{"id":72977,"date":"2013-08-15T11:35:27","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T18:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/?p=72977"},"modified":"2020-03-15T18:26:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T01:26:42","slug":"documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/08\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html","title":{"rendered":"Documentary <i>Viva Joe Strummer: The Story of the Clash<\/i> Surveys the Career of Rock\u2019s Beloved Frontman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"oc-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"oc-video-container\">\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/323701893\" width=\"640\" height=\"385\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<!-- \/oc-video-embed -->\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- \/oc-video-wrapper --><\/p>\n<p>I vivid\u00adly remem\u00adber learn\u00ading the first song my high school garage band cov\u00adered, The Clash\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sa2VtNRtu04\">\u201cClash City Rock\u00aders.\u201d <\/a>We spent hours deci\u00adpher\u00ading the lyrics, and nev\u00ader got them right. This was, if you can believe it, a pre-Google age. While the exer\u00adcise was frus\u00adtrat\u00ading, I nev\u00ader resent\u00aded Joe Strummer\u2019s slurred, grav\u00adel\u00adly vocals for mak\u00ading us work hard at get\u00adting his mean\u00ading. For one thing, I loved his voice, and as a stu\u00addent of the blues and Dylan, nev\u00ader real\u00adly cared if rock singers could actu\u00adal\u00adly sing. For anoth\u00ader, Strum\u00admer nev\u00ader seemed to care much him\u00adself if you could under\u00adstand him, though his lyrics blast\u00aded through moun\u00adtains of BS. This is not because he was an ego\u00adtist but quite the oppo\u00adsite: he pas\u00adsion\u00adate\u00adly hat\u00aded rock clich\u00e9s and wasn\u2019t mak\u00ading pop records.<\/p>\n<p>The first scene in the doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adtary above, <i>Viva Joe Strum\u00admer<\/i> (lat\u00ader released as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goldminemag.com\/reviews\/joe-strummer-get-up-stand-up-provides-an-interesting-glimpse-into-the-late-rocker\u2019s-life\"><i>Get Up, Stand Up<\/i><\/a>), gives us The Clash front\u00adman decon\u00adstruct\u00ading the genre. \u201cWell, hi every\u00adbody, ain\u2019t it groovy,\u201d he says to a cheer\u00ading crowd, fol\u00adlowed by, \u201cain\u2019t you sick of hear\u00ading that for the last 150 years?\u201d The documentary\u2019s nar\u00adra\u00adtor describes Strum\u00admer as \u201cthe man who put cred\u00adi\u00adble rock and roll into the bas\u00adtard cul\u00adtur\u00adal orphan that was called punk,\u201d but this seems an inac\u00adcu\u00adrate descrip\u00adtion.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-center-da\">\n<div data-fuse=\"22871471544\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>For one thing, rock and roll is itself a bas\u00adtard genre, some\u00adthing Strum\u00admer always rec\u00adog\u00adnized, and for anoth\u00ader The Clash, fueled by Strummer\u2019s ecu\u00admeni\u00adcal inter\u00adest in world cul\u00adtures, drew lib\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly from oth\u00ader kinds of music and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2012\/dec\/21\/rocks-backpages-clash-joe-strummer\">stuck their mid\u00addle fin\u00adgers up<\/a> at estab\u00adlish\u00adment rock and every\u00adthing it came to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.<\/p>\n<p><i>Viva Joe Strum\u00admer<\/i> gives us loads of con\u00adcert footage and inter\u00adviews with band mem\u00adbers and close friends like the Sex Pis\u00adtols\u2019 Glen Mat\u00adlock. The focus remains on Strum\u00admer, a front\u00adman with tremen\u00addous charis\u00adma but also, para\u00addox\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, with a tremen\u00addous amount of humil\u00adi\u00adty. <a href=\"http:\/\/ifthemusicsloudenough.com\/blog5\/tag\/viva-joe-strummer\/\">One review\u00ader<\/a> of the film says as much:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Joe Strum\u00admer always pro\u00adject\u00aded him\u00adself as a hum\u00adble man. Even at the height of The Clash\u2018s mega\u00adlo\u00adma\u00adnia, when he fired gui\u00adtarist Mick Jones, Strum\u00admer came across like a bet\u00adter read, more world\u00adly Bruce Spring\u00adsteen. The every\u00adman image has made eulo\u00adgiz\u00ading the singer dif\u00adfi\u00adcult.<\/p>\n<p>This sug\u00adgests that Strummer\u2019s every\u00adman per\u00adsona may have been part of his show\u00adman\u00adship, but even so, he was respect\u00aded and admired by near\u00adly every\u00adone who knew him. And his pro\u00adle\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan pol\u00adi\u00adtics were gen\u00aduine. As one inter\u00advie\u00adwee says above, \u201che always had a cor\u00adner to fight in. He always had some\u00adone to stick up for.