“Jack Kerouac influenced me quite a bit as a writer…in the Arab sense that the enemy of my enemy was my friend. Kerouac taught me that you could get away with writing about drugs and get published. It was possible, and in a symbolic way I expected Kerouac to turn up in Haight-Ashbury for the cause. Ginsberg was there, so it was kind of natural to expect that Kerouac would show up too.”  

Hunter S. Thompson – Paris Review # 156

So I was having a browse on the net today when I discovered a great little CD called Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness. It is a tribute to Jack Kerouac and features contributions from the likes of Patti Smith, Johnny Depp, John Cale, William S. Burroughs, Eddie Vedder, Allen Ginsberg, Joe Strummer, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Steven Tyler and Michael Stipe. Oh and some fellow called Thompson has a piece called – Letter To William S. Burroughs And Ode To Jack. 

Enjoy!

Ron Mexico

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