Good afternoon and I think it was Elvis Costello who once said ‘Welcome to the Working Week’. I really like the first decade or so of Costello’s work up until ‘Blood and Chocolate’ or thereabouts, he was one of those artists who in common with The Clash and others was forever labeled punk due to when he arrived on the scene but like anybody who remained ultimately viable far beyond 1980 he evolved with the times. Strangely though The Clash took a lot of flak for incorporating different sounds and styles as soon as 1979 whereas Costello seemed to be uniformly praised for his similar sense of adventure and invention. If you’re a fan you don’t need me to tell you how different the albums ‘Imperial Bedroom’ and ‘Almost Blue’ are to the very earliest work by Costello. Anyway if you’ve never seen him live put that down your list of things to do, a brilliant performer with an amazing catalogue of songs to choose from.

The pub where Topper played last month

Right then, last time I checked this wasn’t the Elvis Costello blog and I do have something for you to watch today which in all likelihood will be more enjoyable than my endless rambling and pontification (although I’ll have more of that later tonight for you I hope). We never really have enough stories about Topper Headon for the blog as he maintains a fairly low profile these days, but happily a healthier and more vibrant profile than the one he maintained going back a decade and more. I always feel that there is a great deal of good feeling towards Topper from Clash fans as not only was he simply fantastic drummer but has also gone through the pits of darkness before coming out the other end as he is today – clean and sober.

Therefore having a recent video of Topper taken last month *(Dec 17th) drumming with Heroes is quite excellent to see, even better than that they are performing a couple of Clash songs. The man dubbed ‘the human drumming machine’ has still got it and speaking for myself it’s marvelous to see him on the stool – the show was at the Dublin Man O War. Is it remarkable to think you could see Topper playing in a small pub in Dover in 2010, but such is the way of the world! Could you imagine sitting there and seeing Headon appear? Top man Topper..top man. Here is a link to some images of the pub so you can feel like you were there.

Topper Headon playing with Heroes, December 17 2010

A-OK says the man

Hello again and welcome back to the blog on this especially good Tuesday. It’s been an exceptionally good day so far, although I woke up far too early and now feel like it’s 2 AM (it’s only 8:30 PM). The weather was perfect, Arsenal strolled through their match and won by a score of 5-1 and then this evening I saw a headline which made me reach for my mouse like it was made of solid gold “Margaret Thatcher admitted to hospital”. Whilst I immediately hoped it would be a one-way trip it turns out she just has the flu, however I have to confess it did get my blood racing for a short while. Hopefully things will turn out for the best and she won’t recover. If that sounds a bit bitter you didn’t spend your crucial years living under her disgusting leadership in the UK.

Enough of that, there will be plenty to say when the time comes and I’ve certainly been extremely patient. I thought we should get on to an edition of video clash as it’s been quite a while since I looked for the latest and greatest. I’m not in Blue Peter mode and have nothing prepared in advance so with some luck there should be some good stuff just based on the law of averages. As ever if you have seen any clips before forgive me although I’m sure you won’t have seen them all.

The Clash as animated characters, wasn’t that Gorillaz? I really don’t know which aspect of this is saddest? The fact that teenagers and young adults now pretend to play guitar or drums via their Xbox/PlayStation, or the fact that these videos are then uploaded to YouTube for public consumption or probably the fact that I’m showing you this on the ClashBlog tonight. Probably a bit of all three when it comes down to it and I realise somebody might tell me that Guitar Hero is really good fun and perhaps introduced you blah blah blah, but you know what I don’t really care. Go and buy a real guitar, bass drums or keyboards… failing that get some mates who can play and try your hand at singing and if none of the above are options for you I can save you the cost of the game and recommend half a dozen CDs you really should own instead. As for the video, the Strummer character in a white suit with a white hat is the pick of the bunch (oh wait…it’s not even a bloke). But the whole thing is a travesty.

Should I Stay or Should I Go cover version – Well this is exactly what I’m referring to above and bless these lads who may be 14 or 15 for having a go at the Combat Rock track. Even a bit ahead of their time they managed to incorporate keyboards to the song giving it their own distinct flavour. Plus check out that backdrop, after being knocked sideways by all the Gorillaz stage majesty of late it’s nice to get back to basics. My only complaint is those little yobs down the front aren’t paying enough attention. There is also a definite Brian May perm on stage but we will let that be. I can’t tell you much more about the video, I had guessed due to the baseball cap wearing drummer that it might be in the States but it shows how 1990s I really am as it was shot in Italy and the backdrop was my clue. The school event (I’m guessing) was filmed in Brescia. Bravo lads!

