Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

i'm trying to post some random songs, artists, albums, or fascinating quotes that pop into my head regularly. just for the sake of killing my boredom actually, i can't think of any other way since there's nothing really worth to share.

well, my first try is Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. have you heard of it? or maybe, only the first name? yeah, he was the vocalist of The Clash. it has disbanded though, in 1986, and in 2002 he died, a year before his final album Streetcore being released. The Mescaleros itself is a backing band due to his solo project.


slightly remind you of The Clash, by the way (alright, they have the same vocalist). but i read one reviewer said that this is probably what The Clash would sound like if only they still existed. i mean, Joe Strummer (solo)'s album still blends the same formula: reggae, punk, rock, folk, world music, etc. and is sung by his mellow rasp of a voice. and the lyrics, still fascinates me as usual. he never tried to write things simply or be pleonastic. he writes like it is, reflects English urban culture, his working class background, politics and social issues, remarks his opinion, and all of them ends up shortly amusing.

Bhindi Bhagee, one example, tells about London's cultural diversity. "Welcome stranger to the humble neighborhoods, you can get inspiration along the highroad" .
Tony Adams, is about.. err..Tony Adams? (Arsenal legendary defender FYI, although Strummer is a Blues fan).
Shakhtar Donetsk, one of my favorite track, is about the journey of a Macedonian who had the wooly scarf of Shakhtar wrung around his neck.
Minstrel Boy, a closing track of Black Hawk Down movie, derived from an Irish patriotic song with some changes in lyrics (I suppose, i don't know the original one). yes, it's about a warrior and his battle, and the track is almost 15-18 minutes long, more instrumental.
Ramshackle Day Parade, also my favorite one, a moving 9/11 tribute, one of the soundtracks of The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (you should watch the movies, really, it could bring you to tears).

and maybe, you can start by listening to his version of Bob Marley's classic, Redemption Song. a very poignant one, the voice, the rendition, and also the fact that it is released after his death.
LISTEN HERE.

oh, should i remind you, one of the lengthy tributes after his death, at the Newcastle-Liverpool match at St James's Park on Boxing Day, before a crowd of 52,000 football fans, a minute's silence was held before kick-off..