If you're a Hunter S. Thompson acolyte, you're in for a treat: PBS Digital Studios has released a 1967 interview with the father of gonzo-journalism on YouTube.
Conducted by celebrated author, broadcaster and Pulitzer Prize-winner Studs Terkel, the conversation with Thompson revolves around the subject of outlaws — more concisely, on his experiences with the infamous motorcycle gang the Hell's Angels. During the interview, Thompson recounts how he was "stomped" by the gang as an "un-Angel" as well as how the group was born out of postwar cultural and existential ennui.
Sprinkled throughout are thoroughly Thompson-esque gems, such as a stuttering description of the urge to really hack at someone with a karate chop, and sardonic, raw and honest quotables like, "I keep my mouth shut now. I've turned into a professional coward."
The interview is a part of a PBS Web series titled Blank on Blank, which animates interviews with famous artists and intellectuals, many of whom are now deceased. Each interview focuses on a particular topic or theme, from naturalistically concrete to the more abstract and enigmatic; examples cover "freaks," "beauty," "the sexes," "getting dirty" and "the experience" (that last one is courtesy of Jimi Hendrix — are you even surprised?).
Other installments in the series include conversations with actress Meryl Streep, musician/songwriter Elliott Smith, poet Maya Angelou, rapper Tupac Shakur and many, many more.
Check out the interview with Thompson below, and the rest of the series here. Don't forget to hold the mescaline, please.
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