Joe Strummer: a sort of obituary
Created | Updated Jul 31, 2003
Usually I try to sleep at night. For a long period in my life I simply assumed that I was a night person or that most of my ventures were set appointments in the evening hours. However, it became clear to me maybe a year ago that in fact I was simply an insomniac who scheduled his activities as such.
Even as such, I usually am not awake at six in the morning, on account of my narcoleptic girlfriend. The arrangement works better then you would think at first mention; I pull her through ten-thirty and she pushes me from seeing the sunrise, a happy medium that seems to help us function in society. But having been locked in a room with her for 72 hours through circumstances to complex to mention here, we retired to seperate residences and sleep cycles last night.
This was lucky for me(In a sense), for I figure I was one of the first state-side Joe Strummer fans to hear of his untimely death. It had been an emotional night of terrible network versions of films never meant to exist seperately from crude obsenities and violence. This and some tacked on internet porn had run my insomnia ragged and it seemed likely that I would soon retire for the day-night-thingy. In my final scanning of the air waves there it was, a newscaster completely unaware of what was being fed to him, more so even then usual, telling me that Joe Strummer, frontman of the British punk band The Clash, had passed away.
After some REALLY late calls I retired and tried to put the incident out of my mind, or at least file it comfortably to one side. When I awoke I found it, surpisingly, three in the afternoon and found, similarly, my disheveled self hurrying to work.
If there were a competition for most unbearable job, telemarketer would definitely hold it's weight through to the finals against such vocations as mime and arbiter. (though I admit my knowledge of the latter is slighter then most things I could imagine. Actually it's an interesting side bar for now as that word came to me I realized there are few things I've ever experienced that I could name so easily and yet not have the slightest clue as to what it is. But we will put this aside aside as I DO realize I started a paranthetical statement some sentences ago and I don't want to be like Immanuel Kant in the slightest.) Making the idea of telemarketing worse is my own hatred for phone conversations, and for the smell of pattchoulli which for some reason or another envelopes the entirety of my work area. So A little friendly conversation is always welcome.
It was possibly entire seconds before Strummer became the topic, to which one co-worker asked "who is that?"
"Of The Clash" I replied helpfully, to jog her memory.
"who's that"
"Of The Clash" I repeated for her again, thinking she didn't hear me.
"I have no idea who that is."
STOP. This is absurd, I thought that maybe I was moved by the moment until I actually saw this conversation in the moment and, no, I am entirely correct in saying what sort of blinding plague like idiocy blankets this society.
Who are The Clash? To think someone has no knowledge of "Rock the Cashbah", "Should I Stay or Should I go" or "London Calling". For God's sake, Rolling Stone even called it the greatest album of the 80's, which is impressive on two fronts, the first being that Rolling Stone doesn't make it a habit to know it's ass from Cleveland at any given time and the second being that the disc was released in 79', which is NOT even in the 80's for those of you who come from public schools like myself.
The more I thought and tried to argue reason to the girl the more I realized that without Joe Strummer you wouldn't have... well, the present. Quite simply and matter-o-factly speaking,(and keep in mind I'm trying to avoid abstraction here) Almost every single rock and roll, punk, ska, reggae or pretty much any other kind of music band since about 1981, can have it's birth or evolution traced back to The Clash in some way or another.
Especially looking at both popular and indy music today, you can see Joe everywhere. The Strokes, White Stripes, Radiohead, U2, REM, The Hives, Travis, Super Furry Animals, Antiflag, and well, for God's sake anything with some bite to it and much more.
Beyond his impact on modern music, The Clash and The Mescaleros have given us some unbelieveable tunes in unto themselves. A flair for both the catchy and the awkward, the music resonated in a way both harmonious and grating to the soul. People will say that the music isn't that advanced in one sense or another: but the truth is anything that was simple was either on purpose or simply beyond your or, or often I feel, my, understanding. Lyrically he belongs with Brecht, Frost, Bernstein and Mike Doughty to name a few.
I am a liberal, more a leftist come to think of it as I don't feel the term "liberal" carries quite enough gravity for my opinions, and as that Joe Strummer is an amazing source of information and motivation. Many politcal rock bands have existed, most following The Clashes influence, but I would argue that none have ever succeeded as The Clash did, aside possibly for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Ohio". But we're talking about Freeing Tibet here and ending Apparteid<sic>.
This is becoming one long, rambling, incognisent piece, mostly due to fatigue and lack of planning. But despite my own incompetance as a writer, I hope that you can nod at me when I say Joe Strummer is not a bad person to hold as a hero. I never met or even saw the man in person and I will likely hold that against myself for quite a while, But everything I have ever heard from his mates, family and press indicates that he was as stunning a fellow as he always appeared to me in music and on video.
Truely we have lost a friendly, loving, selfless and entertaining visionary who's compassion showed through clearly in his biting and angry social commentary. Please, add your thoughts as you will. Let me lastly say that In the light of what will be your release for Nelson Mandela with Bono, the third Mescaleros album and The Clashes induction to the rock and roll hall of fame, you has acheived what very few people have ever acheived; Music that has touched millions, effected nations and changed it's own medium, more friends and fans then few but you could deserve, and a beautiful family; and while I can not promise what you asked in "yalla yalla" that we shall have liberty in your children's time, if we do, your life will be half a dozen reasons why it exists.
