After suffering through The Runaways this week, this new collection from Girl Skateboards resonates for some reason. Although the movie was god awful, it did make me remember how much I dug Joan Jett, Blondie, Patti Smith, etc. back in the day. So when Girl released their new line today, dedicated to female rock icons, I just had to tip my hat. In addition to the previously mentioned 3 rockers, the decks feature Stevie Nicks, Grace Slick and Chrissie Hynde, all shown at the zenith of their respective success. The new pro models are for Guy Mariano, Eric Koston, Alex Olson, Brian Anderson, Mikemo Capaldi and Shawn Malto.

October 21st was the 40th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s death. Few did it like that man…he was a hero and about as real as you can get. As we posted last month, Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt) got together and recorded the album One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur in a nod to his greatness. The album features 12 original songs with lyrics based on the prose of Jack Kerouac’s landmark 1962 novel Big Sur. Essential reading for sure. It’s all about Jack’s emotionally and spiritually crazy ass life—specifically while he escaped to a cabin in Big Sur to confront his inner demons and find a modicum of peace by the sea. That small stretch of coast in the middle of California is one of the best escapes from the modern way of life our state has to offer. Kerouac wasn’t the only artistic type convinced of that. Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson and Robinson Jeffers had a few words to say about that place too. There’s also a feature-length documentary of the same title directed by Curt Worden and produced by Gloria Bailen and Jim Sampas of Kerouac Films. The film includes appearances by writers, poets, actors and musicians including Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Sam Shepard—plus Gibbard and Farrar also both appear in the film. The album and documentary were released a few different ways: as a standalone CD, as a CD/DVD combo or a limited edition boxed set packaged with Kerouac’s Big Sur novel, a 40-page book on the documentary and the CD/DVD. The album will additionally be released on vinyl.

If One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur is your kinda thing, we’ve got a little treat for you. A free copy of the album and documentary is up for grabs. And a 3-pack of the durable little memo pads above from Field Notes, plus 2 Field Notes pencils, 2 pens, 2 buttons and 2 Field Notes rubber bands to keep it all secure. Nice.

All you’ve gotta do to score the goods is send us an email with “Field Notes” as the subject line and a few sentences about yourself and we’ll select a few of you folks at random. Something really interesting about yourself wouldn’t hurt your chances either. If you win be prepared to share the “about you” words with the world…or at least the sliver that reads Lost In A Supermarket.

Here’s a video of Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar playing “Big Sur” live in a studio

A moment of silence for a true demigod—today marks the 40th anniversary of Kerouac’s death. This man is a rockstar in our eyes—a hero really. As a celebration to one of the greatest writers of all time, Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie have composed 12 original songs in the form of, One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur. The lyrics to this new album are based on the prose of Jack Kerouac’s landmark 1962 novel “Big Sur”. There’s also a feature-length documentary of the same title featuring appearances by writers, poets, actors and musicians including, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Sam Shepard. Gibbard and Farrar also both appear in the film.

The way it all came together is pretty dope. Gibbard and Farrar, having never previously met, discovered a mutual kinship in their passion for Kerouac’s work while recording several songs for the documentary, which was produced by Kerouac Films.

After the initial San Francisco recording session in July 2007, they decided to develop the project further to create an album using Kerouac’s own words from the book as the lyrics. If you haven’t read the tale, “Big Sur” is an evocative account of a time in Jack’s life when he’d “come undone,” both emotionally and spiritually.  He escapes to a cabin in Big Sur to confront his inner demons and find a modicum of peace by the sea.

Here’s a few fun facts: Gibbard stayed in the original cabin Kerouac wrote about, to compose songs for his band’s 2008 Grammy-nominated album, Narrow Stairs. And, for many years, Jay Farrar’s songwriting has been inspired and influenced by Kerouac’s compositional style.

The release is available as a stand alone CD, a CD/DVD package, a limited edition boxed set packaged with the novel, a 40-page book on the documentary and the CD/DVD.  The album will additionally be released on vinyl. Pick it all up here.

If you’ve been to any of All Tomorrow’s Parties you know it’s a top shelf event. If you haven’t had the pleasure, you’ve probably heard a good tale or two from friends. If you’re in town for the Los Angeles Film Festival there’s a screening of All Tomorrow’s Parties on June 24th at the Ford Amphitheatre. The film is a serious DIY production—it’s made from Super8, camcorder and mobile phone footage contributed by over two hundred filmmakers, fans and musicians over the festival’s recent history, with key contributions from co-director Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation) and cinematographer Vincent Moon (The Take Away Shows, Arcade Fire). The film features performances from an eclectic mix of peeps: Belle And Sebastian, Grizzly Bear, Sonic Youth, Battles, Portishead, Daniel Johnston, Grinderman, David Cross, Animal Collective, The Boredoms, Les Savy Fav, Mogwai, Octopus Project, Slint, The Dirty Three, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Gossip, GZA, Seasick Steve, Iggy and the Stooges, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Fuck Buttons, P Hinson, Two Gallants, Akron, Family, Jah Shaka, Saul Williams, Shellac, Patti Smith and John Cooper Clark.

Some argue that it’s one of the most important music events in the world. Considering that I haven’t been to every event in the world, I can’t attest to the lofty statement. But I do really like the fact that each festival chooses a particular band/artist as the weekend’s maestro and lets them round up their favorite artists who then perform over a weekend. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore described the festival best: “ultimate mix tape”. Then there’s the fact that it’s free of corporate sponsorship.

Anyway…All Tomorrow’s Parties will have a multi-platform release on September 23rd with one night only theatrical events, a DVD release and digital download available through Warp Films (in the same family as Warp Records, btw). Get more details here.

Warp Films presents: All Tomorrow’s Parties