Wednesday already…! The days all run together once it hits 100f here in the desert, the only way to tell if its the weekend is whether the Clash Blogette is home! Seriously though we need something to spice up the Summer…something that doesn’t happen often…something like the World Cup!

What would Strummer do?

OK then….back on task Tim…back to the Clash. I know we’ve had a little bit of discussion these last few days about 1/2 of The Clash performing live in Gorillaz. In the interest of me not repeating that phrase ad infinitum lets call it .5C/G – you can work out the formula. So while some see .5C/G as a embarrassment to the legacy of the band (that wouldn’t be me), others seem indifferent – let them do whatever they enjoy – while  still others really like Damon’s work and Gorillaz so are enjoying the current situation (that would be me). Wherever you stand though the reality is that Mick and Paul will be taking centre stage in a headline slot with Gorillaz at the largest event on the concert calendar in the UK, and arguably the biggest in the world. I speak of course about the forthcoming slot at Glastonbury which adds an extra dimension to the significance of this.

A friendly chap on Facebook launched a page seeking support for Gorillaz to include a Clash song at Glastonbury. Not that the band will be swayed by a Facebook group but it does open up another interesting debate. Yes, this is becoming Clashdebateblog.com…unintentionally though. You can’t think of Glastonbury without thinking of Joe Strummer – no event lends itself more ably to celebrating the time he spent at the festival and the memory of unity and good spirits around the fabled campfire. Its no secret that Strummer would act like a child before Christmas as Glastonbury rolled around so much did he look forward to it. Also worth noting is Joe’s home and the location of his final hours were just a short drive away from the festival site. The Westway replaced by the West country but this was of his own making. The Clash of course never played Glastonbury.

Will they or won't they?

So we have a famous event with .5C/G lined up to appear on stage in the shadow of Strummer’s campfire, does that necessitate a tribute to Joe from the stage? Even the events that allowed this to happen seem a little coincidental; U2 were supposed to headline that evening but a back injury to Bono forced the withdrawal of the Irish band. Gorillaz stepped into the slot, a slot that will have 75% of the audience purchasing tickets with the expectation that U2 were to be on that stage. To their credit U2 have always been very in awe of The Clash, apparently inspired to chase their own dream after seeing the band and The Edge having said “If there was no Clash there would be no U2, simple as that”. Add to this the fact that Joe and the Mescaleros performed Clash songs, Carbon Silicon have gradually added a few Clash songs to their set – their isn’t some prescribed sanctity to playing a Clash number. Will it happen? I don’t know, I’ve seen no official word on that. We might see a Clash song with Mick taking vocals on a Mick number, or Mick seeing a Joe song. Or Damon taking Joe’s role on a song they shared (which would be interesting). We might see no such observance of The Clash back catalogue. How about Coma Girl !!!!

I just want to throw out the question as to whether they should, not whether they will, include a Clash song. Would the audience love it? Of course they would…but how about you? Answers on a postcard – or via the poll below. Poll will be open for a few weeks until just before the event – then we’ll email Damon and Mick!

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I’d love your help to spread the word on this one…so please use those pretty colourful icons below (down there ) to share on Facebook, Twitter and the usual suspects. It really helps the blog – I thank you. If nothing polls 50% you get a conservative/lib-dem coalition.

Tim

Hello again on this very Tuesday of Tuesdays. Thanks to everyone who made their considered responses to yesterdays post both here on the blog and on the facebook page. I wasn’t looking to start name calling in the sense of ‘he knows best, she knows nothing’ but more like test the water about Gorillaz but also the bigger picture of where we stand with regards to antics both in terms of recordings and other gestures by the former members of The Clash. What I’ve learned is that there are a multitude of different opinions but more importantly some very visible passion and conviction. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m more concerned with enjoying what Mick and Paul are versus focusing on what they are not.

As you probably know the blog was on holiday in the Caribbean for about six weeks from mid-April until June 1st so I missed a number of small and moderate events. In the interests of keeping up to date on as many fronts as possible I realised that there were a few Carbon Silicon events worth catching up on. Due to Mick working with ‘that other band’ (trademarked so as not to offend) things may be on hold until August I would guess but expect UK tour dates for the late Summer early Autumn. Following the unique show in Zagreb that I mentioned the other day, Carbon Silicon are also confirmed for a support slot to Fatboy Slim at the Neapolis Festival on July 15 in Italy. Also on the bill that day are Gang of Four so it should be a good day out in the sun. Full details via the official Festival Site or their facebook page. The two day event has a history that stretches back to 1997 and is well attended, if you didn’t guess its right outside Naples. I’ve noticed we get a lot of visits to the blog from Italy (grazie e dia il benvenuto a) so hopefully some of you will get to the festival and take a few pictures and write a quick summary? Let me know…we’d all appreciate it!

As I’ve mentioned before Carbon Silicon seem to have no shortage of new material being written and bashed into shape so expect some new songs to be aired in Italy. There is also a new EP expected soon, I imagine the delay is due to the ‘other band’  Mick’s been sailing around with! More news as I get it, in the meantime a video of Mick’s other other other band…just to complete the set…*rumors remain we may see them in 2011.

*apologies for earlier error ~ Carbon Silicon did not play in Dublin earlier this year, thanks Gail!

Welcome back good people, it really felt like a Monday today didn’t it? Bad night of sleep, burned my finger, sore back from digging the pond (I think) and the strange sense that you left something behind on a shelf called ‘the weekend’. Ah well…too late to look back now let’s tackle the week head on. I know there’s an 80% chance you’ll not be reading this on a Monday but trust me that the sentiment was there as I write this.

