20 years today

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Mimi
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Re: 20 years today

Post by Mimi »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 2:27pm
As Dr. Seuss put so well, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." If, twenty years after you've passed, the world still feels much poorer for your absence, your life was special and continues thru all you inspired.
Amen!

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Re: 20 years today

Post by danbot »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 2:27pm
As Dr. Seuss put so well, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." If, twenty years after you've passed, the world still feels much poorer for your absence, your life was special and continues thru all you inspired.
Well said. I still remember getting the news like it was yesterday. God, that was a crap day. That said, I still listen to Joe and the Clash as much as ever, if not more. The man and the music lives on. Thanks as well to the folks here who keep making it interesting. Cheers!

Mark^Bastard
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Re: 20 years today

Post by Mark^Bastard »

This is a bittersweet moment for me. My now wife and I first truly connected over the death of Joe, so in a way this is like a 20 year anniversary of ours, as well as being a reminder of how tragic it was losing one of the few people I have ever deeply respected.

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Re: 20 years today

Post by Kimmelweck »

I first heard about Joe’s passing while standing in a hotel parking lot at 7am in Moorefield, West Virginia, 20 years ago, shortly before the sun began rising behind the mountains. A friend had heard the news on the radio that morning. Around 1pm, I began the 8 hour drive alone back to Buffalo for Christmas. As I passed in and out of the range of various local radio stations in West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, each one seemed to have a tribute to Joe of some kind. I heard a ton of Clash and Meskies on that dark drive, but I especially remember hearing Gamma Ray and just looking at the stars in the sky as I drove through Pennsylvania.

That was Dec. 23, which was a Monday. So it was probably the morning after Joe’s passing that the news really broke in the US and the tributes began. Anyway, have been listening to Gamma Ray on repeat for the last hour or so and remembering that drive home.
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Re: 20 years today

Post by matedog »

Flex wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 5:04pm
Kory wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 4:56pm
Think I'm going to finally make a Clash playlist for Maggie, I've been putting it off forever because I couldn't think of how much to dump on her but I think I'm in the mood today.
"fingerpoppin aor mix no fade in" on repeat obviously takes up the first hour of any Clash playlist but what else would you put on after?
Kory is going to have soooo much sex.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: 20 years today

Post by matedog »

Repped this shirt today. I was only a casual fan 20 years ago and only had Story Of that I got in early 2001. I bought London Calling in 2004 and knew almost everything within three years after. I’m really bummed I never got to see him live, particularly with his late career renaissance. And can we take a minute to appreciate that Joe barely released anything from 1983-1998 and then blasted out three really good albums in his last four years?

So yeah, bummed I never saw him live, though I was never a mega fan when he was alive, so it doesn’t bug me THAT much. I’m so grateful for what we have and are continuing to find, like that 85 busking video which is stellar Joe.
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Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: 20 years today

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Mark^Bastard wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 7:50pm
This is a bittersweet moment for me. My now wife and I first truly connected over the death of Joe, so in a way this is like a 20 year anniversary of ours, as well as being a reminder of how tragic it was losing one of the few people I have ever deeply respected.
I think the man would smile and wink at that.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: 20 years today

Post by Flex »

Mark^Bastard wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 7:50pm
This is a bittersweet moment for me. My now wife and I first truly connected over the death of Joe, so in a way this is like a 20 year anniversary of ours, as well as being a reminder of how tragic it was losing one of the few people I have ever deeply respected.
Very nice to have a sweetness like that to go with the bitter. Agreed with Doc, I think Joe would be pleased.
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Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
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Re: 20 years today

Post by Dr. Medulla »

