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12/23/2002 Archived Entry: "My teenage life ends in a moment"

Yesterday, a punk hero died. Joe Strummer, lead singer of the Clash passed away peacefully at his home.

Of course, upon hearing this I had a flood of memories...I was a huge Clash fan in my teens. They were a radical departure from the small (6000 citizen) logging/mining town I lived in. In Merritt during the 80's, everything was either AC/DC, Duran Duran or misc Country and Western. The Clash (and a number of other punk artists) got me through the mindlessness of life in a small town.

Memories I have:

Songs
Stay Free: If anything was a theme song for what I hoped would be my life, this was. It's all about friendships, good times, bad times, homecomings, and being accepted by the people who care for you (and tell everyone else to get stuffed). This, of all Clash songs, was the song that changed me. I sought something that allowed me to think deeply about what friendship meant to me, and while over time I lost the closeness I had with family, my lifelong friendships (and the importance I place on them) grew from this seed. All The Young Punks was secondary to this, but still held the same feeling.
Spanish Bombs, The Guns of Brixton, Capital Radio One, Safe European Home, English Civil War, Know Your Rights: My love of punk became a love of arguing politics. The feeling of this came from the Clash's take on musical political activism. I could easily have grown up, much like the rest of the people in my town and family, without thinking about how things could change. I could have just accepted the bad things without a desire to make them better, but the concepts I learned in Clash songs changed that. I've since became less radical than I wanted to be in my youth, but a stupid political action or our leaders attempting to restrict our rights makes me an angry young punk again.

Albums
Combat Rock: It was their most popular album, but by all accounts, not their best. My brother Chris gave me this, and I still remember him asking me what I want for my birthday (he had just moved out of the house and I was still at home). I said, "A Clash album?". He said, "Which one? The new one?". I said, "Sure". Such was the conversations that Chris and I usually had. When we weren't pissed at each other anyhow.
Hits'N'More: A 5-song tape put out by CBS and sold at A&A stores. This tape has a cover which has the first photo of the members of the Clash that I had seen. They look surprisingly clean-cut for the most part, though Joe Strummer looks like he's asking the photographer if he wants his butt kicked.
London Calling: This was the first tape I bought from Columbia House. Give 'Em Enough Rope was the second. Cut The Crap was the third. Before then I had copies of these albums. Without a job or any more money than I could scrounge together doing the occasional odd job, or saving meager allowances, I elected to buy albums rather than listen to my pirated copies. That's what music sharing brings - more sales.
Burning London; The Clash Tribute: A few years ago I saw that I wasn't the only one who was affected strongly by the Clash. This tribute album contains songs by No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, Indigo Girls, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Silverchair, Moby and more. Well worth buying for Clash fans.
...I own more, but these are the ones that strike me this morning.

Concerts
Pogues: The one time I saw Joe or the Pogues (I never did get a chance to see the Clash live) was in Vancouver at the PNE Exhibition Hall. Joe had just replaced the old singer of the Pogues who was in rehab for drugs and alcohol. The crowd was jumping and enjoying themselves, but a few asses were screaming "bring back Shane [McGowan]!". It was pissing me off and, when I had an opportunity to do so without getting in a fight, I bodychecked one of the complainants hard enough to send him under the stomping boots of the rest of the crowd. Joe was damned good that night; they did a mix of Pogues songs and Clash songs, and it was the concert that I enjoyed the most so far in my life. I wish I'd recorded that concert, I would still be playing it regularly. Joe was looking a bit tired and a bit old, but once he started going he was fiery and angry and young again.

If I knew that some royalties would make their way into the hands of his wife and daughters, I may replace my old tapes with CDs.

...

Thank you, Joe. Sleep well.

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