Beat Sound, Beat Vision: The Beat Spirit and Popular Song
Laurence Coupe
Abstract
This book reveals the ideas behind the Beat vision that influenced the Beat sound of the songwriters who followed on from them. Having explored the thinking of Alan Watts, who coined the term ‘Beat Zen’, and who influenced the counterculture that emerged out of the Beat movement, it celebrates Jack Kerouac as a writer in pursuit of a ‘beatific’ vision. On this basis, the book goes on to explain the relevance of Kerouac and his friends Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder to songwriters who emerged in the 1960s. Not only are detailed readings of the lyrics of the Beatles and of Dylan given, but the r ... More
Keywords: songwriters, Alan Watts, counterculture, Beat movement, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, 1960s, Beatles, Bob Dylan
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2012 | Print ISBN-13: 9780719071126 |
| Published to Manchester Scholarship Online: July 2012 | DOI:10.7228/manchester/9780719071126.001.0001 |
