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Don’t miss today’s free Paul Krugman substack. Perhaps for some the title is enough: “Attack of the Quack-Industrial Complex.” But read on. We even get RFK Jr. referred to as General Jack D. Ripper for his call to end fluoridation of water.
Then there’s this from Bulwark’s Sonny Bunch: “It will never cease to amaze that Americans basically just got bored of having the best lives on the planet so they elected a lunatic to blow it up in the hopes of building some microwave factories for their children to find meaning in.”
Colbert’s monologue last night (which came on way late due to NCAA final):
Sorry, more bad news, although we posted the bulletin yesterday: Clem Burke, lifetime Blondie drummer, and session man, dead at 70 from cancer. Said to be a really great guy as well. So naturally the New York Times today, in his obit, in quoting him, decides to adds an “e” to the end of Eddie Cochran’s name: “The American roots of rock ’n’ roll — Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochrane — that was the foundation of what I loved from an early age.”
Now, most folks will merely bring you videos of a couple of Blondie classics. But you know me, I am not that predictable (although I did see him and Blondie at CBGBs around 1976). So this from Wikipedia:
In 2008, it was reported that he had taken part in an eight-year study that analysed the physical and psychological effects of drumming and the stamina required by professional drummers, conducted jointly by the University of Gloucestershire and the University of Chichester….Burke founded the Clem Burke Drumming project to investigate the physical and mental-health benefits of drumming. In July 2011, Burke received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucestershire, as a result of the drumming project.
So here he is accepting his doctorate, by playing a few moments of a Blondie intro:
Well, okay, now a couple of Blondie classics with good shots of Clem. “X Offender” here in 1978.
And “Denis Denis” in 1999 (by the way, I bought the original single back around 1961 as I barely reached teen years).
From Tunes to Toons
Brendan Loper, The New Yorker:
Great Clem and Blondie videos.
A powerful collection of cartoons. Wow.
I first heard Clem’s drumming on Blondie’s first album and immediately knew he was something special. His power drumming WAS the sound of Blondie. The fact that he played for so many other bands including the Ramones and the Romantics shows just how special and respected he was. He cast a big shadow and will truly be missed.