Alright then, it’s blog time once more fresh from laughing so hard that my sides ache at the Iowa caucus. If you don’t live in the US (or pay attention to it) the election season here is the most protracted and tedious process on earth – the campaigns seemingly begin two years before the election and the media and many members of joe public just can’t get enough. It’s so much work to determine which fawning right wing fundamentalist (this time being the turn of the Republicans to find a new main man) will eventually lose the election in November. I’d really like to see people become more politically active but the popularity contest for President is so long and bizarre I can see why people often vote once and then give up. Perhaps this year will see something really change seeing as the world is an unqualified disaster here in the West….but then again. It’s a circus and if you don’t or never have lived in the States it’s hard to imagine something quite as odd/loud and tiring.

There’s been quite a bit of early season Clash news going on which I need to catch up on so to hasten that day let me continue my review of the most popular posts on the blog last year. So far we’ve covered January through to June so let’s get on with the next three months of the best of 2011.

July 2011 -

‘Covers and Anniversaries’ (July 4th)

For Americans July 4 seems to be a day to celebrate independence (from the UK who were taxing at a far lower rate than today incidentally…) but as you can see from this post last summer there is a more important anniversary to be celebrated than some old war. July 4th also mark the first official live appearance by The Clash which happened to have been 35 years to the day from the post above since that first gig up in Sheffield. A good post overall and worth a read as Billy Bragg defended his roots with The Clash and Joe Strummer whilst Vicky sent in some nice photos of B.A.D. who had just appeared at Glastonbury. Suddenly last summer seems ages ago.

August 2011 -

‘London’s Burning but this doesn’t deserve a Clash soundtrack’ (Aug 8th)

From time to time on the blog I can’t help but write about current events especially if I see it as impacting or somehow related to me or The Clash, either will do for the most part. I know the blog is ‘about the music’ by taking politics out of the equation for The Clash is a bit like playing football without goalkeepers. Naturally not everyone will agree with my politics either which is fine, you can comment and debate to your hearts content but for the most part you can blame The Clash or especially the lyrics of Joe Strummer for much of my interest in the subject in the first place.

Last August was bit different and will long be remembered for the week when the UK lost control as inner London, Manchester and other towns saw a mass outbreak of looting and arson. Rioting was loosely and inaccurately applied to the action in England but it all seemed a bit too opportunistic to me, which isn’t to say the youth should feel bloody helpless at the moment. They are at the bottom of the pile with a huge change taking place in the UK and elsewhere and subsidies that once looked set to last forever are being pulled away in the name of budgets. I expect we’ll see much more of the same this summer to come but my post was about how I didn’t see The Clash as being the most appropriate soundtrack to the events, the most obvious choice of course but typically taken by people who never took the time to study the lyrics of London’s Burning or White Riot. Anyway, I was very happy to see this was one of the most read posts of the summer.

August 2011 -

‘Orlando Bloom seeks to play Joe Strummer, world groans’ (September 7th)

Now there’s a headline worth rioting about. See….the blog isn’t just about politics, sometime we get offended by Hollywood gossip just as quickly and as offensive as this rumour was at least the post contains something enjoyable to read about Joe Strummer’s daughter Jazz. Like it or not 2012 might end up being the year of two Clash films, certainly one and perhaps both might see the cinema later this year and I’ve no doubt that speculation will mount as the projects near completion. I know the films have mixed opinions with many fearing the worst with both the London Calling film and the Joe Strummer biopic. I think the London Calling film has more potential and isn’t as ambitious but for now I’m hoping both films will be decent. Just remember, they aren’t being made for us but for very casual fans instead who won’t complain about Mick’s hair or the way Paul holds the bass in the movie versions.

Right then, I believe that is Friday night taken care of and I have a glass of white wine screaming my name so I better answer. Tim

Good evening Clash Blog people….what is your official title anyway? Blog readers? Friends? Yes, friends works for me as I’m glad that you take the time to visit and catch up with the latest and seeing as I’ve not had much time to blog over the last week we definitely have a lot of catching up to do so I’ll try and filter through most of that over the next few days. If you’ve already ready some of the information I’ve been compiling please accept my apologies – I’ll be back on top of my game in a few more days. Here at Clash Blog towers operation ‘find a new place to live near the sea’ continues but nothing quite sorted out yet. I expect we’ll have to go back to San Diego in a few weeks so if any readers want to meet for a beer just let me know, I’d murder a good pint at this stage.

Image courtesy 'mudkiss' http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivamel/with/6455103519/

Mick Jones as you know has had a December almost as busy as mine with the warmly received Justice Tonight tour to benefit the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. There’s been more a flicker of rumour that we might see a return to the stage of this Clash-centric billing in 2012 and there’s even been talk that it might be taken over to North America. Not sure if that’s speculation or gossip (is there a difference?) but that would surely be a hot ticket. If we ran a form book for 2012 events and were setting up odds I’d put money on Jones appearing overseas in the new year the question is will it be the continuation of the Justice Tonight concept or something else? There’s a guaranteed audience for a gig that features a core of Clash songs with Mick being the star of the show but the Hillsborough cause won’t really translate overseas although of course it should. Add to that the question of whether Pete Wylie and The Farm would be game/available and it might be a stretch, if it happens I expect it would only be a 5 or 6 cities versus a full tour but it would certainly make for some interesting guest stars. Of course there’s also B.A.D. to consider which left off earlier in the year with promises of more live dates and potentially new recordings neither of which seem far fetched. Finally but just as valid is Carbon Silicon who remain Mick’s most ‘current’ commitment. At this point I think bringing that band on the road earlier in 2012 in the UK and then over to North America might be the most likely scenario. All of this is pure guesswork on my part – I think I need to find a way to talk to Mick! Having said that I bet he’ll change his mind more about 2012 as the mood takes him, which is a great position to be in.

