Hello once again and thanks for dropping in at the blog, suddenly we find ourselves right back in the middle of a weekend once more. I’m not quite sure where the last week went, I never felt especially well some Monday and Tuesday were a bit of a fog to be honest. If you previously checked out the CIA page (clash influenced award) you’ll see an admittedly incomplete list of people who are inspired by The Clash, I really must get in and update that at some point soon. I took it off from the top toolbar for the time being, but the information will return at some point in the future. I mention it because one of the more famed Clash aficionados is none other than John Cusack and to his immense credit he wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his love for the band.

I don’t follow that many peoples twitter accounts simply because I don’t have time to check what they have to say about this and that but I did add John Cusack some time ago and noticed he must’ve been missing Joe Strummer this week. He tweeted about six tracks from Streetcore earlier in the week which I thought was great but greater still were all the warm responses from others remarking upon the brilliance of Strummer. I either dreamt this or did in fact read it 10 or 15 years ago that John Cusack had a clause in his Hollywood contract that at least one of three things had to happen in any new film he agreed to do. The three items were 1-The Clash had to be in the film soundtrack, 2 -The Clash had to be mentioned in the film’s dialogue 3- Cusack would be able to wear ( in an obvious fashion) a Clash T-shirt at some point in the film. Did I imagine this or was it true? I am fairly sure it’s more than an urban myth and that there was some shred of truth in it. If you know for sure or if you are John Cusack please let us know. Also have a look at his twitter account although today he has moved on to Tom Waits and some others but nothing too dodgy.

In the interest of this being your reliable and well informed Clash Blog I also thought I’d do a bit of research concerning Cusack and The Clash. John Cusack was born in the summer of 1966 ( that makes me feel better and a tiny bit younger) in suburban Chicago. At that age he was primed to be greatly influenced in his adolescence and early teens by the band. As far as I can tell he spent his entire childhood in Evanston which also would have given him the chance to see the original lineup of The Clash and MKII just a few miles south from where he lived at the Aragon Ballroom on Chicago’s North Shore. What a great bloody venue that place is and definitely somewhere that will feature in Clash landmarks on the site in the future. So with that established I also thought I would see what quotes John Cusack has made about the band, his affection for them is no secret. One huge oddity about Cusack I did know before writing this is that he claims to be a fan of both baseball teams in Chicago namely the White Sox and the Cubs?? That is beyond the pale, I can only compare it with liking both Arsenal and Tottenham or Rangers and Celtic – as you know reading this that provides more than a little a cause for concern. What next? Will we find he just can’t pick between The Clash and The Stranglers, or claims equal affections for lager and bitter?

So I did my research and there are indeed numerous mentions of the band by the actor and rather than chop and change those around I preferred to furnish you with something quite lovely he wrote in November of 2005. It’s reproduced in full below:

I was asked to write a little something for a Joe Strummer tribute in Scotland… Doing so, I remembered just how grateful I was he showed up on earth while I was around…

There was no one like Joe Strummer. There is a lineage, of course. Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan…I was always staggered by his voice. It was like a shaman should sound. If Roy Orbision sang for the lonely, Joe sang for the hungry…. His voice was liquid desire and it ignited as it left his mouth, his body shaking to contain the heat, like a rocket in the first phase of lift-off…. He was a pioneer who demanded art and politics be fused in the interests of humanity and truth. Often the truth was painful, just as often it was liberating, transcendent, and just plain fun. He was an icon of unrivaled integrity… Billy Bragg said if it weren’t for The Clash, punk rock would be just a sneer, a safety pin and a pair of bondage trousers… it sounds right to me… It’s been said Strummer reinvented rock. That sounds right too. I know for certain he challenged, inspired and demanded us to think and feel in ways we hadn’t before… demanded we use rebellion and anger as fuel for the journey to other, better worlds, never as an end in itself. Demanded we reach for the transcendent in everything and everyone, and to never suffer those fools who will not think and feel their way home. He was a guiding light and he got us out of many a tough jam. Knowing him, I was always humbled by his grace and intelligence, his passion, and the sheer ferocity of his will… and Jesus Christ that man could fucking rock.

I don’t know that I could put it better myself I also think my earlier speculation about the film contract becomes a bit of a moot point having read that. He is obviously and genuinely a huge fan beyond what I already knew earlier this week, we need more people like Cusack in positions like his to speak out about how important music has been and continues to be. I dare say I’ll now have to put aside some time this weekend to watch Grosse Pointe Blank, The Grifters and High Fidelity….bugger it I might just watch all three. I may even need to do a bit more research on the actor, one of those rare times a celebrity Clash fan isn’t such a bad thing. He even ( used to at least) write the occasional blog so some extra points for that as well…if you get a chance read his November 5, 2008 post about the election of Barack Obama. Where has all that pride and optimism gone in the intervening two years? I’m not suggesting Cusack has changed his tune but living in the states as a foreigner makes me wonder why people (some not all) cannot support anything through to completion, especially when you are elected on the basis of trying to create change. Unfortunately we may be half way through the office of a one term president, which surely would leave the machine that is the US not only slipping a gear but probably heading for permanent reverse. That’s another topic for probably another blog on probably another website but still it does leave you wondering just where we are collectively heading.

Enough of that at least for the time being, I’ll wrap it up there and wish you farewell. Till next time – Tim.