I'm a few deep glasses of wine into the evening, so bear with me. Why Joe remains an inspiration to me is that he seems like a lost ideal. He wasn't an ideologue. He played with leftist tropes, most badly. He was a mushy liberal, full of all the contradictions that inevitably leads to. But it's a deep mistake to diminish him for that. He was, at heart, and why I value him, a humanist. "Without people you're nothing" is more than a slogan on a t-shirt (of course that's the Joe shirt I own) but an expression of a vital truth. Ideology is about abstraction and a way of diminishing our connection to each other as living, breathing, and shitting creatures on this planet. Joe fundamentally rejected that and argued for commonality, what binds us together as humans. Of course that's naive … if your world is framed by abstraction. He was a flawed person—no more so than when he got seduced by ideological nonsense (looking at you, Bernie)—because he so embraced being human and all the fucked-up contradictions we carry with us. The people who love us do so understanding our flaws, even because of those flaws. That's his virtue, that's why he's worth remembering and still serving as inspiration. He was wonderfully flawed but kept on with his faith that we need each other because we're all weirdo flawed people. That's humanism, that realization that the 99% that we share is so damned much more important than the 1% differences that sinister knaves claim is paramount. Anyway, he remains important for me for the same reason that y'all are important to me.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: 20 years today

Post by Flex »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 10:22pm
I'm a few deep glasses of wine into the evening, so bear with me. Why Joe remains an inspiration to me is that he seems like a lost ideal. He wasn't an ideologue. He played with leftist tropes, most badly. He was a mushy liberal, full of all the contradictions that inevitably leads to. But it's a deep mistake to diminish him for that. He was, at heart, and why I value him, a humanist. "Without people you're nothing" is more than a slogan on a t-shirt (of course that's the Joe shirt I own) but an expression of a vital truth. Ideology is about abstraction and a way of diminishing our connection to each other as living, breathing, and shitting creatures on this planet. Joe fundamentally rejected that and argued for commonality, what binds us together as humans. Of course that's naive … if your world is framed by abstraction. He was a flawed person—no more so than when he got seduced by ideological nonsense (looking at you, Bernie)—because he so embraced being human and all the fucked-up contradictions we carry with us. The people who love us do so understanding our flaws, even because of those flaws. That's his virtue, that's why he's worth remembering and still serving as inspiration. He was wonderfully flawed but kept on with his faith that we need each other because we're all weirdo flawed people. That's humanism, that realization that the 99% that we share is so damned much more important than the 1% differences that sinister knaves claim is paramount.
A very nice sentiment and I tend to agree. As the years go on, his lack of ideological rigor becomes more and more obviously a feature, not a bug. I agree that the without people your nothing line is the cornerstone of what makes him still working admiring. It's something he believed to the end of his days, and I think it made his life richer for it - it certainly made mine, ours, richer.
Anyway, he remains important for me for the same reason that y'all are important to me.
Ahh yes, plausible alibis.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

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Mark^Bastard
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Re: 20 years today

Post by Mark^Bastard »

Flex wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 9:48pm
Mark^Bastard wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 7:50pm
This is a bittersweet moment for me. My now wife and I first truly connected over the death of Joe, so in a way this is like a 20 year anniversary of ours, as well as being a reminder of how tragic it was losing one of the few people I have ever deeply respected.
Very nice to have a sweetness like that to go with the bitter. Agreed with Doc, I think Joe would be pleased.
Thank you guys. A year before that I was very lonely and the lines "there is a rose that I want to live for, although god knows I may not have met her" were something that kept me going. Thanks Joe

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Re: 20 years today

Post by JennyB »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 10:22pm
I'm a few deep glasses of wine into the evening, so bear with me. Why Joe remains an inspiration to me is that he seems like a lost ideal. He wasn't an ideologue. He played with leftist tropes, most badly. He was a mushy liberal, full of all the contradictions that inevitably leads to. But it's a deep mistake to diminish him for that. He was, at heart, and why I value him, a humanist. "Without people you're nothing" is more than a slogan on a t-shirt (of course that's the Joe shirt I own) but an expression of a vital truth. Ideology is about abstraction and a way of diminishing our connection to each other as living, breathing, and shitting creatures on this planet. Joe fundamentally rejected that and argued for commonality, what binds us together as humans. Of course that's naive … if your world is framed by abstraction. He was a flawed person—no more so than when he got seduced by ideological nonsense (looking at you, Bernie)—because he so embraced being human and all the fucked-up contradictions we carry with us. The people who love us do so understanding our flaws, even because of those flaws. That's his virtue, that's why he's worth remembering and still serving as inspiration. He was wonderfully flawed but kept on with his faith that we need each other because we're all weirdo flawed people. That's humanism, that realization that the 99% that we share is so damned much more important than the 1% differences that sinister knaves claim is paramount. Anyway, he remains important for me for the same reason that y'all are important to me.
Perfectly encapsulates how I feel about him. And I miss him so much.
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Re: 20 years today