Speaking of sentiment I saw some comments on our facebook page that made me wonder if I’ve been treating the recruitment of Mick Jones and Paul Simonon to Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz with the legislation of sentiment?? Was I simply happy that not only had these two pillars of The Clash played on a track on the new Plastic Beach album but then rumour was cemented into fact by the two Clash boys becoming part of Gorillaz at least in the live setting for the Spring and the Summer? Was I immersed in this unlikeliest of reunions to such an extent that I didn’t see it as opportunistic and even insulting to the legacy of The Clash? Did I let my judgment get clouded by events and ignore the facts? As you’ll see below I’ll reproduce some of the discussion we’ve been having on the FB page – and while not wanting to ratchet this up to a full on debate I do admire the conviction and reasoning of ‘Johnny Heartbreaker’. I did contact Johnny and he’s a good man and I asked if he’d object to his comments being part of this post and he was fine with that.

Now as to a lot of his thoughts, he’s probably trying to convince the wrong person. I’ve been a fan of Blur since first seeing them in 1993 and remained a great admirer of them throughout their time together, purchasing all their albums, meeting them a few times and feeling that along with Pulp and Supergrass they were amongst the best music England had to offer throughout the 1990′s. While I was raised on The Clash a few bands have held my interest long enough to watch their entire careers since and Blur would fall into that category. I’ve since enjoyed (most) of Graham Coxon’s solo work, adored The Good The Bad and The Queen (one of the best albums of the last decade for me) and watched Gorillaz evolve into a fascinating soup of musical influences wound around the songwriting and arrangement of Albarn. If you take the three Gorillaz albums as a composite work they are as fresh as anything else released in the last decade. Of course these are just my opinions after all, but yeah I was thrilled that Damon would work with Paul and Mick, and to me it’s rather brilliant to see them performing live together again with Damon. As I said I’m the wrong person to ask, Johnny sees the heart and soul of The Clash as Joe Strummer – end of story. His point of view is laid out beneath, although its fair to say he sees Mick’s work in the intervening decades as lackluster. He also feels that Strummer continued to maintain all of the integrity and quality post Clash – which I don’t agree with. While I fiercely enjoyed his later work nothing came close to the chemistry of The Clash (for me). Strummer was without a doubt one of a kind but did he ever burn as brightly as he did with The Clash?

The Clash were unlike any other band, it was specifically the balance between those four that led to a concentrated output of music, passion, ideas that can never be matched. I think Jones had to have Strummer to put the fabric on his song structure, I think Strummer needed the compositional skills of Jones to make songs that are as timeless as granite. I think both needed the personalities and vastly different skills of

Paul and Mick with Gorillaz, a joke or a joy to see?

Topper and Paul to put the roof on the building that the Clash created. I’ve never looked for any member of The Clash to match what they did with The Clash, nor do I think any of them have succeeded for more than a fleeting moment. I also think the combined output of Strummer and Jones (which strangely always seemed to ebb while the other flowed) since the split has brought us music that was vital to the last 30 years. While not matching the pinnacle of The Clash it was still pretty bloody good – and that includes contributions this decade with Carbon Silicon, The Good The Bad and The Queen and now Gorillaz. If the value of The Clash ended with a brick wall in 1983 they’d still have had a great impact but I do think it runs deeper than that and not just from Joe’s work.

There’s no right or wrong in this discussion – just thoughts and ideas, but I wondered if I was in the minority feeling very rewarded by the post Clash career of Jones and Simonon and not just Joe? As for Topper – his comments below are sound as a pound.

Below are the comments from the FB page, apologies if this is old to some of you – and yes I welcome your opinions, of all stripes.

Johnny Heartbreaker

(posted in response to old live footage of The Clash around 1980)

Sad to see Mick and Paul go from this – to prancing around a stage with the Gorillaz in ridiculous sailor outfits! Still, it was as equally sad to see them go from this to BAD and Havana 3am as well.

I think it’s not unfair then to say that they always needed Joe more than he ever needed them. Joe wasn’t just the main man in the Clash, but also in the 101′ers and the Mescaleros. And of course he set up Strummerville, keeping true to his life-long values of giving back to the people i.e. you and me, who gave him so much in return.

Joe truly was the beating heart of the (in it’s widest meaning) socialist claims of the Clash. He not only talked but also walked, lived and breathed his convictions …Whereas – and stepping back from rose tinted glasses – Mick, Paul and Topper haven’t quite lived up to their claims. Being rather self-centred and obsessed in their non-Clash interests and pursuits. Still trying to play rock stars. Still acting like rock stars.

But then – outside of Joe – I can’t think of any other member of the 1970s UK punk scene giving anything back either.  Lydonville? Purseyville? Cornwellville? TV Smithville? Idolville?

Nope, as I said. Great to see posts like this. But not so when it’s also a bitter reminder that, in Joe, the only true and genuine light of the 1970s UK punk scene went out, the day he died. But that’s just my opinion – and it may be said that I’m a little biased. Not least as I named my eldest son after Joe – and Joe is one of the only two genuine heroes I’ve ever had in my life …

And he’s a hero because (as stated above) he walked,talked, lived and breathed everything he ever believed in – and gave something back. So, shame on Mick, Paul and Topper. But then again you’ve still got time guys …!

Then a few replies -