Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard
One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Music From Kerouac’s Big Sur
By Jason Schneider

As part of the first generation of adults to benefit from the internet, I often have to remind myself that there was a time a lot of mysteries in my life I could only unravel on my own. Much of that attitude was instilled through reading Kerouac as teenager. His 1957 novel, On The Road, was essentially a guide for anyone contemplating self-discovery, as it beckoned readers to follow their desires wherever they may lead, and savour every experience. While that message continues to resonate, the question is whether it's still Kerouac's words getting that message across 40 years after his death. Ever since Bob Dylan took up Kerouac's challenge and embarked on his own journey, songwriters have echoed Jack's prose. Yet Son Volt's Farrar and Death Cab For Cutie's Gibbard allow Kerouac to speak for himself. One Fast Move was made in conjunction with the film of the same name, which explores the period when Kerouac lived in northern California while working on his 1962 novel, Big Sur. His decline into advanced alcoholism was already apparent, as evidenced by the dark, at times verging on hopeless, tone of his writing. Farrar and Gibbard, no strangers to pathos, easily adapt portions of the novel and its companion poem, "Sea," into a stark 12-song suite that sonically matches the sense of alienation Kerouac felt over seemingly having nowhere left to go. Moreover, the pair perform like seasoned travellers, each knowing they can't go on alone, but barely acknowledging each other's presence out of a need for self-preservation. Gibbard's breezy vocals on opening track "California Zephyr" gives every indication that Kerouac's dream remains alive, but by the time Farrar brings things to a shuddering halt with "San Francisco," what we hear is the lament of someone who's seen too much, drank too much and loved too much. One Fast is thus an important exploration of the side of Kerouac that many choose to ignore. In some ways, it's a side that's more in tune with contemporary society, at least with those of us who are likewise wondering where to go next. (Warner)
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Blessure Grave - Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six
Magnetic Fields / Laura Barrett
Hillside Inside Featuring Owen Pallett, Ani Di Franco, Basia Bulat, Bahamas, Hawksley Workman
The Golden Filter / LA Riots / Junior Boys
Hollerado - Record in a Bag
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
Watson Twins - Talking To You, Talking To Me
Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen / Love Bites / A Different Kind Of Tension
Sade - Soldier Of Love
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde
Steve Kaldestad - Blow-Up
Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here
Dawn Of Demise - A Force Unstoppable
Janine Stoll - Melancholia
Stygian - Fury Rising
Shining - VI — Klagopsalmer
The Kandidate - Until We Are Outnumbered
Troll - Neo-Satanic Supremacy
Meshuggah - Alive
Dark Fortress - Ylem
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Reckless Kelly - Somewhere In Time
Arsis - Starve For The Devil
DevilDriver / Suffocation / Thy Will Be Done / Goatwhore
Asobi Seksu
James Blackshaw / Gary Higgins
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Light This City - The Hero Cycle
Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
Georgia Anne Muldrow - King’s Ballad
Droids Attack - Must Destroy
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Ellen Allien / Various - Watergate O5
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - Skepsis
Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows
Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool
Pawel - Pawel
Children Of Celebrities - Stereo Bang Bang
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
Guns N’ Roses
Julie Doiron / Attack in Black
Tegan and Sara / An Horse
Nouvelle Vague
Arch Enemy / Exodus
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Magnetic Fields - Realism
Strong Arm Steady - In Search of Stoney Jackson
Harvey Milk - Harvey Milk
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own
Ihsahn - After
Living Sacrifice - The Infinite Order
Ihsahn - After
Steve Earle / Joel Plaskett
Scuba / Various - Sub:Stance
Make Me Young - Make Me Young
Taking Dawn - Time To Burn
Postdata - Postdata
Woodhands - Remorsecapade
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Beach House - Teen Dream
Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
Various - Born Again Funk
Wetdog - Frauhaus!
Coolzey - The Honey
Rel!G!Ion - Revelations 1
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Chicago Underground Duo - Boca Negra
Cars & Trains - The Roots, the Leaves
Morton Feldman / Milton Babbitt / Phoenix Ensemble - Clarinet Quintets
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