On a slightly less somber note:
Yesterday and this morning, Suzan and I have been holding a little celebration in honor of Joe Strummer, the legendary singer and songwriter of the band The Clash who died on Sunday of a heart attack at his home in England. The Clash was Suzan’s favorite band, a piller of her youth in the Detroit punk rock scene. I was younger and less hip and only really knew the band from his early days on MTV, its more popular later album Combat Rock and Strummer’s film work as a soundtrack composer and actor.
Last night, we watched several retrospectives of punk rock on television, played all The Clash album we owned. I gave myself a quick education on some seminal punk artists by downloading songs from Bad Brains, the Dead Kennedys and Social Distortion. More will follow today.
“The Clash was the greatest rock band,” said Bono. “They wrote the rule book for U2.”
The Clash will be inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, a decision made earlier this fall.
Joe Strummer was 50. He left behind a wife, three children, his band The Mescaleros and inspired musicians and fans around the world. We will miss him (tip via Consolation Champs).
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4 Replies to “On a slightly less somber note:”
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It’s funny, because I just finished reading a very interesting book about the English punk scene called England’s Dreaming, and I also just bought and watched the Clash’s DVD “Westway to the World” a few months back. If you’re looking for more on the punk movement, check those out, and especially Legs McNeil’s book Please Kill Me, which is about the American (mostly New York) punk scene.
Joe will be missed…
It’s funny, because I just finished reading a very interesting book about the English punk scene called England’s Dreaming, and I also just bought and watched the Clash’s DVD “Westway to the World” a few months back. If you’re looking for more on the punk movement, check those out, and especially Legs McNeil’s book Please Kill Me, which is about the American (mostly New York) punk scene.
Joe will be missed…
Thanks James. There’s another book called “Our Band could be your life” which chronicles the second wave of punk as it segued into “Alternative Rock”
Thanks James. There’s another book called “Our Band could be your life” which chronicles the second wave of punk as it segued into “Alternative Rock”