The Most Important Writer You Don’t Want to Read

(Original title: The Most Important Writer You Don’t Want to Read)
Even if you don't know his name, you've felt his impact. William S. Burroughs wrote some of the most controversial and disturbing books in modern literature, and became a darling of artists and pop-culture icons alike. So what's so special about the way he writes and, more importantly, what does it say about our culture that he remains so relevant?
02:45 - Chapter 1: Diagnosing the Disgusting
12:17 - Chapter 2: Cut-Ups and Control
15:57 - Chapter 3: We need to talk about Bill
20:30 - Chapter 4: Infection or Inoculation?
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For a list of sources and recommendations, follow this link: docs.google.co...
MUSIC USED
'Bugpowder' - Howard Shore
'Naked Lunch' - Howard Shore
'On the Delta' - John Patitucci
'Gridlock' - John Patitucci
'Bobby Brown Goes Down' - Frank Zappa
'Tomorrow Never Knows' - The Beatles
'Moonage Daydream' - David Bowie
'Symphony No. 7, Movement 2' - Ludwig Van Beethoven
'William Tell Overture' - Giovanni Rossini
'Neptune the Mystic' - Gustav Holst
'Martinelli' - Howard Shore
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I do not own any of the clips used.
This video is a review for critical and educational purposes and is protected under article 15 and 105 in the United States Fair Use code, as well as Fair Dealing in UK copyright law. My use of both the footage and music from this work is for the sake of analysis. This video is NOT an infringement on copyright.
#wiliamburroughs #nakedlunch #horror #literature #videoessay #davidcronenberg #steelydan #thebeatles #paulmccartney #davidbowie #pattismith #beatpoet #analysis #film #novel #music #documentary #punkrock #cutups #allenginsberg #jackkerouac

[@パガイ]

the throughline from dadaism to ytps

[@marcus3518]

Who gives f***? Burroughs was a complete bellend.

[@zackpumpkinhead8882]

That is the ebb and flow of human creative expression my friend

[@skipper6528]

I had to look up what ytps was and.. I've never seen anything like it. I laughed my head off and felt ashamed of meself for doing so 🙃 It feels like you're being brainwashed It's difficult to decipher what's being said The visuals had their moments though😂

[@zackpumpkinhead8882]

@skipper6528 ok guy whose never heard of youtube poops what are you a neoluddite or something?

[@jfrsnjhnsn]

When I was in high school, we had to do a report on a book that had been banned. Everyone did things like the Oxbow incident. I went to the library because I had no clue what I should do and I discovered Naked Lunch. Giving my report on that book was fun.

[@claykline2830]

Very happy to see this, I am a Burroughs fanatic, I have a decent amount of his books, There is a very real guilt as you talk about in his work. Like everyone I came to the conclusion that this was a very intelligent yes, but ill figure. What Burroughs showed however outside of his cutups in other writing is something much more interesting. This was a man whose tight friend group described him as shy and very kind, lonely making very transgressive art. I remember hearing a story about how he broke down crying when someone asked him about atomic bombs with the realization that he would not be able to take care of his cats if such a thing occurred. He changed in a very interesting way to the end of his career, even becoming seemingly sober. The Western Lands is the book that made me get into him. His ideas are indispensable today, and I feel that he is a tragic figure. Its very hard to tell what he was saying in his writing about his real beliefs, a lot of the time he was " never and never will be a homosexual" or "always an addict." But his willingness to create after such a tragedy and his assertions against authoritarianism, racism, homophobia, police states, beurocracy, capitalism, etc have only gotten more relevant today. philosophy today is largely his influence, Deleuze, CCRU, Thomas Moynihan. Especially with the politics of virality, image, and spirituality and art as a weapon. I can't convince anyone to read burroughs, even my younger self, but there is some very real stuff there found in no other author. If you want to read Burroughs read Western Lands , I promise you It will be a beautiful emotional adventure that is the true author, then take a risk and read something more cut up. It made me the artist I am today, and changed my life. Wonderful video

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks for such a thoughtful response. I think you capture the ambivalence of Burroughs perfectly: such a provocateur with an often violent style, but profoundly sad and self-critical at the same time. The film 'Kill Your Darlings' has a very interesting portrayal of him in that sense -- a great scene where he's told off by his dad at the end, when he shrinks back into the mind of a little boy. I think the Beats in general are all quite similar in this respect: rebellious teens (at heart) struggling against the world and themselves.

[@songs481]

I don’t have many heroes but he is one of them. Another is Zappa which is why it was pleasant to see him read from Naked Lunch

[@josesalazar2271]

He changed my life iv read all his stuff and even messed with the cut up method

[@AleksandarBloom]

guilt? ill figure? tragic figure? you are totally clueless my dear.

[@karleyyork9001]

Very insightful. Thank you for sharing.

[@GPmusicmaker]

Great video! Thanks for sharing. Two friends and myself met Burroughs at his home in Lawrence, KS in 1995. We were on a cross country road trip, busking our way from upstate NY. We got a flat outside of Kansas City and ended up in Lawrence for the repair. Later we went to a Pizza Hut where our server gave us Burrough's address. He greeted us on his porch for a few minutes. I was a huge fan and the experience was surreal. He was nice and asked if we had any weed. His cats were around. We asked if he wanted to join us since we were planning to visit Naropa in Boulder where Ginsberg was at the time. He politely declined and said "Vaya con Dios" as we walked away.

