Post by Bret Walker on Dec 23, 2002 17:52:27 GMT -5
What's your earliest memory of The Clash? Was it London Calling? Should I Stay or Should I Go? For me, it was the video of Rock the Casbah which I first saw on MTV in the early 80's, when MTV was still good. The Clash were a different breed of punk rock; they were proficient at their instruments, they weren't afraid of playing different styles, and they singlehandedly kept Punk political at a time when punk was going new-wave. And at the center of the Clash's rage was the genius of Joe Strummer. Joe Strummer died Sunday at age 50.
I owe a lot of my punk philosophy to that of Joe Strummer. Even though I caught onto the Clash late in their life (they were born in mid-70's London punk with the Pistols, Siouxie, and the Damned), I stayed a diehard fan long after they disbanded. And a lot of what I believe about punk came from what Strummer displayed onstage, in his songs, and in his general outlook:
"I will always believe in punk-rock, because it's about creating something for yourself," Strummer told the San Diego Union-Tribune in July. "Part of it was: 'Stop being a sap! Lift your head up and see what is really going on in the political, social and religious situations, and try and see through all the smoke screens.'"
Strummer will be missed among the punk community, at least those who are true to the artform. Those who claim to have never gotten The Clash or don't identify with Strummer just don't get it to begin with.
www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/music/4800020.htm
I owe a lot of my punk philosophy to that of Joe Strummer. Even though I caught onto the Clash late in their life (they were born in mid-70's London punk with the Pistols, Siouxie, and the Damned), I stayed a diehard fan long after they disbanded. And a lot of what I believe about punk came from what Strummer displayed onstage, in his songs, and in his general outlook:
"I will always believe in punk-rock, because it's about creating something for yourself," Strummer told the San Diego Union-Tribune in July. "Part of it was: 'Stop being a sap! Lift your head up and see what is really going on in the political, social and religious situations, and try and see through all the smoke screens.'"
Strummer will be missed among the punk community, at least those who are true to the artform. Those who claim to have never gotten The Clash or don't identify with Strummer just don't get it to begin with.
www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/music/4800020.htm
