Hear Yo La Tengo, Andrew Bird, Thurston Moore & Lee Ranaldo, & More Musically Interpret Allen Ginsberg

Hear Yo La Tengo, Andrew Bird, Thurston Moore & Lee Ranaldo, & More Musically Interpret Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg’s classic poetry collection The Fall Of America: Poems Of These States 1965-1971 turns 50 this year, or at least the stop-date of all those poems coincides with a 50th anniversary celebration — the book itself was published in 1973. To commemorate Ginsberg an dhis legacy, a bunch of musicians recorded a tribute album setting those poems to music.

Contributors include Yo La Tengo (“Bayonne Entering NYC”), Andrew Bird (“Easter Sunday”), Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (“Hum Bom!”), Angelique Kidjo (“Ayers Rock/Uluru Song”), Devendra Banhart (Milarepa Taste”), and more.

The album is dedicated to Hal Willner, who produced Ginsberg’s own poems-set-to-music album in 1989, The Lion For Real. Willner, Saturday Night Live‘s longtime music producer, passed away last year from complications due to COVID-19.

Proceeds from the album sale will be donated to Head Count. You can listen to it below.

Allen Ginsberg’s The Fall of America: A 50th Anniversary Musical Tribute is out now.

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