Term Paper: Gonzo

The Spirit of Gonzo; The Spirit of Me
By David MacDonald
(read this paper with Bob Dylan or Jefferson Airplane blasting and an overflowing cup of any beverage of your choice sloshing around in your lap.)
         4/23/08, 11:30 PM-12:15 AM
         In preparing for the ordeal of writing my ten-page paper this year, I was surprisingly quick and efficient. The first order of business was to secure a topic; well, here's how it came about: I had just watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a movie based on the true events of a book by the same title, which was written by Hunter S. Thompson. Hunter Thompson was a very famous journalist, the reason being that he had invented an entirely new brand of writing called Gonzo Journalism. It was in perfect harmony with the rest of the Sixties; they were finding new ways to do everything; pure ways, and Hunter Thompson did his bit for journalism and for the Sixties. In fact, by the end of the decade, everyone was doing their best to try and drag the sixties out a bit longer; enjoy the ride one more time; just prolong the death rattle for a few more seconds, but it was not to be. Soon the seventies came and drugs were no longer the means to an end, but the end itself. But anyway, I was saying that I needed to fortify myself for this paper. I did so by listening to so much Bob Dylan, Elton John, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and others, that by the time I was ready to write, I was on a massive musical high. Hunter Thompson said that Gonzo Journalism is best read under the same circumstances as it was written, for reasons which I'll probably explain in a few paragraphs. Therefore, if you feel like being true to an old dead journalist's ultimate dream, pull out a cup practically overflowing with Ginger Ale, drink it deep, and while doing so, listen to these albums: Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan), Skeletons from the Closet (Grateful Dead) and Surrealistic Pillow (Jefferson Airplane). I would suggest that you throw in the Elton John songs Rocket Man and Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, and maybe the Foreigner song Jukebox Hero. But really, any song or album in that general branch of rock will probably fit the bill. Listen to this sort of music until it seems almost like you have all the music memorized. You should be on a massive musical high for at least fifteen minutes, which is plenty of time to read this whole paper if you've got a rush like that. Mind you, this is just a suggestion. Many people don't like the music that I like, and many people don't like Ginger Ale; come to think of it, many people probably don't like reading ten-page papers written by some fat kid with delusions of being a good writer. Maybe it's time to get down to it.
         What is Gonzo Journalism? Either you were asking yourself that question throughout the entire previous paragraph, you don't care, you already know, or you were smart enough to realize that you were being doused in the stuff with every word that you read. Well, to put it simply, Gonzo Journalism is writing (usually journalism) at its purest form to date. My meaning, if not clear, will soon be. Gonzo Journalism has no outline, preferably no notes, no revisions, only a pencil and the sheer throbbing brain of the one who's holding it. You write what you see; write what you hear; write what you feel. It's writing at its most basic in one respect, but at the same time at its most complicated in another. It requires the writer to use his brain immediately; to force results out of himself. See, most writers cope with the raw power behind simple words like "deluge" and "ecstatic" by taking all of the life out of English; pinning it up on outlines and in notes; formatting it until it's no longer a work of art, but just another Volkswagon Beetle on the conveyer belt; just a different color from the one in front of it. This is a bit of a sidetrack, but just a moment ago, Visions of Johanna started playing. That song is great for inspiration. The lyrics don't make sense, but every now and then, you catch a specific lyric, you're suddenly struck in the eye with a blinding realization. Anyway, now you should see why it's best to read a piece of Gonzo Journalism under the same circumstances in which it was written: if he was doing his job correctly, that writer should have been really writing what was not only around him, but inside him, and so it's an interesting experience to emulate the same circumstances.
         An interesting thing is that I first discovered Gonzo Journalism, not by reading some, but by watching a movie based on a book written in that style. Needless to say, I got my hands on the books as soon as I could. In it, Hunter Thompson goes to Las Vegas with his lawyer to cover a motorcycle race at the Mint 400. On the way, he gets locked mentally in a journey to the heart of the American Dream; money? Respect? A night on the town with a pocketful of the Good and Faithful, and maybe some greenbacks reserved for the casino? Read his book and find out. That's right; you read me right. I'm using my ten-page paper for 11th grade as a cheap advertisement for a book by a dead person who most of the people reading this paper would hate. A though just struck me; Gonzo Journalism is kind of like free-style rapping. You know, no notes, no set lyrics, just a brain and a backbeat.
