People like Kurt Cobain

"The “Priest” They Called Him" is a collaboration between the American novelist William S. Burroughs and musician Kurt Cobain. On the piece, Cobain provides noisy, discordant guitar backing based on "Silent Night" and "To Anacreon in Heaven" to Burroughs' deadpan reading. Originally released as a limited edition 10-inch picture disc on Tim/Kerr Records in 1993, it was subsequently re-released on CD and 10-inch vinyl.

Kurt Cobain was first exposed to the work of beat poet William S. Burroughs while a senior in high school, and Burroughs' writing became an influence on his songwriting. In 1992 Cobain contacted Burroughs about possible doing a collaboration. Burroughs responded by sending him a recording of "The Junky's Christmas" (which he recorded in his studio in Lawrence Kansas). Two months later in a studio in Seattle, Cobain added guitar backing based on "Silent Night" and "To Anacreon in Heaven". The two would meet shortly later in Lawrence, Kansas and produce "The “Priest” They Called Him", which is a spoken word version of "The Junky's Christmas".