Mean Streets
Good Morning, I had intended to get this post written and out last night but a combination of factors (Arsenal, Haiti, Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes) stopped me from reaching my goal. Now I really like Gervais but could NBC have toned him down anymore than they did? Apart from early on I don’t think any of his links lasted longer than 30 seconds, why hire someone to host a major awards ceremony and then
Martin Scorcese
limit them? Obviously a sharp sarcastic wit like Gervais is going to offend some people but the broadcast became an exercise in damage control (dull). At least it was nice to see Martin Scorcese receive an award for his career contribution to film…what a great chap. If cinema had some equivalent to Punk or The Clash it would be the films of Scorcese; from Taxi Driver and Raging Bull through to Goodfellas and Gangs of New York. Just an amazing career, and yes there’s more than a touch of Clash activity/connections to be explored therein but I’ll save that for another post. Worth watching for is a project he’s working on this year which is a long awaited biopic about George Harrison.
I’ve written in the past that people today tend to focus on London and New York when looking back at ‘the punk scene’ and as a result the bands associated with those two cities. What is so often overlooked is that over a staggered period from 1977-1982 that punk (or 2nd generation variations) created scenes is major cities all over the world. I’ll never forget visiting Berlin in 1984 and being confronted with a scene that was reminiscent in sound and fashion from 5 years earlier in England. It had a real Berlin twist though as a taste for the avant garde in fashion was perhaps more important than the originality of the music. Much like Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco (and numerous other cities) Toronto developed its own punk scene and this article caught my eye. A local writer reared on The Clash and The Damned has put together a book to capture the scene in Canada’s largest city from 1977-1981 by way of an oral history. Though its taken over 20 years the desire to chronicle the local music scenes is growing as we realise that we had something very special of our own when it came to music and culture. Perhaps growing up and hearing adults tell us ‘there was nothing to match the sixties’ we underestimated the value of punk and post punk music. I still think the pinnacle of writing and film-making about 1976-1981 has yet to be written but the continued and growing awareness of it makes the likelihood all the better.
Someone needs to make sure that Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Rat Scabies, Debbie Harry, John Lydon, David Byrne and others (the list would be endless) are interviewed first hand and everything possible is compiled. I know its happened in pieces with The Clash, Ramones and Sex Pistols but I think it needs to be done by an author or director with a bigger vision. Perhaps I see the urgency as none of the key players are getting any younger and we lose more of the men and women along with their memories each year. Here’s hoping….
Finally a thank you to those of you who’ve emailed some ideas and links. I’ll cover all of those items get back to the Clash Cup and Part 3 of the feature on The Roxy are due up over the next few days.
Toronto had a great Punk Scene back in those days. I remember my brother goin to Larry’s Hideaway and the Hotel Issabella for punk shows BFG, YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH i guess this would be considered 2nd gen punk and i grew up in Acton Ontario Canada rednecks and mohawks dont mix good but Guelph was a bus ride away and it an afternoon of lookin for records you would find some good stuff were have all the record shops gone. DUBWISE
If anyone is interested in live Clash shows and other amazing concerts theres alot to be had at SUGARMEGS they update every day and Tim i think they have the Clash Bond shows thanks and im glasd to be a part of the BEST CLASH BLOG now back to the garage wit my bullshit detector hahaha DUBWISE72
Maybe I should write a book and interview you guys !!!
T
Cracking idea Tim. Go for it
Don’t hold your breath on the George Harrison project. Wasn’t Martin Scorcese working on a film on the Life of Bob Marley, due for release February this year to coincide with Bob’s 65th birthday? I saw in Record Collector several months ago that he’d handed the reins to someone else (Whose name escapes me).
I think Sweden had a pretty interesting punk scene back in the 70´s.. now I was born in 1980, so I missed it, but what I read, and what I know of, it would have been cool to have been there.
Most of all we had Ebba Grön, which basically is the swedish version of The Clash. 3 guys who grew up in the poor suburbs of Stockholm, and who wrote about everyday life, and their hate towards the politicians and so on. Very poetic lyrics.
Their frontman, Joakim Thaström, a very charismatic guy.
They started in 1977, and ended it all in 1983…
Joakim Thaström still makes music, and I´m a huge fan of his work, and goes to all the concerts I can
In a song from his latest album, he sings: “I saw The Clash at the hotel in Örebro, and it never got any better than that.
Also, Ebba Grön reunited for a memorial concert in Stockholm, for Joe Strummer, in 2003, where even Mick Jones joined them, this was filmed and is on a DVD called Roots Rock Rebel, I think it´s available on amazon.
And check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya6z54IHdu0
unfortunatly I don´t know that much about other punk bands back then, but I think there were loads of them
I hope someday to be that author with a bigger vision who chonicles those years from firsthand NJ/NY experience. Imagine seeing The Ramones at Six Flags Great Adventure before they made it big? Cutting out pix of Deb Harry and Paul Simonon when they were not household words (was Paul ever? at least in my household he was, thankfully!) Listening to the static-y cool radio station from Long Island just to hear all those great English imports, and spending hundreds (that was ALOT back then) on vinyl at Vintage Vinyl which still stands today in Fords NJ.
And of course there was this band called The Clash…yeah…