America, Ginsberg

Poem written and read by Allen Ginsberg set to the music of Tom Waits. Due to its beatness I have dedicated this to Mr. Jack Kerouac -- hero of the American night.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• america
• tom
• waits
• allen
• ginsberg
• jack
• kerouac
• poem
• poetry

[mjb198012345]

@ anaruxanda

Not my bad. If you wanna blame somebody, blame Mr. Waits -- he and his team did the mixing on this.

That is, of course, if you know more about mixing than he and his team do.... ;)

[mjb198012345]

Yeah, it's closing time from the Tom Waits album of the same name.

I'm TOLD that the song was done as a collaboration between Waits and Ginsberg, with Ginsberg reading live in the studio; the whole thing then being released as a single -- but I don't know for sure.

M

[LeedansParis]

@mjb198012345 I've heard this exact same reading without the music. It was on a box set entitled "Beat Generation".

In my opinion FAR, FAR better without the music.

[mjb198012345]

@LeedansParis

That's a valid opinion of course. I'd simply say that this piece isn't trying to "improve on perfection" ("perfection" for a Ginsberg fan presumably being as close to purity as possible, so voice and nothing else), but tries to go in a new direction, do something different with the piece, add new perspective and different shades of meaning through the music. Which is the same as I've done with the Kerouac photos - sharing visually what I get from the poem. Thanks for commenting. M

[palestine0anarchy]

In exile at home..

[Pennoid]

Absolutely Fantastic

[realityisDEAD98]

*fangasm 

[nastyratneck]

Considering that music was a constant reference point in Ginsberg's work complaining about music being appended to this masterpiece poem is kind of silly. The arts are not hermetically sealed from one another, constantly cross-pollinating touching each other over and over. Although anyone is free to not like this, it still makes perfect sense.

[SincerlyMexx]

Anyone know where I can find one with NO music and not crappy audio? its getting kinda annoying.

[maharsi]

Beautiful video. The music goes with the poetry in a beautiful way. It's a masterpiece. Really. :)

[DoctorLawyerWhatever]

Free verse rambling. Little more than disassociated gibberish. Never impressed at all with this guy.

[jazhand]

Well I cried when I heard it seven years ago, maybe it's good as you hear it first up. No use trying to sum everything up, that wouldn't be fair. It's not art, and neither is art, and it's not not art, and it's not that, but it is something else

[interestingperson121]

The gist of life in the 21st century: lather, rinse, repeat, lather, rinse, repeat, lather, rinse, repeat, lather, rinse, repeat....

[interestingperson121]

This is so fucking good.... and sincere.... even though I'm at the other end of the pole

[ronrutherford]

@Goetia78 Well put, expressed my thoughts exactly.

I remember first hearing this at 16 on my discman (pre-ipods) at the end of my Tom Waits album. Definitely got me to look up Ginsberg, and branch out from there. Thanks for introducing to Ginsberg (full of faults, of course, but I judge his art nothing more) Mr. Waits.