Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Kerouac's Birthday
Kerouac could have been 86 today.
Over the years, I have concluded that his work is as polarizing as the bebop that inspires it. One will have either the equipment to decode and swing with that voice or they do not. Dorothy Parker clearly did not in her review of The Subterraneans. And one will never know unless they give it a try. My first encounter was 32 years ago reading The Dharma Bums ready to come home from college. The song took hold and I could see/hear the rhythms that also attracted me to bop and jazz. One will never know if it will work for them unless they try to listen.
Kerouac and the Beats did what Jim Morrison rants about on the Doors first album, first track. They broke on through. I for one am glad I sometimes take the time to circle back through that journey of theirs upon occasion.
posted by well-executed buffet at 8:43 PM
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