Stirring stuff here from Dave Randall and Slovo, featuring John Rees, proclaiming the importance of our movement, well worth a listen. A great way to set the intention for the new year.
John Rees is a writer, broadcaster and activist, and is one of the organisers of the People’s Assembly.
Following Home Secretary publicly casting doubts on whether migrants were "genuine" asylum seekers, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned the government to treat refugees crossing the English channel in a "humanitarian" way, reminding us that the refugees are "the product of wars, they are the product of human rights abuses,they are the product of environmental disasters.
Lets not forget the UK nearly doubled the value of arms sales to countries on the government’s list of human rights abusers in the past year, these arms sales don’t just provide dictatorships and human rights
abusers with the means to kill, they also give them a huge degree of
political support.
Migrants are escaping countries where our Government is complicit in
dropping bombs, selling arms, supporting dictators or otherwise
contributing to instability and repression. If we're serious about supporting refugees, we need to be serious about ending the wars and policies that create them. We need to take responsibility for our part in causing the tremendous problems
driving people from their homes, and the continuous flow of arms from the UK
to the Middle East and North Africa that keeps on fuelling the chaos in this
region.
The
majority of people arriving in the UK come from the war-torn countries of
Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, where European and broader western interventions
and policies, including the arms trade, have added to violence and chaos. Arms exports to the Middle East and North Africa in the last decade, are fuelling war (Yemen, Syria), armed
conflicts (Iraq, Turkey, Libya) and human rights violations (Egypt, Saudi Arabia),maaassive increase in weapons to Israel to keep ethnic cleansing the Palestinian population and murder their protestors.The UK Government is quietly fuelling conflict and exacerbating humanitarian crises potentially in breach of both domestic and international laws on the sales of arms.These laws prohibit arms deals where there is a clear risk that they might be used to commit war crimes or human rights abuses.So many rogue regimes snd militia armed to the teeth by UK arms companies. Then we have the cheek to complain when the victims of these horrors try and escae the hell thesse weapons hep bring about.
We need to
change course and put the lives and fundamental rights of refugees first.Reducing conflict and its crushing human consequences would be a good step forward and putting more energy into resolving conflicts than
is currently being poured into fighting them with bombs that fuel and escalate the problems. We also need a new arms policy that curbs shipments to human rights
abusers and war zones — not through lip service, but by stopping sales completely, including the establishment of an embargo on arms sales to the
Middle East and North Africa. Heartless Sajid Javid the son of a refugee needs reminding that his Governments policies are helping create instability across the globe, and simply put if you keep bombing refugees countries, they will keep arriving on our shores, he and his Tory chums would do well if they stopped pouring gas on the fires.
How do you measure time
Greenwich Meantime? Business World?
Or Solstices, equinoxes, nature drifting, space time continual?
If you travel far enough in space for long enough
You will come back younger than world population,
Time equals personal perception that is always on the run
Sit down watch a good movie, see how world passes quickly.
Sit with nothing to do, see the arms on the clock move very slowly.
Has the last year been a dream? When does dreaming switch to reality?
Ah the kindness that delivers, after the off-licence has shut
Soon the present will once again become the past,
Heading towards meltdown, oh no it's not that bad
Remember that life ebbs away ever so fast,
In synthesis of reality, hear the ticking of clocks
Everyday is precious in the cacaphony of existence,
As time moves on, a new year arrives
All of us the same, brittle as sand,
Keep defying the walls that divide
Racism, bigotry, fascism and greed,
Bury yesterdays despair, no point holding on to
Move forwards into paths unknown,
Sketch a future where we all co-exist
Seize the day, carpe diem,
Embrace all life's pleasures
Love and resistance,
Smoke pipes of peace
Let kindness blossom.
The tradition of Y Fari Lwyd which translates to Grey Mary or Grey Mare in English is one of the strangest and most ancient of a number of customs in which people in Wales have used to mark the passing of the
darkest days of midwinter. It certainly has pre-Christian
origins and is said to bring luck.Though the tradition's exact origins are murky, the image of a white horse has been a powerful symbol in the United Kingdom for at least 3,000 years. In Celtic Britain, the horse was seen as a symbol of power and
fertility and prowess on the battlefield. In Celtic mythology, animals
who had the ability to cross between this world and the underworld (the
Celtic Annwn) are traditionally white or grey coloured. Arawn, the King
of Annwn’s dogs, is white with red ears and he rides on a large grey
horse.