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"oc-video-container\">\n\t<span class=\"youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"505\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JVygiX0KEEw?wmode=transparent&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;showsearch=0&amp;rel=0&amp;theme=dark\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<!-- \/oc-video-embed -->\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- \/oc-video-wrapper --><\/p>\n<p>The orig\u00adi\u00adnal DVD includ\u00aded a CD with inter\u00adview clips from 1979 to 2001, such as the 1981 Tom Sny\u00adder Show inter\u00adview above. <i>Viva Joe Strum\u00admer<\/i> lacks the pow\u00ader\u00adful dra\u00admat\u00adic arc and tight direc\u00adtion of Julian Temple\u2019s 2007 <i><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/19uisIF\">The Future is Unwrit\u00adten<\/a><\/i>, but it\u2019s still well worth watch\u00ading for inter\u00adview footage you won\u2019t see any\u00adwhere else. Despite the film\u2019s orig\u00adi\u00adnal sub\u00adti\u00adtle, <i>The Sto\u00adry of The Clash<\/i>, the doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adtary fol\u00adlows Strummer\u2019s career all the way through the dis\u00adso\u00adlu\u00adtion of the band that made him famous and through his suc\u00adces\u00adsive musi\u00adcal endeav\u00adors with Joe Strum\u00admer and the Mescaleros. And it doc\u00adu\u00adments the reac\u00adtions to his sud\u00adden, trag\u00adic death in 2002. I still remem\u00adber get\u00adting the news. I hap\u00adpened, odd\u00adly enough, to be drink\u00ading at the bar where the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theclashblog.com\/joe-strummer-mural-new-york\/\">Joe Strum\u00admer mur\u00adal <\/a>would go up in New York\u2019s East Vil\u00adlage in 2003. I walked out\u00adside and lit a cig\u00ada\u00adrette, put on my head\u00adphones, cued up \u201cClash City Rock\u00aders,\u201d and shed a tear for the punk rock every\u00adman who every\u00adbody loved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Relat\u00aded Con\u00adtent:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/01\/joe_strummers_london_calling_all_eight_episodes_of_strummers_uk_radio_show_free_online.html\">\u201cJoe Strummer\u2019s Lon\u00addon Call\u00ading\u201d: All Eight Episodes of Strummer\u2019s UK Radio Show Free Online<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/08\/remembering_the_clashs_frontman_joe_strummer_on_his_60th_birthday.html\">Remem\u00adber\u00ading The Clash\u2019s Front\u00adman Joe Strum\u00admer on His 60th Birth\u00adday<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2012\/12\/the_clash_live_in_tokyo_1982_watch_the_complete_concert.html\">The Clash Live in Tokyo, 1982: Watch the Com\u00adplete Con\u00adcert<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/about.me\/jonesjoshua\">Josh Jones<\/a>&nbsp;is a writer and musi\u00adcian based in Wash\u00ading\u00adton, DC. Fol\u00adlow him at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jdmagness\">@jdmagness<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding: 10px 0\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sa2VtNRtu04\u201d&gt;\u201cClash<\/div>\n<p>I vivid\u00adly remem\u00adber learn\u00ading the first song my high school garage band cov\u00adered, The Clash\u2019s \u201cClash City Rock\u00aders.\u201d We spent hours deci\u00adpher\u00ading the lyrics, and nev\u00ader got them right. This was, if you can believe it, a pre-Google age. While the exer\u00adcise was frus\u00adtrat\u00ading, I nev\u00ader resent\u00aded Joe Strummer\u2019s slurred, grav\u00adel\u00adly vocals for mak\u00ading us [\u2026]<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","category-music"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Documentary Viva Joe Strummer: The Story of the Clash Surveys the Career of Rock&#039;s Beloved Frontman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2013\/08\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Josh Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Josh Jones\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dd299f984570248c0c72af54d3db4d80\"},\"headline\":\"Documentary Viva Joe Strummer: The Story of the Clash Surveys the Career of Rock\u2019s Beloved Frontman\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T18:35:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-16T01:26:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\"},\"wordCount\":664,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Film\",\"Music\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\",\"name\":\"Documentary Viva Joe Strummer: The Story of the Clash Surveys the Career of Rock's Beloved Frontman\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T18:35:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-16T01:26:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/documentary-viva-joe-strummer-the-story-of-the-clash-surveys-the-career-of-rocks-beloved-frontman.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Documentary Viva Joe Strummer: The Story of the Clash Surveys the Career of Rock&#8217;s Beloved Frontman\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.openculture.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Open Culture\",\"description\":\"The best free cultural &amp; 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