Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Gibbard And Farrar Set Kerouac's 'Big Sur' To Music

They'd never met until they discovered their mutual admiration for writer Jack Kerouac. Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie were both at a San Francisco recording session in 2007, working on music for a Jim Sampas documentary about Jack Kerouac. After completing that project, Farrar and Gibbard decided to work on some music based on words by Kerouac. They would choose Big Sur, Kerouac's 1962 novel, and write 12 songs. Together, they comprise One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur, available here in its entirety for the week leading up to its Oct. 20 release.

The bulk of the songwriting took place during a five-day burst by Farrar. Though Farrar has a library of Kerouac books, he'd never read Big Sur — a novel about an alcoholic who retreats to a cabin in Big Sur to dry out, only to find that he drinks because he has to.

After hearing the demos Farrar had written, Sampas looked for others to work on the musical project. Gibbard heard what Farrar was doing — taking Kerouac's words and putting them to song — and found himself more involved. Over the course of the next year or so, he'd contribute his voice to nearly half the songs on One Fast Move.

The sessions would take place at four different studios, including ones in San Francisco, St. Louis and Los Angeles. The result is a dark, slow-burning record — but, true to the spirit of the novel, bits of light shine through.

Please let us know what you think of One Fast Move or I'm Gone in the comments section below.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
More Stories