The first written record of Mari Lwyd dates back to 1800, in J. Evans’ book ‘A Tour through Part of North Wales’.Traditionally a New Year’s Eve luck bringing ritualY Fari Lwyd consists of making a horse figure from a horse's skull,( though a genuine horse’s skull is gold dust these days ) with two black cloth ears sometimes sewn onto the cloth, making it look extra horrible, and the eye sockets are often filled with green bottle-ends, or other colored material decorative false ears and eyes attached.They adorn it with colorful reins, bells and ribbons and the equine image of death has an especially ghostly appearance thanks to the white sheet draped over the person carrying it.The lower jaw is sometimes spring-loaded, so that Mari's operator can snap it at passers by or householders.
The Fari Lwyd
and her group go from house to house and pub to pub and try to gain
access by performing a series of verses, or ‘pwnco’ in Welsh. The inhabitants
would reply with their own verses in a battle to outwit Mari and her
gang and prevent her from entering.
Wel, dyma ni'n dwad
Gyfelillion diniwad
I' mofyn am gennad - i ganu
(Translation: Behold here we come, simple friends, to ask for permission to sing.)
Rhowch glywed, wyr doethion
Pa faint ycho ddynion,
A pheth yn wych union -
yw'ch enwau?
(Translation: Let us hear, wise men, how many of you there are, and what exactly are your names?)
Eventually she will be let in, as
this confers luck on the household for the coming year and scares out
anything unwanted from the previous year. Once inside, more songs are
sung and the group is given drinks and food.
The Mari party consists of commedia del’arte characters. The
Merryman plays the fiddle; The Leader, plus top hat, holds the Mari’s
reins; The Sergeant keeps the peace. Pwnsh a Siwan (Punch and Judy) are
played by two male characters.
When the house was entered, Y Fari paid special attention to the
female occupants. This was done by neighing at the women as well as
biting and nudging them. The Merryman played his fiddle while Punch and
Judy began their show.
Judy entered with her broom to clean the
hearth. She was then knocked to the floor by Punch who ran around
attempting to kiss the women of the household. Punch was then chased
through the house by Judy and hit with her broom.
Having sung and
danced, the party would sit to eat food and drink ale. On their
departure, the Mari Lwyd wished the household a Happy New Year.
Dymunwn ich lawenydd
I gynnal blwyddyn newydd
Tra paro'r gwr i dincian cloch
Well, well y boch chwi beunydd
(Translation: We wish you joy to live a new year; as long as the man tinkles his bell, may you improve daily.)
The practice of disguising the characters
was to preserve anonymity and to distance them from everyday life. This
tradition of blackening or colouring the face to take on another
‘character’ can be found in most indigenous cultures and in Britain in
the older Morris sides.
The tradition has similarities to other hooded animal customs in
Britain, such as the ‘Hoodening’ in Kent, the ‘Broad’ in the Cotswolds
and ‘The Old Tup’ in Derbyshire, which involved a group of poor people
trying to find food and money in the harsh depths of the winter.
Although the custom was given various names, it was best known as the
Mari Lwyd; however, the etymology of this term remains the subject of
academic debate.
The folklorist Iorwerth C. Peate believed that the term meant “Holy
Mary” and thus was a reference to Mary, mother of Jesus, while fellow
folklorist E. C. Cawte thought it more likely that the term had
originally meant “Grey Mare”, thus referring to the heads’ equine
appearance.
In other instances, the Mari Lwyd custom is given different names,
with it being recorded as y Wasail “The Wassail” in parts of
Carmarthenshire.
