And the beat goes on …

Sydney July 2015 (4 photos)

“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,
starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking
for an angry fix …”

So begins the 1955 poem Howl Part 1 by Irwin Allen Ginsberg, an American poet and one of the leading figures of both the “Beat Generation of the 1950s” and the counterculture that soon would follow. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism and sexual repression and was known as embodying various aspects of this counterculture, such as his views on drugs, hostility to bureaucracy and openness to Eastern religions.

In 1956, copies of Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” were seized by San Francisco police and US Customs. In 1957, the poem attracted widespread publicity when it became the subject of an obscenity trial, as it depicted heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when laws made homosexual acts a crime in every U.S. state. California State Superior Court Judge Clayton Horn determined that the poem was of “redeeming social importance”. He ruled that “Howl” was not obscene, adding, “Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms?”

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

“The Beat Goes On” was written by Sonny Bono and recorded by Sonny & Cher. It was issued as a single and appeared on their 1967 album In Case You’re In Love. Does the woman’s face in the above street art remind anyone else of Cher?

This was a mesmerising piece of street art I found in a small lane. I found myself staring into it.
A familiar hypnotic tune came into my head…

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

My head started spinning. I was being sucked into the artwork. I ran around the corner to get away from it. To no avail…

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

…

There’s nothing ordinary about this suburban street art. I wonder where the artists get their inspiration. On the other hand, it’s easy being a street photographer. Inspiration is all around. You just have to see it.

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da