Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesFriday MP3 Shuffle: Happy Birthday Joe Strummer Edition

Today we wish a posthumous Happy Birthday to Joe Strummer, co-founder and lead singer of The Clash. Starting out in the '70s UK Punk scene, the band's global reach was in the music, as they incorporated Reggae, Ska, Dub, Rockabilly and Funk into their sound. London Calling and Combat Rock put the band at the top of the charts, with Strummer's politically charged lyrics and musical influences inspired people looking to express themselves socially and artistically. Celebrate his birthday by taking your MP3 player, pressing the "shuffle" button, and sharing the first 10 songs you hear:

1. "3" by Seekae (+DOME): a mid-tempo Ambient groove with a guitar-and-bass-drum arrangement that seems appropriate for the end of Summer

2. "Machego" by Ikonica (Aerotropolis): 808-flavored funkiness for your local House party

3. "Venus de Milo" by Miles Davis (Birth of the Cool): '50s Cool Jazz that marks Davis' departure from the "Trad" and BeBop styles that were most popular at the time

4. "Back Beat #1" by The Fleshtones (Brooklyn Sound Solution): Rock-solid NYC Rock and Roll from a band that's been doing it for a while now

5. 曖昧 by Faye Wong (Songs of Love and Happiness): She's far from a household name in North America and England, but when you count your fan base in the billions in Asia, you don't need to be

6. "Ode to Don Jose" by The Art of Noise (The Ambient Collection): One of my go-to albums when I want to chill out

7. "Forever" by Ben Harper (Welcome to the Cruel World): Modern Blues from 1994. He's kind of a predecessor to Willis Earl Beal in his sound and feel

8. "Incident at White Hen" by Daniel Knox (Daniel Knox): One day the world will appreciate his majestic voice, and I'll be able to say can say I knew him when...

9. "Lighthouse" by Grouper (Ruins): A ghostly piano passage that should be depressing but is really deep and lovely

10. "Nice Girls" by HEALTH (Get Color): One of the tamer selections from the California Noise band

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