Good Evening all…its absolutely chucking it down with rain here tonight which isn’t really big news except when you live in the desert just hearing it bashing against the windows is rather novel in itself. As for the way people drive when it rains here, the only word to come to mind is pathetic.

I’ve a few quick things that you might enjoy tonight and its mostly point and click which will make life a lot easier for you (and is helpful to me as I’m a bit short on time tonight) but I will try and post something a little more meaty later tonight or tomorrow. I do want to always try and get a new posting of some length out daily as it creates some consistency for you very kind people who visit the site and I do appreciate your loyalty. I’m also sure the occasional break from my pontifications must be like the relief of rain in the desert for some of you…so lets jump right in.

Steve Jones

Former Sex Pistol and current Los Angeles resident and (now) online DJ Steve Jones appeared on Craig Ferguson late last night. To my pleasure I saw that his interview was already online and I’ve posted it beneath. Craig Ferguson??…yes that Craig Ferguson, if you are the UK you may well remember Ferguson for his (typically drunk) stand up comedy which was really good and quite popular back in the 80′s and early 90′s. Craig has appeared on sit-coms in the US (and a few films) but started hosting a late night chat show in 2007 which is slowly and surely gaining quite a small foothold and some loyal fans in its late night slot. Ferguson does a good job, far less scripted than some of his US counterparts he still lets things run very loose and his monologues tend to run all over the place. He’s also a good host never seeming to fawn over stars as much as try and get them to relax and have a good laugh. He loves music and often has some great guests on the show.

Anyway…Steve Jones. See the video below but the chat was short but enjoyable. If you’re in Los Angeles or know your way around the web you may well have happened upon ‘Jonesy’s Jukebox’ which is his radio show. He was on the show for the interview but also to play live with Hot Rats. Hot Rats are one half of Supergrass (best band ever from Oxford, bugger off Radiohead) and they’ve put out an album of Supergrass(ish) cover versions including the Sex Pistols EMI – which is the 2nd video beneath.

Interview with Steve Jones

Playing live with Hot Rats

A thought I’ve had but I’m not sure yet. Clash memorabilia seems to be a growing concern and of huge interest to many people. So I’m thinking of either doing a feature about rare stuff every week or two or perhaps (and maybe more enjoyable) creating a buyers/sellers board on the site. For

Not talking with the Taxman....

Clash fans and by Clash fans. Can this work….do you indeed care?

Finally and I do intend to write more about this – have you been following Billy Bragg and his argument over bonuses to Royal Bank of Scotland wankers executives? Bragg has been all over the press and radio explaining his position and being labeled an anarchist for his troubles. Good luck to you Billy, this hasn’t played out yet but I do want to revisit it later this week. You don’t see that from Wilco do you?

More soon everyone…(The Specials at Coachella?? I’m feeling 14 again…)

I kept meaning to write about this earlier, which in turn probably means you are already fully aware of it!!

Ian Dury, image courtesy Tom Sheeham

There are a few interesting music related films coming out over the next few weeks and I wanted to be sure you are on the look out for them. If you’re in the UK or Los Angeles, Chicago, New York you’ll probably be able to see them at the cinema. If like me and many others  you live in a ‘smaller market’ you’ll probably have to wait for the DVD – but nevertheless I hope you can give me your thoughts on one or both. The last ten years have seen an increase in both the quantity and quality of biopics, the drama/documentaries that look back at the career of an artist in full zoom mode. Joe Strummer’s The Future is Unwritten, Control (Joy Division) and The Filth and The Fury are the three that spring to mind instantly.

What I’d love to see is ‘Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll’ which is rather obviously about musician Ian Dury. Dury is portrayed by Andy Serkis (Gollum to some of you) who has not only taken on the role of a very unique character but sings the actual songs by The Blockheads for the film. The Guardian conducted an excellent interview with Serkis at the weekend where he shares some insight to the making of the film and the art of becoming Dury. As you’d image it was not the easiest role you can take on but I’m sure it helped that Serkis had a passion for the band during their late 1970′s heyday. Ian Dury was as hard to pigeonhole as the sound that the Blockheads made as their sound took on influences from all members of the band. As a little lad it was one of the legion of fascinating sounds blaring from my brothers room and something I probably only properly enjoyed years after the fact. It certainly wasn’t punk but it had a certain cockney tinge that caught my ear (despite Dury being from Harrow) or ‘arrow as I’ll ‘ave it. When you add the obstacles Dury overcame it should be a compelling film.

The film is scheduled for UK release on January 8 (this Friday). Tell me what you think! The Clash connections are quite timely too….as Blockhead keyboard player Mickey Gallagher played with The Clash both in the studio and on tour. If you need one more reason to see it….Ray Winstone is in the film.

Hello again, I hope you found some solace and happiness in the anniversary of Joe’s death yesterday. Its quite nice that the two little ones in this house are used to The Clash blaring out of my office but yesterday they might have been wondering about the overload. Lots of really nice things were written on Facebook yesterday about Joe and I think people are generally making a good fist out of a pretty crap anniversary.

Some nice Joe tributes I saw appear over at Planet Forward , Zani E-Zine , Consequence of Sound, Ickmusic (with a nice bootleg of the Montego Bay show from 1982), and Run Dangerously. If you have time they are each worth a read, especially the first two.

I’ll do my best to wrap up some more of these for you tomorrow. I really enjoy seeing people taking the time to remember seven years on and it fills me with hope that the influence of Joe Strummer / The Clash will last well into this century. Watching music history unfurl as we live is really a strange experience, at Christmas in 1979 I got my copy of London Calling and naturally as a kid you never consider where the album will stand in the pages of music history thirty years later. The aged anniversaries for Clash concerts, events and records keep becoming almost a relic in some senses. With that said the internet with you tube, websites, blogs and social media has become a place to not only keep alive the video and audio that exists but also to further the debate, share ideas and create some sort of unity and community.

Kirsty with The Pogues

Two short other things for you right now, if (like me) you live in a household where Christmas music is preferred this week over your normal indie and punk you could do  a lot worse than check out the free mp3s (no download needed) over at the Indie Rock Cafe. There are well over 140 songs from XTC, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, The Ramones, Belle and Sebastian and many more. It certainly beats Perry Como and Band Aid.

Finally a quick thumbs up to Billy Bragg who (with Florence and The Machine) ambitiously covers one of the best Christmas songs of all time – ‘A Fairytale of New York’. It’s nice to listen to but you can’t replace dear Kirsty MacColl no matter how hard you try, amazingly nine years have passed since we lost one of the sweetest voices I’ve ever heard. Still I get my Strummer references in with the Pogues plus check the acoustic guitars used in the video below.

Tim