It’s been pouring with rain the better part of 24 hours, weather like this makes me long for a ride on a double decker down to my local pub. The Sunday papers to read all about the football and have a nice flaky sausage roll. If you’ve always lived in England and bemoan the clouds and rain just trust me when you live in the sunniest place imaginable you do miss the rain. So I’ve been happy as can be this wet winter while the locals can’t stop complaining about the weekly rains.

I’ve been reading (again) the excellent Chris Salewicz bio of Joe Strummer recently, nothing certifies a great book as much as being able to read it again and still find a lot to enjoy. The complexities of Strummer are something to behold but the sincerity and dedication of the man can’t be questioned. If you haven’t read it – it is a book that will at times make you recoil at times as you learn about Joe up close from those who knew him, and while it’s not a book that seeks to put a halo above Strummer’s head it is still a book that needed to be written. I mention this as I was reading about how Joe was perfectly happy as a late teen (and again in his 40’s) to visit a 3-4 day music festival or even an extended country party. It might involve just a sleeping bag on the grass somewhere but his borderline nomadic tendencies probably made being in a band that was constantly touring that much easier to adjust to. Much of it was also possibly because he moved so often before the age of ten (and from country to country) and then felt that he was ‘discarded’ into a boarding school. If that represents the first seventeen years of your life it is fairly easy to understand that Joe probably never felt settled anywhere/felt at home anywhere depending on your point of view. I went the long way round to get there, but knowing and wet and gloomy the English weather can be, how did he manage to rough it when needed? Was the weather that much better in the late 60’s? From my memory (1974 onwards) the only summer England has ever had that was very warm and dry was 1976 which was also the summer that punk germinated in London. Just a coincidence? It does make you wonder. Incidentally there are 10 signed copies of Salewicz’ book Redemption Song – The Ballad of Joe Strummer being given away in a drawing via his site – so drop on by.

I’ve only one other short thing this evening (Clash Cup tomorrow) and it’s something definitely worth a read. The blog ‘Ariff Minds The Gap’ has written a good article about ‘Cut The Crap’. He has more of an opinion on the album than I can compose at present, well at the very least he explores some of the legend behind the making of the final ‘Clash’ album. I’ve got to be honest, if I was introducing someone to The Clash I’d most probably suggest they stop their historic education with Combat Rock. Am I being unfair?

Finally, I found myself in the mood to at last tackle the film ‘Control’ this weekend by Anton Corbijn. As you are no doubt aware the film focuses on the last 7 or 8 years of Ian Curtis and the formation of Warsaw who were to become Joy Division. I read a great deal about the film when it was released in 2007 and then partly by intent never saw the film. I’m pleased I waited, it gave me distance from all the reviews and recommendations and I was able to watch it with my knowledge of Curtis and Joy Division as it previously was – fairly in keeping with the film. I must say I thought it was incredibly creative in it’s production and the major character of Ian, his wife and his mistress were all superbly cast. The film has a brutal starkness to it and the use of Black and White only adds to the desolation of the story itself and the settings of Manchester and Macclesfield in the mid-late 70’s. My only complaint was the minor characters (example, the rest of Joy Division!) were somewhat shallow and bordered on cliched but that scarcely detracted from a stunning film, my comment is tempered by the fact that the film was truly about Ian Curtis after all. The palpable sense of despair and confusion circling his life almost brings you to frustration, but the final feeling is one I’ve had since I first heard he died when I was just a kid – what a tragically brief life. You almost sense that Curtis was dying as soon as he joined the band. Sam Riley as Curtis and Samantha Morton as his wife Debbie are simply remarkable. I hope you’ve had the chance to see the film, if not you should.

