Here’s part of the script I’ll be riffing from when I introduce the movie “Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place” at Lowell Celebrates Kerouac on Sunday October 13th. We might have it streaming live on my YouTube channel if you can’t be there — https://www.youtube.com/@BrianHassettVideos/streams ============================================ This is the original Merry Prankster […]
Magic Trip movie — Introduction and Background
September 29th, 2024 · No Comments · Merry Pranksters, Movies
Tags: Alex Gibney·Alfred & David Maysles·Bob Dylan·Chuck Workman·D.A. Pennebaker·Ethan Hawke·George Walker·Grateful Dead·Jack Kerouac·Ken Kesey·Larry McMurtry·Merry Pranksters·Neal Cassady·Pull My Daisy·Robert Frank·Robert Stone·The Beatles·The Warlocks
The Benefits of Biopics
March 30th, 2024 · 8 Comments · Movies
The Benefits of Biopics . With James Mangold’s Dylan biopic currently shooting in New York with the Bobster’s blessing; and four different Beatle biopics greenlit for Sam Mendes; and Michael Jackson’s cousin Jaafar playing the King of Pop in a coming Lionsgate production; and Coleman Domingo directing, co-writing and starring in a musical based […]
Tags: 'Sully' Sullivan·Austin Butler·Baz Luhrmann·Bob Dylan·Bob Marley·Bonnie & Clyde·Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan·Charlie Chaplin·Clint Eastwood·Daniel Day-Lewis·Danny Boyle·George Clooney·Gus Van Sant·Herb Brooks·Howard Kaylan·I'm Not There·James Mangold·Loving Vincent·Martin Scorsese·Miloš Forman·Morgan Freeman·My Dinner With Jimi·Nelson Mandela·Richard Jewel·Robert Downey Jr·Ron Howard·Sam Mendes·Shakespeare·Steven Spielberg·Ted Demme·Todd Haynes·Vincent Van Gogh·Woodward & Bernstein
The Greatest Night in Pop movie review
February 10th, 2024 · 20 Comments · Movies, Music
“The Greatest Night in Pop” is The Greatest Documentary About Collective Creation . The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix, 2024) directed by Bao Nguyen, is a spectacular riveting colorful fun documentary about the behind-the-scenes making of We Are The World in 1985 with footage of everybody who was involved. This is not only one of […]
Tags: Al Jarreau·Bill Clinton·Billy Joel·Bob Dylan·Darryl Hall·Diana Ross·Harry Belafonte·Huey Lewis·Jane Fonda·Kenny Loggins·Lionel Richie·Michael Jackson·Paul Simon·Quincy Jones·Steve Perry
Taylor Swift, the Grateful Dead and The Beat Generation
November 30th, 2023 · 28 Comments · Grateful Dead, Kerouac and The Beats, Music
. Why this Deadhead Beatnik Beatlemaniac loves Pop’s Princess I’ve been into Taylor Swift since a New York Times profile in 2008 talked about her confessional songwriting and use of social media — at the time, MySpace. (!) Her second album Fearless was set to come out (and would go on to win Album […]
Tags: Allen Ginsberg·Beyonce·Bob Dylan·Dave Grohl·Deadheads·Grateful Dead·Greta Gerwig·Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Joe Biden·John Lennon·Margot Robbie·Paul McCartney·Robert Hunter·Saturday Night Live·Swifties·Taylor Swift·The Beat Generation·The Beatles·TIFF
The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa
April 30th, 2023 · 5 Comments · Music, Real-life Adventure Tales
The Setting: The new Bob Center is in Tulsa Oklahoma because the Woody Guthrie Center is there, and because both were paid for by the OK billionaire philanthropist George Kaiser. Tulsa is remarkably like the midwestern town of Winnipeg I grew up in — flat farmland, low-rise, about a half-million people — and both with […]
Tags: Barack Obama·Bob Dylan·George Harrison·Jack Kerouac·Lenny Bruce·Neil Young·Oklahoma·Pete Seeger·Ralph Gleason·Tom Wilson·Tulsa·Woody Guthrie
The Beats, The Beatles & The Brotherhood
