If Music Could Talk

BY LAURA JANE FAULDS (ILLUSTRATION BY JEN MAY)

So far, two important things have happened to me in 2012:

1. I started the coolest blog evs with my 2 favorite people in the world, &

2. I fell in love with the Clash. 

But I never would've thought to start this blog if I hadn't fallen in love with the Clash (so you can all thank the Clash for Strawberry Fields Whatever's existence, in addition to the many many other gratitudes I believe you owe the Clash), because the Clash were the band that made me remember how much I care about rock & roll. And if you're a writer and you care about something, you really have no choice but to write about it.

My initial plan was to kick off Strawberry Fields Whatever with a Clash-story called How I Fell in Love with the Clash in Five Songs, but as it turned out, I had way more to say about falling in love with the Clash than could be confined to one single Clash-story. And so, I came up with the way-cooler idea of celebrating a ton of awesome things worth celebrating (Strawberry Fields Whatever being born; THE CLASH and everything in the world that is Clash-related; the month of June; how insanely fucking beautiful it is that great art can change you as a person forever; how insanely fucking lucky I am for getting to be an artist in a world full of corporate lawyers and bank managers) by turning How I Fell in Love with the Clash into a five-part series: a Clash song/Clash-story a day, every day for five days, from the 11th through 15th of June, 2012. They are all accompanied by the sickest Jen May illustrations you've ever seen.  

I've never much struggled with being a person who does whatever the fuck I want and never listens to anybody, but it wasn't until I found the Clash that I learned to fully own it. All I've ever wanted my writing to be is honest, brave and beautiful, but it wasn't until I found the Clash that I learned how to make it soulful. I had a really wonderful time writing about these 5 songs (I'm not going to tell you which songs they are; I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise) and the Clash-journey they took me on, and I'm so stoked to put out them into the world. Thank you, everyone, for letting me write for you. I am very happy to be here. 

#CLASHLIFE,

Laura Jane