Good Morning London, Lisbon or Lima…or wherever this latest post finds you waking up with coffee and a grin on your face. I’m in fine fettle as I start this post with a strong mug of coffee following a superb Chicken Tikka earlier this evening. I’m beginning this post on Wednesday evening but I think I’ll probably wrap it up tomorrow. I’ve been sorting out my music collection in anticipation of the impending move and I am a bit embarrassed as to how many CDs I’ve got. There’s no excuse for it, some people choose booze or drugs and I’m an addict for music. I should really stop buying CDs. I thought seeing as the weather has been so nice it would be good to get an oil change, clean the windscreen and take a ride along the Westway for the first edition of Westway Traffic – our handy and easy to use guide to various Clash related snippets circulating on the internet. Its our 20th edition so let’s try and get through half a dozen or more along the A40. If you’re new to the idea it’s a series of shorter stories deserving of a mention but probably not an entire post. So…clutch is in so off we go.

Art Expo including London Calling cover shot coming to Allentown: I know we get a great number of readers from eastern Pennsylvania/Philadelphia, so some of you might want to get along to the ‘Who Shot Rock and Roll’ exhibition coming soon to the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley from Feb. 11 to May 13. The entire exhibit sounds pretty tasty but the original Pennie Smith shots for London Calling will be included. Check the link for more and also the art museum’s site right here.

The 10th Anniversary starts here (on Facebook): Just like it says on the tin – a facebook page looking to honour, celebrate and share in the fact that 2012 marks the 10th year without Joe. The page is off to a nice start and if Facebook is your thing you’ll surely want to take part. I seem some regular faces already. Perhaps the owner of the page can mention this old blog too…

Top 10 films related to Elvis (not Costello) that aren’t Elvis films: From the STL Today website (now we know where to find people in St Louis online) comes a list of the best films related to Elvis Presley. My number one is his number two as Mystery Train which is perhaps Joe Strummer’s best appearance on film finds it’s way to number two on the list and was probably Jim Jarmusch’s finest hour. Its a good list though and I’d recommend all of the top 5 with the exception of Forrest Gump – it’s so long since I saw that and I don’t have great memories of it.

Strummerville Winter sessions down at HQ: I meant to write about this when it was posted last week but…well..it was last week. Here’s the official blurb and the video is beneath that, it is well worth a look & listen.

Here is a short video taken at our Winter Sessions 2011 gig down at our yard. We were thrilled to have Kai Fish (of the Mystery Jets) headlining proceedings alongside some of the fine talent we have supported throughout 2011:

Breadstealers
Gaz Brookfield
Huw Olesker
Hysterical Injury
Leon Fender Walker
She Makes War
The Gun$how
The Promenade

Punk Art expo starts today in Cardiff: A great story from Wales online explains how a then teenage Gerrion Jones traveled around the UK to see as many punk bands as he possibly could from 1976 onwards to escape the prevalent boredom of music at that time. Along the way he’s been carefully collecting and maintaining as much print, press and photographic memorabilia as he can to create what is now quite the archive featuring of course a fair bit of Clash. Happily hes putting it all on exhibit now in Cardiff starting today and running through Feb 2. Details are as follows: Punk Art Forever runs at the Howard Gardens Gallery at the Cardiff School of Art & Design from Thursday, January 12 until Thursday, February 2. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. Entrance is free.

Clash letterpress artwork on sale: Sometimes you see a bit of art and think I could do that and you’d probably be half right. Other times you hear music like Coldplay and you think why do they do that and you’d be completely right. As for me I’ve got a minor obsession with looking at creative ways to create art that focuses on The Clash if not the budget to acquire any. Wasted and Wounded have added a series of three punk pieces featuring The Clash, The Ramones and The Sex Pistols now for sale on their site, just click the link at the head of this paragraph.

 Clash and B.A.D. make playlists for Portlandia stars: I’ve never watched Portlandia but heard very good things about the comedy. Hopefully one person reading this can attest to that. I’m more tempted to try and watch it now as a recent piece on Stereogum revealed that the two stars have a musical taste that includes B.A.D and The Clash, even more specifically some knowledge about the bands and songs. In the case of Fred Armisen it was ‘E=MC2′ and for Carrie Brownstein it was ‘Charlie Don’t Surf’ which makes her my new pinup. To be fair she was previously a key member of sometimes good Sleater Kinney and has always been nice enough to look at.

Right then, that should be enough to be going along with. If you happen to visit anything listed above or have other thoughts I’d welcome them. Have a superb later part of the week. Tim

Tuesday afternoon – welcome back. I need a break from looking at numbers so I thought instead I’d write some words and see what came out, ideally a good ratio of them will be related to The Clash so you’ll want to read the whole thing. Apart from the heat it is a beautiful day here and one that makes me wish I owned an old TR4 and take a spin on west London’s most exciting road. Now I hope that you’ll know what a TR4 is and failing that realise which road I’m referring too. It is such a sunny day that I think we should take a run with the traffic on the Westway – our quick stop review of assorted good, bad and oddities in the world of all things Clash. So if we’ve got enough cash for petrol we’ll ease on and see what lays ahead.

 Do you miss your Big Audio Dynamite vinyl? You can follow that link to get a full mp3 download of The Globe 12″ from almost 20 years ago. I wish that wasn’t true but it is (early 1992) saw the arrival of this often overlooked single plus more remixes (4) than you can shake a stick at. The new version of B.A.D. were very different from Mick’s first line up and this track remains one of the very best in my humble opinion. For added MP3 goodness there is also the 8 minute mix of Rush. Thanks to the site Fun With Vinyl – always a great site and something I’d love to do if I had some spare time.