Here we are again, one of the few times where you can put complete faith in democracy. The only requirement is that you be a Clash fan and have an interest in helping the blog determine the best Clash songs of all time. If it’s your first visit – it couldn’t be easier – we started with over 160 Clash songs and at random they compete against each other. One vote per visitor per pairing and the winners continue til we reach the last 16. This is still round one (nearly complete) and you’ll see the round of 64 kick off next week. For now though some results must be reviewed with you:

Tommy Gun defeats Wrong ‘em Boyo 31  -   14

1977 defeats Dirty Punk 44  –   1

No shocks there really as Tommy Gun rolls on but by a narrower margin that I’d have guessed. Who voted for Dirty Punk? Was it intentional? Right then let’s see what the next four look like – as ever more info is below and I look forward to your very careful use of your mouse.

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Three Card Trick – It is another moment of post Mick Clash we have to assess. In terms of ‘respect’ it’s one of the few from Cut The Crap that seems to have a few fans. I’m not one of them but to be fair it’s not a dreadful song. That said it won’t win.

48 Hours - One of those songs that takes me right back to my first hearing of the song as a 12 year old. After my first Clash exposure in late ‘78 to GTER being able to get the debut album immediately thereafter was nirvana for me. Needless to say 12 months later London Calling was released – no wonder I was a Clash devotee. 48 hours – all the evidence needed that a song can clock in at under 1:50 and still be immaculate.

Lose This Skin - Guest vocals by old Strummer cohort Tymon Dogg make this track as atypical of a Clash song as it gets. As a kid I’d tell my non-clash friends that the vocals were by the geyser from Rush, it worked a treat. Musically it was a rollercoaster of styles and brilliant drumming. A song that will make a non-Clash fan guess for hours – still a great party trick I enjoy. It did get a revival with Joe and The Mescaleros also!

Time Is Tight - When it comes to cover versions were The Clash lucky or simply genius? Not sure but on recorded evidence a bit of both. Here’s a song that they couldn’t even imprint with the vocal styling of Mick and Joe and still it’s just magnificent. I think it’s one of my favourite Clash songs for the car. Original was of course by Booker T and the MG’s – if you saw the Clash perform the song live you might be lying or a statistical rarity as they apparently only ever played it once.

So there you have it – 4 songs that we must slice down to 2. You have until Sunday morning to make your decisions for which I thank you in advance.

Tim

Evening all, our determined march to find the best ever Clash song marches on. We’ve sent over 30 songs to the suburbs and are getting closer to our final 64. Voting daily you help me decide which Clash song proceeds onward to the next round – I’ve got a fresh 4 to share in a minute and will include extra information beneath but first some earlier results. If this is your first visit to the blog get involved – we need your votes too!

Living in Fame defeats The Harder They Come 19  -  18

Broadway defeats Do It Now 32  -  3

That first result was exciting to watch as Living in Fame was trailing by a vote or two almost right til the end. It’s the tightest match up we’ve seen so far and was that close to ending all square.  In the other contest, it really wasn’t one was it? Right four new ones – cast your eyes below (click on titles for audio):

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Cheat - Something from the early days to get your teeth into. A late addition to the debut album and a song that was recorded on the last weekend session. Fast frantic and full of the speed induced energy

Overpowered By Funk - Another Combat Rock song and so far I’ve seen mixed (mostly weak) results from CR tracks. This seems to be a Clash song that brings out love or hate from most fans. I’ve changed my mind a few times over the years but it was an innovative idea for 1982. I still enjoy Topper’s percussion on this an awful lot.

This Is England - I clearly remember this single coming out, and although the sleeve was a bit tacky and I’d decided this was blasphemy due to the lack of Mick Jones this was a decent song, better than decent really. The electronic drums were a detraction but Joe sounded good and I even raised my expectations for the forthcoming album. That was short lived as Cut the Crap was a travesty in Clash terms.

Version City - This song probably needed an easier draw than the one above to get through to the next round. That said my ‘prediction rate’ for this round has probably been about 80% so there are shocks to be seen. I actually have a hard time describing this song so just click and play.

Thanks for your votes – you’ve got until Tuesday am to sort these four out.

Tim