A wolf moon tonight….very nice indeed it is too. If you read this tomorrow (Saturday) you’ll wish you had noticed the moon last night, a killing moon indeed. So what is on the agenda tonight then? The Clash Cup – you have been very patient with me on this and I’ve got a semblance of a schedule back so I’m committing to at least two ‘ties’ per week – round two will begin Sunday. If you’re a newer visitor to the blog we whiled away many hours on the blog last Autumn trying to the best Clash songs of all time. It’s all good fun so do come and participate – we need your votes. I thought Sunday would be a good day as dependent on how a certain football match goes earlier that day I’ll be either elated or morose, so be gentle if need be.

A Cuban in London is a great title for a blog and its also home to a post that I suggest you have a look at. The subject matter is The Clash and the theme of the posts are ‘killer opening songs’ (if he’s in London they should be ‘brilliant opening songs’ but I digress). I’m tempted to agree with his choice – does any album kick off with a better opening track than London Calling from the double album of the same name? I can’t think of any album that opens with a song that sets the stage quite as emphatically, it acts as a call to arms, a warning and a statement of intent – all at the same time. It has everything you want in a Clash song, Joe sounding as fixated as at any time, guitar that chops you in half and Paul with a bassline that should be forever taught in school. Weaving all that magic together was Topper on drums truly making the song a siren to the new decade that was about to begin. It’s a great question – is there a better opening track on any album – the only thing that I think sets up the album to follow with comparable lustre is Joyriders by Pulp which slowly teases you into the world of Jarvis Cocker and the detached brilliance of His ‘n’ Hers their 1994 masterpiece. I’d love to hear your suggestions…

When I think of early English punk  besides The Clash I always associate it with one band above all the other contenders. We all have our own choices and for many its The Sex Pistols, or The Damned (I’d guess they would make the big 3 list for most people) but for myself it would be Buzzcocks. I also think in addition to the Clash the band that most influenced what music I liked most from 1979 onwards would again be Manchester’s entry to the best of British punk. If you have any gaps in your record collection I recommend without reservation that you take advantage of what Mute Records are doing next month! Each of the first three Buzzcocks albums are being reissued as special two disc editions – the amount of extra tracks from John Peel Sessions / Demos / Singles & B-Sides plus live tracks is beyond fantastic. I can’t wait for these and will be replacing my well worn early CDs which in turn replaced my well knackered vinyl. If you don’t purchase any other reissues this year please give these a try. Also, the only live show I show for them in the States this year is next month in Orange County.

Well off track but worthy – a friend of mine runs a site where comic artists (comic book art) sell their private pieces and its more affordable than you’d imagine. If you have a friend, kid, or relative who would appreciate some exclusive art – they are currently holding a special auction of pieces where all proceeds benefit Haiti. Better still he has managed to get his company to match the bids…so have a look here for the details. Thanks. (The auction closes soon..but email me or him if interested).

Finally – sent in a link to a Rancid video (The cover of “Cheat”) via the comments section the other night – in case you missed it I’ve added it below. The first part of the video is what you want to wathc with Joe Strummer giving us all a message.

Cheers all