Road Movies [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

Lee Ranaldo (Author), Leah Singer (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2004

Reminiscent of Kerouac and Bukowski, this collection of poetry by Lee Ranaldo, guitarist of seminal punk band Sonic Youth, mirrors the dark, emotive beauty of the band's wall-of-noise style. The poems were inspired by time spent on the road and are infused with the strange clarity of travel; they have the same surreal, cinematic quality of landscapes viewed through the windows of a rapidly moving vehicle. Grainy photographs of roadside scenes contribute to the overall mood of restless freedom. This tenth anniversary edition contains 50 percent new material.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press; 10th anniversary edition (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932360735
• ISBN-13: 978-1932360738
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,876,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ranaldo is a better musician than poet., May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Road Movies (Soft Skull Press) (Paperback)

I bought Road Movies at a spoken word performance by Lee Ranaldo and Jim Carrol at the Landsdowne Street Playhouse in Boston, MA. In performance, Ranaldo's Road Movies comes alive. The Sonic Youth guitarist played to a pre-recorded tape of guitar affects, while playing live guitar and reciting his poems. Leah Singer, Ronaldo's wife, was on hand to project her dusty-rural road scenes as a backdrop and accompanyment. The performance was truly animated and exciting. But on paper Ranaldo's words and Singer's photographs come across rather blandly. I don't regret the purchase and I do refer to the book from time to time, but for someone who is not a Sonic Youth fan (or a fan of Ranaldo's solo works, for that matter), I'm afraid I wouldn't recomend Road Movies. Many of the poems featured in Road Movies can also be found in alternate versions on Ranaldo's various recordings with jazz drummer William Hooker.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars how different from the sea is the boat, June 1, 2000

By 

Funkmeister G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Movies (Soft Skull Press) (Paperback)

This book is small but its contents are Big. On records like Evol & Daydream Nation, Lee would spew forth words "@ breakneck speed, every bolt rumbling", things from real life & beyond whilst the band cranked it up perfectly. On paper it seems different but it helps to read it out aloud yrself. Of course a large part of this has been recorded for a record called Dirty Windows that came out last year, but still it is good to have in this form. In the Kingdom #19 is longer than the song itself was, & you find out what it is about, how THE CAR & DRIVER take over everything in certain moments of raw power & the landscape of rural or urban America. A lustful side of his personality is revealed in New Condo, Me & Jill [appeared on Ciccone Youth: the Whitey Album many years ago] & Angels. Some of the poems are contemplative, others are violent & passionate. Sonic Youth fans [i.e. anyone w/ 1/2 a brain] should enjoy this on some level, maybe fans of modern poetry will too. LEE IS FREE!