I’ve been down this road before. I posted about Missing Foundation, and Peter Missing wrote in. I posted a couple of times about the great John Lurie, and he wrote in. I posted about SWANS, and Jarboe weighed in. I posted about Alien Sex Fiend, and drummer Johnny Ha Ha wrote in. It never fails to surprise me, but it does happen.
Imagine my surprise, then, when after posting, last week, about the Wall Street Journal profile of one Dave Marin and his quest to correct an error on the sleeve of the Clash’s iconic London Calling, who should get in touch but Dave Marin himself.
Now, as I stated on that earlier post, I am the VERY LAST PERSON ON EARTH who should be taking Mr. Marin to task for his scrupulously detailed pedantry, as he is clearly my brother in that capacity. Witness the fact that in 2016, I devoted no fewer than four separate, long posts about pinpointing the location of the original photograph by Don McCullin that Mike Coles manipulated to grace the cover the Killing Joke’s debut album. Also in 2016, I penned a whopping NINE goddamn posts here about my own feverish quest to divine the location of a 1990-era photograph of the Lunachicks. Like Dave Marin, I am absolutely no stranger to this variant of geeky mania. Here’s what our man had to say.
Thanks for picking up on the WSJ article. I’m a fan of your site (we’ve connected in the past over some photos and locations). Don’t worry I have not been all consumed by my Clash Smash quest. The “life’s goal” is obviously a bit overblown. I’ll admit I do need more hobbies. And I think in the 4 years since I created the YouTube video I’ve come to realize, especially in this day and age, that FACTS ARE IMPORTANT. Facts are, well, FACTS! Sure, the date doesn’t really matter but the exercise was fun and it’s interesting to discover just what’s available on line. Am I any more looney than people that remember the pitch count of a particular hit during a particular at bat during a baseball game 70 years ago (listen to WFAN any day to hear those recited) or those that care about vintages of wines and differences in tastes?! Who cares!!!!! But facts shouldn’t be argued-facts are facts. And today they’re more important than ever. Be Best. Dave
I am relieved that Dave has both retained his sense of humor about the whole thing, and doesn’t think I’m a complete a-hole for calling his obsession “tragic.” And while his name didn’t ring a bell, I looked back and he has indeed weighed in on a few entries here in the past. Go figure.
More to the point, I cannot agree more with his assertion that FACTS ARE IMPORTANT, especially in an era when our flatulent warthog of a president brands the press “our country’s biggest enemy.” As someone who spent about 23 years of his career in journalism, I am especially vexed about this comment. Fuck Trump. I so look forward to his administration’s inevitable unraveling and to see the man removed from the White House in handcuffs.
But I digress.
Anyway, cheers to you Dave Marin. No hard feelings. I salute you. Beers aloft. This one’s for you.
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