RetroBites: Jack Kerouac

[twobit211]

he sounds really french here. guess being around canadians musta triggered something in his memory...'ti jean

[Williamharold1000]

un gar tire dans toutes les directions, he is listening to his ancestors, from Quebec, to America, to the dispossessed and to the future.

[TheTTBT]

His command of french is better than mine...I think.

[mahound9]

Ah, here you can hear his Quebecois accent when he digresses into french. It's nice.

[5inthehole]

I'm from Lowell Ma. so I know alittle about the author, esp. near the end of his life when he was shleping into bars trying to get drinks off of anyone who would by him one. His philosophy is a romantic one but not the way to go-or you may end up going out of this world like he did, drunk and destitute. Not very romantic would you say?

[TiJean47]

But I think a great part of his unraveling in the end was due to him realizing that his "America" was heading in such a wrong direction, people didn't care about the beauty of it anymore, only the anti-American politics etc. Jack like a lot of other writers are wired differently than others, their minds can not sustain the thought process forever and they burn out. Jack talked about it a lot...drinking stopped his mind going on and on, racing in a creative drive. It was inevitable. Salut Tijean!

[wookie72]

@5inthehole Unfortunately, for many alcoholism is considered romantic.

[scotscar]

@5inthehole

Yeah, I guess no conservative non-romantics ever die drunk and destitute right?

[twobit211]

@5inthehole irvine welsh wrote something along the lines of the world not living up to one's own expectations and an inability to change to conform to the world. perhaps is not an inapt idea here?

[5inthehole]

@twobit211 Couldn't we all use that line by Mr.Welsh as excuse for our shortcommings or not living up to our full potential? Life is a canvas- each individual draws their own work, good or bad. Even that is relative as we see those who like a write who ruins his life with drink. I see it as a real pity..what a waste. But for him, life may have been to difficult to sketch anymore.

[twobit211]

@5inthehole certainly, we could; however, what i.w. wrote, seems to me, to make more sense the less we believe in self determination. i'm sure you and i, quite likely, respectfully dissagree on how much control each human has over his life. some self distructive alcoholics, like j.k., are simply trying to slowly end their lives so their loved ones do not go through the sudden shock of a suicide; they can see the aformentioned alcholic's inevitable early death coming.

[rc100011]

I first discover him when this semester in college my teacher of literature suggest us that we should read about the Beat Generation, and i've to confess that he got me with this:

I demand that the human race

Ceases multiplying its kind

And bow out

I advise it

[wardb20]

see what bukowski has to say about drugs, its on youtube, try bukowski on drugs. good insight about smoking the weeds

[brunobabashay1]

yeah, yeah, yeah drugs and drugs drugs what a crock!!! it's phuked !!! can't you see!!! bukowski was a juicer not a druggie. drugs turn your brain into a booger.

[brunobabashay1]

Jack died too soon. I can't understand how these geniuses can can numb their minds and yet produce such brilliant work. Imagine what would have been if he just cleaned up...or maybe it was the tweaking that did it. I think I'll try it someday.

[steveconn]

Booze probably helped slow the manic rush of thoughts in his head. That way for many authors.

[brunobabashay1]

Yes, I agree that booze can do the trick, but it killed him in the process.

[steveconn]

Better than pot - 600 pages of how funny a writer's dog looks in a hat.

[goodvibesallround]

you've obviously never taken any mind altering drugs. The whole purpose is to make you think differently, that how most great writers and musicians made their music! i.e. the beatles, bob dylan, jimi hendrix, william burroughs, JC.

Todays music is bland because of not enough drugs.

[brunobabashay1]

Really? that's just absurd. Oh, and Burroughs'? I used to like all that crap; I thrived on it.(when I was stoned) Now I can see clearly what Naked Lunch was all about. --caprophagus--everything is better unabated by drugs.

[goodvibesallround]

Well think about it, we only use 10% of our brains, and psycadelics open a whole consciousness.

[brunobabashay1]

when i think of how foolish I was to think that way I just crunge, I was never an addict but lost ALL my friends to drugs, I.m 45 now and have finally become a productive writer. (DRUG FREE)

[goodvibesallround]

I'm not advocating drugs, there not for everybody. But some of the greatest writing and music was written and made on drugs, so don't dismiss it. Just because it didn't work for you is no reason to de-value it's importance to modern society.

