music – Andrew Careaga

Inspired by the music of Warren Zevon

Announcing my crime fiction debut in ‘Bad Intentions,’ coming this summer

Warren Zevon image — Warren Zevon. Image via Jesse’s Cafe Americain blog.

Strike up the band, Johnny! Now it can be told: one of my short stories will be included in an anthology of crime fiction inspired by the works of the legendary singer and songwriter Warren Zevon (1947-2003).

Am I an excitable boy? Hell yeah.

I am one of 15 writers to be included in this collection, called Bad Intentions. It’ll be published in July by the good folks at Literary Garage, a Philadelphia-based lit mag that defines itself as a place “for writing that’s a little off the beaten path.”

Essay: Joe Strummer, punk prophet

Reposting an old essay on the 23rd anniversary of The Clash front man’s death

NOTE: Soon after Joe Strummer’s death of an apparent heart attack on this date in 2002, I wrote about The Clash co-founder’s influence as a prophetic voice in the world of punk rock and beyond. My attempts to connect Strummer’s musicianship with Christian theology might be a stretch, but it was a fun thought experiment and I enjoyed exploring those tenuous connections on the page (or the screen). I offer it here as my tribute to Strummer, who, in my opinion, embodied the spirit of ’77 punk rock and infused it with global sounds and a politically progressive worldview that is as needed today as ever.

Earlier versions of the essay below were published in 2003 in the online Christian/emerging church publications RELEVANT and The Phantom Tollbooth.