Good morning Clash world how goes it? Still no license plate and no fall out from the kebab last night so it’s a net neutral I’d have to say. Been working on our website in our quest for world domination in blog design, alright I exaggerate. Coffee has brewed, found a decent new music player online that actually seems like it will be worth bookmarking and I’m wearing my best ‘can do’ approach towards the weekend. I actually have to get out back today and clean the grill which is not my favourite task but makes the food taste a lot better and reduces the risk of an explosion which would take out the back third of the house.

Seems like a good morning to fire up another round of The Clash Cup as we get deeper into round 2 and only the big boys remain. Before we sort out the new pairing (selected very officially via this site) we need to review the last vote which frankly was a devastatingly one-sided affair.

Career Opportunities        defeated       Last Gang In Town              61-6

It didn’t take a brave gambler to think that the winner would be Career Opps but still the margin of the win was pretty remarkable. I think to a certain extent the early 10-0 head start made some voters want to pick the sure winner. However you slice it that was a bad result for ‘Give em Enough Rope’. I’ve a theory that the better Mick’s hair was at the time of recording the better the chance the song will win. I’ll need a powerpoint presentation to prove my theory but just you wait and see. Let’s move away from the rubble of that result and see what we have next, and I’d say it will be a closer call having just picked the numbers.

Round 2 Match 8

Lightning Strikes      vs       48 Hours

Nice one indeed and I’m feeling some weird symbolism which is daft, as I write it is of course the early stages of our 48 hours and last night we had more lightning than rain (which in truth is always the case here). Two tracks that I’ll suggest won’t be around at the final 16 stage but one is assured an unlikely run into the third round. You probably disagree but neither song is often on my top list of Clash songs I have to hear when I’ve only got 4 minutes of available time. Both songs are good but not what I’d consider to the best in the Clash stable of their respective vintages, though you’re welcome to disagree.

Form book:

Round 1 – Lightning Strikes defeated Crooked Beat                        66% of the vote

Round 1 – 48 Hours defeated Three Card Trick                                 78% of the vote

Odds:

This is a bit like trying to guess if Huddersfield will beat Preston really but I think it will be very close thing. Its time for all the lovers of S! to rally together and see Lightning Strikes through to round 3. I know 48 Hours will get a lot of support but its possible that the other early Clash songs will see much more interest. I’d say Lightning Strikes by the thinnest of margins.

Stuff:

No brilliant insight to offer here, I do think it important to note that Lightning Strikes was written and and recorded in 1980. Not only had The Clash not really made anything that sounded anything like it but nobody else was making music quite like it. Its a great example of Joe’s trust in Mick to really expand the style of the band and Strummer in turn just marrying a lyrical rhythm to match the song itself.  I rarely throw the video in the voting mix but this clip from Barcelona in ‘81 is well worthy. As for 48 Hours, you’re not really a Clash fan unless this has gone through your head on a Friday night on the way home from work. I’d suggest listening to this version from  1976 and see how the track evolved in the months between then and when it was recorded. Good Stuff! The rest is up to you…thanks for voting and tell me if it was a tough decision…even now I’m not quite sure which to pick. If you get two minutes can you vote for the blog on the right under ‘best pop culture blog’ we’ve a chance to go top 10!

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That’ll be Father’s Day drifting off then, hope yours (if applicable) was pleasant and you either were smothered with attention from your offspring/left alone to enjoy the football (delete as appropriate). You’ll have noticed that we’re going to persevere with Westway Traffic as nobody seemed to be offended with the initial run out a few days ago. Newcomers to the blog – it’s just a way every day or two of covering a wider spectrum of Clash related news without me getting ever so wordy and you returning to Facebook/The Guardian/Yahoo Dating/The Huffington Post before reaching the bottom of the story. So let’s jump in and see what is on The Westway today.

It’s nice, but is it art? : Another review of the current Ray Lowry London exhibition comes courtesy of the Chance Collective website. More

Could those 3 tiny discs be Sandinista! ?

insight into the guest artist’s contributions plus some pictures you might not have seen yet. I believe all (or most) of the dedicated pieces will be auctioned off after the exhibition for further information come back to the blog, for an auction catalogue you can email Rachel.wood@ideageneration.co.uk  I’ll assume there is a digital edition, semi-serious inquiries might be best.

