Tuesday, December 24, 2002

Joe Strummer: RIP I was originally turned on to punk rock when I was in high school, seeing a movie about English punk, featuring the Clash and the Sex Pistols, at my hometown's only art cinema (Vanderbilt Univeristy's Saratt Auditorium). I went to see the movie with my best friend Tommy, who played bass in my first band, collaborated with me throughout my twenties, and is still one of my closest friends. We were so blown away by punk rock that we returned to the next showing with a tape recorder so we could capture those amazingly fresh sounds. (Finding fresh music in Nashville, Tennessee in the early eighties was very, very hard...) During the same period, I smoked for the first time with a girl who lent me her copy of Black Market Clash, listened to Combat Rock over and over on the way to a ski trip, and saw the Clash play at Vanderbilt's indoor auditorium. I still have pictures from that concert. At that point, they had become a bit of a caricature - big-time success did not suit them *at all* - but their music was still amazingly powerful, relevant, and melodic. Watching the TV coverage of his passing, I am still touched by the music he created, saddened by the loss of this life, and warmed by the positive effect his music had during my teenage years. - Joe Strummer Is Dead at 50; Political Rebel of Punk Era. Joe Strummer's raw voice and fervent songs for the Clash showed the punk generation that rebellion could be not just personal but also political. By Jon Pareles. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 6:33:16 AM    comment []

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