Even as such, I usually am not awake at six in the morning, on account of my narcoleptic girlfriend. The arrangement works better then you would think at first mention; I pull her through ten-thirty and she pushes me from seeing the sunrise, a happy medium that seems to help us function in society. But having been locked in a room with her for 72 hours through circumstances to complex to mention here, we retired to seperate residences and sleep cycles last night.
This was lucky for me(In a sense), for I figure I was one of the first state-side Joe Strummer fans to hear of his untimely death. It had been an emotional night of terrible network versions of films never meant to exist seperately from crude obsenities and violence. This and some tacked on internet porn had run my insomnia ragged and it seemed likely that I would soon retire for the day-night-thingy. In my final scanning of the air waves there it was, a newscaster completely unaware of what was being fed to him, more so even then usual, telling me that Joe Strummer, frontman of the British punk band The Clash, had passed away.
After some REALLY late calls I retired and tried to put the incident out of my mind, or at least file it comfortably to one side. When I awoke I found it, surpisingly, three in the afternoon and found, similarly, my disheveled self hurrying to work.
If there were a competition for most unbearable job, telemarketer would definitely hold it's weight through to the finals against such vocations as mime and arbiter. (though I admit my knowledge of the latter is slighter then most things I could imagine. Actually it's an interesting side bar for now as that word came to me I realized there are few things I've ever experienced that I could name so easily and yet not have the slightest clue as to what it is. But we will put this aside aside as I DO realize I started a paranthetical statement some sentences ago and I don't want to be like Immanuel Kant in the slightest.) Making the idea of telemarketing worse is my own hatred for phone conversations, and for the smell of pattchoulli which for some reason or another envelopes the entirety of my work area. So A little friendly conversation is always welcome.
It was possibly entire seconds before Strummer became the topic, to which one co-worker asked "who is that?"
"Of The Clash" I replied helpfully, to jog her memory.
"who's that"
"Of The Clash" I repeated for her again, thinking she didn't hear me.
"I have no idea who that is."
STOP. This is absurd, I thought that maybe I was moved by the moment until I actually saw this conversation in the moment and, no, I am entirely correct in saying what sort of blinding plague like idiocy blankets this society.
Who are The Clash? To think someone has no knowledge of "Rock the Cashbah", "Should I Stay or Should I go" or "London Calling". For God's sake, Rolling Stone even called it the greatest album of the 80's, which is impressive on two fronts, the first being that Rolling Stone doesn't make it a habit to know it's ass from Cleveland at any given time and the second being that the disc was released in 79', which is NOT even in the 80's for those of you who come from public schools like myself.
The more I thought and tried to argue reason to the girl the more I realized that without Joe Strummer you wouldn't have... well, the present. Quite simply and matter-o-factly speaking,(and keep in mind I'm trying to avoid abstraction here) Almost every single rock and roll, punk, ska, reggae or pretty much any other kind of music band since about 1981, can have it's birth or evolution traced back to The Clash in some way or another.
Especially looking at both popular and indy music today, you can see Joe everywhere. The Strokes, White Stripes, Radiohead, U2, REM, The Hives, Travis, Super Furry Animals, Antiflag, and well, for God's sake anything with some bite to it and much more.
Beyond his impact on modern music, The Clash and The Mescaleros have given us some unbelieveable tunes in unto themselves. A flair for both the catchy and the awkward, the music resonated in a way both harmonious and grating to the soul. People will say that the music isn't that advanced in one sense or another: but the truth is anything that was simple was either on purpose or simply beyond your or, or often I feel, my, understanding. Lyrically he belongs with Brecht, Frost, Bernstein and Mike Doughty to name a few.
I am a liberal, more a leftist come to think of it as I don't feel the term "liberal" carries quite enough gravity for my opinions, and as that Joe Strummer is an amazing source of information and motivation. Many politcal rock bands have existed, most following The Clashes influence, but I would argue that none have ever succeeded as The Clash did, aside possibly for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Ohio". But we're talking about Freeing Tibet here and ending Apparteid<sic>.
This is becoming one long, rambling, incognisent piece, mostly due to fatigue and lack of planning. But despite my own incompetance as a writer, I hope that you can nod at me when I say Joe Strummer is not a bad person to hold as a hero. I never met or even saw the man in person and I will likely hold that against myself for quite a while, But everything I have ever heard from his mates, family and press indicates that he was as stunning a fellow as he always appeared to me in music and on video.
Truely we have lost a friendly, loving, selfless and entertaining visionary who's compassion showed through clearly in his biting and angry social commentary. Please, add your thoughts as you will. Let me lastly say that In the light of what will be your release for Nelson Mandela with Bono, the third Mescaleros album and The Clashes induction to the rock and roll hall of fame, you has acheived what very few people have ever acheived; Music that has touched millions, effected nations and changed it's own medium, more friends and fans then few but you could deserve, and a beautiful family; and while I can not promise what you asked in "yalla yalla" that we shall have liberty in your children's time, if we do, your life will be half a dozen reasons why it exists.