During the tour earlier this month I hoped that a more in-depth interview would take place with Mick and was excited to see that one was conducted by the excellent Sabotage Times. You can read the long chat with Mick via this link and you’ll enjoy the candour that Mick shows as he talks about Joe, the influence of The Clash, the riots this past summer, the Hillsborough tour and many other topics. It won’t come as a shock to you to learn that Mick is very proud and simultaneously humble that he’s been able to do all he has, both recently and in the past. His love for what he does seems to be at the core of it – if Mick Jones wasn’t to be a musician I don’t think Mick ever developed a plan B. I have to respect that. Here’s a quote below and thanks again to Sabotage Times for publishing this one – they are are a great online magazine so please bookmark it. I’ll be back soon – hope your week has zipped by.

“We always got criticism in The Clash but we always thought ‘you should be happy. We’ve gone a long way and it represents what you can do’, you know what I mean? We took it all the way to Broadway and that meant something. When we got the flack we thought we don’t care because we represent something that will go a long way”    Mick Jones

Hello again and thanks once more for stopping in at The Clash Blog. Tuesday night here as I begin this one but I’m not certain I’ll finish it tonight as it’s already rather late, I could put some coffee on but that might result in me staying up until the stupid hours so I’m not completely sure what’s best to do. I’ve also made a fatal blogging mistake by starting this post without being entirely sure about what I plan to cover which may deter you from lurching on with me to the next paragraph but go on, if you take the chance I’ll keep writing.

Some semblance of focus might be best so that I don’t ramble on endlessly, so that will be my approach. I do have a quick question aimed at those who collect a lot of Clash books and there are more now than you can probably justify so I’m getting a little more picky about what I need to add to my collection. In late 2009 a book titled ‘The Clash : Essential Interviews’ was released I believe in paperback only. I sat on the fence at the time about grabbing a copy and now it seems it has gone out of print and with that reached insane prices. My understanding was that it compiles many of the major interviews that the band gave the major music press; NME, Melody Maker, Sounds, Rolling Stone etc. and reproduced those exchanges in full. While that’s not a bad overall concept for a book many of those interviews have seemingly already been reproduced online or in magazine specials (much like the new Uncut one that just came out). If you happened to purchase the book let me know what you thought and whether it was worth the cost/time and such, incidentally here’s the link so we’re on the same page. It does run to over 300 pages so there’s some depth in there regardless.

Speaking of books, in 2012 I am going to add a section of permanent pages to the blog that review DVDs and books that are fully or partly devoted to The Clash/Clash members. If you might be interested in helping out with that please let me know as the help would be greatly appreciated. Ideally I’d like to add a three hundred word synopsis and review of each book and DVD that might be of interest to your average Clash fan. Ideally we’ll also be adding interviews with some of the authors of the better stuff, which is also on the cards for coming months should all go to plan.

At this point you’d wonder if more could be written about The Clash but the excellent work of authors such as Chris Salewicz, Kris Needs and Marcus Gray show that there’s layers to the story that merit more understanding and analysis. The very existence of The Clash was really quite brief but that doesn’t limit the interest shown in that era which says so much about the evolution of the band and it’s components that I’d place it in on level pegging with that famous four from Liverpool in terms of where the story takes you in such a short time. Perhaps the complexity of The Clash was the only thing that clarivaled their brilliance. Summer of 1976 to Summer of 1983 is all you really have to work with and yet I feel there’s still much more to understand even though I feel like an anorak just typing those words. The good news, we still haven’t seen a book with Mick’s, Paul’s, Topper’s or even Terry’s version of events which would certainly add even more colour. I’m sure we’ll see at least three and perhaps all four of those take shape in the near future with two already on the cards (more on that soon). As for Joe’s story of course we can’t get closer than we already have with the excellent “Redemption Song, The Ballad of Joe Strummer” by Chris Salewicz. In my opinion that is the definitive story of Joe Strummer and if for some reason you haven’t already read it then I suggest you address that immediately.

Right then, from a starting point of asking about a book I’ve prattled on for a while about ‘Clash books’ but please take the time to build that library if you haven’t. There’s a lot to be said and written about a band that were so busy making music that they were never properly chronicled when it was all taking place. The other funny impact of history is that Joe was barely given the time of day and The Clash were seen by so many critics as a sell out from 1983 through to the early-mid 90′s that the very thought of reviewing just what the band meant was considered fairly inane and with a limited audience. The reverence that is so often attached to the band today wasn’t the norm after they broke up. We knew best yes, but then again we were fans of the band at the time – not critics or assessors. On the positive side of that we’ve had that much longer to enjoy the band than the press who now venerate them. Odd that isn’t it? Goodnight for now. Tim