         I shamefully admit that for this paper, I did actually jot down a few notes. Still, I don't suppose that it's actually against Gonzo Journalism. I had some good ideas and I wrote them down. Now it's Stuck Inside a Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again playing. I hate to read like a broken record, but that song was mentioned a lot in Fear and Loathing.
         But what am I doing here? I'm idling away the pages chatting about this and that when I really should be explaining more like Gonzo Journalism. All right, be calm, relax. Launch into seriousness. Ignore this wonderfully musical feeling swelling up inside you. Here we go.
         Man. That didn't work. I'll look at my notes again. You know, it's really a miracle that Gonzo Journalism even exists. There had to be exactly the right person under exactly the right circumstances for it to come into being. I've often though that this type of journalism most accurately mirrors the vibrations of the Nineteen-Sixties. But even more than the rest of the Sixties, I believe that 1967 really produced Gonzo Journalism, or at least confirmed it. Thompson joined in with the San Fransisco Acid Wave, and if it weren't for that, he might have sobered up, gone home, and written more Volkswagon Beetles. Ah, 1967... The Summer of Love. The arrival of many huge names onto the musical scene forever more. We were finding new ways to do everything. New music; new art; new writing. It was a time when we as America were closer to being a single body than ever before or after. Wherever you went, you could find people who were just as crazy as you, who knew what you were doing and liked it, whatever "it" was, because for a few years in American history, people were willing to admit insanity. Everyone's insane, it's just a question of stubbornness. We were at one with each other because we had learned to simplify. We took art and music to their most basic forms in the Sixties, and so did Hunter Thompson take writing to its base.
         Woah... Wait. Electrasy just came on. A fantastic British band with two albums out. No one's ever heard of them, but they're good. Really good. Beautifully insane. Makes me feel like a freak inside. It's taking me higher on this musical thrill which I've always had inside me, sometimes silent, sometimes more vibrant than a tropical jungle. Anyway, back to Gonzo.
         4/24.08 8:57 AM-10:29 AM
         Well, now you know all about what Gonzo Journalism is, and how it got started, and who started it, but what's it's real use? Is it any more practical than other kinds of writing, or even other kinds of journalism? Is it better, when reporting true events, to be objective or subjective? Hunter Thompson once said something like this: If someone were to make a pure Gonzo Piece, he would have to grow his own trees, turn them into paper by himself, make his own pen, and write only about his own experiences. It's the ultimate creative power of one mind alone. Anything foreign dilutes the Gonzoism of the writing, but it's almost impossible to create a work of pure Gonzo. It's never been done before, and I doubt if it will ever be done in the future. Think of how the first Greeks started thinking a little too philosophically about the way the Earth is made. They didn't really have anything to go on, they were just speculating on the new kinds of science. Gonzo Journalism is a new science too, and as yet, all we can do is our best, which isn't really much. But what is Gonzo Journalism good for? Well, for one thing, it's better for the writer. When explaining the basics to my brother, Andrew, I recall saying: "It's like writing, but it's fun." This statement may seem like a little exaggeration. You may be thinking to yourself: "But I know for a fact that there are other kinds of writing that are fun!" Well, I admit, I have enjoyed myself when writing in other styles. And I've done them all. I've written everything from thrilling narratives vibrating with life, to dull grey essays about the intricacies of snow. I've written psychedelic stories about pointless journeys with no real end; I've written cool, relaxed narratives in "jazz speaks" about going and seeing a jazz ballet. And so on. Of all these different forms of writing, I find Gonzo Journalism the most refreshing, and most satisfying.
         Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love just came on. Soon it'll be White Rabbit. There's another example of the fantastic effect that the Summer of Love had on mankind. Another situation of the exact people under the perfect circumstances.
         There's an application on Facebook called "Hunter S. Thompson Quotes." When I first learned about this, I immediately added it. It randomly chooses quotes from Hunter S. Thompson's writings and puts them in a little box on my profile. The first one was from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and I didn't keep it up because I thought I might be mistaken for like a junkie or something, so I clicked "get new quote." The second quote was this: "I have stolen more quotes and thoughts and purely elegant little starbursts of writing from the Book of Revelation than anything else in the English language - and it is not because I am a biblical scholar, or because of any religious faith, but because I love the wild power of the language and the purity of the madness that governs it and makes it music." I think that it makes an interesting pattern. The book of Revelation is divinely inspired by God, and Hunter S. Thompson is non-divinely inspired by the book of Revelation. And now here I am, inspired by the works of Hunter S. Thompson. Suffice it to say, the way which Revelation effected Thompson is the way Thompson effects me.