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks! And what a great story that is!

[@BreconWalsh]

Steely Dan are not Yacht Rock! This is a right wing control demolition job and reactionary psyop tosh.

[@ReframedYT]

You good?

[@cjam8293]

I know you touched on this but what gets forgotten is how gloriously and genuinely funny Burroughs works are. It's important to listen to recordings of Burroughs as well as reading the books. However I have to agree with you that as a man Burroughs is deeply troubling.

[@andrew_owens7680]

There are certain artists like Picasso or Carravagio or Wagner or Frank Baum that were toxic people. I prefer artists without that baggage. I find Matisse, for example, healing. I can appreciate Picasso, but always recognize the trail of suicides that he induced.

[@cornfusedatbest3980]

o​@@andrew_owens7680Matisse maybe, but Picasso is an artist that only proves a Simeon intellect. Paint my house - there you have it - you're a painter.

[@ProudhonKropotkin]

Al Jorgenson of Ministry said he went to Burroughs home in order to meet him-I can’t remember why exactly. Al had to fly in so when he showed up at William’s house, William’s asks “do you have any dope?” Al had just landed so of course he didn’t have any. Before anything else could be said, William slammed the door in Ministry’s face. Al and the other guy then left to score dope. When they came back William let them in very happily. Al said William’s dope kit was old as hell-the reusable hypodermic needles and rubber band. Burroughs is in Ministry’s video for “Just One Fix”. “Bring it all down”

[@markcarey67]

The way Al tells the story is that he was paranoid of flying at the time so they drove cross country and got delayed and turned up at Lawrence a couple of days late. The reason he was there was to shoot the scenes for the Just One Fix video. Al recounts this story in his autobiography ("Ministry - the lost gospels according to Al Jourgensen" ). Burroughs got back on junk while living in the Bunker in NY and was on Methadone (at minimum) from then on until the end of his life. Another story from that same trip was that Bill was complaining about racoons that were fucking up his petunia gardens and Al suggested that he put out some methadone wafers for them to slow them down enough so he could shoot them. This apparently worked a treat and Bill shot a bunch of the racoons and turned up to the video shoot in a good mood, although before they left he gave them a solid dressing down for their rudeness in being so late to arrive and keeping him waiting.

[@brianmeen2158]

William sounds like a pretty emotional and unstable guy .. btw I’m not sure how much I believe if what Al Jourgenson says

[@ProudhonKropotkin]

@ You don’t believe Jorgenson? Yeah, arguing you on that is impossible. What I think is cool about Al is that both William and Timothy Leary were hanging out with him during their last days. Why Al? Ministry wasn’t THAT big. So, Al must have something about him I’ve never seen footage of him and William but there is of him and Tim. But, William is in that video, so, I figured he did hang out with Al at least a little. Tim went on tour with him. All three of them are or were shitshows of the highest caliber. Entertaining af ( I think Al says he’s been abducted by aliens something like three times. That’s an example of his tendencies to bs if anyone isn’t aware)

[@abick8725]

⁠@@ProudhonKropotkinWhen you’ve done as much dope as these characters, you start to believe your own bs. Throw some fame (or perhaps in this case, infamy) in the mix, and you’ve got a sure prescription for an out-of-control ego. lol.

[@23joanlee]

this is total bullshit. where did you get that crap? high school? give it up. you know nothing about what burroughs was doing or you'd have seen through that rumourous lie and never posted it. william's reputation can and will weather your stupidity stones, but my patience will not. get it straight or keep your mouth shut.

[@zachschreck]

The Cities of The Red Night Trilogy are the funniest, weirdest, most depraved things I've ever read. 10/10, must read

[@sine8811]

Who thought something with so much carbolic soap could be so filthy.

[@vudu8ball]

"The road of excess leads to the gates of wisdom. For how can one know what is enough until he has had too much". William Blake.

[@injukyoshi]

Wrote my dissertation on Burroughs and even went as far as to stay at the El Muniria Hotel in Tangier where he wrote Naked Lunch. I agree his legacy is under appreciated today. Feel it was greater in the 90's.

[@josesalazar2271]

@@injukyoshi wow you can rent the room? How was the stay my friend, did you hear the echoes of Burroughs past?

[@injukyoshi]

@@josesalazar2271 Well weird thing they had removed the room number from the door. Somebody has stolen it, a souvenir hunter I think. So you had to ask, room 9 I think. Big shower room, Burroughs probably crashed there, I think that is where Kerouac and Ginsberg found him.

[@josesalazar2271]

@@injukyoshi is still pretty cool tho

[@apollomemories7399]

Speaking as an international hotelier of 35 years, I couldn't think of anything more boring than souvenir hunting hotel rooms. Besides, that hotel room had absolutely nothing to do with writing Naked Lunch, but everything to do with the drugs Burroughs was consuming. You could have stayed home horizontal on smack.

[@psychicdriver4229]

All writers being forgotten.

[@vandolmatzis8146]

The Greek word,Pharmakon has a dual meaning.Poison and cure,often describes language.Great essay,thank you.

