I was helping a client of mine with their website content today and we got to the page titled career opportunities. Needless to say the combination of those two words aren’t something I can simply utter but am forced to sing, followed typically by ‘the ones that never knock’. I’ve been afflicted by that phrase as a musical statement of intent for over 30 years now and it made me realise just how much a band with great lyrics get into your subconscious or better still your vocabulary. Fortunately the person I work with is also a serious fan of The Clash and we laughed and considered that page of the website kicking in with the MP3 of Strummer bellowing about endless dead end jobs. After a brief discussion we determined it might not be the best message to send to prospective candidates for employment (even if we were helping their musical pedigree).

I can think of dozens of examples of Clash lyrics that I’ll drop as part of my daily lexicon and I’m sure you may well suffer with the same affliction if you’re a long standing fan of the band. Can you see the word Casbah in print without wanting to rock it? Do you occasionally mutter ‘who’s barmy now?’ as a way of closing a conversation. I struggle to get on a lift that’s about to climb without hearing “Elevator….goinnng up”. It’s constant and not just The Clash who fill my head. I often brush my teeth in the morning after hearing our bloody awful alarm and the funky bass of ‘Ring Ring 7am, move yourself to go again’ gives me a silent rhythm in my head to tackle another day. Tell me these things happen to you too?

Right I’ve got a few quick links to share with you as I don’t think I’ve the energy to chatter away for very long tonight. If the blog has only appeared on your radar in the last 3-4 months you might want to pop over to my facebook page as I’ve been posting some of the Mick Jones videos from his solo performance at the R+R Public Gallery last Summer, they seem to be ‘new’ to a lot of kind people so if you’ve not seen them go and take a peek. Stay Free and Train in Vain are both posted and seeing Mick perform them alone is rather lovely.

This is an interesting piece and worth taking the time to read. The short version is that the author of the piece suggests Joe Strummer’s lyrics present a strong case for his capacity to have been a law professor. It’s written from (essentially) a serious point of view and better still the author certainly knows his Clash history and Joe’s situational lyric writing. He sets it out as a potential curriculum, little did I know I guess we attended that class in gradual stages as we explored the lyrics of The Clash which rarely strayed into the realm of being too trivial. The whole article makes me a bit tense as from the age of about 13 until 18,19 Strummer’s lyrics formed the basis of much of my idealism or at the very least stirred an interest to want to explore more. It’s a smartly observed piece and brings couplets into the cold morning light of legal interpretation and yet the author manages to keep it informative and funny too. Also, as he points out many of Joe’s lyrics did involve the police or the justice system – quite an investment in the topic for someone who (generally) avoided sentencing and jail (fights in Glasgow notwithstanding). Here’s a snippet below and best of all the US based website serves a business need – helping the visitor to find a qualified lawyer. So if I ever get nicked he can be my barrister so the Judge will know ‘What’s my Name’.

In the logic of this world, the police are at best corrupt (”The Crooked Beat”) or ineffectual (”Red Angel Dragnet”). At worst, they are simply another armed and dangerous gang. The point is made explicitly in an early cover of “Police and Thieves”, a reggae classic that remained a touchstone for The Clash. “Police and thieves in the street,” the song evenhandedly observes, “Fighting the nation/With their guns and ammunition.”

Such equivalencies, of course, are no longer fashionable. Nor is the tendency to view crime as a phenomenon primarily affecting the perpetrator. But Professor Strummer would have made his students remember that the criminal justice system can render judgments about the powerlessness of the accused more reliably than on his guilt, and that sympathy need not be reserved solely for the innocent.

Much more soon and thank you for dropping in, also RIP Corey Haim…38 is no age at all, can simply wish you peace.

Tim

Hello again and welcome back to the blog, I hope your day mirrored mine in that you occasionally see something (a concert, a sunset, a pretty girl) that you know wasn’t exclusively for you but you realise you’ll remember it for years and maybe decades to come. In my years of going to concerts there are a few dozen that I’ll never forget in fairly explicit detail, while hundreds of others were great, good, fair or awful it’s the occasional brilliant moments we cherish.  I had one such moment today, I’ve been following Arsenal since I was a tiny kid and regularly attended games throughout my time living in London. Since leaving England I can’t say my commitment to the team has changed (it might be stronger than ever) and I probably watch 98% of their games even when it involves getting up at 430am to see them as it sometimes does. Over those 35+ years I’ve seen a few thousand goals and although you enjoy them all, once in a while you see one that you know will stick with you for many years to come. So it was a few hours ago when Samir Nasri scored a goal of pure grace today it makes you appreciate the beauty of the sport. I’ll enjoy that for a long, long time.

So this got me thinking about the first time I heard The Clash and the first time I saw them. It made me remember being introduced to songs and bands that become almost a part of who you are as they become embedded in your character. If you’re anything like me you’ll defend the music you love as much you might your own family (or perhaps more). If someone tries to convince me that The Clash don’t belong in a list of the 5 most important bands of all time we’ll have a long debate in store. If a legitimate fan of music tries to say that The Clash weren’t the single most influential English band to emerge from the punk/post punk era we’re going to have to disagree. I also looked at what The Clash and my football club have in common and it’s my big brother, who really introduced me to both.