[chaostra]

True that

[H2Raby]

@goodvibesallround Well I like the point I think you`re trying to make about the influence drugs have obviously had on modern society, right... but if I can get negatron on you, I hope you can see it as positive criticism:

On one hand you`re saying you`re `not advocating drugs`, but then you`re qualifying them as *Important*, which I feel carries a positive connotation in this context by describing it as valuable. Is that what you meant to say?

[mahound9]

@H2Raby If I may contribute something: Important just means important. The Holocaust was an unspeakable crime, but it's certainly important historically, for example. Or, the Renaissance was important because of the rediscovered knowledge. Drugs are important because they have been with us since before recorded history, no culture has ever succeeded in banning them completely, and they will continue to exist and be important.

[H2Raby]

@mahound9 Right, suppose I were to say: "There's no reason to de-value the importance of the Holocaust to history". Curiously, I interpret the word "value" as qualifying it's "importance" as good. Maybe it's because in the former sentence he says "greatest writing and music was written and made on drugs" (which I will agree with).

It sticks out to me like this: "I'm not advocating drugs, but: don't dismiss it, it's great, it's valuable."

Either way, now I understand. You cleared it up for me.

[H2Raby]

@mahound9 Even in spite of the fact that both the words "Value" & "Great" imply neutral connotations by definition alone.

[mahound9]

@goodvibesallround I see drugs as another two-bladed example that life is not possible without risk. I've learned amazing things and experienced things I wouldn't trade for anything because of them. At the same time, I caused damage that I'm struggling to repair because I took some of them too far. When you take a substance, you take the risk that you might not be wise enough yet to handle the effects. For some drugs, the risk is lesser. For others, it's not so... But, c'est la vie...

[VitoPossilipo]

Sorry, that´s not right. We use our whole brian, just not all areas at the same time, but different areas in different situations.

[elanmak]

I would have to disagree, I think today's music is bland because there is so much of it, and it is so easily accessible. Rock and Roll isn't a way to stick it to the man anymore, it's a Video Game for Christ's sake.

But to say that drugs = good music I think is sort of foolish and nearsighted, the drugs are part of the lifestyle that the talented ones fall into.

[goodvibesallround]

Thats true but you know what the real difference is. The music industry today is run by suits not by musicians like in the 60's and 70's.

[convinzioneobastone]

please see video lupetto without prejudice the actual italian beat of acilia villaggio giuliano dragoncello near via enrico verjus in italy

[pierre766]

...violent silence 4 U ...mppffftt !!!

what an idiom to start with.

The only thing I see as OVERRATED is your quality as a thinker and a debater. The French Canadians have survived unpeakable abuse from the British bureaucrats. And in the colonial days they bitch slapped the British armies even when greatlly outnumbered... Culturally, we are close to the Irish who underwent similar abuses. The Franco-Celtic mix gave my country (Canada) it's finest colors...Kerouac is one of our sons...

[skichz]

we were all young once, well maybe almost everybody???

[narfernarfnarf]

Everything he says is a poem, part of a grand movie of sorts, as if he's writing the dialogue for his own part as he goes but carefully enough that you can feel the weight of the words crashing overhead. This is how i feel, anyway.

[Dannihyuga]

SUBTITLE PORTUGUES PLISS!! Y_Y

[blackdogleg]

that was for vaginasilence 4u

[TiJean47]

Now THAT was funny!!!!!!

[pierre766]

Kerouack...overated ???

What kind of a white bread anglo-saxon looser would have the nerve to come uo publicly and say a thing like that (oh...but no, the Internet gives safe haven to this scum) Keroucak was the ambassador of his generation because he understood the value of standing up to a bully without having to fight with him.

[TiJean47]

Nicely put. This person has been spewing anti-Kerouac BS for some time now....looking for their sad 15 minutes of web fame.

[sixsix6]

According to Burroughs, Kerouac did his best to avoid fights.

[violentsilence4u]

bhlahahah that's funny. firstly i'm not anglo-saxon, secondly he was decent for a writer from a cultureless country (you would know about that) and thirdly anyone who cant spell the mans name ("Kerouack" your spelling) clearly shouldn't judge. but don't worry, most people on this site cant spell his name either :)

[violentsilence4u]

what an over rated writer. "oh the void, the void" this is the kind of shit a teenager would write and think its deep. this guy would be laughed at in europe, only in america, as they say.......

[snapsoidpablo1]

come on, man. can you please give that shit a rest already? posting the same bullshit comment on every kerouac video. it's pathetic. you're 37 years old for christ sake.

[TiJean47]

Indeed, here you are again, with the exact same "moronic and incredibly stupid" post. Having no knowledge of Kerouac or literature at all...best you keep your innane comments to yourself....unless of course you really just like making an ass out of yourself on the web.