Simonon fix – Junior edition: I read your comments and your emails, I’m aware that many of our female readers who love The Clash might just love Paul Simonon the most. We’re modern men, we understand what’s what and many of us will agree that few musicians before or since have ever looked as consistently cool as Simonon. Even now he still has that swagger and confident persona and many insiders have said Paul’s primary role may have been helping the Clash look so great. Cynics say he never became proficient with the bass guitar but I disagree strongly. Anyway, the link above is to an article and short video clip featuring Paul’s son model Louis Simonon. The video promotes the newest line of Loewe Leather clothing and accessories, you’ll see your dose session of Simonon Jr at about the 0:21 mark. Full marketing campaign online next month. (please note the Loewe site can be a bit Sloewe to load)

Global music, afrobeat drummer Tony Allen: One of the many intriguing elements to The Good, The Bad and The Queen was percussionist Tony Allen. I didn’t realise Tony Allen was touring with a new project which goes right back to the beginning for the excellent musician. After working with the brilliant Fela Kuti until his death in ‘97 Allen has worked with various projects including of course the album and tour with Simonon, Damon Albarn and Simon Tong. Read this article linked above on askmygirls.com and catch up with his new project now touring under the name ‘Secret Agent’ – check Tony’s myspace page to hear some tracks. Nice stuff indeed, listening as I write and getting well relaxed.

Strummerville campfire will warm The Drums: New York’s The Drums have been confirmed on the bill at the Strummerville Campfire during the Glastonbury weekend. All the news via the S-Ville site courtesy of the NME. The Drums will take you back to 1985ish with an American take on the jangle stuff I used to love so much – think The Railway Children, Bodines, McCarthy, June Brides. Yeah a bit twee but ideal for the setting.

Album Reviews  – The Clash S/T : Gibson (the guitar makers) have wisely added a blog to their corporate website. For one of the big two guitar makers along with Fender most responsible for the sound of The Clash the site just added a review of The Clash S/T. Only fitting that they should have their chance to do so, and a well written review it is and worth a read as the writer keying in on the fact that The Clash only ever made one punk album. Like me I think the feeling is where could you go after Jan 1, 1978 but something new which is just what The Clash accomplished though it seems to have upset many. I have a torrid time writing album reviews it seems so hard to avoid sounding rehearsed or coerced.

Clash Shopping : I wonder where this still shrink-wrapped copy of Give ‘Em Enough Rope has been sitting since 1978? In truth it’s not that old

Might we be needing one of these next year?

as the sticker indicates its a ‘CBS Nice Price’ which was reserved for back catalogues releases after they had been on the books for a few years. Regardless it must be at least circa 1982 or so. Priced to move at $7.99 on ebay – just $3 more than the original sticker.

Don Letts has your answers : Always happy to see Don Letts get the level of press he should considering not just his ties to The Clash but the film track record and detail/dedication he keeps bringing to the table. He never seems to lose his energy and I think is adored by more people as the years trundled. A good article on Spinner.com is well worth a read as he covers a platter of topics including whether Big Audio Dynamite will reform in 2011 as rumoured.

“I can neither confirm nor deny a reunion, I’d give it a shot. But I’m the only one who can’t play anything, so it would be easy for me.”

Much more on that NXNE festival shortly but that should be enough to get you through the night…thanks for coming in – and please feel free to comment, say hello, or just talk about your dog (or Paul Simonon I suppose)

Tim

Yes it was thirty years ago today that Strummer/Jones taught the world to play…..

Jan 5, 1980 heralded the  US release of London Calling which considering the debut album never got a proper US release and Give Em Enough Rope was far from a huge success in America was probably much smaller news then than the anniversary of the event all these years later. London Calling was received to universal critical acclaim in the States; most notably within the pages of Rolling Stone and sat on the the cliff edge linking the 1980’s to what had been happening in the UK for the previous 3-4 years. London Calling bridged the decades because it was ultimately one of the most diverse Rock and Roll records of the era, perhaps ever. For a Clash fan it merely hastened the journey that the next two albums (and singles that were released during that time) would provide to send us bouncing around with the musical experimentation that the band were embracing, some fans bailed after the debut and many more after London Calling and Sandinista!. Perhaps more clearly it showed a growing love of the US and especially New York City which influenced the band far more than any of their British contemporaries up to that point.

London Calling was the record that paved the way for so many other British bands to succeed in the US and tightened up the links between punk and rock as opposed to Punk Rock. The English version of Punk was (in my opinion) something that was more in tune with the British market,  boredom over the Westway, dole queues and the riots in Notting Hill were always going to lose something in the translation. The US merited (and had) its own unique punk bands/scenes and I think this is why London Calling crossed over so effectively. It had much broader horizons, with lyrics and songs that resonated whether you were in Des Moines or Dundee. According to the critics it was The Clash at their very best, according to sales it was another rung on the ladder of success that peaked with Combat Rock, according to me it was simply the soundtrack to being 13,14,15,16 and it has never left my side since.

If someone knocked on my door tomorrow who had lived in a cave for their entire life but wanted to understand music from the last 50 years this would be one of the 5 albums I would hand them…and also tell them to play it first. Enough from me – have a look at what the New York Post had to say on this anniversary. It would also be neglectful of me not to link ‘that review’ from Rolling Stone.

For all its first-take scrappiness and guerrilla production, this two-LP set–which, at the group’s insistence, sells for not much more than the price of one–is music that means to endure. It’s so rich and far-reaching that it leaves you not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive.              (Rolling Stone, January 1980)

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