[@stevesteve1316]

5k subs on this channel is criminal, best video essay i’ve seen in some time

[@DomWrath]

Burroughs is the definition of the American nightmare, the product of all our inherited dogmas, insecurities, phobias, and bigotry shoved into our faces as a living, breathing embodiment of the worst case scenario of what we as a nation have to offer. Of course he's reprehensible and horrifying, that's what made him as an artist so compelling. You can trace back all of his worst traits and ideas as logical alternatives to 50s culture, which was so confining and quick to hammer out or exile any form of otherness. He didn't fit in but was charismatic enough to get away with literal murder. He was strange enough to never be considered for the mainstream but influential enough to be everywhere in the shadows. He's our boogeyman. His embodiment of that role is what makes him so iconic. No, he's not a "good" person, and no, you can't separate him from his work. I wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to stomach him. And I wouldn't be surprised if the current trend of complete morality in creative work makes him even more polarizing. Personally, I'm just glad to have him as a case study to observe as the result of an era I didn't live through and can appreciate his unique artistic lens. He's like a warning; both against ridged societal morality that demonizes the "other" and what could happen when marginalized people turn to hedonism to cope. Burroughs work has had a positive effect on my emotional and creative well-being, and I'm thankful for it.

[@rodrigodiaz5003]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@youssefbencheikh8637]

You, sir, have just convinced me to go pick up a Burroughs book to read.

[@AleksandarBloom]

You can't tell the difference between descriptive and prescriptive.

[@moldvox]

His cut up work helped me to understand consciousness. Esp dreams, etc.

[@milascave2]

The thing is, you can't really ""Me too" Burroughs, because he was so open about all his vices that there are really no hidden scandals to be had.

[@mj.l]

22:03 - YES. naked lunch is a fantastic novel. if we cast aside every problematic artist, we'd lose a lot. many of burroughs' ideas might have been disturbing and problematic, but his boundary-pushing work also helped prime the culture for gay liberation and almost single-handedly destroyed the puritanical censorship that *infected* the anglo-american world up until the late 1960s/early 70s. good video, thanks.

[@hughcaldwell1034]

If we cast aside every problematic artist we'd have none at all, because that term as applied to politics/behaviour has become so nebulous and subjective that enough scrutiny would put anyone under its purview.

[@ericg1100]

You heard it here folks: cast aside the murder, for this man is gay.

[@macrograms]

i've read all his books. can verify neurologically typical western readers might not care for it. On "the death of the artist," I can only repeat what W.S. Burroughs himself said: "How do you know we're not dead already?"

[@KiyoAloto]

Love Burroughs. went through a crazy heavy phase in my 20s and i credit him w/ teaching me the elements of style in writing even better than Strunk and White ✨

[@ledatape]

Fabulous stuff mate. I've been studying burroughs for four decades now and your video summarised his oeuvre so nicely! I appreciated your comments about Joan especially. There were some other dynamite insights there too and im gonna reflect on those for a bit. thanks man from an experimental novelist in naarm/melboure. Cheers.

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks so much, mate!

[@boebylaybe6477]

Excellent visuals and excellent overview. The Ornette Coleman music was a nice touch, too! Junky is still my favourite, but Ah Pook is Here is pretty good, too (although tricky to find). Thanks!

[@theodoreconstantini2548]

I have read Ted Morgans , Literary Outlaw which is a biography, of Burroughs , and also another biography by Barry Miles, and I was personally never convinced that the shooting of his wife was an accident or that he felt real guilt over what he did, and I never felt he was ever truly affected by the trauma and self - destruction that his action seemed to trigger in his son. He seemed a very remote, even a cold personality.

[@jfrsnjhnsn]

Yeah, and it doesn’t help that he fled to Mexico

[@JohnMoseley]

There's footage of him with his son, then a grown man, in which Burroughs treats him with total contempt. It's heartbreaking.

[@theodoreconstantini2548]

@@JohnMoseley Really I would like to see it. I remember reading about a letter in Ted Morgans biography of Burroughs that his son wrote to his father but never actually delivered , in it he expressed his white hot fury at his father for killing his mother, while also expressing how conflicted about his father he was, being alternately repulsed by him while also being desperate for his respect/approval. I think Burroughs on a certain level, like a lot of important /great artists, was a bit of a monster, unfortunately.

[@JohnMoseley]

@@theodoreconstantini2548 I can't remember where I saw it, but I just found it on KZbin. Search 'William Burroughs with his son'. First hit is a little documentary called 'Billy Burroughs' and it's in that. I might have exaggerated the contempt a little in my memory of it, but it's still a sad spectacle.

[@JohnMoseley]

@@theodoreconstantini2548 I replied to this earlier and now the comment's not there. I didn't say anything rude. I guess I'll have to let you guess what I said, given that you refer to wanting to see a particular piece of footage. 'William Burroughs with his son.'

[@Barryislarge]

I first read Naked Lunch last year, with absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I just knew it was a bit of a brutal read. 10/10 one of the most batshit literary experiences ever

[@nobo1982]

I started reading Burroughs in 8th grade when i found a paperback copy of interzone and got the distinct feeling the adults around me didnt want me reading it, from that point on i was hooked.