In the first half of the 19th century it was recorded in
Pembrokeshire under the name of y March “The Horse” and y Gynfas-farch
“The Canvas Horse”
The industrial revolution and the rise of fire-and-brimstone chapel
preaching had a serious effect on the Mari Lwyd. The parties had gained a
bad reputation for drunkenness and vandalism as they roamed the
villages. Many a sermon was preached against the continuance of such a
pagan and barbaric practice, and the participants were urged to do
something useful instead, such as taking part in eisteddfodau. Enter Nefydd, the Rev. William Roberts
(1813-1872), a Denbighshire man who became a Blaenau Gwent Baptist
minister. He hated the Mari Lwyd. He wrote a book entitled The Religion
Of The Dark Ages, gave a detailed account of the Mari and transcribed 20
verses, so his congregation could recognise it. He campaigned with
great fervour: “We must try and get the young people of our time more to
interest themselves more in intellectual and substantial things such as
reading and composing poetry, essays, singing etc, as is encouraged and
practised in our Eisteddfodau… I wish of this folly, and of all similar
follies, that they find no place anywhere apart from the museum of the
historian and the antiquary.”
Christmas carols began to be sung at the doors instead and the battle of insults and verse dissapeared, and in some areas the Welsh language gave way to English. By the 1960's the custom of the Mari had almost died out. Only a few Mari processions were left by this time including in Pencoed near Bridgend and Pentyrch near Cardiff.
But the Welsh
population hungrily seized on the fragments of the Mari’s tradition, and
– thanks to Nefydd – we can now study the Mari verses in all their true
splendour, and thankfully there has been a growing interest in Y Fari Lwyd in recent years, which has seen a resurgence in groups performing this tradition across Wales, Maris can now be spotted from Holywell in Flintshire to Pembrokeshire involving bardic battles, revelry and much drinking. I do like a good revival, especially of something as unique and unusual as this.The strength of the Mari tradition can be measured at the National Eisteddfod, which takes place in August. At one Eisteddfod, 30 Maris turned up. Wonderful stuff long may this tradition continue to grow.
The legendary influential singer songwriter punk poet laureatte Patti Smith turns 72 today. Smith was born in Chicago in om 30/12/1946, and was raised in New Jersey to
former Jazz singer Beverly and mechanist Grand Smith. Even as a child,
Smith felt that she was born to do great things despite her physical
reality as an unpopular young girl who was not especially talented in
school. Her vivid young imagination helped her through a difficult
childhood. She was bullied by other kids due to her sickly appearance
and poor background. The vague sense that she would grow up into
something amazing was what kept her going, in spite of the odds.
After graduating high school in 1964, Smith immediately went to work
in a factory, a short experience she hated so much that she titled the
song about her time there as ‘Piss Factory’, which was her first single
alongside the song ‘Hey Joe’. Putting meaningless drudgery behind her,
Smith then decided to pursue art, and was set on becoming an art teacher
until she was rejected for her refusal to abide by traditions.
Piss Factory - Patti Smith
Determined as ever, Smith then moved to New York in 1967 and worked in
bookstores, where she began writing poetry.Patti Smith has been influenced by artists as diverse as Arthur Rimbaud, Antonin Artaud and William Blake, Jimi Hendrix,Bob Dylan
and the Rolling Stones. As a high school student she was interested in
jazz and poetry, and her early creative works were poems. Drawn to the
act of performing her work, she read her poems with a guitarist,
eventually adding an entire band. Spurred by her love for
music dating back to her youth, Smith would eventually team up with her
friends, playwright Sam Sheppard, Robert Mapplethorpe the photographer
and writer/composer Lenny Kaye to read poetry, which soon would lead to
her musical future.
Smith first published her poems in 1972, the same year she co-wrote a play, Cowboy Mouth, with Sam Shepard. Since then she has published a number of collections of verse, including Babel (1978), Early Work, 1970–1979 (1994), The Coral Sea (1996), and Patti Smith Complete: Lyrics, Reflections & Notes for the Future (1998). Spurred by her love for
music dating back to her youth, Smith would eventually team up with her
friends, playwright Sam Sheppard, Robert Mapplethorpe the photographer
and writer/composer Lenny Kaye to read poetry, which soon would lead to
her musical future.
Smith’s 1975 debut album ‘Horses’ is still her most popular work of
art to this day, and is one of the most acclaimed debut albums of all
time. It was a wild commercial success at the start and loved by the
critics too, who praised Smith’s amateur-yet-passionate vocals, combined with an an explosive mix of androgyny , rebellion ,and
relentless energy long have I thought of her as incendiary. At the time, Smith had feared that Rock and Roll was
dying, and so she wished to help shake things up and inject some new
life in a way that only she could.
