Remembering Joe Strummer On His 7th Death Anniversary

On the occasion of the seventh death anniversary of John Graham Mellor, better known to the world as Joe Strummer, Don Letts hosted a tribute over at the BBC 6 Music Radio Last Sunday, December 20. It featured, aside from tunes from Strummer and The Clash, a dub version of London Calling which is part of the called Shatter The Hotel: A Dub Inspired Tribute To Joe Strummer. (You can check out the article and the sound clip here.) Don Letts, as you know by know, is the man who is arguably responsible for the marriage of punk and dub in the London scene.


All over the world, Strummer tributes were being staged, such as in Bologna, Italy last December 12, in Phoenix, Arizona last December 19, and of course over at London, England. It would be virtually futile to enumerate all tribute gigs here.

It seems the world has not yet completely gotten over the fact that Strummer, musical visionary and mover who virtually broke the walls that contained punk music, is gone. Understandably so.

Trash Radio Manila will never cease to put out blog posts about Strummer, which is an unabashed personal favorite. For this year, I have collected some songs both from his works with The Clash and later on with The Mescaleros, highlighting the breadth of Joe's vision and passion.

The tracklist:

1. Armagideon Time (The Clash)
2. Joe Strummer on the political nature of The Clash as lifted from Rockers Galore album
3. London's Burning (The Clash)
4. Safe European Home (The Clash)
5. Police On My Back (The Clash)
6. Capitol Radio Two (The Clash)
7. Bhindi Bhagee (Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros)
8. Joe Strummer ("Without people, we're nothing), lifted from The Future Is Unwritten
9. The Sound Of The Sinners (The Clash)
10. Train In Vain (The Clash)
11. The Road To Rock 'n' Roll (Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros)
12. Redemption Song (Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros)

I will probably put up one more post that will feature new All-Pinoy stuff next week, the last for this tumultuous year. Did you guys find time to go to the gigs this weekend? A late addition to the gig round-up was the farewell tribute gig to Juandokito, horn sessionist for Pinkcow. Christmas is coming in three days ... does it feel like it for you? Be safe everyone, and remember the true reason for this season. Merry Christmas!

[A related post also appears at The Last Song Syndrome.]

A Playlist From Left Field

On the occasion of Je's 40th day death anniversary (that's today, May 13), I have uploaded this rather special playlist.

1. Put3ska - ABSOLUTE
2. Betrayed - NEVER MEANT TO BE THIS WAY
3. Music Front - BORED WITH BOREDOM
4. Beatdown Boombox - THE HARDER THEY COME

As many of you may know, ABSOLUTE is originally by Absolute Zero, Je's band before he joined Betrayed. Absolute Zero was short-lived but has the distinction of being one of the bands that played in the early Brave New World Series. It should also be noted that Je eventually managed Put3ska and ABSOLUTE was included in the band's phenomenal first album.

Then there's Betrayed, probably Je's best known involvement as a bassist. This version of NEVER MEANT TO BE THIS WAY was captured live at the NU 2001 Rock Awards. If I remember right, 2001 was the 25th year of punk, and the late Howlin' Dave, whose voice represented the generation of punk rock pioneers (and the rest of the pinoy rock musicians as well), was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Betrayed is one of Pinoy Punk's most popular and enduring bands, continuing to play to this very day.

When Music Front, Arnold Morales' band which he formed after Urban Bandits, was reformed in January 2008, Je came in to fill up bass-playing duties. This version of BORED WITH BOREDOM was recorded live at Club Dredd last April 2008 when Music Front played back to back with The Runaway Boys.

Beatdown Boombox is a project of both Je and The Beauty of Doubt/Bad Omen/Throw/Music Front (and 700 more bands) guitarist Albert Ascona. The two were starting to experiment on sounds and playing with dubs, and were highly influenced by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. They first played late last year, and this is essentially Je's last band. At the time of Je's demise, the band already has a number of originals, though this song in the playlist is a Jimmy Cliff cover.

There are many more songs that I would have wanted to throw in the playlist, but this should be it. Je will always be known in the scene as Pinoy punk's left-handed bassist, a mean producer, Trash Radio Manila's musical programmer, a passionate music lover.

*****

A mass will be held this afternoon, 5pm, at the Sto Nino Parish Church at Bago Bantay, Quezon City. You can look up the directions here. I know, 40 days came so fast, and personally, I am not over it yet. But such is life, and the end of it. Reality hits from left field, much like this playlist. See you guys, and have a good day.

Joe Strummer: 1952-2002

John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002)

Listen Up: This Is Disco Clash!

Let me tell you something about The Clash. Joe Strummer in particular. No, I won't tell you anything that you already know.

The Clash means a lot to me: I can probably associate a Clash song or two to a particular situation in my life with relative ease. I loved it the first time I heard Joe Strummer holler: London's Burning!!! I sure loved the way Paul Simonon slung his bass guitar; he is to me the coolest man to have ever worn a bass guitar. I have great respect for Mick Jones' pop sensibilities. And Topper Headon's style was both understated and appropriate. It goes without saying, The Clash matters a lot to me.