[blackdogleg]

hahaha your sooooo sad! Europe? Fuk Europe

everyone has, the whore!

[violentsilence4u]

i understand your anger. you are a descendant of europe's rejects and live in a cultureless boring country, that has to hurt.. lol..

[violentsilence4u]

hitler inspired millions and many writers and painters have used his ideas and imagine in their works, but that doesn't mean he was a genius, in fact he was a failed artist. candle in the wind is the biggest selling song of all times, proving that popular sure doesn't mean right.

[violentsilence4u]

i didn't "assume that" , you wrote about how many people he inspired and you are doing it again with john lennon. you may say you are not interested in popular, yet you talk of popular people like lennon and the great number of people he influenced. you cant get to that stage without being popular.

[violentsilence4u]

so when i show that your point has double standards, that means i'm wrong, you must be a teenager, oh wait you are. as for your comment on the beetles "i hate that they're getting popular again", they were never not popular, they have been popular in every generation you are just too young to know that.

[TiJean47]

Maggy please do not respond to this sad moron. He just lurks and tries to start ridiculous arguments with the next person who takes the bait. Not a fan of Jack or humanity. Ignore him. He does not deserve your effort....or anyone's.

[violentsilence4u]

i must admit your little tantrum amused me. who cares what kind of music you like. the fact that you think music is so important and that you hate your generation just proves you are a typical teenager, though you try not to be. "i read books on the past" lol, they are called history books.

[violentsilence4u]

i don't underestimate you, i dont even rate you, because you are just a typical teenager that thinks he/she is wiser than your years. although you may try hard you are not different, you are just typical. as for "i'm not a teenager anymore legally", that hilarious, you are either are a teenager or you are not, the law has nothing to do with it.

[ineedtherapyquick]

whoa he was speaking canadian french and english? crazy

[xTjPx]

corrie who?

Krouac is the man.

[TiJean47]

Stay true to your word and go away. No one wants to see your comments here.

[daveykaye]

Kerouac was a very intelligent man.

He probably harboured a desire to be famous and iconic because in recordings he's clearly very aware of his looks and charisma. A drug-addled fool yes, but so was Lennon. People like him! He could write any style he wanted. He chose to "type" as Capote describes it because it suited him. When you create, you don't follow what's done, you create in the way you want to. Kerouac did that. And it worked fantastically. But a simple matter of taste, nothing more.

[TiJean47]

Here are Jack's own words:

"When I was invited to literary soirees after On The Road came out, my Lowell accent put my hosts in a state of frenzy. And when I spoke in French they were horrified by my Quebecois accent. They made me feel subhuman, like a cartoon of the French-Canadian logger,the Canuck redneck-They dismiss me and now they ignore me,They won't even review my books.

Lots of days I feel lost.When I'm not writing I feel lost. The rest of the time I'm lost.I can't find my way anymore

[megaswenson]

Kerouac was an utterly contemptible excuse for a human being. Why he is being offered up as some sort of icon is beyond explanation. His sordid biography is readily available. He was basically a drug-addicted bisexual prostitute, who got by on his looks.

[ghostmonkeyrape]

...who wrote one of the best american novels of the 20th century.

[TiJean47]

Statements like these prove that times do not change...no different from the narrow-minded fools from the 1950's who did not understand his genius. You really don't know shit about Jack.

[megaswenson]

I've been running across stories about him since college. One friend after another describing him as butch trade who made fun of gay people, while having endless, compulsive gay sex. He was a huge jerk who treated others horribly. Add to that his substance issues, & he was just a piece of garbage. I remember a conversation between my old boss & a new hire (both of them married closet cases) over Kerouak, kvelling over him like he was some deity.

Yeah! Patron saint of repressed homosexuals.

[TiJean47]

I'll say it again...you don't know shit about Jack. If you hate him so much...why are you here? People like you just like to see their words in print...to ignite other people...getting joy from tearing down something or someone who is important to them. Go away. You have no understanding about anything except your own pathetic bullshit.

[megaswenson]

There are a lot of people with self-loathing issues, running around looking for a topsy-turvy world where bad is good, and good is bad. Apparently, Kerouac offers you a little inverted world where you can feel good about yourself. That's nice.

[TiJean47]

My Kerouac world is in fact perfect...along with countless other Kerouac scholars from NYC to Boston to Frisco to Florida and all the Universities in between.