Gloria - Patti Smith
Re-billing her act as the Patti Smith Group to give due credit to her band, ahe released her second album Radio Etthiopia in 1976. The Patti Smith Group then acieved a commercial breakthrough with Easter in 1978.All seminal pieces of art in my humble opinion, that I treasure.
Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot
In 1979 she fell off the punk rock scene radar completely, for her own
choice. She married, she moved to Detroit and she had two children with
the former MC5 guitarist Fred Smith. But such an artist as Patti Smith
couldn’t live without it for long, so she came back with Dream of Life in 1988. The new album featured her husband and it included People Have the Power, another successful single.
Patti Smith - People have the power
Patti only started touring again after a series of tragedies in her
life. Some friends of hers, her husband and her brother died over a
short period of time and she decided to keep making music to honour
them. She moved back to New York around 1994 and she started touring
with Bob Dylan in 1995 and released a new album in 1996, Gone Again.
Her work a fusion of rock and poetry, she writes in a stream-of-consciousness style, often meditating on questions of mortality and faith. Of her 2008 Auguries of Innocence,
critic Donna Seaman wrote that Smith “presents lithe works unsettling
in their spiritual inquiry, archetypal imagery, and dissonant
juxtapositions.” Being a social activist most of her life, she’s always focused her
poetic vision on topics that concern the world., believing that poetry, music, and art should be used
as a link to expose what’s going on with the world. But that’s not
enough. It must work as inspiration to make people aware and push them
to act.Patti Smith, is not only the rock icon of a whole generation but also a committed artist visionary in every possible manner, whose spirit has nurtured generations. Smith holds to a deeply romantic belief that the true artist is an
outsider and a visionary, someone who is able ‘to see what others could
not’, as she puts it in her memoir Just Kids (2010). She believes in the power of art and the mythology of
rock and roll, believes in poetry and music as means of transcendence.
She believes that poetry makes things happen. ‘i haven’t fucked much with the past,’ she declares in the prose poem ‘Babelogue’, ‘but i’ve fucked plenty with the future.’ She is, above all, a believer. all this has all earned her a Commander of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in
2005, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On November 17, 2010, she won the National Book Award for her memoir
Just Kids.
Feedback and Poetry - Patti Smith
She still remains a pivotal figure in the New York arts
scene and probably her most prolific and deepest works were created in the last 20
years. Perhaps experience and the multiple tragedies she’s experienced
throughout her life made her more acute to understand the human
experience better.There are many forms of magic Smith just a particle.With her powerful voice she has left her mark in music history and culture forever. My love for Patti Smith’s music, has been one of joyous liberation , intoxication and education.So happy birthday to this warrior poet, still fighting for beauty
truth and and justice. Long may she continue to inspire.
Patti Smith - Because the night
Patti Smith: Poem about Arthur Rimbaud
clip from Stephen Sebring's 2008 film documentary
"Patti Smith- Dream of Life.
Another funny year has nearly flown, but has at least given me personally lots of musical respite. So in what has become an annual event, here are some musical highlights from 2018 that are listed in no particular order, they have all succeeded in diferent ways to pick me up immensely.
Special mention goes out to the Cellar Bar, here in Cardigan, a musical venue of much magic and wonder. My deep commiserations are offered to much loved independent venue the Parrot in Carmarthen, sadly closing its doors on New Year's eve.
Respect to the music makers, and those that have and will keep on supporting them, local or further afield, let's continue to get lost in the power of music, with its mighty ability to lift our hearts and stir our souls. Keep on listening, see you on the other side. 1. Le Trio Joubran - The Long March
The 92 year old privileged Queen of England, known for living in a palace and spending tax payers money like water , had had her yearly Christmas lecture being rightfully slammed on social media for being " out of touch " and disrespectful to families " struggling to make ends meet"
Some commentators pointed out the vast disparity between the Queen's opulence and the real-life situations of 'her subjects' as she called for people to come together not driven by tribalism. Telling us to respect one another.