So much so, that I have yet to fully get over the fact that Joe Strummer has been dead for more than five years. What the hey. He and The Clash were an ever-evolving act, breaking down the barriers (along with their peers) that would have otherwise encased the sound of punk into a boring monotony. The Clash did songs that no longer sounded punk as we knew it, treading precarious waters in the process - and eventually sealing their immortality in the musical realm.

Let me tell you this, friend. We cannot go back to what we used to. Everything in this world must evolve. (Do you hear me, monsignor?)

Ah, yes. You knew that, too. :D So, join me then, as we sing and dance along what we may have to call Disco Clash! These are quirky remixes from our friends at the Long Island Dub Recording Studio. The playlist? Come on, figuring out the songs should be as easy as chicken pie.

As Promised

We're bringing you Part 2 of LONDON CALLING: A TRIBUTE TO JOE STRUMMER, a special documentary from BBC Radio2 which was aired around March 2003 and was available for download for about a week. We've already aired Part 1 a week ago on the occasion of our 100th post. Enjoy, people.

(Again, if you're the BBC, or if you have proprietary rights to this broadcast, and take offense at our tribute, please email us at trashradiomanila[at]gmail[dot]com.)

Is Your Favorite Punk Band In The Top 100 List? TRASH RADIO MANILA'S 100TH POST!!!

THIS IS TRASH RADIO MANILA'S 100TH POST!!!

Here at Trash Radio Manila, not only do we know good music, we also know good food!

First off, our heartfelt thank-you's to all of you who has passed by, perused, and left imprints on this site in one way or the other. Our utmost gratitude likewise goes out to the bands, the contributors, our subjects, and essentially everyone and everything that keep the scene going.

On this occasion, I am writing down the bands that made it to the Top 100 Punk Bands as voted by MusicianForums.com PunkForum users. You can read about the whole article here; if you want to see the forum itself, tick here.

Most of the bands that I like are in the list, but I would rearrange it if I have it my way. And wait, where are The Descendents, MDC, and Angelic Upstarts? At any rate, here is the list:

1. Dead Kennedys
2. The Clash
3. Bad Religion
4. The Ramones
5. Operation Ivy
6. Black Flag
7. Minor Threat
8. Streetlight Manifesto
9. Propagandhi
10. Bad Brains

11. Against Me!
12. Sex Pistols
13. Leftover Crack
14. Rancid
15. Choking Victim
16. Dropkick Murphys
17. NOFX
18. Gorilla Biscuits
19. The Misfits
20. Stiff Little Fingers

21. Fugazi
22. Refused
23. Minutemen
24. Subhumans
25. Circle Jerks
26. Iggy & the Stooges
27. The Adicts (photo from their MySpace site)
28. Cock Sparrer
29. The Suicide Machines
30. 7 Seconds

31. Social Distortion
32. The Dead Milkmen
33. Rise Against
34. Strike Anywhere
35. Flogging Molly
36. Catch 22
37. AFI
38. Sonic Youth
39. G.B.H.
40. Husker Du

41. Suicidal Tendencies (photo from this site)
42. Sham 69
43. Crass
44. The Velvet Underground
45. Television
46. The Damned
47. Conflict
48. The Filaments
49. Lower Class Brats
50. Kid Dynamite

51. X (photo from the band's site)
52. Against All Authority
53. Anti-Flag
54. A Wilhelm Scream
55. UK Subs
56. Link 80
57. New York Dolls
58. Discharge
59. Tiger Army
60. Richard Hell & the Voidoids

61. TSOL
62. The Adolescents
63. Patti Smith
64. Reagan Youth
65. MC5 (photo from this site)
66. Citizen Fish
67. Mission of Burma
68. Dag Nasty
69. Buzzcocks
70. World/Inferno Friendship Society

71. Fear
72. The Unseen
73. Less Than Jake
74. Aus-Rotten
75. Pennywise
76. A Global Threat
77. Flux of Pink Indians (photo from their MySpace site)
78. The Exploited
79. The Germs
80. The Casualties

81. Wire
82. Agnostic Front (photo from their MySpace site)
83. Good Clean Fun
84. Gang of Four
85. D.O.A.
86. Cockney Rejects
87. Toy Dolls
88. Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards
89. The Real McKenzies
90. Rudiments

91. The Adverts (photo from this site)
92. Bigwig
93. Good Riddance
94. Mojo Nixon
95. Forgotten Rebels
96. Mad Sin
97. I Farm
98. Defiance, Ohio
99. Ghost Mice
100. Atom and His Package


While we do love the Dead Kennedys, The Clash takes the top spot in our own list. You may be asking, how come we never feature our number one band in any of our previous playlists? Well, this time, on our 100th post, we are honoured to have in our playlist a special documentary from BBC Radio2. It was aired around March 2003 and was actually available for download but just for a week. I guess it might be difficult to come across these days. The title: LONDON CALLING - A TRIBUTE TO JOE STRUMMER. This is Part I; we are uploading Part II next time.

And if you're the BBC, or if you have proprietary rights to this broadcast, and take offense at our tribute, please email us at trashradiomanila[at]gmail[dot]com.

Enjoy, friends, and here's to more posts, more music, and more of the good stuff.

Pic creds: Photo of The Clash above is by Caroline Coon at theclashonline website. To your right: We have #41/5000 of the limited edition picture disc featuring Joe Strummer's cover of Redemption Song! This was released after his death by Hellcat Records.