[@rhinocore]

I read Naked Lunch in high school, and I could literally feel it messing with my brain's wiring. I often compare it to the feeling you get sometimes after reading a page in a book, and thinking to yourself "Wait, what did I just read?" Only that's how the whole book feels.

[@ubahfly5409]

Wow. I'm impressed. Just an all around exquisite essay. Some truly exceptional talent on display. I can't wait to visit the rest of your work. So thrilled to have stumbled on to this channel. Instant subscribe. 👏🏾

[@ReframedYT]

Very kind of you to say, thanks so much!

[@Johnny-p4k3o]

Great video, I really enjoyed reading all the comments aswell, got some ministry fans in the house which is awesome. William Burroughs gets so much admiration for the cut up method but no one ever gives any credit to his friend the artist Brion Gysin . If anyones checking out the comments and hasn't heard of him before you're in for a treat if you like this sort of stuff.

[@GustavoWeissmann]

I disagree. I've never read anything about Burroughs where Gysin wasn't mentioned. Even Burroughs himself credits Gysin for showing him what the cut-ups are all about. Furthermore, Burroughs borrows great influence from Scientology when immersing himself in his own writing. And Gysin had introduced Burroughs indirectly to Scientology.

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

I live a couple houses away from his home. Burroughs' Creek is right across the way. It floods often

[@catholicboy80]

Burroughs is definitely one author that’s been on my backlog of authors I need to read. Kathy Acker also did an interview with Burroughs and was inspired by him as well! She is definitely another author you should definitely make a video on. She doesn’t really get talked about much.

[@whitneycloud9419]

Informative and thought-provoking--thank you!

[@ponyboycurtis3795]

At this time of year you have to watch or read the short novel turned play/video by Burroughs called The Junkies Christmas..as an addict myself I love it.

[@hangingon]

Already watched it twice so far.

[@superfuzzymomma]

Became obsessed with Burroughs in 1984, and as a polite fan my correspodance was never ignored by James. G. I was writing to Lawrence, Kansas from New Jersey and asked if I could send books for William to sign. James told me ok, but that it might be up to a month wait. That was fine with me, and for the next few years, sparingly, I sent books to William Burroughs Communications. What I did not have was an Olimpia Press Naked Lunch for William to sign so I went on line. Bought a crisp, first-state copy with dust jacket in a clamshell case from Baumans in New York for a grand and sent it to Lawrence. Came back with his large, old man writing (his characters were more timid and smaller before he moved to Kansas) For Glenn - Best Wishes, William S. Burroughs, August 2, 1996. A week later I had 2 bottles of Absolut delivered for William to the Eldridge Hotel in the name of James G. They knew him at the Hotel. All of Burroughs friends from over the years who were still alive, when the came to visit him in Kansas they stayed at the Eldridge. Well, those who were the closest to him stayed in his small home. I spoke with James one more time before Burroughs died and asked him if he got the two bottles of vodka from the front desk at the Eldridge? He did, and they werd handy for a gathering William held a few weeks back. I imagined Burroughs, with his Absolut and Coke, drunkenly trying to roll a joint with arthritic fingers, or wildly brandishing a loaded small caliber revolver. That made me happy.

[@KelsaRavenlock]

Though not the same as the "book" the movie had a really good scene I thought when his friends find him under the bridge. The part where he tells them his writing machine is broken then when he opens the pillow case that holds the peices it is all used needles and empty drug containers. Edited to remove a stray word.

[@markcarey67]

For me Naked Lunch and his other books showed me that you can have a work of high seriousness dealing with important themes with passages of exquisite Rimbaudian poetry and also have it be funny as hell. I have a copy on my desk next to me as I write this. Burroughs' theories on language derived from Korzybski have become part of my mental architecture. He also taught me NOT to be reckless with guns or take heroin.

[@davideatwell6577]

He was funny which was what first drew me to him, it's nearly 30 years since he died, he introduced me to a lot of things, General Semantics, random notions in art, The Maya and others, I suppose his other worldly slant must have been intriguing

[@tvav69]

I’ve read all of WSB’s stuff and he’s a great writer! One of the best America has to offer. Of course his work is dark, (he was an opiate addict and had a proclivity for young boys, supposedly) but it’s great nonetheless. He’s one of the great Beat writers of the 50s and he always showed us parts of ourselves that we keep hidden. Start with Junkie and then try Naked Lunch or one of his books from the 80s. Amazing writer. A true journalist of the dark places we can go when nobody is watching. A poet of the unseen. 😊✌🏻

[@Blankspace_Music]

Whenever I hear the name Burroughs I instantly get the urge to pick up naked lunch again and start reading it, its probably one of the best books ever written and its absurd grasp on me is unexplainable, something about the then taboo writings always lures me in. Rest in peace Mr. Burroughs.

[@ReframedYT]

Weirdly I’ve reread it more than almost any other book - it absolutely has an absurd grasp, really alluring (as well as repulsive) writing

[@markcarey67]

@@ReframedYT Myself likewise. Although I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone off the cuff especially to a younger more puritanical generation who have been mindfucked into wanting to "problematize" everything in sight. The people who will get it will find it. It took me ten years and reading all the letters and other books to really understand it. He's a bit like Nietzsche in that regard.