         Now Elton John's playing. First it was Honky Cat. Now it's Rocket man, and soon it's going to be Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. Elton John is great for inspiration. His music combined with Bernie Taupin's lyrics somehow urge me on to greater heights. And that's pretty cool, since it's Rocket Man playing right now. People who know the song know what I'm talking about. And now it's on Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.
         I said at some point that it's almost impossible to write pure Gonzo, or play pure Gonzo, or draw pure Gonzo. Here's a reason. The reason is that Gonzo Journalism is inherently subject to and set against influence from outside the writer's mind, and that's because the writer's mind is influenced by outside things. If you're a Gonzo Journalist who listens to a lot of Pink Floyd, you'll probably end up writing a lot about insanity and the balance between it and sanity.
         Time to tone things down a bit on the musical level. I just put on Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Arguably the best jazz album in existence. The arrangements of Miles, the scales of Coltrane, and the tones of Cannonball all together in a beautifully instrumental package, scoffed at by respected critics and called, "slow and sluggish." That's why it's time for the un-respectable people to take over. Yes, I said "un-respectable." The definition of a rebel is "someone who wears black."
         One trouble which I've had with Gonzo Journalism is that it's very difficult, when you hit on an idea, to achieve instant eloquence. It's a skill which the human race no longer has, and it takes constant alertness and practice. An example is when I was sitting in Geometry class, taking a test. I was nearly done with a problem, when an idea suddenly popped into my mind. It was fairly eloquent, I'm proud to inform you, but not everything I write is like this. "Every second, our personalities grow more and more defined; little by little, the force us subtly and slowly to our inevitable end, whatever that may be. Infinite possibilities become less and less infinite until one day, we find no possibilities at all; only one harsh and weary fact." I later took this small paragraph and drew a picture of a guy saying it, but it was a flop.
         Now I've changed it to Led Zeppelin's first album. I've found that I always come away from Led Zeppelin feeling like a rock star. It's one of the best musical highs you can get.
         Gonzo Journalism can be, given the proper mind to execute it, the most philosophical form of writing, because it's the only form in which the writer can really be certain that what he's writing is true when he's talking about emotions and things like that; he's talking about his own emotions. And if you think about anything like emotions, you can have all sorts of mental discussions with yourself about it. I explored Gonzo Journalism first in a really long and extremely trippy story about me going on a walk to the Mount Washington Hotel for... various reasons. I don't know if I ever really reached it or not; I haven't finished the story. But my exploration of Gonzo Journalism was this: write a fictional story, but accompanied with my real thoughts, emotions and music. Speaking of music, I believe that it was Hunter Thompson who said that music was one of the two greatest mental stimulants, especially for a creative mind. You Shook Me is on. But this is why Gonzo Journalism is practical. It's a philosopher's writing tool. When I say philosopher, I don't mean the snobs who sit on coffee-houses drink Chai Tea and talking like- no, I'd better not get too far off topic. I wrote an essay about that sort of person earlier in the year. Suffice it to say, there's nothing I hate more than an "artiste."
         I've been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true. I wanted a woman; never bargained for you. Lots of people talking, but few of them know, the soul of a woman was created below. Every day I work so hard, bringing home my hard earned pay. I try to love you, baby, but you push me away. (Sorry to all you women out, there, but I had to write that down; the song started playing, and I couldn't resist.) And here's Your Time is Gonna Come.
         12:30 PM
         It absolutely essential, when writing in Gonzo, to listen to the appropriate music. If trying to write a bright and uplifting piece on the phantasmagorical beauty of a freshly fallen Autumn day, then it would probably be a poor idea to be listening to Sigur Ros or Pink Floyd. If you're writing a deep, introspective piece on the absolute depravity of mankind, then don't be listening to the Beach Boys or "Yummy yummy yummy, I got love in my tummy, and I feel like loving you." However, it imperative under most circumstances for the writer to have some sort of inspiration, and music is probably your best bet. In writing my stuff, I usually find myself listening to either the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, the later Beatles, etc.), or the "age of cool" rockstar music from the 70's (Led Zeppelin, Boston, etc.). Sometimes I throw in the seventies throwbacks from the nineties, like Foreigner. But in the end, a real Gonzo journalist can use all of this music and outside influence for whatever his purposes are, as long as the outcome is his own. Originality is paramount. I know it's probably not an original idea to write a mid-term about Gonzo Journalism, but it's a fresh idea to me, and so still original in a twisted sense of the word. Of course, these day, everything is twisted. The unworthy are given money for nothing, the famous are frowned upon, and the heros can't stop complaining. I eagerly await the dawn of a revolutionary new musical age, hearkening back to the sixties, or hearkening forward to a time as yet unknown.
