‘Zarathustra,’ the avant-folk soundtrack to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1970 Nietzsche adaptation
In 1970, Alejandro Jodorowsky brought his adaptation of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra to the stage in Mexico City. A creation for its time and place,…
Literature
What advertisements for Philip K. Dick’s Ubik spray might look like
The marvelous cover for the first hardcover edition, 1969 For those who enjoy their realities getting fucked with, there’s no better writer for that than…
Free love, free press and lots of nude hippie chicks
When I got to San Francisco, the Summer Of Love was in full effect and I was crashing at a pad on Waller street in…
‘Californium’: Finally, the ultimate video game tribute to the worlds of Philip K. Dick
When you go to the website for Californium, the first words you see are “If you find this world bad, you should see some of…
‘Beatlebone’: The witty cult novel of the year imagines John Lennon living in Ireland, 1978
If you ask me, the most audacious and amusing novel of the year is Beatlebone, by Irish novelist Kevin Barry. Beatlebone posits a charged confrontation…
‘The Day of the Dead’: Putting Malcolm Lowry to jazz
The loss of ignorance makes existence worthwhile. Two days ago I’d only vaguely heard of the late English composer and jazz musician Graham Collier (1937-2011)…
Horror roundtable discussion with masters Stephen King, George Romero, Ira Levin, and Peter Straub
Shout Factory TV has given us an early Halloween treat by posting a thirty-five-year-old roundtable discussion from The Dick Cavett Show with Stephen King, George…
‘Monster vibrations, snake universe hallucinations’: Allen Ginsberg endorses LSD in the Paris Review
In June 1965, Allen Ginsberg was interviewed by Thomas Clark for the Paris Review. Back then, to be interviewed by the Paris Review was a…
‘Poem for Keef’: Patti Smith’s poem for Keith Richards, 1978
There’s a delightful slapdash quality to the magazine Rock Scene from the 1970s. The magazine, which was edited by Richard Robinson, featured contributions from Alan…
Vietnamese Buddhists decide ‘crazy’ Allen Ginsberg must be a government spy
A dedicated student of meditation throughout most of his adulthood, Allen Ginsberg fell into Buddhism fairly early on in life, well before the mysticism craze…