Joe and William Burroughs

Good Morning wherever you may be reading and cheers for visiting the blog. A different sort of day here as its not hot, it rained all night long, I heard a woman screaming outside her boyfriend/husband/lovers house until the police came at 4am and now I’m watching Arsenal. Its like being back in London minus the new bicycle hire program. I think the bike idea is great though the sponsorship is hideous. As for The Clash, the last time we did this it seemed to get a favourable response so we’ll do it again as I scour vimeo, youtube, google video and other shared services for the best and worst new video uploads that hopefully most of you have yet to see before. If you stumble on something especially brilliant that might be good for the blog please contact me via the usual channels. Let’s get cracking then.

Billy Bragg performing Redemption Song on the Jail Guitar Doors road trip: As the Strummerville linked tour continued recently into Scotland and points North Bragg spoke and performed songs in addition to the film screening. The video is from some distance from the stage (no zoom on the camera?) but the audio is good, moreover the cause is tinged with Joe.

Big Audio Dynamite MTV concert from 1992: I’m sure this has been seen by some of you but it’s a new upload and I’ve seen it before it was probably not enjoyed as much as this in the days of dial-up! Mick sports one his nicest hats  as the band perform ‘Can’t Wait’ and ‘Contact’. Crowd sound seems a bit odd but good fun to watch, was Mick’s hair ever really that long? I think we previously determined that the pony tail was fake. The shirt…yes I made the same fashion mistake right around the same era. Clips remind me just how much of a party BAD were as a live proposition, I think I saw them four times in total and they were on form each time.

A cover of London Calling by…two people: Bloody hell…I had to watch this so you should too. I don’t quite know what to say. Is it the semi-operatic vocals she offers, the fact that her mouth doesn’t seem to sing or his ever so laid back delivery? Then just when you think you know what to expect at the very end she turns into Debbie Harry for a few lines. I am trying not to laugh and it’s nice that they covered the song and put it on youtube. If your response is good I may see what other work they’ve done. All I can tell you is she is called Claire….

Police on My Back bass / surgical mask: Do you remember Clinic? You should it was very recent, they used to appear on stage in full surgical gear and perform. I saw them live round about 2004 and I liked the band but the overriding memory was the oddness of not being able to see their faces in full, a bit like seeing the Wombles I would assume? This chap has the surgical mask on (indoors?) but don’t let that be a detriment, his bass work is flowing and competent as he plays Paul’s notes really well on one of my favourite Clash tracks for the bass.

To finish a few honourable mentions. Casey Neill & The Norway Roots perform a decent cover version of ‘Coma Girl’.  Audio only on this one sadly as Joe Strummer and the Latino Rockabilly War perform ‘Love Kills’ in Manchester ’85. This is good and you’ve probably heard it – Camper Van Beethoven doing ‘Kingston Advice’. Doesn’t top the original but it does bring its own flavour to the track.

Must be a Clash ~ there’s no alternative. Thanks for dropping by, please share on facebook below if you can…I’ll be back soonish. Arsenal drew 1-1; shadows of last season already….

Monday indeed…and yes it seemed like one all over the place today. Testy people in the petrol station, dogs barking at the wind and even the usually mild mannered cat of the house was in a bit of a strop. Get over it – its nothing more than a day of the week. I wasn’t subscribing to it until the postman came, while he did have his usual assortment of bills and pizza coupons he also had to his credit a kind gift from a Clash blog reader (Thanks again Michael!), what he didn’t have was my Clash themed license plate for the car! Again! Perhaps (and knowing Arizona it might be) prison inmates still do bash out car plates on rocks in the hot sun here? In either case the state needs to have my plate here by Friday or I’ll just add a Rancid sticker to the back of the car. When the cop pulls me over and I explain its in lieu of The Clash I’m sure he’ll understand. Can I blog from jail?

I was going to launch into a filthy tirade about the extended and annoying delay to the notice of Gorillaz tour dates for the US (you grow up and you calm down), to me it seems that they’ve already annoyed people in mainland Europe by canceling shows (you start wearing the blue and brown) and frustrated those in the UK by rescheduling dates and now are taking the Mick pun intended by stalling on the US dates and/or somewhat confirming some. Its creating a buzz I suppose but I don’t really think its necessary nor overall a positive thing. I wonder if Damon is calling the shots or they simply are trying to coordinate some venues that work best with the calendar? So I’ll relent from a tirade I suppose but I’m not impressed really. On the other hand there is also some good/cool news from .5C/G

In keeping with the tradition of all that can be genre defining and global about the best artists they played a unique show in Damascus Syria this week. Of course Damascus isn’t on the tour schedule for most touring hip bands, in fact according to the report on the BBC today it was the first time a major British act has played in Damascus. The concert itself carried some political overtones  which might be best left to the expert analysts – but in a sense playing in a country that’s being squeezed out by Western culture reminds me of Billy Bragg going play concerts in what was then East Germany and the USSR in the 1980′s to try and bring the two cultures a little closer together and raise awareness. Here’s a link to the BBC feature and a few snippets from Damon Albarn are below, visit for the photo of an pretty unhappy looking Simonon if nothing else. I wonder that was said right before that photo was taken?

“By virtue of being the first big western act to arrive in Damascus I think hopefully that’s the beginning of a dialogue, and that in itself is meaningful for Syria as a whole.” and explaining the album title: “I think the world is becoming like a plastic beach. It’s not a prediction, it’s something that exists now. We’ve got to accept that it’s got to be cool to recycle.”

OK back tomorrow with more Clash centric pondering and hopefully some tour dates. I also have to write up my thoughts on the special anniversary This is Big Audio Dynamite legacy edition in the days ahead. It’s such a great record. Thanks for dropping in as ever, if you learn more about this and that share it with us all. Cheers – Tim