One posted on Twitter " Always warms an old republican's heart to see the billionaire head of an antiquated institution surrounding themelves with gold in their modest 885 roomed detached home, while others are f***ing struggling to make ends meet."
Others highlighted the plight of food bank users over Christmas, with one writing :" Queen says from her humble and modest surroundings, family kept her 'well occupied' over the year. I suspect the thousands of mum and dads thay use food banks and struggle on Universal Credit each week could say the same."
Oh the bloody irony, there she was sitting on a gold chair, in a gold room, with her gold fire guard and gold clock in front of a gold mirror, beside her bloody gold piano, writing with her bloody gold pen, next to her ruddy gold picture frame, wearing her flipping gold bracelet talking about poverty. I guess we should be so grateful and proud. Our wonderful Queen still thinks of us plebs and allows us to see her pretty things, flaunting her excess and crassness, a decade into austerity with homelessness and food banks daily rising. So out of touch with reality .Down with the crown.Make monarchy history.
Tradition is no excuse for cruelty. Tradition is no excuse for deceit. Tradition is no excuse for breaking the law.
Boxing Day is a day of tradition. Disappointingly, one of those is still
the boxing day hunt. Across the country, 250 hunts hunts were scheduled to meet today, including two on National Trust land, out in
force, in all their regalia, on their trusty steeds attempting to convince the great British
public that they are a valued part of society. These hunting groups have recently faced allegations that blood sport has continued under the guise of trail hunting,
and charities say there have been dozens of reports of foxes being
pursued and killed since November 2018 when the hunting season began. Wild
animals – including foxes, hare and deer, are still being chased to
exhaustion across the British countryside before being torn to pieces by
packs of trained hunting hounds. A growing concern that the ban is being brazenly flouted has led Labour to announce that it would strengthen the 2004 Hunting Act – much maligned by both
hunters and animal rights activists – if elected and remove legal
loopholes that make prosecutions hard to achieve. Labour also said that it
would consult on the introduction of custodial sentences for offences
under the Hunting Act, potentially bringing the penalties in line with
those for other wildlife crimes, if in government. The shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
secretary Sue Hayman also left open the possibility of a new
“recklessness” clause to prevent trail hunting being used as cover for
illegal hunting. “Labour’s 2004 Hunting Act was a key milestone in banning this cruel
blood sport, but since then new practices have developed to exploit
loopholes in the legislation,” she said. “While Theresa May proposed scrapping the Hunting Act all together,
Labour is today calling time on those who defy the law by announcing
several measures that would clampdown on illegal hunting. “Labour is the true party of animal welfare. These new proposals form
part of the next chapter in striving to ensure our laws and regulations
on animal welfare are up to date and fit for purpose.” Labour’s promise came as a poll commissioned by the League Against
Cruel Sports https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/found only one in six (16%) rural residents believe hunting
with dogs reflects countryside values. The polling by Survation
found that over nine out of 10 (91%) rural residents think that
observing nature reflects countryside values. The poll found only
4% said they ever participate in hunting, compared to 63% who observe
wildlife at least once a month, 59% who take part in walking or hiking
at least once a month, 39% who participate in running, cycling or horse
riding at least once a month and 52% who visit pubs at least once a
month. Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League
Against Cruel Sports, said: “Hunting is claimed by a minority to be a
cornerstone of country life, yet it is revealing that people living in
the countryside get far more enjoyment from watching wildlife rather
than killing it. “Modern day countryside values are based around respect for nature, not the abuse of nature for entertainment. “This polling confirms that we are a nation of animal lovers and that hunting needs to be consigned to history.” –
The polling took place in early December 2018 with a sample size of