[@songs481]

Out of all the documentaries I have seen on Burroughs, I have never seen one paint him in such a sinister light. Still good work and interesting essay

[@ReframedYT]

It's difficult -- I tried taking quite a neutral, academic stance at first but I think it would have been disingenuous to keep my reservations about him out of the video. Glad you enjoyed nevertheless!

[@songs481]

@@ReframedYT yes. And i will more than likely watch it again. But i am now subscribed and can’t wait to watch more of your work

[@ReframedYT]

That means a lot, I hope you enjoy!

[@LukeBunyip]

Bad Uncle Billy was Punk's fairy godfather. His spoken word recordings are a must listen

[@Slowdive52]

This video was immaculate! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Hubert selby jr-another man who permeates pop culture.

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks so much! I’m not really familiar with him or his work as of now, but I’ll add him to the list, cheers for the suggestion :)

[@terrysmith8224]

@@ReframedYT Last Exit to Brooklyn is a good place to start

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks!

[@patrickmckenna2024]

The man was simply a creative genius. A deeply flawed genius to be sure, but a genius all the same. I was first won over when I read Junky back in 1980. My lifestyle back then was 'alternate' to say the least, and what impressed me was that the people and events in the book were so similar to what I was experiencing at the time - despite the fact that it was written decades earlier. After that I discovered all his other work, and no matter how many times I re-read them, there's always new discoveries to be made. Great video, by the way!

[@jasonandkrishandy-kraus123]

An outstanding examination of Burroughs. Your statement at 21:51 is truly insightful. Well done.

[@Gwyll2501]

I'm pleased to see that there are a lot of people out there who actually read his work instead of getting hung up on his personal life. Burroughs was no doubt a flawed and troubled individual, but his work deserves to be studied, restored, and archived. People like Oliver Harris, Jed Birmingham, Eric Shoaf and many others deserve praise for keeping his legacy alive, as his writing and ideas remain increasingly relevant to the world we live in today.

[@ReframedYT]

I don’t disagree with any of this, and I hope the video articulated that I believe we actively should read Burroughs, if anything *because* of his flaws, in addition to the quality and legacy of his work :)

[@brianmeen2158]

“Getting hung up on his personal life” Ehh Burroughs did quite a few terrible things so it’s perfectly sensible for folks to judge him based on those things. It’s not like he only said controversial things - he actually did them and then some .. very intelligent and great writer no doubt but not a top shelf guy in my book

[@23joanlee]

@@brianmeen2158 it is not perfectly sensible to judge anyone for anything one may conceive of under any circumstances, but burroughs? your arms too short to box w/ god, kid.

[@josephsmith7114]

Naked Lunch caused me to relapse on heroin many years ago, because of the way he described the "orchid" of blood shooting into a needle.

[@ronaldowens5025]

Funny you say that, as a young drug enthusiast ( highschool, acid pot , ex, pills) reading it made me, no that's not right, peeked my interest to the point of the needle, coke and Dilaudid. Yes it was as sexual as it was described and the hell it always becomes.

[@josephsmith7114]

@ronaldowens5025 heroin was never sexual for me, though it did become a hell. IV Meth on the other hand was intensely sexual but also became a different hell

[@Heavilymoderated]

Such a serendipitous thing that a man with his talents and courage…and deep, deep sickness, just so happened to be born wealthy enough to be able to create his art and not really have to care about the consequences.

[@mheiseus]

No, you should read his work... Don't shy away from being uncomfortable ever...

[@cjsdizzy]

This video was so good. I most definitely will be checking out this mans writing.

[@LWilloxMusic]

One of the most compelling things I’ve seen on KZbin in a long time

[@droonkeler6032]

You deserve so much more views and subscribers! Fantastic editing; engaging analysis and riveting work as always man, please don't stop making these!

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks a lot! More on the way :)

[@zamiadams4343]

Burroughs is amazing I urge all viewers of this to read his cut-up triology, "The Soft Machine "The Ticket That Exploded" and "Nova Express" and prepare for your brain to be exploded into the stratosphere. Great video man, just subbed.

[@randalclarke5487]

It's called the Nova Trilogy

[@poindextertunes]

The Cronenberg movie is excellent. The fact Zappa loves him is even better

[@grainofsand4176]

creative and appreciated approach. and true

[@jamesturvey7061]

And we're back again!

[@jayviescas7703]

You left out one of his most iconic latter day, literary/artistic descendents and last wife of Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson. She collaborated with Burroughs in the 1980s on the album You're the Man I Want to Spend My Money With, as well as the spoken word tour Red Night in '81 with John Giorno with whom they both performed on the Dial a Poem project in NYC. Burroughs also performed opening and closing bits on Andersons 1984 album Mister Heartbreak. Damn, man, do your research! 😊

[@ReframedYT]

There were so many people I had to cut out of the script unfortunately -- Philip Glass, Kurt Cobain (only in an image), Material... He really does get around, does Burroughs!

[@ubahfly5409]

It's a 24 min video essay, sir, not an exhaustive biographical accounting. Acting as if that's the only notable thing he had to leave out would suggest that YOU need to "do your research", respectfully.

[@agdgdgwngo]

I believe in strict separation from a person and their work. I wouldn't knock down a wall that was made by a murdering bricklayer.