Some Joe Strummer art. Yes it’s pictured to the left but please visit the website of Amy Hood instead for three reasons. 1/ It’s a bigger image and therefore better quality 2/ You can learn about Amy and see more of her work 3/ It’s Joe Strummer. You don’t need more reasons, she’s also looking for feedback on her work. I can’t create art so I bow to everyone who can, especially when they realise a Clash member makes a good subject. Yes, Joe does have a hawk perched on his shoulder and Amy explains why on the site.

Bob Gruen interview and exhibition: Regular readers will know that I’m a huge fan of great Clash photography and Bob Gruen sits right up there with Penny Smith when it comes to The Clash. They should do a speaking tour together, can you imagine both of them discussing so many of the greatest photos ever taken of a band? Gruen’s track record is long and remarkable and his work alongside his deep friendship with Joe Strummer and the rest of the band can’t be undersold. This interview with Gruen in The National Post is short and sweet but it’s in conjunction with his ongoing exhibition at the Liss Gallery in Toronto which runs until Nov 3. Hope some of you can get along to that!

Shepard Fairey and Joe Strummer: The Vinyl District is an exceptionally enjoyable site and they’ve come up with a great piece about Fairey and Strummer in relation to the recent mural that I covered last week recently completed in Asbury, New Jersey. Angie compiled this article and it’s well worth a read as it reviews Fairey’s work on the mural along with earlier work, his influences and her opinion of the significance of his art. I can’t help but feel he might be the ideal candidate to create something ‘official’ (not that I like that word too much) in London to recognise Strummer. Anyway, please read the piece and leave a comment if you can.

Frank Turner interview explains the Strummerville connection: Remarkably this came from our local listings/music rag Phoenix New Times. I highly recommend Frank Turner’s new disc by the way and read the link to find out about how he became involved with Strummerville. He’s a rare breed indeed, an English solo artist who is achieving a little bit of a following on this side of the pond with music that actually has something to say.

Just like that we’ve buzzed through five new pieces, I’ve got another large pile of tales and links waiting so I’ll be sure to bring you some more Westway traffic in the next few days. If you see, read or hear of something that you think might be of interest to the blog please get in touch. I’ve also revised the recommended signage to sit above the A40 (The Westway) as you head into London below, what do you think? I’m off then – but remember you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me and as ever thanks for sharing the blog wherever and whenever you see fit. Tim

Hello again, its suddenly the end of the week and while that on the surface that is a really good thing I feel like I’ve got too much to do this weekend to be celebrating the concept. That includes getting current on the blog so I’ll either try and cover a lot of ground with some multiple story links like tonight or write more frequently…or both. For now though the best bet is for to pay how much per litre ? (don’t make me sick I’ve been watching the UK news) and fill up my Ford Capri for a zoom along the Westway. If you’re new to the blog these are a series of shorter tales still worth a look but not a full post – just click on the headline in red. Buckled up? Let’s go then. Incidentally I’m hoping to get to the podcast over the weekend if time allows….can’t promise.

Durham Punk Festival – As soon as March rolls around all attention starts to turn to the summer festivals, I remember when it was easy and you only really had to keep your eyes open for a Glastonbury and Reading lineup. Now it seems that there must be at least a dozen (probably more) in the UK alone and then of course there are more than as many again in Europe and the US. I’d be lying if I said it was my favourite way to see an artist as I’m one for a sweaty club or at least something with a roof and indoor plumbing but obviously festivals are more popular now than ever before. As usual I’m off topic – I wanted you to check out the lineup for the Durham Punk Festival scheduled for Sat Sep 10th at Dunelm House. Confirmed at this stage are The Rezillos, Angelic Upstarts, Subhumans, Anti-Nowhere League and Goldblade and perhaps more to follow? I’ve also been away from the UK to have perhaps lost touch with ticket prices in terms of being good value but £25 for this seems decent to me. More information via the link.

Punk in France – A really well composed and interesting read from the BBC about  France and punk rock. It looks at the influence on the fashion, the french punk bands, the politics and the culture of punk. While many in England like to think the origins were decidedly London based you can’t ignore the influence of France on Malcolm Mclaren nor the fact that the very first punk festival (see above) didn’t happen in Camden or Croydon but down in the south of France in Mont-de-Marsan in 1976.  Highly recommended article.

Billy Bragg Tour – Regulars to the blog will know I’m a huge advocate of BB – partly from his politics, his great records and his lasting reputation as a ‘one-man Clash’. Bragg still is at the heart of pop and politics and never fails to show his debt to The Clash. He’s back on tour starting with the Hope Not Hate concert in Manchester, followed by a handful of dates in the US including 3 nights in New York and then 7 dates around Italy. If he’s playing near you go and see him.

B.A.D. ‘events’ on Facebook - Are you a Facebook addict? Do you wish more of your friends were hip to the fact that Big Audio Dynamite are back together and playing live for what looks like being the entire summer? Find new Facebook friends via this link and add friends who are going to the gigs with you. Maybe someone will even make sure you get home in one piece.

411 Music induct The Clash into their Hall of Fame - Ever heard of the 411 music website? No…me neither but they did have the good sense to induct The Clash into their online music hall of fame.  You can read exactly why on their site which includes this especially dodgy criteria “One of VH1′s Top 20 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”. Hard Rock indeed….still, nice for them to get the recognition. I don’t know what would be my favourite hard rock, I’m thinking granite.

I think that’ll do me for this evening, loads to follow and I’ll close with a video of Joe and the Mescaleros performing Pressure Drop on his last US tour. Not a video I’d seen in a while so hopefully the same applies for a certain number of you also (It’s on the excellent extras for the Let’s Rock Again DVD) . Be good…and come on Arsenal! – Tim

Joe and the pesky Meskys – Pressure Drop