Joe and Paul interview in New York 1982 - I’ve seen this clip before in pieces but not the complete version which is featured here in extremely good quality. The interview took place in 1982 and offers Strummer with his kiss curl an extended chance to talk about the shows at Bonds, playing live with The Clash plus this and that. Paul meanwhile looks bored for the most part but extremely comfortable. The interview is good but I struggle to get past the interviewer’s haircut although she does seem genuinely interested in the band and had done a bit of homework to her credit. Great clip and definitely worth a watch, the newscast is called Live at Five and I’m sure someone will know what network it was on.

Coma Girl….done differently – Whatever you do make sure you give this video more than 20 seconds, make sure you ignore the fact it looks like he’s been locked in a storage locker and found amplifier microphone and make sure you disregard the fact that these he’s either quite large or his ukulele is smaller than average. Ignore all that and you hear a pretty fair (vocally at least) rendition of one of Joe Strummer’s last great tracks and this chap’s gravelly voice is more suited to interpreting Joe than Springsteen is in my humble opinion. I can’t comment on the ukulele, I don’t play one and have never tried but for some reason I like this video all the same. I hope the guy got out of the locker. Incidentally it looks like he might have smashed up his wrist trying to escape. He’s from Tacoma, Washington…that’s all I’ve got.

That’s all for now…I did stumble on another but want to save it, it’s that good…seriously.Have a splendid Wednesday. Tim.

Oh wait…one bonus video…not Clash related but worthy due to it’s brilliance…watch it full screen. You’ll be glad you bothered.

Only me again with the latest installment of the Clash Blog. I’m not impressed today as the temperature is back over 110f just when I thought the worst of the summer was gone, if you’re sitting somewhere and complaining about it being in the 60′s outside I don’t want to hear it. Make sure you check back with the blog over the weekend as I should have approval for some very cool images from a recent art exhibition for you. This afternoon back like a zombie it’s time for The Clash Cup, I know it’s been dormant for a few weeks but all of the events surrounding Joe Strummer’s Birthday including reviews and previews took out much of the blog during the latter part of August.

So will it be this B-Side...

The Clash Cup if you’re new to the blog is a very simple and democratic process allows you to select your favorite Clash song by way of voting on the blog. We are now in round two and looking to whittle down the best Clash songs ever until we reach a final 16, then eight and so on. Each of the pairings is set 100% at random so you take what you get even with the decision isn’t always easy. Before tonight’s pairing we do have to review the voting for the most recent installment of the cup which was earlier in August. Decent voter turnout for the last matchup but I would suggest the more likely song still won out:

This is Radio Clash defeated Ghetto Defendant 28-18

Closer than I expected but I don’t think enough runner-up votes to allow the Combat Rock track to make it through to the next round, which to be fair is probably how it should be. As I said this is most likely the last round where the voting will often be fairly easy, so let’s have a look at the next pair:

Round 2 Match 10

City of the Dead versus  Justice Tonight/Kick It Over

Well that’s a turn up for the books as neither song would make the most obvious list of Clash songs which is not to say either song is poor by any means. In fact both songs are quite unique in terms of sound and come from that spell of hyperactivity that The Clash were guilty of from ’77 until ’79. The other thought I had almost immediately is how do you separate the two and choose a winner? I know which one I prefer (just) but I won’t share it so as not to influence your voting… as if. Also by sheer coincidence both tracks appeared on Super Black Market Clash which I think is another novelty in this pairing. The extended version of the album is sometimes just the perfect tonic for a good Clash fix perhaps especially because it featured many songs you don’t hear quite as often. Battle of the B-sides!!

Form book:

Round 1 – City of the Dead defeated Freedom Train           98% of the vote
Round 1 – Justice Tonight defeated Junco Partner             73% of the vote

Odds:

I am not quite sure what you can take from the first round, both for convincing wins although Justice Tonight had to overcome a trickier challenge from Junco Partner which was tough because I love both songs. If I had to predict a winner I think it might just be City of the Dead because it is an original track and not a dub/remix. Though I do think the voting will be close.

Stuff:

...this B-Side?

Not many tracks by the Clash have dated that badly at all, although I do think City of the Dead is one of the rare exceptions where the production just sounds a little muddy and the song could only be from the mid-late 70s. Worth remembering a song this good was originally just a B-Side to the stellar Complete Control. Justice Tonight of course was B- side to another of the most famous Clash singles London Calling so for yet another reason this pairing has fantastic symmetry. You don’t need me to tell you it’s also the dub version of Armagideon Time, a song that I will go on record and proclaim as my very favourite Clash cover version and high on my list of all Clash songs.

As for the voting the polls open immediately and you will have until next Tuesday morning to cast your vote for which song remains in the competition. Before you vote it’s always good to have one last chance to compare the songs side-by-side so if you’d like to just click the links that I provide. For City of the Dead let’s substitute the live version so we don’t focus on the production of the original. I do think some of Joe’s lyrics on the track are superb. Your last task is to reserve 8:54 of your life to just mellow out to Justice Tonight / Kick It Over and make sure you turn up the bass first of all.

Enjoy voting and thank you – this is actually rather an interesting pairing.

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