Post by Howard Beale »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 10:22pm
I'm a few deep glasses of wine into the evening, so bear with me. Why Joe remains an inspiration to me is that he seems like a lost ideal. He wasn't an ideologue. He played with leftist tropes, most badly. He was a mushy liberal, full of all the contradictions that inevitably leads to. But it's a deep mistake to diminish him for that. He was, at heart, and why I value him, a humanist. "Without people you're nothing" is more than a slogan on a t-shirt (of course that's the Joe shirt I own) but an expression of a vital truth. Ideology is about abstraction and a way of diminishing our connection to each other as living, breathing, and shitting creatures on this planet. Joe fundamentally rejected that and argued for commonality, what binds us together as humans. Of course that's naive … if your world is framed by abstraction. He was a flawed person—no more so than when he got seduced by ideological nonsense (looking at you, Bernie)—because he so embraced being human and all the fucked-up contradictions we carry with us. The people who love us do so understanding our flaws, even because of those flaws. That's his virtue, that's why he's worth remembering and still serving as inspiration. He was wonderfully flawed but kept on with his faith that we need each other because we're all weirdo flawed people. That's humanism, that realization that the 99% that we share is so damned much more important than the 1% differences that sinister knaves claim is paramount. Anyway, he remains important for me for the same reason that y'all are important to me.
Very well said, thanks for that. Nothing to add except—rest in power Joe, we miss you. May you continue to inspire new generations for the next 20 years and beyond.

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Re: 20 years today

Post by Kory »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
22 Dec 2022, 10:22pm
I'm a few deep glasses of wine into the evening, so bear with me. Why Joe remains an inspiration to me is that he seems like a lost ideal. He wasn't an ideologue. He played with leftist tropes, most badly. He was a mushy liberal, full of all the contradictions that inevitably leads to. But it's a deep mistake to diminish him for that. He was, at heart, and why I value him, a humanist. "Without people you're nothing" is more than a slogan on a t-shirt (of course that's the Joe shirt I own) but an expression of a vital truth. Ideology is about abstraction and a way of diminishing our connection to each other as living, breathing, and shitting creatures on this planet. Joe fundamentally rejected that and argued for commonality, what binds us together as humans. Of course that's naive … if your world is framed by abstraction. He was a flawed person—no more so than when he got seduced by ideological nonsense (looking at you, Bernie)—because he so embraced being human and all the fucked-up contradictions we carry with us. The people who love us do so understanding our flaws, even because of those flaws. That's his virtue, that's why he's worth remembering and still serving as inspiration. He was wonderfully flawed but kept on with his faith that we need each other because we're all weirdo flawed people. That's humanism, that realization that the 99% that we share is so damned much more important than the 1% differences that sinister knaves claim is paramount. Anyway, he remains important for me for the same reason that y'all are important to me.
Very well said. I have a really hard time being a humanist in this society, as you know, but Joe remains strong as an inspiration to rethink things when I get discouraged. I hope he'd be proud of something like that being part of his legacy, because it means a lot to me, and hopefully, in a small way, makes at least my small corner of the universe a little more easy to bear.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

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Re: 20 years today

Post by msza2 »

I didn't have much to say yesterday but did come by to read everyone's thoughts (which were nice).

I was a teenager when Joe died and was completely smitten by Global A Go Go at the time. It was so fresh and full of life and completely unlike anything I had ever heard (I hadn't yet heard Sandinista). Outside of the Clash-family of bands, I'm still not sure I've heard anything like it. Which raises a question:

What other albums do sound like Global A Go Go?

The closest I can come up with is Rubber Soul by the Beatles. They've both have a core of acoustic "world music" inspired tunes rounded out with an electric hodgepodge of other genres. After that, I'm drawing a blank.

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