Two Minutes Fifty-Nine

I’m back after a short break with a new episode, this time focusing on September observations in the US, from Labor Day to the anniversary of 9/11 to Constitution Day. Apropos of those events, I talk about the two Clash songs I’ve practiced on guitar over the past couple of weeks: “Clampdown” from London Calling and “Tommy Gun” from Give ’Em Enough Rope. The first of those songs deals with the con...

Fifty-five years ago this week, Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention, which resulted in a police riot and split the party between old guard populists and a new, pro-civil rights/anti-war faction that would come to dominate it. On this episode, I talk about memories from that time and how the Vietnam war influenced Joe Strummer’s lyrics and the Clash’s music, from “I’m So Bored With th...

This week I celebrate the 71st birthday of John Graham Mellor, better known as Clash frontman Joe Strummer. Though all of Joe’s music was fantastic, especially, of course, his music with the Clash, on this episode I focus more on his outstanding post-Clash solo career. And, on that subject, it just so happens that my copy of the latest Joe Strummer release, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: Live...

As promised, this week’s episode is a deep dive into the Clash’s 1979 release, The Cost of Living EP , which consists of four tracks:  “I Fought the Law” “Groovy Times” “Gates of the West” “Capital Radio Two” The EP combines outstanding musicianship with sarcasm and wit in a way only the Clash could pull off. From hard-driving rockabilly to gloom and doom realism to New York-inspired hope for the...

I planned to get back to talking Clash after a brief time off. Specifically, to dive into the band’s Cost of Living EP , released in May 1979 to coincide with the UK general election that brought Margaret Thatcher to power.  Instead, I was blindsided by the untimely death of Sinéad O’Connor the day before I sat down to record this episode. So, my plans changed. I don’t really know how to desc...

Returning to normal after last week’s special episode on Garland Jeffreys (and thanks to Garland for the shout-out on social media), we turn to a long overdue subject: Clash founder Mick Jones! While I’ve talked a lot about Joe Strummer (of course!) and Paul Simonon (especially in light of the great new Galen & Paul album, Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day? ), I realize that I haven’t given Mick...

On this special joint episode of our two podcasts, In the Shadow of the Evening Trees and Two Minutes Fifty-Nine, Jennifer and I celebrate one of our favorite artists, Garland Jeffreys , who turned 80 on June 29. To those who don’t know, Garland Jeffreys is a singer-songwriter from New York who wrote and performed some of the most influential, if not necessarily widely-known, music over a 50-year...

Pride Month is rapidly passing and this weekend it’s Chicago’s turn to celebrate, so I thought I’d ponder the connections between punk rock and the LGBTQIA+ community. First, I talk about Joe Strummer and the band’s support for the community, starting with “The Right Profile” from London Calling . “The Right Profile” is a song about the legendary but closeted actor Montgomery Clift. The song is cl...

Father’s Day is coming up and that can be a mixed bag for some folks. On this week’s episode, I talk about how Garland Jeffreys’ song “Collide the Generations” and the website dedicated to it helped me find the thread running through an old photograph, an old guitar, my dad, my brother, Joe Strummer, and me.  I also discuss the 45th anniversary of the Clash’s single “White Man in Hammersmith...

The good news is, I do not talk about Ireland or Bruce Springsteen this week, other than to point out that you can listen to my wife and I on Jesse Jackson’s Set Lusting Bruce podcast here . (You should really listen in. We had a lot of fun.) The bad news is, do talk about American politics again, and, more to the point, a certain someone’s most recent indictment. On that note, when Joe Strummer s...