… and Fugazi saved my adulthood.

I was not a terribly unhappy kid growing up. I had the same problems most teenagers do – self esteem, puberty, and feeling sort of grown up while still having to rely on my parents for everything. Seventh and eighth grade were brutal years that I would not ever choose to live again except for a singular definining moment that I will never forget: the tape of the Clash that my cousin made for me. He was older and in law school at UVa, this was probably 1988. Prior to having my eyes opened by the Clash I’d listened to the Beatles a lot, had gotten into Pink Floyd, and liked my dad’s old blues records. But it was the Clash that instilled in me a sense of strength and self worth.
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