Inspired by the president’s announcement that he’s running for reelection, I recall Joe Strummer’s performance of “Bankrobber” at Bizarre Festival in Cologne, Germany, in 1999, in which he urged people not to vote. As much as I love Joe, and as much as I agree with him that people should “make trouble,” voting is still the key to preserving democracy.

Which leads me to wonder aloud whether “making trouble,” at least in the form of mass protests, has the same political effectiveness in America today that it had in the past.

And, on the subject of elections and politics, I also talk about the strange political devolution of John Lydon, from encouraging people to vote in Britain’s national elections to appearing on The Colbert Report and telling folks not to vote for Trump to (apparently) becoming a genuine Trump fan, it’s all very weird. But, as I explain on the show, I’ve always been more of a Clash fan than a Pistols fan.

On a lighter note, Consequence has a new piece up called “10 Punk & Power Pop Albums Bobcat Goldthwait Thinks Every Music Fan Should Own” and given that Goldthwait and I are the same age, it’s … eerily familiar. Sadly, there’s no Clash on the list, but he’s got the Ramones, the Go Gos, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Devo, the B-52’s, the Pistols (see above), and one of my all-time favorites: Cheap Trick’s live album, At Budokan. 

Anyway, please give this week’s show a listen and share your thoughts in the comments below. And remember, as Joe always said, “Without people, you’re nothing.”