Video: Neal Cassady's famous "Great Sex Letter" to Jack Kerouac

Some folks created a video based on a reading of Neal Cassady's famous "Great Sex Letter" to Jack Kerouac. This is classic Cassady. Kerouac often said the letters from Neal were what transmogrified his writing, from his earlier Wolfe-esque work to the spontaneous prose for which he became famous. The letter, as many of Cassady's were, is a hoot. . .
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Like A Rolling Stone: One Of Bob Dylan's Greatest Tunes - Video And Lyrics

This is not the best performance of the song, but it may be the most manic one. The backup band: The Band, all except Levon Helm, who quit for a while, because he couldn't take all the booing and catcalls on the tour. The folkie purists were still pissed off as late as this 1966 video because Dylan had gone electric. In the end, of course, Bob prevailed. The Band went on for ten more years creating a singular, indigenous, eclectic, body of music. 31 years after The Band's Last Waltz, Dylan continues his almost never-ending tour on the road. He's released some good music in the last ten years. The last song of Dylan's that truly knocked me out was probably Not Dark Yet.

Not Dark Yet
By Bob Dylan

Shadows are falling and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paree
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

Copyright © 1997 Special Rider Music


Like A Rolling Stone

by Bob Dylan

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
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166 Years Ago Today, William Henry Harrison Became The Fastest President Ever

Fast indeed. In an earlier article on All This Is That, I called him the drive-by President. He was an empty suit, and it was probably best for the republic his term was as short as it was. There are a more than a few of us that regret the current President didn't try to tackle his record. Harrison lived for exactly one month after being inaugurated. The Whigs rolled out the voters in this election with free balloon rides, live music, and free whiskey.

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Poem: Changes 52/Keeping Still

1
The mountain is the youngest child
Of heaven and earth
Striving ever upward

And simultaneously tumbling down

Like the volcanoes
That surround me

2
It is difficult to bring quiet to the heart
Stillness is a state of polarity
With motion as its complement

True quiet means keeping still
When the time comes to keep still
And going forward

When the time comes to go forward
The end and the beginning of movement
Buddhism strives for rest

Through an ebbing away
Of all movement in nirvana
The Book of Changes holds that rest

Is a state of polarity
With movement as its complement
When you have thus become calm

You turn
To the outside world
To the mountains standing close together

3
The beginning is a time of few mistakes
When you are still in harmony
Not influenced by obscuring interests and desires

You see things as they really are
Like the man who plays
The Blue Guitar

4
A person who halts at the beginning
As long as they have not abandoned truth
Finds the way

But resolve is needed to prevent drifting
The leg cannot move independently
It depends on body movement

If a legs stops
While the body is in motion
The body falls

5

The restless heart may be subdued by forcible means
But a smothered fire
Changes into acrid smoke

That suffocates as it spreads
Calmness must develop organically
From inner composure
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Big Star video: September Gurls - with lyrics

Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies have been members, now, of Big Star for over a decade. Here is a video of one of Alex Chilton's greatest songs from Stockholm on a recent tour. On drums, Jody Stephens, of course.




September Gurls


September gurls do so much
I was your butch and you were touched
I loved you well never mind
I've been crying all the time
December boys got it bad.
September gurls I don't know why
how can I deny what's inside
even thought I keep away
maybe we'll love all our days.
When I get to bed
late at night
that's the time
she makes things right
ooh when she makes luv to me.
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Ascii art, updated

click the image to see the animation
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George Bush Takes A Chunk Out Of Our Lady Of The Harbor

I don't know who did this illustration, but I like it. It may be from a t-shirt. Various people were claiming credit for the work. If you did it, let me know, and we'll give you credit, a link to your t-shirt, or take it down...

ed. note: Tony Ravo has informed me "the artist that did this is Alex Ross. His work is extremely well known in the comics world, as he's been called the "Norman Rockwell of Comics. "You can check his stuff out at http://alexrossart.com



I think this is what catapulting the propaganda can lead to!
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Scarred For Life?

Sometimes I wonder what it has meant, raising three children in the reign of George Bush? In their hearts what do they think of The President? And The Presidency? Have they been scarred for life?

When I was a kid people kind of liked the President (even if he was from the "other" party. Did that kind of fizzle out around about 1969, not long after President Nixon took office? Or maybe it was LBJ that killed it. I just don't remember people so actively disliking, say, Ike, or JFK, or even Ronald Reagan. As much as we disagreed with Reagan, at least you thought he believed in what he was doing. We just don't get that vibe from President Bush.
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Jesus Obama Christ?

A sculpture depicting Senator Barack Obama as Jesus Christ is on display at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, the only link I found to the story was here, at Fox News.
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Poem: changes 51/The Arousing

1
Thunder bursts from the earth
Its shock causes fear and trembling
The shock terrifies for a hundred miles

2
You search your heart lest it harbor
Any secret opposition
To the will of God

Shock comes bringing danger
You lose your treasures
And must climb the nine hills

3
Nothing is lost
There are things
To be done
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The Entire Sopranos Story In Seven Minutes - The Last Season Starts A Week From Today!

Click the controls 2x to play the Joe Sabia's video

The final season of The Sopranos begins one week from today. In honor of that, Joe Sabia has put together a videomontage of all six seasons, outlining the story in seven minutes. Nice work Joe!

click to enlarge

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Painting: The Impasto President