While catching up on lots of music this year, today I got into Joe Strummer's later work after the Clash. I don't know what the prevailing opinions are, but I'd say check it out.
I don't have a review for you or a ranked list. But here are the ones I'm listening to today.
Look out for them if you wanna. And here are photos of one helluva guy.
I read a bit of his story too. I'm struck by a couple things. He kept coming back, kept getting into different stuff, including acting and film soundtracks. It's the kind of inspiration and example I need. The other thing I couldn't help thinking about was that he died of a heart attack while in the middle of recording an album. How many things will I leave unfinished when I am ultimately subsumed by mortality? It's so hard not to have time eaten up by things like recovery, distress, sadness, scarcity of so many things... Like do you ever feel like your life isn't yours to use as you'd choose. Either to do more important things or to enjoy yourself more, or both. And how much of that... waste do we participate in? How much of that do we engage in with other people? Just not getting down to business. Why do I wait? What am I waiting for?
Anyway, I'm not saying Strummer wasted time. Quite the opposite. Just that you can haul ass and still... leave things that... shouldn't have been left? I dunno, is fate a thing? Nah. Life, Purpose, Meaning, Fulfillment, Accomplishments, Happiness -- All of it is what you make of it, what we all make of it. Together and Alone. And that's a lot of responsibility to think about all at once. It doesn't really help to think about time too much. Spending lots of time thinking about time uses up time. Use the time. Use all of the time. Use it for rest, too. See your friends. Create something. Create anything today. Make something happen. Seeing as I have a pretty good idea what sort of folks will even see this, I trust your intentions. I mean, if you appreciate Strummer, that's a big ole green flag. Trust yourself. You want to be free, and to help others find and increase freedom. I don't have advice there. We all have to make the things happen the ways we devise to change what's not OK. Reducing suffering, including our own.
Anyway, that's what Joe Strummer makes me think about today.
