Jack Kerouac in popular culture
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This is a list of popular culture references made to American Beat author Jack Kerouac.
Contents |
[edit] Musical references to Kerouac himself
- Five Iron Frenzy mentions Kerouac in the song "Superpowers" on the album Our Newest Album Ever!.
- I Sometimes I feel like I'm Holden Caulfield,
- Sometimes Jack Kerouac
- Hot Sauce Johnson with "Jack Kerouac" from the album Truck Stop Jug Hop 2000 Outpost Records
- The progressive rock group King Crimson paid tribute to Jack Kerouac and his works with their album Beat, which contained songs "Neal and Jack and me" and "Satori in Tangier".
- 10,000 Maniacs with "Hey Jack Kerouac"
- Allan Taylor with "Kerouac's Dream"
- Subincision with "(I Want to Be Jack) Kerouac"
- Morphine with "Kerouac"
- Jesse Malin in "Wendy" sings that 'She liked Tom Waits and the poet's hat, '60s Kinks and Kerouac'
- Tom Waits with "Medley: Jack & Neal/California, Here I Come"
- Rusted Root with "Jack Kerouac"
- Sylvain Lelièvre with "Kerouac"
- Gang 90 (Brazilian 1980s new wave band) with "Jack Kerouac"
- Billy Joel refers to Kerouac in "We Didn't Start the Fire"
- Richard Séguin with "L'Ange Vagabond" (English: Vagabond Angel)
- The Go-Betweens with "The House That Jack Kerouac Built" from their album Tallulah
- Bad Religion in the song "Stranger Than Fiction": Caringosity killed the Kerouac cat
- Marillion in "Torch Song": Read some Kerouac and it put me on the tracks to burn a little brighter now...
- Kicks Joy Darkness, a tribute album to Kerouac, features performances by several well-known artists, such as Johnny Depp, Hunter S. Thompson, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, Michael Stipe from R.E.M., Joe Strummer from The Clash and Jeff Buckley.
- Jethro Tull in "From a Deadbeat to an Old Greaser" from their album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!
- Jawbreaker in the song "Boxcar,":You don't know what I'm all about / like killing cops and reading Kerouac. The song "Condition Oakland" includes a sample of Kerouac reading his poem "October in the Railroad Earth" accompanied by Steve Allen on piano.
- Barenaked Ladies' "Baby Seat": 40 days at sea/Then she turned and said to me/"if we make it back/I'll renounce Jack Kerouac/And all that romantic crap/Like I'm an artist don’t look back"
- Tim Minchin in "Inflatable You": Burt Bacharach, Jack Kerouac ooo.
- John Gorka's "Oh Abraham":
- I was born by a Kerouac stream, Under Eisenhower skies
- They saw freedom as a big idea, Now it was right before my eyes
- They said Jack helped to build the Pentagon
- And Ike built the interstate that we are off and on
- Sage Francis's "Escape Artist":
- I'm getting ahead of myself
- I see the hair on my back
- I'm on the road reading Kerouac
- It's poems versus better raps
- Mary Gauthier in "Rock And Roll Lies" (Dixie Kitchen) and "Drag Queens in Limousines" (Drag Queens in Limousines)
- Jude's "You Mama You": "And laid back Kerouac never had no heart attack/Drinking and thinking about the place that he ran back to"
- Van Morrison's "Cleaning Windows": Kerouac's Dharma Bums and On the Road
- The Hippos in "Asleep At the Wheel": I've been on the road so long that I'm gonna crack / I've been on the road longer than Jack Kerouac
- Death Cab for Cutie with "Lowell, MA". The title references Kerouac's birthplace and the lyrics, while unrelated to Kerouac, have a theme of leaving the city as he did. This is probably due to Ben Gibbard's appreciation of On the Road.
- Richard Thompson's "Sibella":
- Like a myth you rode in from the west
- From the go you had my button pressed
- Did the tea-time of your soul
- Make you long for wilder days?
- Did you never let Jack Kerouac
- Wash over you in waves?
- Al Stewart's "Modern Times":
- So you packed your world up inside a canvas sack
- Set off down the highway with your rings and Kerouac
The lyrics in the Styrofoam/Ben Gibbard song "Couches in Alleys," evoke Jack Kerouac: asking for advice based upon "On the Road." Lyrics include "Hey Jack, it's me, I don't mean to bother you but something's been on my mind: that the end of this road that climbs the horizon will be reached in a matter of miles..." and "Oh Jack, you see, I felt like your mirror with the wind whipping through my hair..." Ben Gibbard has also stated that On the Road is one of his favorite books.
[edit] Musical references to On the Road
- Hot Sauce Johnson in "Jack Kerouac" -Crusin' in my caddillac, you know I'm bluesin' Readin' Jack Kerouac- livin on the road.(Jason DeCosta)
- Our Lady Peace in "All for You"
- Spitalfield in "I Loved The Way She Said L.A.".
- Beastie Boys in "3-Minute Rule," : I'm reading On the Road by my man Jack Kerouac
- Belle & Sebastian in "Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie" : "Wouldn't you like to get away? Kerouac's beckoning with open arms"
- Weezer in "Holiday" : "On the road with Kerouac / Sheltered in his bivouac"
- Mary Gauthier in "Rock And Roll Lies" (Dixie Kitchen)
- The Western Front in "Miss, Would You Like to Use My Raincoat as a Pillow?".
- The Hippos in "Asleep At the Wheel"
- The Hold Steady's newest album is called "Boys and Girls in America", a reference to On the Road
[edit] Musical references to Dharma Bums
- The Smiths borrow the phrase "Pretty girls make graves" from the novel as a song-title on their 1984 debut record The Smiths.
- Pretty Girls Make Graves, an American band.
- Dharma Bums was a Portland, Oregon band that took its name from the Kerouac book of the same name.
[edit] External Link on Musical References
[edit] Television references
- On the Road can be seen laying on the dashboard of the car at the beginning of the music video for "Youth of the Nation", by P.O.D.
- On the Road is on Lisa's bookshelf in an episode of The Simpsons; (Episode 7F07 - Bart vs. Thanksgiving - see picture)
- In an episode of the TV show 3rd Rock from the Sun, Tommy, after graduating high school, wants to follow the lead of Jack Kerouac and hit the road. Later, he actually decides he's ready to go to college, and Harry suggests maybe he can study Kerouac.
- In episode 040 "Rebel Without a Clue" of the TV show Quantum Leap, Sam visits Kerouac in Big Sur during his time travels, in order to prevent a motorcycle gang leader's girlfriend from being killed.
- In one episode of the short-lived television show Freaks and Geeks, Lindsay's class has to write an essay on On the Road, and Lindsay disagrees with the teacher about the best interpretation of the work.
- In an episode of the television show The OC, Seth states that his favorite book is "On the Road". Marissa states that this is also her favorite book. "On the Road" also inspires Seth to run away from home for the night with Ryan.
- "On the Road" is the book discussed in the first episode of the British dramedy series The Book Group.
[edit] Comic book references
- James Sturm's Fantastic Four Unstable molecules mini-series took place in post WW2 America, very Jack Kerouac influenced
[edit] Miscellaneous references
- The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University is named in his honor.
- A street is named after Kerouac in San Francisco, Jack Kerouac Alley at Columbus Avenue between City Lights Bookstore and Café Vesuvio. see picture
- The book, Secret Scribbled Notebooks by Joanne Horniman was named after the first essential of Kerouac's list.
