It was a dark collaboration folks. There’s no denying it. In September of 1992, the Beat writer William S. Burroughs entered a studio in Lawrence, Kansas and recorded a narration of “The “Priest” They Called Him,” a short story originally published in his 1973 collection The Exterminator. It’s a grim tale about heroin, addiction, withdrawal, and the “immaculate fix.” Two months later, the reading was given a soundtrack when Kurt Cobain, then the frontman for Nirvana, stepped into a Seattle studio and gave Burrough’s reading a soundtrack full of harsh, dissonant guitar riffs that captured the spirit of the story. Mixed together by E. J. Rose and James Grauerholz, the collaborative recording was released as a limited edition vinyl picture disc in 1993, and then again on CD and 10-inch vinyl.
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William S. Burroughs Reads His First Novel, Junky
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Kurt changed my life with his insightful and surreal music and lyrics. I only wished he could have stuck around to make more to listen to for future generations. I was compelled to compose a portrait of him In Memoriam recently on the anniversary of his death on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-memoriam-kurt-cobain-and-lane-staley.html Drop in and tell me your memories of his music and how it’s affected you.