January 31st, 2023 · 3 Comments · Weird Things About Me
The Beats, The Beatles & The Brotherhood . . This month I met a fellow Toronto-area author, John Arnone, who’s just written a book about The Beatles and Canada — Us and Them: Canada, Canadians and The Beatles. In fact, in keeping with our Canadian heritage, we met after a ball hockey game and then […]
Tags: Al Aronowitz·Allen Ginsberg·Bob Dylan·Brion Gysin·Carolyn Cassady·D.A. Pennebaker·George Harrison·Ian Sommerville·International Poetry Incarnation·Jack Kerouac·Joe Strummer·John Arnone·John Lennon·Ken Kesey·Lawrence Ferlinghetti·Maple Leaf Gardens·Paul McCartney·Revival69·Royal Albert Hall·Royston Ellis·The Beatles·William Burroughs
The Play’s The Thing
April 30th, 2021 · 2 Comments · New York City, Real-life Adventure Tales
The Play’s The Thing 113 different Playbills that survived. An approximate history of my life in theater audiences . . . Some of the highlights . . . which you can see the Playbills of in chronological order starting at the top . . . Mousetrap — London — 1972 — the longest running play […]
Tags: Alan Cumming·Alec Baldwin·Amy Wright·Arthur Miller·Bill Irwin·Bob Dylan·Cabaret·David Mamet·Dustin Hoffman·Eddie Izzard·Eric Bogosian·Eugene O'Neill·Gary Cole·Gary Sinise·Green Gold·Hair·Harvey Keitel·James Joyce·James Stewart·John Malkovich·Ken Kesey·La Mama·Laurie Metcalf·Marisa Tomei·Mike Nichols·Minetta Lane Theatre·Mort Sahl·Paul Simon·Radio City Music Hall·Red Roses·Robert De Niro·Robin Williams·Sam Shepard·Shakespeare·Shakespeare's Globe·Steppenwolf·Steve Zahn·Tim Curry·True West·Twyla Tharp·Uta Hagen·Waiting For Godot
Beat Versus Beatnik
March 3rd, 2021 · 29 Comments · Kerouac and The Beats
21st Century Beatniks versus Hieroglyphic Caricatures . There’s long been a debate about the word “beatnik” — originally coined by a sensationalist San Francisco gossip columnist in 1958, playing on the Yiddish suffix “nik” and the first Russian satellite launched in September ’57, colloquially known as “Sputnik.” Jack and Allen & company hated the word […]
Tags: Abbie Hoffman·Al Hinkle·Albert Grossman·Allen Ginsberg·Anne Waldman·Barack Obama·beatniks·Bob Denver·Bob Dylan·Brad Pitt·City Lights Books·Daniel Yaryan·David Meltzer·Diane Di Prima·Dobie Gillis·Donovan·Ed Sanders·Elvis Mitchell·Gordon Ball·Helen Weaver·hippies·Howl·Jack Hirschman·Jack Kerouac·Jack Micheline·Janis Joplin·Jeopardy·Jerry Garcia·Jerry Kamstra·John Phillips·Jonah Raskin·Ken Kesey·Lawrence Ferlinghetti·Linda Breen·Maynard G. Krebs·Merry Pranksters·Naropa·Neal Cassady·Quentin Tarantino·Robert Shelton·Route 66·ruth weiss·S.A. Griffin·The Beat Generation·The Beat Museum·Vesuvio's·William Burroughs
Ode to Neal
October 31st, 2019 · 14 Comments · Kerouac and The Beats
. Neal Cassady — by Carolyn Cassady (courtesy of the Cassady fam) . From Dean Moriarty . . . to Dead immortality, The street-kid who read . . . was a legend in bed, But more than the lays . . . he inspired a blaze In the hearths of the writers . . . […]
Tags: Allen Ginsberg·Bob Dylan·Carolyn Cassady·Grateful Dead·Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Ken Kesey·Merry Pranksters·Neal Cassady
Hillary Clinton Javits Center 2016
November 13th, 2016 · 18 Comments · New York City, Politics, Real-life Adventure Tales
Election Night 2016 in New York City . . It was such a beautiful fall Tuesday in New York. We were all in such a good mood. But in retrospect there were some early warning signs I’d rationalized and dismissed: The tollbooth clerk I had a happy election exchange with but when asked who she […]
Tags: Abbie Hoffman·Al Franken·Bob Dylan·Hillary Clinton·John Lennon·Ken Kesey·New York·Vincent Van Gogh·Woodstock