Naked Lunch: William S Burroughs' Beat classic set to music for spoken word punk album
The most 'unspeakable' parts of William S Burroughs' controversial 1959 novel have been put to music
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It’s time to clear some space in your record collection, because the most “unspeakable” parts of Beat Generation classic Naked Lunch are being put to music for a “psychedelic spoken word” album.
William S Burroughs’ profanity-filled 1959 novel shocked his contemporaries with its graphic descriptions of drug-taking, gay sex and medical experiments but went on to be considered an influential work of literature alongside Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and Allen Ginsberg’s poetry.
Burroughs recited the most obscene passages from his non-linear, free-flowing novel for an experimental album shortly before his death in 1997 but the project was “buried and put out of print very quickly”. Now, more than two decades later, the audio is being dusted off by producer Hal Willner, known for his collaborations with the late Lou Reed, for use in 13 punk songs. Canadian psychedelic soul singer King Khan, who was greatly supported by Reed, has composed new ambient music to accompany Burrough’s recitations.
Willner has described the excerpts as “very funny in an outrageous way” and noted that the album will be “accessible as well as avant-garde and sophisticated”. Khan, meanwhile, told the New York Times that he sees the writing in Naked Lunch as “really heavy and perverse at a time when society needs to be reminded that you can explore these nether regions of life and bring back something really beautiful”. He found reading the novel as a teenager helpful as it gave him an insight into his father’s recent cocaine addiction. “Naked Lunch gave me a completely different view into addication that made me sympathise with my father’s situation and helped me cope,” he said. “It made a mutation in my mind and left an ooze in my brain that I still go to for inspiration even 30 years later.”
Burroughs regularly joined forces with musicians during his career, including working with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain for 1993 song “The ‘Priest’ They Called Him” and covering REM’s “Star Me Kitten” with the band.
The new album, named Let Me Hang You after an episode from Naked Lunch, will be released on Khan’s record label on 15 July.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments