Beatnik Comic

Beatnik Hangouts - The Co-Existance Bagel Shop - San Francisco

The Dreamsville Podcast 4

Get it over at podbean

Tracklist:

William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer

Slim Gaillard - Travelin' Blues

Miles Davis - Move

Lee Konitz & Gerry Mulligan - Bernie's Tune

Bruce - Diagnosis

Oscar Pettiford Sextet - Rhumblues

Jack Kerouac - Goofing At The Table

Stanley Wilson - The Discovery

Hank Mobley - Dance Of The Infidels

Helen Humes - Jet Propelled Papa

Ken Patchen & The Chamber Jazz Sextet - The Murder Of Two Men By A Young Kid Wearing Lemon Colored Gloves

Chico Hamilton - Pottsville U.S.A.

The Double Six Of Paris - Rat Race

Felix Lupus - The Night Was A Bitch In Heat

William S. Burroughs - Thing Police Keep All Boardroom Reports

Beats On TV - Mad Men - Season 1 Episode's 2 & 6 - Midge

So here we are in, what, season 4, and I'm just now getting into Mad Men. I recall when the first episode aired, I tried watching and couldn't get into it. I don't know, must've just not been in the right frame of mind, but it just seemed like one retro cliché after another. Maybe I was just annoyed at the thought of being a slave to conventional televisions programming schedules. Now with Netflix and all I've given it another go and I'm totally hooked. I don't need to tell any one how great a show this is, it seems like pretty much all of you are watching it. But in the interest of documenting beats and beatniks in popular culture, I can't pass up Midge. Don Draper's little bit on the side, his Greenwich Village chippy. We're introduced to her right off the bat and her beatnik lifestyle and Don's involvement in it develops over the course of the season so far. In episode 6, Don gets sucked into going to the Gaslight to see one of Midge's friends perform. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Midge. Don't tell me what happens! I've got three seasons to catch up on.

"I have to go to Roy's reading, I have to be there to act surprised when Jack Kerouac doesn't show up."

"Ian, this is my friend Don."

The Gaslight

"Don's in advertising."

"Wow, Madison avenue! What a gas."

"Perpetuating the lie. How do you sleep at night?"

"In a bed made of money."

"Last night I dreamed I made love with Fidel Castro. Viva La Revolución! he roared as he vanquished me. Outside the window Nikita Khrushchev watched, plucking a chicken."

Coooooool Cat!

The Dream Machine

We must storm the citadels of enlightenment. The means are at hand.

~W.S. Burroughs~

I've been thinking alot about Burroughs lately. W.S. Burroughs was my indroduction to the beat generation. I can remember picking up Naked Lunch which I read in it's entirety while working the night shift in a noisy factory. The setting was perfect, the repetitive machine sounds made the perfect atmosphere for what my mind was consuming. So it was interesting to me that just as I was thinking about him, I see the film FLicKeR sitting on the shelf at the local video store.

Now, I have to say, as a Canadian, it bugs me that I don't even hear about this stuff before it's finished. FLicKeR is a National Film Board Of Canada production and I search for stuff like this all the time. How am I missing it?! I digress, I've literally just finished watching it and it was brilliant, very insightful. It's actually much more of a doc about Brion Gysin, who's always been a bit of a mysterious character to me, and the dream machine, and cut-ups, which I was under the impression where a creation of Burroughs'. Great interviews with Marianne Faithful, Genesis P. Orridge, Iggy Pop and more, as well as archival footage of Gysin and Burroughs. Now my desire for a dream machine has been renewed. I have to have one. I'm on the hunt now. Gysin and Burroughs together were so much further ahead than...well everyone it seems. These guys were operating on a whole different level.

Couldn't find a trailer but here's a clip.

The DVD also includes Antony Balch's experimental films The Cut-Ups and Towers Open Fire.

I did a post about Towers Open Fire some time ago and now just found out that they are both on youtube in their entirety. so here they are. Enjoy.

Nothing Is True. Everything Is Permitted.

~Hassan I. Sabbah~

Skipper On Cocktail Nation

Hey cats! Be sure to check out the latest podcast over at Cocktail Nation. This week Koop Kooper has devoted the show to Beatniks and beat jazz and there is an interview with yours truly.

Beatnik Comic

The Art Of Pam Wishbow

Just discovered and spent about an hour touring the world of Pam Wishbow via her blog and Etsy shop. Some really beautiful stuff and great beat themed illustrations. Have a look.

The Yellow Unicorn - Various (Rod McKuen, Tak Shindo, Julie Meredith)

Well, I'm still in the process of re-upping all the lost links for album shares here. There's only about a half - dozen left that don't work and I'm working on it. Here's something new to chew on in the meantime. I've had a bit of luck lately finding some beatnik oddities on vinyl so you can expect some more in the future.

The Yellow Unicorn is a pretty unique mix of styles. A various artists album, it only features three artists. The poetry of Rod Mckuen (full into his beatnik phase here), The folk song stylings of Julie Meredith, and, interestingly, The eastern influenced exotica of Tak Shindo. I think you'll find it actually all works well together. Grab it here.