Quote of the Day- Joe Strummer

Today, we continue our series of quotes with artistic radicals and subversives with a quip from the late punk rock singer Joe Strummer (1952-2002), leader of the legendary band The Clash.

Unlike many rock n rollers who died before their name, Strummer died of natural causes. He was actually not a user of recreational drugs, though his chain-smoking was one of his trademark traits.

Strummer also acted after the break-up of The Clash (circa 1986) in such films as "Mystery Train" by Jim Jarmusch and "Stright to Hell" by Alex Cox, who has directed the biopic "Sid and Nancy" depicting the short, wild life of Sid Vicious, the bass player for The Sex Pistols, another Enlgish punk rock band.

Here is the quote from Strummer:

"Everyone has got to realize you can't hold onto the past if you want any future. Each second should lead to the next."

Ten Best Films of 1991- Slacker Changed Everything

The year 1991 was a groundbreaking one for the independent film movement, which has sadly been taken over by big Hollywood studios. And, films like "Slacker" and "My Own Private Idaho" helped make the year the equivalent of 1939 for the indy movement. There were some good Hollywood films as well. Two which did not make the list are "Thelma and Louise" and "JFK."

Here is our choices for the ten best of 1991:

1. Slacker (Richard Linklater)

2. Raise the Red Lantern (China. Zhang Yimou)

3. Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch)

4. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant)

5. Barton Fink (Coen Bros.)

6. Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg)

7. An Angel at My Table (New Zealand. Jane Campion)

8. Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)

9. Bugsy (Barry Levinson)

10. Cape Fear (Martin Scorsese)

Quote of the Week-Joe Strummer

We conclude our Quote of the Week series for May with yet another left-wing radical in Joe Strummer (1952-2002) who was the lead singer of The Clash and a character actor in such films as Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train" (1989).

The Clash's classic 1979 record "London Calling" was recently profiled on the NPR show "Sound Opinions."

Politically, Strummer was one of the leading radical figures of the punk rock movement and his songs always expressed social concerns, whether it concerned American involvement in Central America or the dark side of capitalism (ie. "Rock the Casbah" which deals with the oil business).

Before I quote Strummer, I should add that I am a bit more to the political center than he was, but we certainly aren't involved in the Tea Party movement either!

We have quoted Strummer before on both of our blogs (the other one is "The Daily Vampire") so I hope we haven't used this one before:

"Yeah, all those things, responsibility, pressure. It's a bit stressful. I try to come to terms with it by not thinking about it."

Quote of the Week- Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for his chilling portayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006). Uganda has made news recently as they are trying to become one of the few places in the world where gays and lesbians are executed for their sexual orientation! (We only thought that happened in Iran and West Virginia!*).


Here is today's quote from Whitaker, which is in reference to Amin:

"I'm not trying to defend him. The Amin I found was not a good man."

We also love Whitaker's film "Ghost Dog:Way of the Samurai" (1999), which was directed by Jim Jarmusch.

*-I am from Roanoke, Va., where we make fun of West Virginia all the time. And, to my friends in places like Bluefield,Charleston and Morgantown- I know you guys do the same thing to us. Of course, our put-downs are a lot funnier!

Happy Joe Strummer Day...Long Live The Clash!

This photo reminds me of director Jim Jarmusch's film "Coffee and Cigarettes." It was made after Joe Strummer's death (the lead singer of The Clash died on this day seven years ago). But, the two were co-stars in Alex Cox's surreal western "Straight to Hell" (1987) and Jarmusch later directed Strummer in "Mystery Train" (1989).

And, though they don't allow smoking, The Mill Mountain Coffee Shop in Salem, Va., will be having a Christmas breakfast on Dec. 24 which will include a charity art auction.

I would write more but I'm running late for my mom's 70th birthday, and that might make her confiscate all my Clash cds!