NPR, Journalism and Terry Chimes in a new year
Good morning, a late start today but it’s been a long week. Highlight for the weekend has been a special Clashblog interview getting confirmed (details tomorrow) and my better half putting a new pump in the fish pond. Yep, it’s that good in the summer.
Scanning the web wires and noticed it’s Terry Chimes 53rd Birthday today. Terry plays an interesting part in Clash History and is something I’ll be digging into at length at a later time. Chimes takes the Pete Best role in Clash lore however Ringo Starr was never kicked out of the band and Best asked to return. What’s interesting is how Chimes went on to become a freelance drummer (it appears) as he bounced around from band to band in the years that followed.
Fargo (not the film) gets an unexpected mention today as their news website posts a readable article about Green Day and how their appeal has spanned 15 years now. It’s especially apt to see The Clash being name-checked as the start of it all. I don’t spend a lot of time with teens and people in their 20′s but I think I might underestimate the reverence with which the Clash are held by that generation. I guess the best analogy is how I felt about The Who, The Kinks and The Byrds when I was growing up.
WRIR out of Richmond Virginia has a weekly broadcast of eclectic music from around the world. It’s available via that link on a podcast. The show is called Global a Go Go is hopefully a nod to Joe Strummer which seems reinforced by Joe being the 2nd track played. It’s a great mix of stuff, I’ll find out if the host is paying proper respect. WRIR is a public station, if you’re not from the States Public Radio is a fascinating animal. Unlike 95% of what clutters the airwaves of America public radio (and television) is government funded and very reliant on private and public donations. That in itself makes it the salmon in the stream of American business idealism. Needless to say if you are an advocate of public broadcasting you’re labelled by some as having direct ties to Karl Marx. Being from England, seeing that torment and fear of all things being tied to the state is pretty amusing. Public broadcasting was revised by President Johnson in 1970 as a non profit media organization that people were essentially entitled to. It’s a lofty topic but if you’re outside of the States I’d suggest you visit NPR and explore. The range of news and support of the arts is spectacular, it’s become almost a proving ground for new music also which in a world of American Idol and MTV is a revelation.
To demonstrate the quality of NPR journalism I’ll save you the typing as here are the links to pieces about the Clash.
Finally a quick plug, Jack Rabid is the editor of The Big Takeover Magazine. I consider him a friend and have admired his writing for years. The magazine is music journalism unlike any other as the knowledge and passion for music by Jack and his writers is second to none. Jack is a huge fan of the Clash and so much of what I love during punk, post punk right through to the present day. Whether it’s Maximo Park, Belle and Sebastian, Ride, XTC or Wire his expertise is outrageous. He (and the magazine) are also the definitive source about all of the great US based punk scenes and the acts that came out of New York. Please visit the site and better still take out a subscription. It’s no stretch to say each issue can keep you busy for weeks.
Talk soon -
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