[@ReframedYT]

I’m going to use that ‘murdering bricklayer’ line, that’s brilliant… But I’m curious as to what the ‘strict separation’ looks like. I don’t agree with so-called ‘cancel culture’ at all, but I also don’t think it’s possible to completely separate the art from the artist once you learn about them. As another commenter mentioned, you’re unlikely to write off Michael Jackson’s music because of his flaws, but then I think it’s also hard to put them out do your mind when you listen to it with that knowledge…

[@davideatwell6577]

Well of course

[@berry541]

Complete agreement with you. I will also be stealing that line. Beautifully said.

[@marcbrimble5222]

But would you talk about the wall, comment on it, talk about how brilliant it is, analyze it, let it influence your life? Or would you just let it stand and not pay any attention to it?

[@goober7535]

thats a really dumb, half wit comparison. works of art are direct expressions of the soul. i dont know anyone who would call a brick wall expressive of ones soul. for instance roman polanski's films are oftentimes about control and the implicit threat of violence, ayn rand's works are explicitly against altruism. in short oftentimes people who want to separate the art and the artist are not actually analyzing the work critically. its just lazy and intellectually dishonest.

[@petsounds3612]

Your videos are always so much fun to watch but the topics you choose are always right up my alley. Thank you for your hard work!

[@ReframedYT]

@@petsounds3612 Thanks for your continued support!

[@petsounds3612]

​@@ReframedYT I'm a huge Steely Dan fan and appreciated the reference in your video. Some of what you discuss is covered briefly in Alex Pappademas & Joan Lemay's book, Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan. Have you read it? If not, I think it would be right up your alley!

[@ReframedYT]

@@petsounds3612I have not! Seen it advertised tho, and is on the list :)

[@AnnexIptaru]

I'm truly grateful that I just discovered Burroughs before some prattling video essayist could tell me how "troubling" his life was.

[@ReframedYT]

‘Prattling’ is a first, cheers for that x

[@jamescline221]

I had never considered the parallel with Burroughs and Zappa before and I think it works well here.

[@fuindes_batwings]

Don't forget his post-apocalyptic tale, Wild Boys: A Tale of the Dead. It's actually the story that the song and music video, The Wild Boys by Duran Duran is loosely based upon.

[@cbmx1x1]

J.G. Ballard is another amazing subversive writer from the same period.

[@mattbailey6501]

My all-time favourite writer. I even have a tattoo of a centipede with the words Interzone Agent. Virtually no one knows what it means.

[@kckstnd8]

Brilliant video and love how you relate Burroughs writing and behavior to viruses

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks so much!

[@johnking6252]

Strange I've heard of his works but somehow never read anything, yet also feel very familiar methods of madness as if they're around me every day with the mention of many artists I am familiar with, and enjoy. 👍 Thx for the introduction, ✌️

[@aronclark3898]

The way I see it, you cannot separate the art from the artist, however I don't think this inherently means you shouldn't see the art that was created. we cannot delude ourselves into thinking what the artist does is okay, however seeing the art provides us with a dive into their values and psyche and I think there is value in doing so, by seeing the art and knowing the artist can highlight our own morals either by strengthening them or changing them. Evil is human, Goodness is human. refusing to see art because of the artist, denies our ability to choose what we(as in the individual) see as morally permissible. Which is why discussion and debate is like wise just as important as art. I do acknowledge however that it could lead to radicalization when art or indeed actions does not get debated and discussed, I also acknowledge the power of influence, however I do think influence is by some margin inherent to the human experience, which is why we must be careful not to fall into echo chambers which leads to cults as we see throughout history. But that is how I see it, I wonder what others think.

[@sherylholland2378]

Thank you for this - yes, Language Is A Virus. I love his work, especially "The Third Mind" - done with Gysin. Also, his book, "The Cat Inside" is a beautiful, reverent, holy book. I read it at least 2 or 3 times a year. In my opinion, his love of cats was redemptive.

[@michaelmayo]

Burroughs is brilliant and boring at the same time. Same problem as "Finnegan's Wake." The words and discriptions are incredible, but but there's no story to carry you along. It's just scene after scene without going anywhere. It's a "Build It Yourself" story story, and I'm afraid I need story to pull me along. Verbal pictures aren't enough. Probably one of the reasons I'd rather watch Cronenberg's film, where you not only get story, but some of the gloopiest and nasty special effects ever. Did love listening to him though. What a voice for narration. Dryly sardonic and funny as hell. Thanks for the vid...

[@ElonMuskrat-my8jy]

In other words, pretentious degenerate tripe.

[@lanceash]

That's my problem with Burroughs as well. His work can be tediously repetitive. He would use the same descriptive phrases for backdoor sex again and again. _In multiple books!_

[@richardhall5489]

I must have watched that movie about 20 times. I worked on a show where the film was screened with a live orchestra conducted by the composer Howard Shore and accompanied by The Ornette Coleman Trio. There were scenes where Ornette Coleman would improvise and solo. If he felt like going long enough that he crashed the dialogue, then they just kept the dialogue out of the mix and put up subtitles. The final time I did the showxaas in the Barbican in London. Ornette's sound check in the morning was one of the most beautiful musical experiences of my life.

[@jeffjones3040]

Clutch the pearls, Grandma!

[@rosanna5515]

Thank you for this. Please lower the background music--it is distracting. Cheers!🎉

[@ReframedYT]

I can’t unfortunately, but thank you!

