The Outsiders: Hunter S. Thompson, Lou Reed & Frank Zappa @BlankonblankOrg

Uploaded June 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

This trio of merry pranksters didn't give a shit what anybody thought. Or did they? Here's Lou Reed, Frank Zappa and Hunter S. Thompson from a collection of lost interviews that we uncovered in the archives. These recordings were made between 1967 and 1987 thanks to Joe Smith, Howard Smith, and Studs Terkel.

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCER David Gerlach
ANIMATOR/DIRECTOR Pat Smith
AUDIO PRODUCER Amy Drozdowska
COLORIST Jennifer Yoo

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The Outsiders: Hunter S. Thompson, Lou Reed & Frank Zappa

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$Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws “I keep my mouth shut now. I’ve turned into a professional coward.” - Hunter S. Thompson in 1967 As told to Studs Terkel (http://studsterkel.org) Hear more from this rare interview: http://blankonblank.org/hunter-thompson In the 1960s, Hunter S. Thompson spent more than a year living and drinking with members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club, riding up and down the California coast. What he saw alongside this group of renegades on Harleys, these hairy outlaws who rampaged and faced charges of attempted murder, assault and battery, and destruction of property along the way all of this became the heart of Thompson’s first book: Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. Shortly after the book came out, Thompson sat down for a radio interview with the one and only Studs Terkel. CHOICE QUOTES “I cant remember ever winning a fight.” I used to take it out at night on the Coast Highway, just drunk out of my mind, ride it for 20 and 30 miles in just short pants and a t-shirt. Its a beautiful feeling.” “ I tried to keep my eyes on him because I didnt want to have my skull fractured.” “They want to get back at the people who put them in this terrible, this dead end, tunnel.” “ The people who are most affected by this technological obsolescence are the ones least capable of understanding the reason for it, so the venom builds up much quicker. It feeds on their ignorance.” Get more on Thompson and the Hell’s Angels, gonzo journalism, the full, unedited interview and GIFs from the episode: http://blankonblank.org/hunter-thompson Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (its free): http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonblank Executive Producer: David Gerlach Animator: Patrick Smith Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska Music You Heard via APM @0:10 “Come and Get It” Wayne Murray, Paul Rawson @1:50 “Four By Nine (Bed Version)” Brad Lindsay, David Cowan, Drew Allsbrook @ 3:00 “Another Man’s Treasure” Steven M. Stern, Matt Naylor @ 4:25 “Unfiltered” Wayne Murray, Paul Rawson https://search.apmmusic.com/ More Blank on Blank episodes: http://blankonblank.org/pbs BB King on The Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v tIphqWYu_s Elliott Smith on Freaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAP3sYaaBv4 Robin Williams on Masks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHGmIAv4Dc Wayne Coyne on Living with Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJXU7f0hI30 Maya Angelou on Con Men https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VybIJEA41yk Bette Davis on The Sexes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNnTUyrxzWY Michael Jackson on Godliness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCa3Po7M_8 Jimi Hendrix on The Experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK2lfs_uiwk Meryl Streep on Beauty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG_T5dwnJuM Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8rjkPyYM David Bowie on Stardust http://youtu.be/lFIDXXDsxAo Gene Wilder on The Truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUW2POEjX4 John Lennon on Love http://youtu.be/DmvmnYEy9NY Johnny Cash on The Gospel http://youtu.be/ALGi0tcFCcw Heath Ledger on Role Playing http://youtu.be/qDRUzbAa6lI Tupac on Life and Death http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws Kurt Cobain on Identity http://youtu.be/C1Z2BkZaOQc Janis Joplin on Rejection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ$

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The Outsiders: Hunter S. Thompson, Lou Reed & Frank Zappa