It was well past midnight and the white russians from earlier that evening were starting to unsettle in my stomach. I'm sure that other items were involved, but the drink is always the instigator. As usual, a walk around the block in the cold air was what I needed. I grabbed a coat/ hat/ scarf ensemble and stepped out into the night. Breath control is critical in a situation like this. I took as much chill into my lungs as possible and let it out in a controlled stream. I kept doing this as I wandered around to the main street on the other side of my block. The roads were pretty empty and the traffic lights had cycled to their "blink" setting. (It's the best one they have.)

By this time, I was on side three of my block. The stars were shining pretty bright for being near a city. I rounded the corner and began down my street. My porch beckoned, so I picked up the pace and bounded past bags of leaves to our yard, then the porch door, then the wicker chair (in which I fell asleep).

When I woke up, there was a man standing off in the corner of the porch, looking out through the screen and into my neighbor's window. I was still tired and drunk so I just watched him for a while. He had a black wool coat on and looked like he'd just stepped off a merchant marine vessel. In his hand was what looked like an empty pint glass. I decided to approach the situation casually.

"Need a beer?"

"Sure, mate." He spoke with what I would consider to be an Andy Capp accent. I went in and grabbed a Pabst from the fridge for the man and some water for myself.

"Aren't you that guy from the Clash? Joe Something?"

"Right. Strummer, Joe Strummer."

"Cool. What do you do now? Are you a producer? Do you own a club in London?"

"Naw, mate. Still working the song. Just had me a new album come out." Actually, I knew that the album was out. I'd just bought it the week before after hearing a track on a Hellcat Records compilation.

"Does it sound like the Clash?"

"Maybe. Y'know, I mean, it's me. So, yeah, it does. But I'd like to think that I've learned a bit since then. I got the CD on me if you want to hear some."

I couldn't turn the man down. The conversation was taking my mind off my stomach, anyway. We went in and put the album on the stereo system (keeping the volume low so as not to wake the roommates). "I've been inspired by all sorts lately. The electronic stuff makes things interesting, so I put a lil' of that in there. I've also become much more "percussive" of late, so we're a little more focused on that. Check out this one."

He skipped forward to "Techno D-Day," a track that reminded me of street musicians banging in unison on old plastic buckets. Then he brought us back to track two, "Sandpaper Blues."

"This one sounds like a cross between Graceland- era Paul Simon, Bobby McFerrin, and 'Iko Iko,'" I mentioned.

"Well, I've had a lot of time to listen to different things. I've enjoyed aging. I feel that my perspective has changed. Or, at least, it has shifted and broadened." "I like the Moroccan beat on this next one. The acoustic guitar sound is so clean."

"Right. This one really moves, don't it?"

"It does. I like how you don't repeat lyrics that much-- you cram an awful lot of words into each song."

"I've got a lot to say."

"This 'Road to Rock N' Roll' track almost has a Sugar Ray sound to it from the singing to the drum loop. Are they the future of Rock N' Roll?"

"Naw, man. That song's about what it feels like to have gotten to where I am now. It's me standing here now and looking back on the process. Goes back to my young days. You like the turntables in there?"

"Uh... at least you keep them subtle. Hey, I'm gonna have to turn in here. You're welcome to stay and watch some TV if you want."

"Actually, do you have that new Beck CD?"

"Yeah, it's over there. ...Yeah, that one. Okay, goodnight."

I brushed my teeth, being careful not to instigate any "gagging" with my toothbrush (I'd already made it this far). Then I sank into bed as the horns of Beck's "Sexx Laws" played in the background.

-Chip Chanko

Disclaimer: It seems obvious enough to us, but some people are dumb and think that this could be misconstrued as something that actually happened. It didn't, though. It was all part of a three- day- long acid bender Chanko endured last weekend.