Friday night and its still chucking it down with rain here, pretty mad as we have now had the equivalent of a normal annual amount of rainfall just this week. Remind me in 6 months when it hasn’t rained since ok? So….a bit more info on the Gorillaz album courtesy of the NME. The album is scheduled for a release date of March 8th on both sides of the Atlantic it seems, and the collaboration with Simonon/Jones is just limited to the one track as initially reported (the title track Plastic Beach). I may be biased as I was/am a serious Blur fan, but I really like what Damon does in general and I don’t think it would be very far off the mark to suggest what he has achieved/attempted/meshed with Gorillaz is in many ways similar to what Mick Jones managed to accomplish with Big Audio Dynamite. The parallels are pronounced, two important key members of previously great bands that started fresh with something completely unexpected. Both bands had then made albums without musical boundaries that appealed to very different (and new) fans due to the broad reach in style and musical sense. Sure there was some magpie approach but nobody else did what Big Audio Dynamite were doing from 1985-1990 and you can say much the same for Gorillaz. Biggest difference Mick and company didn’t become cartoon characters but the clothing and baseball caps was the next best thing eh?

If you want or need the ideal initiation to Gorillaz – may I suggest getting a copy of the DVD  ‘Demon Days – Live in Manchester‘. Musically and visually its rather amazing. In addition to Mick and Paul the new album is packed with guest musicians such as Lou Reed, Mos Def, Mark E Smith, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, De La Soul and Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys. Did Mick have a pint with Lou Reed? Was Paul having a natter with Snoop Dogg? We need to know and you might find out as there looks to be a full interview with Damon Albarn in the new NME so if you get hold of a copy please share anything with us that might be useful. Right…so we’ll keep our eyes on that until the album comes out then.

I don’t profess to know the origins of everything so I wanted to feature a song of the day today – from Earthquake Weather – Joe doing his version of ‘Ride The Donkey‘ — always really liked this one and don’t know much about the origins - The Tennors – (Tenors) – but this site is a bit lacking in info, but what a great track. Audio is over on the right of this page in the video link. Original version linked here for your enjoyment (shit that’s really good!)

Yes Yes…I mentioned The Libertines the other day but the new interview(s) with Carl Barat totally contradicts what he was saying as recently as

Pete Doherty, will he or won't he?

October. The new interview (BBC version here) suggests he’s looking at this happening in 2011 as he’s too busy in 2010 (aren’t we all). That said the same news hasn’t been confirmed in by Pete as of now. I’m thinking if Babyshambles up the odds by making a third brilliant album we can perhaps forget the notion of a Libertines reunion, especially as it might be a case of Carl wanting it more. Wouldn’t Pete Doherty be tempted to say no thanks after all that has happened? Stay tuned and don’t forget that it looks likely that Pete might be heading back to jail in the interim also….

Libertine to Springsteen…I rarely mention The Boss unless he mentions The Clash and wouldn’t you know it…he has. On this link from the Sundance Channel check some of Springsteen’s favourite tracks of all time which includes a Clash song and a few others that may well shock you (well they did me).

Back in the morning I think….have a good night.

Well it took a third party, namely Damon Albarn (Blur, The Good The Bad and The Queen, Gorillaz) to make this happen but the rumours are now officially correct. The forthcoming Gorillaz album features a host of guest musicians but most importantly to us Mick and Paul recorded together on one track (the title track) from the new album ‘Plastic Beach’.

Albarn who lives a few minutes away from Simonon in Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill had befriended Paul and they worked together on the brilliant ‘The Good The Bad and The Queen’ project in 2006 and 2007. Well it seems logical to assume that Simonon has stayed close to Damon to now see him pop up on the new Gorillaz album but now enlisting Mick Jones too! More info I’m sure as the album release gets nearer and I’ll expand upon it then. Looks like 2010 might be another busy year for Clash fans. Sorry for the brief post, gotta get going but wanted to get this news out!

Hello again and welcome back, if you are a regular visitor you already know I’m in a good mood today and that was primarily due to this. For those of you with no interest in football in general or Arsenal in particular there are still a few good reasons to read the Clash Blog today, in fact more than a few.

To get you started Dubwise 72 was kind enough to email me with the details of links to a vast list of live Clash concerts. He says that the quality is good so by all means jump right in and see what you think. I’ll gradually sip through them like a fine wine. Here is the link to the site and in due course I’ll get them added in detail to the AudioClash page on this site. You can see the list of cities and dates currently at the foot of that page. Common consensus amongst audiophiles is that better Clash live performances are doing the rounds online and/or sitting in the vaults and that many surpass those that were issued as a regular release such as ‘From Here to Eternity’ (can you believe the prices on Amazon…snap that up!). By all means if you have the time, feel free to do a live review of one of these gigs and I can post it on the site. Just email me if you are interested.

Next up, a band with a very direct connection to The Clash who were as crucial to the music scene in Britain in 1979-1981 as any act I can think of have announced that they are playing the Coachella Festival in the deserts of Southern California. The Specials are playing on the opening night (why they aren’t headlining is beyond me) and to the best of my knowledge this is the only US date confirmed at this time. I’ll keep an eye on that and I’m sure there will be other dates added if only a handful. I’ll write much more about Coachella in the weeks ahead as the festival has a history of a rapidly changing lineup during January and February. Can’t imagine seeing the Specials after all these years but I am most definitely tempted and it’s only a 3.5 hour drive from here.

In conjunction with Strummerville the UK launch of the Shatter The Hotel CD (the dub inspired tribute to the songs of The Clash) have confirmed their launch party at Clash Central (The Inn on the Green) for Feb 5th at 8pm. We’ll dig into this more nearer the time of course and I should add that this will be sold out – tickets are just a fiver! More details are currently posted on Strummerville and the official Shatter The Hotel page, I’ll work on an interview with the creator/curator of the project also beforehand if possible, Mr. Mark Matthews. Please support this if you can make it to London that night, it will be great I’m certain.

Lastly, I’m reading a lot (an awful lot) of posts and reviews the last few days tying in Vampire Weekend with The Clash. What sort of filtering system can be doing that I was thinking? It seems the keys components are a political song called ‘Contra’ and a new album that people are interpreting as a not so subtle tribute to The Clash. I don’t know what to think yet – read one of the opinions here on the Musicfile.com site and you can also listen to the track in question there. **Update…the song is a stunner**

Final thought…would you go and see a (fully) reformed form of The Libertines? Looking more likely as I’ll explain in the next post. Hope Mick Jones has been informed! Up the Gunners…Cheers…