[@rosanna5515]

@ReframedYT Thank you. I will keep looking for your posts. Cheers🌻

[@DreamersDisease88]

Naked lunch is a hilarious book

[@soundfieldsensemble5494]

But have you ever had, a naked lunch?

[@DreamersDisease88]

@soundfieldsensemble5494 not fully naked no. I have commitment issues.

[@BeesWaxMinder]

At the risk of sounding annoying(!) does anyone know the name of the song at- 15:22 please? I Enjoyed this mini documentary and especially thecomment section!

[@ReframedYT]

@@BeesWaxMinder not annoying at all! It’s a piano interpretation of Beethoven's seventh symphony, second movement :)

[@BeesWaxMinder]

@@ReframedYT love it Thanks

[@francinem4944]

Wow dude my fave writer... ❤❤❤❤ inspiring and he taught me to not poke rugs into the veins, and that rambling sentences rule

[@intellectually_lazy]

wow! thanks so much for covering this. i feel so lucky to have stumbled across this book, and doubly so to have happened upon this video

[@paulpardoe7808]

Burroughs work defies description. A must read but your experience will be yours alone. Like all stunning art.

[@donkimble]

Check out “postscripts on the society of control by French philosopher Giles Deleuze. Deleuze, along with his co-author Guitarri take quite seriously borough’s arguments about control and builds on them in a powerful and meaningful way. Good video.

[@coyoteartist]

I've only read one Burroughs book which was Naked Lunch. I've no ider what happen at any given moment in any of the routines or if I even understood them. I do recall the compellingness of it. But for myself, it was more compelling, because it was an apt location for a fight with my brain. Sometimes I seem to have a desire to pit my intellectual capabilities against my learning disabilities and emotional issues. While I read On The Road and Howl with a desire to understanding (My grandmother was interested in the Beats and had all these books), I seemed unable to afford Burroughs the same courtesy.

[@vudu8ball]

Some people deal with being alive by living in a cage of conformity. Others for one reason or another are compelled to step out of the cage and explore life, the exstasy and the agony of it. Only these people can know what Life is.

[@willdrewing4049]

It's hard to read the ramblings of a mad man, but if you can, his Revised Boy Scout Manual is well worth it.

[@EugeneLorey]

I think you neglected to mention the incident where he cut his own finger off in a pique of unrequited love. Then there was his love of cats.

[@ReframedYT]

Lots I had to leave out for the sake of time, unfortunately!

[@theodoreconstantini2548]

Burroughs liked hard boiled detective fiction and you can see the influence of that genre on his novels Junky and Queer, very straight forward conventionally structured , linear and precise in their use of language, I think they are his best books though I haven't read everything he wrote.

[@berry541]

This was a really good focus on his work rather than his life. Nicely done.

[@nobo1982]

I believe walt whitman and Burroughs are probably the two most influential American authors that ever lived.

[@jayco9214]

It’s simple. Look at his ideas. If they make sense and add up then pay them mind. If not, don’t. People have this weird tendency to forget one can be right about things, wrong about others, and sometimes neither.

[@JebidiahStillkrackingagain]

Never read any of his works, and I'm not too familiar with his life in general, but I have heard his named dropped quite often over the years, or seen it in print in articles about him. I have read Kerouac, (On The Road and Dharma Bums), and I know he and Kerouac were close....And have admired others who have admired or have been influenced by him, but he does represent, to me, a "chaos" I can only look at from a safe distance--which I have mixed feelings about: On the one hand I feel quite inadequate at the "safe" and "boring" and "orderly" life of "conformity" I lead and basically HAVE led, but on the other hand I DO tend to like my "safety". Interesting video none the less.😶

[@tvav69]

You should definitely read Burroughs if yr interested in experimental writing or good normal writing. He was an artist through and through. He was a master at trying new techniques like the cut-up method. His work Is an amazing snapshot of the time in which they were written as well. Don’t let this video keep you from reading Burroughs!! 😂✌🏻🇺🇸

[@ReframedYT]

Absolutely! This video isn’t arguing we shouldn’t read him, it’s giving an overview for people to make their own judgement :)

[@electraruby]

He explored the dark rank disgusting parts of the human psyche. It's a tough job but someone has to do it! I tried a bit but realised it was not for me.

[@BeesWaxMinder]

Thank you for your intellectual honesty (rare thing these days…!) 😉

[@electraruby]

@@BeesWaxMinder Thanks! It was so hip to be into Burroughs when I was a young hippy, that admitting I wasn't inspired by him was a lesson in intellectual honesty-and also an exercise in critical thinking. Its those qualities that help me forge a clear path though the woke madness of these days!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

@@electraruby a m e n!! BTW I'm considered woke by the folks around me ?! I wonder if critical thinking is something that should be taught in schools because it's certainly not encouraged as a natural impulse🤷‍♂️ jus' my 2ç)

[@electraruby]

@@BeesWaxMinder Keep going!

[@milascave2]

@@BeesWaxMinder Yes it is.

[@ranhernan15]

I’d really love to see a Anne Sexton video from you.

[@ReframedYT]

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll add her to the list...

