Please? The world needs Joe Strummer.
John Graham Mellor aka Joe Strummer (August 21, 1952 – December 22, 2002)
One of the most iconic figures of the British punk movement.
Ten years ago today, the music world suffered a huge loss with the death of Joe Strummer. We lost a legend. A true legend. He was only 50 years old... died of a heart attack. I remember when I first heard the news of his passing... it felt like someone kicked me in the gut. We had just lost Dee Dee Ramone 6 months prior... and Joey Ramone about year before that. All such tragic losses...
Joe Strummer wasn't just the lead singer of The Clash. He was also the band's the co-founder, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist. He was also in a long list of the other bands: The Vultures, The 101ers (the band he was in before the The Clash), Latino Rockabilly War, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, and he was briefly in The Pogues. Joe also explored some other interests, which included acting, creating film scores for television and movies, songwriting for other artists, radio broadcasting, and a position as a radio host.
His father was a British foreign service diplomat... you can probably imagine what his childhood/upbringing was like... actually, the majority of The Clash members had not-so-nice upbringings. That fueled a bit of their angst. Here's an interview from 1976: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/21/rocks-backpages-clash-joe-strummer
This blog isn't mushy enough... let's get mushy. I love Joe Strummer. Love. Joe Strummer was the truth, and he will always be the truth. Always. He's inspiring. The Clash is inspiring. They are one of the greatest bands of all-time. Their music is meaningful. They knew they had the power to change things... and even if they didn't change anything, they knew they'd be spreading awareness of what was going on in the world. Their message was that of a political one... I know politics isn't a popular subject to most people (I know it isn't to me) but when The Clash speaks... or Joe Strummer speaks, YOU LISTEN. Just like Rage Against the Machine. Even if you don't care... after listening to those bands, you will care. You want to fight the power and the injustices alongside them. The Clash was a powerful band. They opened ears, opened eyes, and opened minds. Their songs bring up the issues of racism, police brutality, unemployment, social decay, political and social repression, and militarism... in great detail. Joe and the boys were sick of it... so Joe wrote about it. You can tell that Joe Strummer was passionate about these issues. You believed him. He was genuine. Sincere. There was nothing fake about Joe Strummer. He was legit. There was no BS... and he never tried to be anyone but Joe Strummer. That is inspiring.
Know your rights.
RIP Joe Strummer ♥
You were taken too soon...
"All of you who think violence is tough – why don't you go home and collect stamps? That's much tougher,"- Joe Strummer
“People can change anything they want to.
And that means everything in the world. People are running about
following their little tracks - I am one of them. But we've all got to
stop just following our own little mouse trail. People can do anything -
this is something that I'm beginning to learn. People are out there
doing bad things to each other. That's because they've been
dehumanized. It's time to take the humanity back into the center of the
ring and follow that for a time. Greed, it ain't going anywhere. They
should have that in a big billboard across Times Square. Without
people you're nothing. That's my spiel.”- Joe Strummer
Peace, Love, & Rock The Casbah,
~Lizzy Lepp
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