Joe Strummer dies but fucking Aerosmith continues to THRIVE

One of the best bits of the Bible is the book of Job, but not for the reason most people think. I'm gonna guess most people have never read it, because every time it comes up in conversation it's about the importance of loyalty to God, even in the face of seemingly cruel and pointless adversity. WRONG. Satan torments Job (with God's permission) and begins to wear him down to the point that Job is sitting in a pile of ashes and pig crap (literally) questioning God while his less-than-with-it friends try to dissuade him from his blasphemy. Finally, towards the end, God comes down, lays the smack down, and basically tells Job to quit jawin' because it is impossible for mortals to understand the ways of an omnipotent creator. Basically, stuff sometimes doesn't make sense to use because we're not God. Whether you're a Christian or not, it's a pretty profound statement on the awe-inspiring world around us and how little we truly comprehend day-to-day.

At least, that's what I hope it is sometimes. 'Cause frankly, I cannot understand why a visionary creator who was in the midst of a second renaissance period was taken from us while the likes of Aerosmith and their ilk continue to sell out arenas despite being boring, pointless hokum. Joe Strummer was a man of the world, one who truly absorbed the music he heard as he travelled the world with the Clash. Some reggae here, some blues there, some afrobeat here, some country there. Shit, the dude wrote a waltz performed by a rock band once, and it SLAYED. Right up until his death, he was writing and performing some of the best rock music extant.

Joe Strummer was a vibrant life force that was one of the rare people that found his true calling in life. He was born to write and play and sing music because despite any perceived limitations he did it better than 'most anyone. He was the living, breathing embodiment of rock music and its place in the kaleidoscope of the whole of music worldwide. If you're not into the Clash, you're hopeless. If you're not into his solo work with the Mescaleros, check out Global A Go-Go, an astounding slab of music. (For those of you who are with it and ARE into Mr. Strummer, I've included two rarities - his very first solo single from wayyyyyyyyyy back in the day and a bootlegged live song from his stint as the lead singer of the Pogues.) He died at 50, and in a world that needs him as much as it ever did, with hordes of self-consciously whiny jacktards more into their hair than their guitars assaulting the airwaves like Duke boys on a stripper virtually nonstop, it seems cruel that he was taken from us. I hate that toothless, preening assholes like Sammy Hagar and Jimmy Buffet live and sell out arenas while Joe lies dead of a freak heart condition. I hope it's just because I can't second-guess the ways of God and why he doesn't aim a couple deserved lightning bolts at well-deserving targets.

Welcome, stranger, to the humble neighborhood. (That he left us with largely barbed-wire Telecaster tracks like "All in a Day" gives me an odd feeling of circular closure, but that makes me sound like some New Age douchebag.)

Tony Adams: http://www.mediafire.com/?abxd3jog2c9

Bindhi Baghee: http://www.mediafire.com/?8jwosx9hzya

All in a Day: http://www.mediafire.com/?5o0ctb3kjjs

Gangsterville: http://www.mediafire.com/?05xyky52mz4

Sick Bed: http://www.mediafire.com/?ewgjjjlseis