[@BSqwerty]

People always seem to want to ascribe some sort of reason or underlying logic to Burroughs work, as if there was a deep philosophy or meaningful through line hiding in the shadows, to help tie the schizoid commotion together behind the scenes and give some sense to it. I figure Burroughs was just an addled fella with enough literary background to make it work, and finding himself in the beat scene among peers, thought to himself "well I suppose this is what we're doing, so I'll write". He was bound to get some attention by proxy, the whole beat thing had real cultural push. And so with a rather disintegrated mind he fell back on the mechanics and let whatever was cooking around in his fried subconscious spill out. It makes for interesting work in the sense that few writers have been able to hold it all together enough to produce full bodies of work while in such a state of derangement. But that said I think it's tempting to ascribe depths to his work that may not actually be there. The style lends itself to a sense of symbolic purpose due to it's absolute abundance of jarring and hyper-sensational imagery, but much like a B-List horror flick shocks the system yet doesn't necessarily represent anything of substance beneath the shimmery surface, I have my doubts about the sincerity of Burroughs writing. Sure, there's bound to be occasional social commentary that vaguely scratches at some instinctual, emotional state, but doesn't quite emerge to any semblance of clarity, just a kind of senseless groping towards an impression the writer himself can't quite make out. Of course, I could be wrong, I'm not a great scholar of his work, and for mere entertainment or pleasure, or for whatever reason one might come up with, I hold no qualms against fans of Burroughs, only I have my suspicion of the value of his work on my end, beyond the value that can be drawn from a myriad stream of wild imagery, which I suppose I am saying is, not much. Ah well, feel free to lmk what you think, if you see things differently or the same. Interested to hear.

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

Genius, he’s been there for me on multiple occasions in my life….some passages from naked lunch are just incredible, Junky is like a documentary, still utterly fascinating & totally believable

[@peggyjaeger9280]

He was an icon, not a meme.

[@milestackettmusic]

One of the best nuanced descriptions of Burroughs.

[@justaguy6100]

Read the book, saw the movie, saw the interview with Burroughs, they all affected me, though less the movie than the other two, honestly.

[@Johnmyork23]

I honestly don't know if I can read Butroughs, at length again, without breaking my sobriety and going back on the smack.

[@ronaldowens5025]

I have read most of his work, I think the most meaningful is his section in Chaos and Cyber culture. The man was telling the future.

[@Matt-y7l]

The video forgot to mention the huge influence Scientology had on Burrough's. The creation of the Cut-up Method and the notion of the word as a virus come from Hubbard.

[@ReframedYT]

There was so much stuff I had to leave out unfortunately! But the guy sure was eccentric…

[@Yeldineyintun]

He died still on methadone in his 90s. Not the kinda life you wanna emulate. But I love his work

[@dbwatchet7292]

Naked Lunch was in my h.s. library. Read it during friday detention.

[@NorthernCalisFinest]

I recognized him from the film Drugstore Cowboy 🎥 💉 😴

[@zackpumpkinhead8882]

Funnily enough there are TWO whole musical albums based around Burroughs' work. (That I know of) The first is by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and it's called "Spare Ass Annie and Other Stories" it's a hip hop album The other is by a smaller group, Dub Spencer and Trance Hill, simply titled "William Burroughs in Dub." It's a dub album. In fact, one of the tracks from Spare Ass Annie was featured on this big mixtape from 1987 called Smack My Crack that ALSO featured a song by the Butthole Surfers. (One of my favorite bands)

[@leeborocz-johnson1649]

"I can think of at least two things wrong with that title"

[@ReframedYT]

To each his own!

[@leeborocz-johnson1649]

​@@ReframedYTexcept for you---to me, yours.

[@ReframedYT]

I’ve only just got the reference… my bad

[@leeborocz-johnson1649]

@@ReframedYT 😂 Rated R

[@findingfreedom-definingtru4818]

Fascinating, thank you! The part about viral language seems to be quite prophetic. We see nowadays how the whole issue of 'disinformation'-censorship, is so much based in soundbites, that are repeated ad nauseam. So many people just rather repeat the soundbites than look beyond. Discernment seems to be a fading quality. On the other hand, the whole autobiographical part, his being a murderer, and maybe having molested his son, and all the debauchery in his books being basically taken out of his own life... In the post-metoo times, it's interesting to see that he is not victim of cancel culture. Seeing how thoroughly some celebrities are being cancelled on the basis of much less 'evil' than WSB's, can we allow ourselves to be grateful that his works are so readily available?

[@mr.pavone9719]

3:30 I'm gonna take him up on this. Time to cut up the audiobook into a bunch of chapters and give it a listen.

[@pattayaesl7128]

Read The Western Lands. Fantastic and still timely

[@MartynHudson-e6y]

Burroughs is a hero of the underground because he lived it ,so his Art was pure. I did read Naked Lunch would never have been written if it werren't for Ginsberg & Karawak coming in of a morning to gather burrough blood stained manuscript sheets from the previous night & arranging them to scan. The music projects Burroughs did in the early 90's are well worth a listen too.

[@teddyrobo1]

I know that wasn’t Andre 3000 in a photo montage of “the late 70s” Oh, it was? 😂

[@ReframedYT]

Yeah, crazy how much he looks like Stevie Wonder from 1974…

[@brucemcintosh8260]

Gradient Exposure Proffers Immunity.