Good Evening and thanks for stopping by the blog. Its just ticked on over to Saturday as I write this at the end of a quite brutal 48 hours ~ complete with 48 thrills. Our house is falling down, the clash blogettes ex is a pathetic lunatic and I broke an E string on my guitar. Tomorrow will be better I’m sure of it. So let me try again to share some news cos I owe you that.

Thanks to Prince Blanco who is the man behind the Shatter The Hotel project for sending me a great article I wanted to share. Mark dug out this piece from the SourceMag.net about the ‘West London Rock and Roll Tour’ which heavily features The Clash. London as you’d expect is literally full to the rafters with locations relevant to Clash fans or in truth music fans of all persuasions. When I was younger I used to frequently have to drive past the tree where Marc Bolan lost his life and sing (out of key of course) a bit of Telegram Sam, you just feel the history around you. The article is a good introduction to places connected with Clash folklore but the list is endless, I might need to expand on that as an idea within the blog. I’ve always loved to visit pubs, clubs and music venues armed with a bit of knowledge about the history of the place, it just adds to the enjoyment. West London naturally is crawling with Clash points of interest from the squats occupied by Joe right through to Acton Town Hall where he played one last time on stage with Mick Jones. It wasn’t coincidence that I lived in West London throughout my twenties, I’ve always preferred North London but felt a need to be in Clash territory.

South by Southwest has rolled out of Austin for another year and for Clash fans it was the most relevant event yet. Jail Guitar Doors USA got an introduction, Strummerville had music showcases to promote the mission (and the acts) associated with the charity, and the premiere of the Don Letts documentary about Strummerville was unveiled. On that topic don’t forget to send in any questions you have for me to ask Trish Whelan the charity director of Strummerville who I’ll be interviewing for the blog in the very near future, additional details are right here. I’ll put aside some time this weekend to tie up the loose ends of SXSW, for the time being can I recommend a fantastic article written by friend of the blog Cathey who made it to Austin and wrote her account of events from a very Clashcentric perspective. She’s a great writer and her piece made me kick myself in the arse once again for not being there to share a pint and enjoy the festivities. Best of all it served as a reminder that great music didn’t stop in 1978, 1982, 1996 (I’ve heard all the arguments) but that it continues every single day – we just have to perhaps look a bit harder than before to find it as we lose our John Peels and Joe Strummers who served as our guides.

A quick favour if you have five minutes and enjoy the blog? Seems we’re nominated for “best pop culture blog” and I’d love if you can cast a quick vote. Apparently its quite painless if you can visit this site and choose ‘pop culture blogs’ from the left hand margin you should fine me. Thanks ~

I’ll be back after what I hope is another Arsenal win in a few hours with more stuff ~ have a splendid weekend and cheers for stopping by. Emancipate yourselves!

Tim