Joe Strummer is the singer/guitarist from The Clash, punk philosopher and citizen of the world.  He speaks to me a lot.

I know that sounds totally weird since he’s dead, but it’s true.

He doesn’t speak to me literally like he descends from the heavens and his voice bellows out and  chastises me for being a fallible human and pats me on the shoulder. I mean he speaks to me figuratively. I mean the essence of what Joe Strummer means to me acts as a sort of guide.

I want to tell you what that’s like, in part because I’m sure there are strange dead or otherwise unreachable people who speak to you.

But first I want to tell you the story of when Joe Strummer actually DID speak to me. When he was alive.

I worked for a fairly prominent music television network in the late-nineties and my job was to produce a fairly prominent music television program. I had been a Clash fan forever since diapers and when I heard that (a) Joe was making music again with his new band, The Mescaleros who (b) had a record forthcoming, and (c) they did a video to promote the record, and (d) they were touring the states and would be in New York, I got on the horn and started hounding the music and programming dept. to stop sitting around and do something.

I should mention that I was a huge fan of The Clash and a fan of punk rock bands like The Ramones and Television and Bad Brains and Mission of Burma and The Dead Boys, etc., but I was generally not starstruck and I was not nervous when I found out Joe Strummer was coming for an interview.  As the day approached however, I got a large number of calls from people in various departments around the building who wanted to come witness the proceedings, and I understood the weight of the circumstances.  To serious music fans (of whom there were many despite the fact that they had mostly settled for peddling ‘N Sync to preteens) this was a colossal deal.

So I was prepared for a happening but I was not prepared for the man, Joe Strummer.

I was not prepared for the sheer force of personality that swept through the building that day.

Joe Strummer came alone. This was surprising because no one came alone. Usually there was at minimum a manager or assistant plus a label person, and possibly one or two friends or bandmates.  Joe Strummer came alone.

Joe Strummer came carrying a boombox. On the boombox was Cuban music and it was blaring. Joe Strummer walked past reception with the Cuban music blaring from his cradled arms and I introduced myself in a loud voice and he greeted me and said, “This is the new shit. I just bought this tape outside on the street. It is the new shit.” I smiled a wide smile. I could always understand people who truly loved music.

Joe Strummer encouraged me. I told him who I was, explained that I was the producer of the show (all 24 years of me) to which he responded, “Good! You’re doing it! Congratulations!”  I felt a bit sheepish as I assumed he was being sarcastic (I was used to pop culture irony and smug rock stars) so I kind of cocked my head to the side and laughed.  And he said, “No you’re really doing it, keep it up, man!”

I was now rattled. It was not five minutes and Joe Strummer had introduced me to Cuban music that I wanted to listen to forever, had displayed a heady mix of passion and positive energy, and encouraged me in my endeavors in a way that dripped with sincerity and compassion.

I loved him at that moment.

Joe Strummer un-marketed. As I prepped him for the interview, I went through a few of the questions which were designed to encourage him to discuss his record and why people might want to hear it or go see the concert. He stopped me. “Don’t listen to this record.  Don’t buy this record.  I’m an old person, this is music for old people. Kids should not listen to this, they should be listening to Good Charlotte and falling in love.” He repeated this sentiment a few minutes later on national television. (I think he actually said Good Charlotte but I could be mistaken. It was some popular band of the moment.)  This confused me. The record was certainly mature and influenced by global sounds. Anyone expecting The Clash’s steamrolling guitars and hooks might be disappointed but the tunes were great, the conviction was true and his band was youthful.  Why would he tell potential buyers of the record not to purchase it?

And then I realized (like a punch to the face) that there was not a bullshit bone in the dude’s body. He was a connector and everything to him operated on the human level. To sell something and not be clear about it seemed to him like the scummiest kind of betrayal.

Joe Strummer marketed… someone else’s music. Afterwards we were chatting and I asked him if he could recommend any new music and he told me about Manu Chao’s Clandestino. He was literally buzzing as he told me about it. That it was recorded on a small four-track all over the world. That Manu Chao was once in a revolution-minded working class punk band in France called Mano Negra and had since transferred those ideas and ideals into this global itinerant lifestyle. That he was open and curious and his music constantly changing and adding influences.  That he  connected intimately with his audience. Joe Strummer went on and on. (Of course, I bought Clandestino at lunch that day and fell in love with it.)

At that moment I understood Joe Strummer and what he cared about. He showed me his individuality and a glimpse of the man he wished he was. I understood what the new band was about and I understood many of the lyrics on the new record that had eluded me. I had experienced in a matter of an hour or so, a decent glimpse of who Joe Strummer was. A perfectly romantic and larger-than-life portrait, perhaps, but one that has stuck with me.

So what does Joe Strummer say when he speaks to me now?

He speaks in a reassuring voice, with conviction.

He reminds me to:

• Have a global worldview but act on a human scale.
• Take action. If I want something I have to take it.
• Be unsparingly authentic.
• Be sincere in the praise of others. Do this often.
• Be positive.
• Share the things that I love.
• Connect with people.