Sorry about your own self -loathing little topsy- turvy world as you put it. It's so obvious to everyone here you are the poster child for your impossibly negative world. You've had your 15 minutes...now run along....

[megaswenson]

'Kerouac Scholar' now there's a discipline on a par with 'Certified Fingernail Technician'! I'm going away, now. Enjoy your Mondo Pazzo Perfecto.

[dulcinea2359]

Looking at your previous posts it sounds like you're attracted to him. Why are you looking up Jack on the toob anyway? megaswenson and kerouac sittin in a tree...k-i-s-s-i-n-g....

[HunterMann]

Well said, though people in San Francisco beg you, please don't call it Frisco! Locals simply call it The City.

[possesst]

people in San Francisco, please don't call it The City.

Everyone knows The City is NEW YORK CITY.

instead call it...

HELLOOOOO FRISSSSSSSSSSCOOOO!

[boomerlesterok]

i like frisco better

[bluggh]

why did you watch this video? regardless of what your friends think ,kerouac never held himself up as some idol. if you read ANY of his work you would know this. it is obvious in all his works that he considers himself to be a deeply flawed individual looking for answers to the big questions in life. your comment is incredibly presumptuous when you take into account that you seem to know nothng about his work.

[megaswenson]

I was referring to things KEROUAC's friends wrote & said about him. MY friends have probably never heard of him. But then, if they can't buy it or use it to make money with, they generally haven't heard of it. Adam Smith, Keynesian Economics, and Malthusian Economics they could tell me about. Freud and Darwin they might vaguely remember. Nikola Tesla they worship. But I guarantee they don't know from Kerouac. But let's face it: Corrie ten Boom he wasn't.

I watched out of curiosity. FEH!

[lickhunt]

haha. you hate a lot of people eh? I saw where you hated on Hunter S. Thompson.

[KillAllCops]

Corrie ten Boom was just doing what people should have been doing anyway.

No credit taken away, but she didnt help my mind. Just a good person. Too good. too flawless. I cant relate to a persona that infallible.

Probly shuddnt compare stones to mountains just because a mountain has a name.

[TiJean47]

I'll quote Kerouac: "You're a big goof."

[jimmysudar]

i'll quote capote: that's not writing, it's typewriting.

[ChristopherMcCandles]

you're not funny, you're a douche

[jimmysudar]

a true beat.

[DoDasDew]

self taught genius.

[sydbarrett5]

Very cool of CBC to keep this in their archives and share it on YouTube. So much history.

[maurizio82]

Funny how he mixes French and English. Towards the end, "c'est une menterie" (it's a lie). "menterie" is a French canadian and Joual word not used anymore in French.

[blacksystem12]

i laugh wen my mom does that with spanish cuz shes mexican n dont no the full language...

[hazardous541]

seems dubbed...

[needmorename]

What's up with the stupid commercial at the end

[hiddenpark22]

Kerouac's genius seemed to be fueled at times by tragic events, yet at other times they were obstacles to his writing. Sad how alcohol has taken so many.

[logansGT]

I agree, parky.

"Oh hope, oh Pope......oh nope !"

Jack Kerouac 1958

[Will1471987]

Does anyone know where I can find the rest of this interview?

[TiJean47]

I've been trying to contact the CBC regarding this whole interview with no response. They must have it in their archives. It would be great to see it in it's entirety.

[CBCtv]

Thank you for your interest in this video. This is all that's left of the original interview.

[TiJean47]

But what happened to the rest? How long was the original interview?

[CBCtv]

I don't know how long the original interview was. It was probably shot on film. Some of the film may have been lost or damaged when it was transferred to tape.

[LukeDinan]

haha im sorry man...in a normal state of mind i would read that sentence and seen that you wrote jan's mother.I also would have spelled the words in my comment correctly. But it was late and i was very tired. what can you do?

[LukeDinan]

Joan, not jan. Joan Haverty. sorry, i just thought id put that out there. Thanks for defening Kerouac though...TiJean47 too. Some people really dont get it.

[SlickCat57]

good audio

[TiJean47]

He was forced by the courts to pay, but he did not acknowledge this. It was Jack who pushed for blood tests, 3 times she did not show up,in the end the test was inconclusive and the court would not recognize anything else. She was also pregnant by someone other than her husband at the time she pushed for more money.Her husband at the time wrote a statement on behalf of Jack.

And I agree, his love for his kitties was one of his great attributes.