1,072 people aged over 18 living in rural areas in England and Wales. There remains though a serious threat that under Theresa May the Hunting Act will be repealed. May’s manifesto for the 2018 General Election included a pledge to give MPs a vote on legalising fox hunting. Furthermore hunts have still found many ways to circumvent the law and get away with killing wildlife.Whether through so-called ‘trail’ hunting, abusing exemptions in the law or exploiting legal loopholes, thousands of animals are being killed across the UK every year with impunity.This is not helped by landowners giving hunts access to land in order to carry out activities which could be cover for illegal hunting, or by legislation that is not strong enough tying the hands of law enforcement agencies. All this combined means that hunts are carrying on with killing wildlife in the way they always have. Anti-hunting groups contend that reports of foxes and hares being killed
by hounds are often not followed up despite being supported by
evidence. A decline in funding for the National Wildlife
Crime Unit, as well as cuts to local police forces, means hunts can
often act with impunity unless they are monitored by members of Hunt
Saboteurs, a non-violent direct action group. https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/ A spokesperson for the group said: “Boxing Day is the PR stunt of the
hunting world. The reality is that many hunts are gangs of countryside
lawbreakers who endlessly flout the hunting ban and, even on this day
when the eyes of the world are on them, will still chase and kill
wildlife. “It’s a sign of how the tide of public opinion continues to turn that
various hunts are being turned away from their traditional prestigious
Boxing Day meets by locals who are sick of their hypocrisy and the chaos
they cause.” The 'traditional' Boxing Day meets of the hunts gloss over the otherwise murky world of animal cruelty in which packs of hounds still literally tear apart their quarry of British wildlife. But everything it stands for is opposed by the majority of people in this country. There has never been a better time to strengthen the Hunting Act
and bring an end to the illegal persecution of wildlife still going on
under the guise of 'trail' hunting. If you love the countryside, it's time to stuff this tradition, it's not a part of British culture that should be preserved in the modern age. Well done to all those that are still fighting to keep hunting illegal. Stop the killing of Animals by Hunts in the UK https://takeaction.league.org.uk/page/19719/data/1?ea.url.id=1668592
The Disappearing Fox - A Mystery for the Boxing Day Hunts
Capitalism used to work
by the simple promise of a carrot,
the joys of being wealthier than others
promotion, promotion, promotion,
but the carat has lost its lustre
and now a stick has to be used as well,
this stick takes the form of a war on the poor
to be witchunted, scapegoated and demonised,
in these times of crisis and deep trouble
as they get out their scissors, and cut, cut, cut,
to numb peoples senses, distract us with unreason
broken and beaten, dishevelled and divided,
in a continual ideological game of attrition
making us walk the path of least resistance,
if I was a violent man, I'd stand outside and fight
but all I can muster is a slow dance,
as I gather up some moist crumbs of happiness
and with some simple words feed survival,
tomorrow, I will look and seek safe asylum
remember the victims who have no knowledge of the future,
in December's receding days of calamity and fear
follow horizon engraved with the pulse of struggle,
awake and embrace a new dawn, plant some flares in the mist
gather the truth deep inside, hoping dreams get better for all.
It's been a while since Joe Strummer, slipped away, but only seems like a moment, this legendary heart and political soul of punk, whose rebel spirit and righteous anger has still not faded, his songs still resonate, with immediacy and warning after all, " the ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in, meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin." His lyrics still able to make us think, that help challenge our views of society. He also taught us, that punk is not a uniform, it's an idea, a passionate grassroots idea to create change, standing up for what you believe, about being open minded, at the end of the day we are all individuals , you've gotta do what's right for you, follow your own heart, your own true spirit. Strummer died of a heart attack on December 22. He was only 50. As a member of The Clash Strummer was
a punk-rock pioneer with a fondness for reggae, who changed peoples lives forever.They got a force that would shape how politics and music fit together,
transforming this new, angry punk sound into something with purpose. Through his songwriting Strummer consistently critiqued capitalism,
advocated racial justice and opposed imperialism. He showed young people
there are alternatives to the complacency, opportunism, and political
ambivalence that dominate popular culture. Strummer’s music remains an
enduring legacy of radicalism, defiance, and resistance. As a musician, Strummer redefined music and reaffirmed the principles of
committed and intelligent opposition. He seemed to be involved in so
