Blondie's social media has alerted folks to the passing of Clem Burke.
Longtime readers will know Jamie and I are Blondie fans and have seen them a couple of times.
I say this not lightly - Clem Burke was likely the best drummer I've ever seen live. Some of that (a lot of that) was technical proficiency, but no small amount of it was that he was having a party behind his drum kit. The man always seemed to love what he was doing.
I confess to following him on social media and going down a COVID-era YouTube hole a night or three just watching him play across the years and sometimes with different bands.
If you never paid particular attention to Clem, (1) shame on you, and (2) here's a bunch of Clem Burke across multiple bands, and (3) Gerry shared this so I'm sharing it.
If you want to just listen to Clem Burke in context and songs that are NOT Dreaming (which may be my favorite) here's a favorite:
and another:
Maria (1999):
ah, heck. Here's Dreaming.
1 comment:
I think my favorite Blondie story about Clem was something lilke: "They [the band] was always holding me back, but on 'Dreaming,' they said "Well, Clem, go for it.' and so I did." And that's why "Dreaming" is just so chock-full of fills.
There's a place where you can get and an Old Milwaukee for under a beer while wearing a suit and a skinny tie. I hope he's there forever.
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