[TiJean47]

What you've written is true I think to a point.However Jack was not as un-productive in his later years as most think. He did write one of his best books, Vanity of Duluoz in his last year along with a considerable amount of poetry and on-going articles and a few other books as well. Personally I loved Satori In Paris. It was like an early blog. Very funny.He was certainly capable of brilliance when he really wanted to produce. He never really stopped writing. He couldn't.

[metrodash]

Satori in Paris rocks! And imagine he did it all in one week on one meal, 100 bieres and a gallon of congac!

[RideMyBMW]

"Satori in Paris rocks! And imagine he did it all in one week on one meal, 100 bieres and a gallon of congac!" - Met

No way!!! Wow dude! I got the double binded Satori / Pic edition. Loved Satori in Paris

BTW.

[schiziodman]

Kerouac was a brillant creative, energetic writer in his youth, who delved into the deepest recesses of consciousness until he ran up against the abysses of human awareness, at which point he cracked up, took to the bottle, and his work suffered because of it. Sad, but he wasn't the first, or the last writer for that matter, that this happened to.

[jorgecardoso3665]

to normaseattle:

Paul Auster didn't wrote anything good after Mr. Vertigo. He is one of the most repetitive and boring writers of this era (maybe you too, you look like someone that writes bad poetry and think that is a genius, like almost everybody elese). You're a making a fool of yourself posting comments like that, man. Anyway 79.6% of all comments in youtube are worthless. Stop the comments!

[normaseattle]

If you get bored watching a drunk, pretentious Canuck jabbering away, try diverting yourself by counting all the misspellingings in the comments below. Then go read a book by an actual novelist, like John Fowles or Paul Auster. You'll be glad you did.

[TiJean47]

On the other hand if you get bored reading drivel from people who obviously do not understand the magnitude of Kerouac's vast legacy and brilliance of words,actually read some real Kerouac who was the greatest American writer ever. Just like in his own time,there are people who get IT,and people who are incapable of new thinking. Pretentious? Jack? You really have no clue who Kerouac was at all. He again said it best"All our best men are laughed at in this nightmare land."

[DREWJAMES1234]

on the other hand if you think an example of 'best men' is someone who abuses the hospitality of every one in his life that tries to help him, except his obnoxious mother (who he clings to like an infantile) and a cat that he sobs like a baby when it dies, while not even giving acknowledging his own daughter when she's living in poverty and he's basking in the success of On the Road) then maybe you're on safer grounds with his written legacy.

[TiJean47]

You just proved my point ...once again. No clue.

[Waterfall64]

He was struggling through serious delirium tremens at the time and, believe me, it's a terrifying and emotionally draining experience. The death of a beloved family pet is enough to drive one overboard. That would explain his state at the time - irrational, erratic, confusing. And he never really took to fame. He seems a shy man (when not intoxicated); all the attention drove him away from his legacy - as he explains in Big Sur, which I think is a much better text that On The Road.

[rajagus]

Well said.

[anandanaga999]

There used to be patrons. Then there were publishers. Now there are so many useless,derivative,something..­.for idiots books out no one can get a publisher ,if he or she is a creative writer. We go on-line.We toss our inspirational leaves to the wind...who wins? The poet starves at the master's gate and predicts the ruin of something great

[abdure07]

deavil

[ArthurJimbo]

On the other hand...when the time is right, great movements do come about...Generally speaking, sometimes people seem to like reflecting and tend to entertain grand reminiscence. Im guessing this is why new and interesting movements such as the origins of the "beat" where givin a bad name by some and looked down upon.. I really dont know why im rambling..ill stop. This is such a great post...Thanks very much

[ArthurJimbo]

The talent is still there and will always be there...as a matter of fact, I would think that it is the next generations duty and destiny to be better than the last because by the last the foundation has been made to do just that. The problem, in my mind, seems to be that the powers that are in certain so called "creative" industries absolutely smother true talent and keep it underground. Like a bunch of crab grass and weeds

[RideMyBMW]

"Where has all the talent gone? Oh, we've lost the ability to even care anymore." - Spin

Y´know how ya crack the conundrum ? Jesus did it n the Big Kero too : Ya go "on - the - road". Heck, Jesus spent 15-20 years on the road!!!!!

[belamoure]

in all 3 years where spent by the carpenter's son on the road.

[Veyro]

Hah

[Spinitch628]

Unfortunately, the human conditon has continued to slide backwards while conversely advancing technalogically. Cosequencely each generation inherits a dumbing down of acceptance, based on an easier mindless lifestyle. Each generation is losing it's ability to ascertain and recognize morals. Wher has all the talent gone? Oh, we've lost the ability to even care anymore.