         It started out as Gonzo Journalism, but now, though very little used or known by the general public, it's Gonzo art. I have often tried my hand at Gonzo drawing, which is so new and so little used that it doesn't really have a definition yet, but I'm sure that if you understood the rest of this paper, the basic concept must be pretty clear, but one of my writing teachers once told me that it's bad to assume that your audience knows anything at all, and to start from scratch. But this was the same teacher who ripped apart every paper I ever turned in, while not actually mentioning the content or subject of any of them. That class spent two years trying to crush my creativity out of me. But without creativity, I would be an empty shell of a man, and anyone who's ever seen me know that I'm not empty.
         4/28/07, 11:24 A.M. (Be listening to Kind of Blue)
         So, as a recap, I guess. I think throughout this paper I probably got off topic enough and was in enough of a disorganized haze that it might have been somewhat difficult to really get at the nub of my gist, to borrow a phrase. Therefore, I will... no... Alright. I'll just say what I've been trying to this entire time, but it'll be easier to find because it will be all condensed from ten pages into one pygmy paragraph. So here goes.
         Gonzo art is the artistic ability of one and only one mind. Gonzo journalism narrows this down further still, taking the mind and applying it only to writing. Pure Gonzo is an almost unfathomable idea, and one which has not been accomplished even by father Gonzo himself, Hunter S. Thompson. Sure, others came along and tried to emulate Thompson; Tom Wolfe, Lester Bangs, this guy named Chris Dahlen... but no one has ever really done it. I don't expect to emulate him myself; I don't want to emulate him. Because throughout all these years of the history of mankind, only a handful of people have been adored by the masses for simply giving a poor rendition of what their predecessors had already accomplished. There's some saying that says something like "Amateurs steal small ideas indirectly from famous people; true masters steal directly." I can't say that I hold to that idea entirely. True, one of the best parts of Breathe from Dark Side of the Moon was stolen directly from Kind of Blue, and I do sometimes take quotes directly from Thompson and throw them into my writing with a slight twist of meaning, but every artist must contribute to the already filthy cesspool of art, poisoned over the years by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, among others. Dang it. I think I've deviated from the path again. But I guess that's the real joy of stream of consciousness writing, which is just a lesser form of Gonzo. One trouble is that, when writing the stuff, I can never tell when to change the paragraph. That might be a good thing; fits in with the sixties. Everything flows together. The world is giant river, always changing; you never find the exact same water in the exact same place; also, some ancient Greek philosopher said "You can't step in the same river twice." This hold true for the world as well. You come into the world, you live for a while, sometimes riding high and sometimes down low and kind of blue, and then you leave. You've only got one shot at life, and it's so easy to screw up... What was I talking about? Oh, right; how each artists contributes his own creativity. So I steal a little; we all do. I take something from Douglas Adams; something from P.G. Wodehouse; something from Thompson; something from Lester Bangs... In fact, my writing style changes drastically depending on who I'm reading at the time. I'm not always so philosophical when I write; I've just been reading a lot of Thompson. Anyway. I steal from all those and probably some who I haven't thought of yet, but none of that matters; the only thing that matters is that I add my original thoughts to the mix of other writers.
         Gonzo journalism all depends on who's writing it. You know, if a crazy person does Gonzo, they'll write crazy stuff, but if a boring person writes Gonzo, they'll write boring stuff. Maybe a better name for me to call Gonzo journalism would be "David Journalism." It's my art, from my mind alone. If Thompson or Wodehouse are on my mind, then I write them down, but it still comes from me alone. This is the essence of Gonzo.

Things used to help in the creation of this paper:
Books:
Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Movies:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Almost Famous
Sin City
Music:
Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde
Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
Elton John: Honky Chateau
Electrasy: Beautiful Insane, In Here We Fall
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
The Beatles: The White Album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin II
Ben Folds: Rockin' the Suburbs