Good Morning, The Clash Cup is back! I know it’s a long time coming like someone you just assumed had lost your number who suddenly calls. Ever done that? Assumed you wouldn’t hear from someone you liked and moved on with your life and met someone else fairly quickly only to have the one you’d given up on suddenly contact you? Life can be so cruel when you’re a teenager!!

Right then – The Clash Cup – Round One is nearly over so lets get back to it. The rules are simple but if you’re new to the blog – I list pairings of Clash songs and you dear reader have to weigh them up and cast your informed vote. The most votes sees the song through to round two (starting in a few days) and so on. Polls remain open for about 2.5 days and your participation is both encouraged but also warmly appreciated. Round 2 is going to be tasty as its safe to say the vast majority of the match ups for that stage will be difficult at best – and then we have today’s tracks to vote for.

Match 52 -              Jail Guitar Doors versus One Emotion

Match 53 -              Know Your Rights versus Midnight Log

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment. Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Before you click away I’ll do my usual link so you can refresh (in case) or just enjoy my meanderings about the songs in question – but don’t forget to click afterwards!

Take a right for Portobello Road

Jail Guitar Doors – This song has taken on a life of it’s own the last couple of years hasn’t it and the blog has mentioned it many times due to the Billy Bragg / Mick Jones backed project to provide guitars as a rehabilitation tool for prison inmates. Can’t let that distract from one of the more enjoyable (I know – shite adjective) Clash singalongs. When I first heard this as 13 year old I played it loud and in the intervening years that remains the only way to listen to it. Originally just a b-side (Clash City Rockers) it’s also one of the rare holdovers from the 101′ers – well the chorus was anyway as Mick Jones rebuilt the verses. Great fun and fairly sure it will defeat:

One Emotion - In the early Summer of ’78 The Clash spent a lot of time in Basing Street Studios (just 100 yards from the location of today’s photograph from the Westway) and recorded primal versions of much of what to become Give ‘em Enough Rope. From those sessions came the track One Emotion and while its a song I’ve always had a soft spot for a cleaner recording of it would have been welcome. The song itself has a bit of a traditional feel and is apparently the band’s take on wooden actor Roger Moore and his ‘one emotion’ portrayed throughout Bond films. Based on my research the inspiration was probably The Spy Who Loved Me or The Man With Golden Gun. Clash trivia…which band that supported The Clash mentioned both of those films in one of their songs? (easy one for you!)

Know Your Rights – I loved this when I first heard it, I still love it now. At the time it was as a ‘return to form’ by the music press who wanted a punchier Clash than they’d been chewing the prior 18 months. In truth it was a rockabilly riff and Strummer barking out a call to action aimed at anyone who’d listen. It has aged well (in my opinion) and demonstrates that much of what the band were doing in their dying days was still vital, angry and worthwhile. Funnily enough (until I remind myself of the status Combat Rock afforded the band in the States) it is still a song I’ll hear on the radio and jukeboxes alike. It also opened my ears to a whole rockabilly/psychobilly scene I’d previously ignored in London. (ahhh…the Klubfoot!)

Midnight Log – Off we go to another amazing example of the dexterity that was abundant throughout Sandinista! For some reason this was one of the few songs my sister approved off by The Clash. Let me see that was 1981 or 1982 so she was enthused with Antmusic or Dexy’s so I suppose it all adds up. Topper just could play anything eh?

Get voting, polls will close Thursday PM.

Tim

So this is how it feels eh? Bloody Sony…bloody Sunderland. I won’t talk about Sunderland but I will discuss Sony, as you may recall I mentioned a short while ago that the label where The Clash reside was having another stab at London Calling - this time to mark the 30th (!!) anniversary of the landmark double album released Dec 14, 1979. At the time we speculated as to what might be included – a live disc, more alternate versions etc? I’ve got to break the bad news – the 30th anniversary edition looks set to be an anti-climax.

The facts, it’s the same version as the Legacy 25th (but slimmed down) with a mini version of the album cover and inner sleeves and a (new?) 20 page booklet. So what do you get -

The original album remastered  +   The Vanilla Tapes (see 2004 edition) + The ‘Making of’ DVD (see 2004 edition)

Nothing new on CD or DVD – no live tracks, sessions or outtakes.

Just who do they expect to buy this? I don’t need a micro version of the original inner sleeves? I’ve already got them – and guess what they are sized in a formidable 12″x12″ square. I’m reluctant to point out you can pre-order it here for just 9 quid. I’m also reluctant to point out Spurs are winning 6-1 with 20 minutes left….can someone please return me to reality!

Gimme Honda, Gimme Sony……                  did I really expect more?

Hello….yes I know it’s been a while. I started the Clash Cup as a fun and interactive way for the visitors to The Clash Blog to ultimately select the best 32,16,8 and finally the top 4 Clash songs of all time. If you’re a newer visitor to the blog we basically ‘seeded’ a number of songs so that they’d protected until the later rounds. If you check back on the blog you can find that list (I’ll also get a page added for next week). Even though you’ve perhaps missed the earlier 51 match ups don’t worry as the important votes lay ahead.

Right then – to get it back on track – we’ve got a series of results to review – I’ll get back to the head-to-head match ups this weekend and guarantee a new Clash Cup entry every day or two. Round one is nearly complete and by next weekend we’ll be all set for round two. The system is simple – no registration is required and one vote per IP. I track all votes and leave polls open for about 72 hours. Thanks for being so patient with this, I fully realise it’s been on hold about six weeks (best laid plans and all that…).

Here are the results for the pending battles that we left pending!

Match 46 – The Equaliser tops      Ivan Meets G.I. Joe         32-11                                                              Not a big shock there in this ‘All Sandinista! battle’

Match 47 – City of The Dead smacks    Freedom Train            45-1                                                              The most one sided result so far in Round One

Match 48 - 48 Hours defeats         Three Card Trick             36-10                                                          Thank goodness for that (10 votes for Three Card Trick?)

Match 49 – Time is Tight edges         Lose This Skin                27-17                                                          Pretty close end result sees another cover version into round 2

Match 50 -  Groovy Times slips by          The Call Up                 31-28                                                      Bloody close and more than enough votes for The Call Up to get to the next round as high vote runner up

Match 51 – The Guns of Brixton sneaks past     Train in Vain           34-27                                             Another close one and both songs will make it to round 2

Right there you have it, we’ve got 4 pairing left in Round one to sort the last 8. Then by next Saturday we’ll launch into round 2. Sorry it took so long and I look forward to all of your voting in the days ahead.