Raise a Toast (to Absent Friends)

"Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer/I think he might've been our only decent teacher."-"Constructive Summer", The Hold Steady.

I am not writing a lengthy post tonight. I am not working on a story or a review. I am not going to go all literary on you; I'll save that for tomorrow. Business as usual can wait a day. No, tonight I am sitting in my living room, listening to The Clash and drinking a glass of Vodka. That sums up the course of my entire night.

Joe Strummer--one of music's great poets--was born on this date in 1952. He would have been 57. I have raised a toast. Now I am going to down my glass and listen to some more intelligent punk-rock philosophy. Salud!

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros-Straight to Hell

PUNK ROCK SUNDAY:STRUMMER

I have described myself, for those who do not know me, as a punk rocker in ingenue's clothing, so rarely do I look the part. In reality, my morals, ideals and worldview are a harmonious pairing of the punk ethos and my hippie upbringing.It just so happens that I prefer to make my way through life looking like a retro starlet, when at all possible.

As they have with so many others, The Clash helped me find my moral footing. It is impossible to listen to their music--which remains relevant, transcendent and original--without thinking about the meaning, tone and impact of the words. As the lead singer, Joe Strummer was much more than the face of the band: he was the lyricist, and it was his pissed-off, compassionate ethics of inclusion that formed the heart of their gospel.

I have no idols;rather, I have guides. They helped me, when younger, to identify what is important in this world, and their individual fights armored me with the right set of tools to go forth and make the kind of difference that I want to make, in my own way. My mother, George Bernard Shaw and Joe Strummer are the examples that I refer and return to with greatest frequency.

I was driving to work on 23 December 2002, listening to my favourite alternative station, the same as I did every commute. Ten minutes into my drive--perhaps fifteen, I can never be sure--I heard the announcement: Joe Strummer was dead. Suspected heart attack. Only fifty years old. I wept, and I am unashamed to say that I wept until my face was raw. It was a gut reaction; it took over and inhabited my body, with no conscious thought on my part.

It was not for the death of an admired celebrity that I wept. It was for the passing of a great man--a flawed man--who spun his natural genius, and compassion for all that this world contains of injustice and beauty, into a web, steel-strong, of tireless dedication, righteous anger and, loudest of all, buoyant hope.

"Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer/I think he might have been our only decent teacher"-Craig Finn

PUNK ROCK SUNDAY IS A NEW COLUMN ON 1000 FOLLIES SO BE SURE TO CHECK BACK WEEKLY.

2009-The Year of Influence

1-Joe Strummer - Strummer is my Holy Grail of subjects. He has influenced me immeasurably-- more than anyone, other than my mom and Grandma. The shaping of my social and political stances, and to my encompassing view of humanity, is keenly attributable to the late leader of The Clash and the Mescaleros. His death , 6 years after the fact, still burns.

2-The Clash-See above.

3-Kurt Vonnegut-Vonnegut and I go way back, to my teens, when I won a drama award at my high school name after the man. At that point, I had only read one of his stories. It was for class and, while I was a straight-A+ Advanced English student, I hadn't given his words much thought. I soon rectified that and was instantly hooked. His non-fiction work has, for me, become a cornerstone of honest and ethical humanity.

4-Debbie Harry-I know, how hard could it be to write about the lead singer of Blondie? If you are me, it is a pretty daunting task. When I was a very young girl, perhaps 7, I decided that I wanted to be Debbie Harry when I grew up, and I have never quite shed my disappointment to have not done so.

5-Pablo Neruda-He was the craftsman of the most heart-stopping poetry ever written, in any language. I would love to properly learn Spanish in order to read every syllable of his poetry as it was intended. Still, the English translations, and there are many, prove that his talent is simply beyond reach.

6-Woody Guthrie-I share a birthday with his son Arlo ( Cancer Power ), known for his anti-war masterpiece, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree", still played by many radio stations every Thanksgiving. His father was the architect of righteous and inclusive protest songs that remain, sadly, all too relevant and necessary. An American original.

7-Paul Newman-Some day. Just not yet, as his passing was a mere 5 months ago.

8-Bjork-Because she is scarily fascinating and because I have been a fan, in not-quite a train-wreck way, since high school.

9-Amy Sedaris-No explanation needed, I trust.