It’s August. We’ve somehow managed to survive 3/4s of a what has been a miserable, soul-wrenching slog of a year, full of gratuitous brutality, endless war, and a slow-burning slide into fascism. Oh and add economic difficulties. But, we’re still here. And we will face whatever it is we’re meant to face, right?
Music, art and community matter more than ever. Let’s not forget that fact. As always, I will spend some time celebrating the birthday of a series of favorites and legends while we still have them.
- MTV was launched 45 years ago on August 1
- Coolio was born 63 years ago on August 1
- Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott celebrated his 67h on August 1
- Public Enemy‘s Chuck D. celebrated his 66th birthday on August 1
- Butch Vig celebrated his 71st birthday on August 2
- Echo and the Bunnymen‘s first dummer Pete de Freitas was born 65 years ago on August 2
- Collective Soul‘s frontman Ed Roland celebrated his 63rd on August 3
- Metallica‘s James Hetfield celebrated his 63rd birthday on August 3
- The iconic Louis Armstrong was born 125 years ago on August 4
- Pat Smear celebrated his 65th birthday on August 5
- Beastie Boys‘ MCA, a.k.a. Adan Yauch was born 61 years ago on August 5
U2′s The Edge celebrates his 65th birthday today. Those who know me outside of social media know that I’m a huge U2 fan, and have been since the ’80s. Achtung Baby is one of my favorite albums ever recorded. I’m not kidding.
So happy birthday, Edge! Thank you for music that’s been a major part of my life’s soundtrack. And may be there many, many, many more!
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The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 16 year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have.
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