Fare thee well to Josep Eduardo Almudéver Mateu, the last known survivor of the International Brigades. Born in France to Spanish parents, Almudéver was only 16 years old when he lied about his age to join Spain's republican army during the outbreak of the Civil War; he was tossed out when after being wounded his real age was discovered. Not giving up on the fight against fascism, he joined the International Brigades with whom he proudly served until they were disbanded in 1938. He remained in Spain, but was imprisoned by Franco in 1939 and sent to a concentration camp where he was forced to watch his comrades be murdered one by one ("Never, in all my life, will I forget the screams of the people who were shot"). After spending years in various Spanish prisons, in 1944 he joined guerrilla forces to continue the fight against Franco, eventually going into exile in France. He returned to Spain in recent years, where in Valencia he was hailed as hero.
Josep Eduardo Almudéver Mateu passed away in France on May 23rd at age 101. The world lost a true hero, and an inspiration to all that continue to stand against fascist tyranny. Rest In Peace.
The first, very intimate live performance of "Abandoned Love," a song so perfect that the birthday boy tossed it aside.
"On a Thursday night in July 1975, I headed out to see Ramblin' Jack Elliott at [The Other End] in New York City. Because I wanted to learn his technique, I got there early enough to get a seat near the front so I could watch him play guitar. After the first set, a P.A. announcement told us we were welcome to stay for the second set if we honored the two-drink minimum. As the lights flashed on and I got up to leave, I glanced around the club and was stunned to see Bob Dylan seated toward the back with Jack, wearing the same striped tee shirt and leather jacket he had on in a photo with Patti Smith on the cover of the then-current Village Voice.
Naturally, I sat right back down. There was absolutely no way I was leaving at that point. Soon, others began to notice him, too, so Jack and Bob left their seats and went backstage. But when the engineer set up another microphone, we knew Bob was going to sit in. The electricity in the room was tangible as the club began filling up with more bodies. Finally, Jack came out and started his set. After a couple of songs, he began "With God on Our Side." After the first few lines, he turned his head toward the back of the stage and said, "Bob, you want to help me out on this?" The place went nuts as Dylan walked onstage. I can still see that shy look on his face as he nervously squinted out into the audience. He was so nervous, in fact, that he didn't notice that the capo on his guitar was crooked and buzzing badly.
Their first song was "Pretty Boy Floyd," with Bob singing harmony and his guitar buzzing right along. Then Jack started "How Long Blues." After the first verse, he looked at Bob in a way that seemed to ask him to sing a verse. Bob simply shook his head and mouthed something inaudible. When the song finished, however, Dylan began strumming his guitar. But since it was still buzzing, he asked Jack to trade instruments with him [this can be heard in the video at . At that moment, everyone in the room was in a trance; it's not every day one gets to hear an impromptu Bob Dylan performance in a tiny club. After a couple of lines, we realized he was performing a new song, with each line getting even better than the last. The song was "Abandoned Love," and it still is the most powerful performance I've ever heard.
Ramblin' Jack started strumming along in the beginning, but he soon realized the rarity of the moment and stopped and stepped to the side. As Bob sang, the nervousness so evident earlier vanished completely. He was so moving. There he was, hitting us with new material, with everyone hanging on his every word. It was an incredible feeling to be in that small club listening to Bob Dylan perform a new song. We all felt we were watching history in the making. After he finished, he returned to his seat near the back of the club and quietly watched the rest of the show. Jack appeared so speechless and overwhelmed by Dylan's performance that he started his next song with Bob's buzzing guitar.
Later, as we began filing out into the night onto Bleecker Street, we could see Bobby Dylan through the outside windows, leaning over his table and deep in conversation with someone, the candle in front of him highlighting his face. It's a moment I'll never forget."
"To approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger architectural problem, capable of being given order by converting it into a disciplined work of art, is to make the mistake of attempting to substitute art for life. The results of such profound confusion between art and life are neither life nor art. They are taxidermy. In its place, taxidermy can be a useful and decent craft. However, it goes too far when the specimens put on display are exhibitions of dead, stuffed cities."
Achilles In The Alleyway is a journal of art, prose, poetry, photography, politics, philosophy, life, death, and all the sounds that lie in between, over, under, sideways, and down.
All writing herein is copyrighted by Mr. Lee, unless otherwise credited.
All MP3s are posted for educational purposes and will be removed if there is an objection from the holder of the original copyright.
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"When I was very young, I admired hardened criminals locked behind prison doors; I visited inns and taverns they frequented; with their eyes, I saw the blue sky and the blossoming work of the fields; I tracked their scent through cities. They were more powerful than saints, more prudent than explorers — and they, they alone, were witnesses to glory and reason!"
AITA's interview series with people whose activities outside of the mainstream — be it in art, design, music, writing, photography, or activism — inspires us. Click the image above to dive in.