My older brother turns 50 tomorrow, which I can’t quite fathom. Yes, he has always been 7 1/2 years older than me and the aging process was inevitable but surely he can’t be turning 50 years old. I remember the first post I ever wrote for this blog and reflecting on how my brother’s room was always the home of everything I felt guided by. In 1973 I’d take his Arsenal programs from his wardrobe to read while looking at the sleeves of albums by T-Rex, David Bowie and Roxy Music. The music that came from his  room was a constant soundtrack to being an adolescent and building expectations of what being a teen might be. By 1977/8 I understood that music was more than a hobby for him as it dictated his clothes, his girlfriends and the concerts he attended. I must have been ten when I noticed there was more passion and fire in the singles and albums he was playing, as Elvis Costello, The Clash had begun to dominate his turntable, replacing Queen and Wings. Later that summer of ‘78 when I just turned eleven was when it all made sense to me. He took me to record shops, I started my own collection of vinyl. He started taking me to concerts, I began my own journey of determining what live music represents. I was already obsessed with football and suddenly I had to find time read the NME, Melody Maker and find the extra cash for the next single that he recommended.

I’ve no idea if I would have found The Clash and so much brilliant music without my brother, I’d like to think so but I can’t be sure. I’ve no idea if I may have instead found love for cricket or rugby if it wasn’t for him, probably not as we lived to play football when I was five…but I might not have attached myself to Arsenal. I’m so lucky my big brother left his bedroom door ajar for me to listen and I can simply say ‘Thank You’.

Happy 50th David.

It’s pissing down with rain again – seems to be a weekend thing around here. Just two quick things and then should be back with a Clash Cup pairing later this evening.

I wrote a few days ago about a photo exhibit in Toronto of concert photography (Toronto Calling) which includes some great pictures of Joe Strummer amongst others. Steve was kind enough to write in to provide some more background to that story – and there’s also been a new article about the exhibition in the Toronto Star that he found. So..over to Steve:

I didn’t know if it was okay to post directly to the ClashBlog so I thought I would just send you the link this way. This is a review of that photo exhibit currently on display in Toronto. Interestingly they point out that Joe wasn’t in a good mood the night of the Clash’s first show in Toronto. He always seemed to be a bit grumpy when he performed here with the band. At another show at Toronto’s CNE you could tell he wasn’t feeling well or clearly did not want to be here (unfortunately Toronto wasn’t considered a major stop in those days for bands ready to conquer America). There is a great footage of his backstage indifference captured by the program The New Music (I sneaked backstage for one show by literally walking in backwards and can attest to his behaviour. The New Music, by the way, was a great weekly program that extensively covered music in the 80’s. It was hosted by J.D. Roberts (who went on to become John Roberts of CNN!).

In any case, Joe did an about face when he got older. He adored the crowd when he returned with the Pogues and when he was with the Mescaleros it seemed he had become comfortable with his role as, I dare say, an icon. I met him a couple of times in the years just before his death and he was funny, happy and accommodating. He signed every autograph and posed for every picture. The best image I have of him in my mind is him walking down Yonge St. in Toronto for an appearance at radio station CFNY. He was all dressed in black with his guitar slung over his shoulder. When he got to the studio some fans were waiting. One shoved a book in front of him and Joe said: “I’m going to write my own book about the Clash one day. I’m going to call it a bunch of fuckin’ goofs!” at which the crowd burst out laughing. Because he was late for the appearance, the DJs were adjusting their scheduling so, with some time to kill, Joe took his guitar out of his case and started busking on the street. Fantastic. During the recording of the show he played a few songs. During the commercial break I asked him for his guitar pick. He gave me one, but I asked him to give me the one he just played with so he handed that one over. After the taping of the show he hung around and talked to everyone who was there until only he and his record company rep were left. They then went next door to Starbucks for a coffee.
But I digress.

Here is the link to the story.

Keep up the great work. I look forward to reading the blog every day. One more thing, this spring brings the Specials, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Beat, and Public Image to town on various nights.

Thanks so much Steve – great stories you have to share and thanks for letting me indulge them further via the blog itself.

So what to do on a rainy day like this? I’ve watched some football from England, had far too much coffee and listened to some old Joe Strummer London Calling radio broadcasts, I wish we had more of those to enjoy. The link I’ve mentioned before but if you have never listened to Strummer’s stint as a BBC DJ I encourage you to take some time and bookmark this page!

I’ve got football later in the mud, in the meantime have a look at this - Pressure Drop, the play. I heard about this a few months ago – Billy Bragg is going to be in a play that is ostensibly exploring what it means to be English in contemporary Britain. That said I’m sure it expands far beyond that and might be fascinating, Bragg wrote a fascinating book a few years ago with the lofty ambition of studying that same topic. In a country (like so many in Europe) that straddles the thin line between the extreme right and the extreme left – the conversation is a natural one to be having. I find especially interesting what Billy wrote about the pressure to renounce being English.

“There are plenty of things that I’m ashamed of that England did. And there are plenty of things that we do now that I’m ashamed of. But to renounce that part of my identity which I define as English would be to surrender to the bigots on the right and to the cynics of the left. Instead, I’m determined to engage with both sides and to challenge their perceptions of what it means to be English”  (Billy Bragg)

Finally, I bought more new music yesterday (as usual). We’ve talked about Gorillaz enough this week so I’d suggest you listen to the new Editors album ‘In The Light and on This Evening’. Here’s the link to ‘Papillon’

See you later…and thanks for dropping in – my thanks again to Steve.