Rock Docs Podcast: ‘Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten’, with guest Elizabeth Nelson of The Paranoid Style

Joe Strummer the future is unwritten rock docs

Rock Docs is taking on a punk legend. In fact few names in punk carry as much weight as that of Joe Strummer, singer and songwriter in The Clash. He’s the subject of the 2007 documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and this week Andy Keatts and David Lizerbram discuss the legend and the enigma of one of the architects of punk and rock ‘n’ roll overall.

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten is more of a wake for the then-recently departed punk rock legend than a by-the-books rock doc. Many of Joe’s family, friends, musical compatriots, actor and director pals, and other partners in crime gather around various campfires to tell Strummer stories. The movie does go through his biography in a more or less linear fashion, but it’s not an “everything you ever wanted to know about The Clash” kind of doc. You come away from the movie feeling like you know Joe Strummer, but that he was also unknowable even to those closest to him.

This week’s guest is Elizabeth Nelson, singer/songwriter in the power pop group The Paranoid Style. Their latest album is The Interrogator.

Hear the latest episode of Rock Docs below and watch the trailer for the film as well. It’s available to stream on Peacock, or on Freevee on Amazon Prime.