| Dead City Radio | ||
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| Studio album by William S. Burroughs | ||
| Released | 1990 | |
| Recorded | December 1988-June 1989 | |
| Genre | Avant-garde/Experimental/spoken word | |
| Label | Island Records | |
| Producer | Hal Willner, Nelson Lyon | |
Dead City Radio is a musical album by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs, which was released by Island Records in 1990.
The CD is a collection of readings by Burroughs set to a broad range of musical compositions. It was produced by Hal Willner and Nelson Lyon, with musical accompaniment from John Cale, Donald Fagen, Lenny Pickett, Chris Stein, and alternative rock band Sonic Youth, among others. Although not Burroughs' first album -- he released his first spoken world album, Call Me Burroughs in the 1960s and was a fixture on the Giorno Poetry Systems collections of the 1970s and 1980s -- this was the first release to receive wide public attention.
Most of the recordings of Burroughs readings were made at his home in Lawrence, Kansas between December 12 and 15 1988, with further recordings taking place on June 24, 1989. The music was added at a later date. During these sessions Burroughs was captured singing the German standard "Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Liebe Eingestellt" (Falling in Love Again), a song associated with Marlene Dietrich. This recording was included as a bonus track.
The material performed by Burroughs on the album included excerpts from some of his famous works such as Naked Lunch, as well as a couple of items from his 1989 short story collection Tornado Alley. The track "Kill the Badger!" is an excerpt from Burroughs' novella The Cat Inside. A music video was created Burroughs' reading of "A Thanksgiving Prayer" (a poem from Tornado Alley); the reading (like the book from which it came) is dedicated to John Dillinger.
Several tracks include Burroughs discussing elements of Christianity and The Bible.
The track "Ah Pook the Destroyer" was later used as the soundtrack for the acclaimed animated short film Ah Pook is Here. Burroughs' song "Falling in Love Again" plays over the closing credits of the film.
A few years later, Burroughs would record another spoken word/musical collaboration, Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales.
Track listing
- William's Welcome (What Are You Here For?)
- A Thanksgiving Prayer
- Naked Lunch Excerpts (You Got Any Eggs for Fats?)/Dinner Conversation (The Snakes)
- Ah Pook the Destroyer/Brion Gysin's All-Purpose Bedtime Story
- After-Diner Conversation (An Atrocious Conceit)/Where He Was Going
- Kill the Badger!
- A New Standard by Which to Measure Infamy
- The Sermon on the Mount 1 (WSB Reads The Good Book)
- No More Stalins, No More Hitlers
- The Sermon on the Mount 2
- Scandal at the Jungle Hiltons
- The Sermon on the Mount 3
- Love Your Enemies
- Dr. Benway's House
- Apocalypse
- The Lord's Prayer
- Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Liebe Eingestellt (Falling in Love Again)
Credits
- William S. Burroughs - Primary Artist, Vocals, Voices
- Maxine Neuman - Cello
- Lenny Pickett - Clarinet, Track Performer, Woodwind, arranger
- Tom Varner - Horn
- NBC Symphony Orchestra - Performing Ensemble
- Cheryl Hardwick - Organ, Piano, Track Performer
- Bobby Previte - Percussion
- Donald Fagen - Track Performer
- Sonic Youth - Track Performer
- Chris Stein - Track Performer
- Dennis Martin - Vocals
- Leslie Miller - Vocals
- Frank Simms - VocalsTechnical Credits
- Allen Ginsberg - Contributor
- Kim Gordon - Contributor
- Thurston Moore - Contributor
- Lee Ranaldo - Contributor
- Adrian Boot - Cover Photo
- Joe Ferla - Engineer
- Chris Laidlaw - Engineer
- Hal Willner - Engineer, Liner Notes, Producer
- Nelson Lyon - Producer
- Jack Adelman - Mastering
| Works by William S. Burroughs | |
|---|---|
| Novels and Novellas: | And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (unpublished) • Junkie • Queer • Naked Lunch • The Soft Machine • The Ticket That Exploded • Dead Fingers Talk • Nova Express • The Last Words of Dutch Schultz • The Wild Boys • Port of Saints • Blade Runner (a movie) • Cities of the Red Night • Ghost of Chance • The Place of Dead Roads • The Western Lands • My Education: A Book of Dreams • The Cat Inside |
| Short story collections: | Interzone • Exterminator! • Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology • Tornado Alley • The Burroughs File • The Third Mind |
| Essay collections: | The Electronic Revolution • The Third Mind • Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology• The Adding Machine: Collected Essays |
| Non-fiction: | The Yage Letters • The Job • Letters to Allen Ginsberg • The Burroughs File • Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs |
| Recording: | Dead City Radio |
| Films: | The Junky's Christmas • Ah Pook is Here • Naked Lunch |
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