many different movements and supported so many causes before they were
fashionable. The Clash were at the forefront of the Rock against Racism
movement founded in the seventies to combat the rise of the far-right
National Front. Never afraid of controversy, Strummer pushed the Clash
to support publicly the H-Block protests in Northern Ireland, which
began in 1976 when the British took away the political status of IRA
“prisoners.” But co-founding one of
the most important bands of the past 50 years has, understandably,
overshadowed the full breadth of Strummer’s musical interests. His
career outside the Clash included forays into rockabilly, folk-rock,
African music and Spanish Civil War songs. Released nearly 16 years ater his death, Joe Strummer 001 a 32
track compilation of remastered rarities and previously unreleased
tracks, stands as a testament to his vision for open borders and open
hearts. This collection gives a sense of the scope of Strummer’s career, and
the passion with which he pursued it. Over the years, and through
various musical incarnations, he never sounded less than joyful about
what he was doing. He’s ready to rumble on opener “Letsgetabitrockin,”
from the 101ers, which barrels along on a tumult of guitars and a lean
rhythm. Later, Strummer pushes the beat a little on a more subdued
acoustic demo from 1975 of the same song, as if he’s imagining the
churning full-band arrangement to come. He sings with exhilaration over a
booming mix of drums and guitar on “Love Kills,” the title track from
the 1986 biopic Sid and Nancy; takes on a tone of wonderment as
he threads his voice through hand drums and African chanting on
“Sandpaper Blues”; and lets loose with scruffy, melodic abandon on the
taut “Coma Girl,” from Streetcore, his posthumous 2003 release with the Mescaleros. Even on an aching “Redemption Song” with Johnny Cash, from Cash’s 2003 Unearthed boxed set, Strummer strikes a balance between worldweary and triumphant.
Strummer and Jimmy Cliff, the ska and reggae legend, are a natural pairing on “Over the Border,” from Cliff’s 2003 album Fantastic Plastic People.
And Strummer builds on the Clash’s “Spanish Bombs” with jittery banjo
and a vaguely Iberian tint on “15th Brigade”—his take on “Viva la Quince
Brigada,” sung by Spanish Republicans in their fight against the
fascists during the Spanish Civil War. The second half of 001 is given over to demos and
previously unreleased tracks, many of which are illuminating.
“Czechoslovak Song/Where Is England” from 1983 rides a slow, heavy dub
rhythm that bears only a vague resemblance to the song it morphed into:
the Clash’s synth-laced single “This Is England.” The boxed set version
of 001 also includes a more fully formed demo of “This Is
England” from 1984, with gruff vocals and without the synths. The grungy
blues “Crying on 23rd” and the countrified “2 Bullets,” soaked in pedal
steel guitar, are outtakes from Sid and Nancy, and both feature Strummer’s former Clash bandmate Mick Jones on bass. As fun as the older stuff is, one of the latter-day unreleased tracks is
a standout. Strummer recorded “London Is Burning” in 2002 with the
Mescaleros, then reworked it into “Burnin’ Streets” for Streetcore.
The version here is faster, punchier and more evocative: “London is
burning / Don’t tell the queen,” he sings to set the scene. It would
have been one of the best songs on Streetcore;
instead, it’s an unexpected gem tucked away toward the bottom of the
tracklist here. It’s a reminder of just how good Strummer could be, and
makes you wonder what more he would have done had a congenital heart
defect not felled him at 50. The consolation is knowing how much more
material remains to be heard, and hoping there are more songs in the
archives that are as good as the ones here. He performed for the last time on November 15, 2002 at a benefit for
striking London firefighters. For someone who used his music to
galvanize and promote progressive action, this final performance was
most fitting. On the anniversary of his death I post this in a spirit of rememberence and joyfulness that he has left behind such a great legacy of music or us to enjoy.So go easy, stay light, stay free, London might still be burning, we still have more than enough time to chant down babylon, after all, the future is unwritten. Know your rights. Thank you Commandante Joe, gone but not forgotten. R.I.P Link to Joe Strummer Foundation remember " Without people, your nothing." - Joe Strummer http://joestrummerfoundation.org " People can change anything they want to and that means everything in the world " - Joe Strummer Some favourites of mine:- Joe Strummer - Redemption Song
The Clash - Clampdown
The Clash - Clash City Rockers
The Clash - Tommy Gun
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Johnny Appleseed
Joe Strummer - White man in Hammersmith Palis ( Glastonbury 2009 )
Joe Strummer and the mescaleros - London is Burning
