body, maybe your mind but I'm not too sure. Food. Water. Are not to be found in words and pretty pictures. And the Beats did do something, P, they inspired an entire generation of youths, from Bob Dylan to the unnamed junky in the gutter. And those people inspired other people who in turn inspired other people and what we get is this big web of inspirations. And through this web change appears. Revolution. No, not the one with guns, nor the one with laws, that most subtle revolution of minds and culture. The beats did a lot of things for this world of ours, P, by mostly reshaping a small part of our collective soul-mentality-heart-and-mind. You see, P, the thing they offered was hope. And art is all about this most precious illusion, P, hope. With what Ginsberg poem did they mentally assault you? And now, From Septuagenarian Stew. Sample.

Suppose you're sort of right. Suppose most of them were halfwit children who just needed a path in life. Suppose they tried building one but failed and cried and hollered. And. Maybe. They just needed a guiding light, an escape from their ordinary lives with their ordinary parents and their ordinary girls. Suppose you blame the hippie movement on them. And the mindless turmoil of aging sheep that were once more lost, alone in a world they knew zilch about, from the moment they opened their eyes anew and saw nothing but hate, ignorance, Jesus, the holy Buddha and prophets of Gods long dead and buried. But, trust me P, some of the **** they wrote, oh man, some of the **** they wrote is ****ing great. I love it.

From Howl and Other Poems. Bought today: Sample. - Sample. Liked the film. Not sure about the novel.

D

Oh goody. Look, ma', another prog band returning from the tedious mists of time. I sure bet the world's violently rejoicing as we speak. Hooray for even more soulless wankery. Hip Hip Hooray! God, I hate prog. That be Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf. The Super Super Blues Band. + Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Backwater Blues + Sonny Terry - Sony's Story + The Count Meets The Duke + Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music + Johnny Cash - Sings the Ballads of the True West (There's no better Cash album. You gotta hear this, man.) + 16 Horsepower - Sackcloth 'n' Ashes + Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal + Guru - Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 Probably the best album streak I've ever posted. God, I love my CD-MP3 Player.

Wu-Tang Clan - Ya'll Been Warned

A selection of W.D. Ehrhart poems from his site.

Yes. + + Here are some live vids for all you Nomeansno-deprived bums.

I've recommended this book before around these parts, and trust me, I can't find enough good words to say about it. Notes from Underground Right up there with his best novels. Fantastic psychological portrayal. Full Text at Wikisource. And also The famed new translation. Giving me an immense hard on. Thank you, D. As for today, Full Text at Wikisource.

I think you guys would like this Pixies tribute. It's basically this guy covering a bunch of Pixies songs in the style of various famous musicians. Levitate Me as performed by The Beach Boys

Sample.

Nostalgia's okay and all, but that site's a good place to discover some really great lesser known stuff. Try this: Butthole Surfers - Mexican Caravan (live)

Dude. Check out: Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock Biz Markie - Just a Friend (for a laugh) De La Soul - Say No Go Erik B and Rakim - Microphone Fiend Grandmaster Flash - White Lines Ice T - Colors (my father owns this one on vinyl) Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road To The Riches NWA - Express Yourself Public Enemy - Don't Believe The Hype Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road To The Riches

80s Thread. Beastie Boys - Fight For your Right (live?) Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

Kid 606 Vs. D

It's okay, lady. Me and Llyr and Lou and Nick and Bok still have it. We like Hades. We like him big time.

Geto Boys - Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta

Um... No, not really. Am I suppose to? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hades:Baley::Jew Pee Wee:Nazi Princess

Alpa Choco with Whipped Cream. Don't know what it is. Tastes nice. I guess.

Yes. But you've probably never listened to it.

Can you not feel the fear, old man?