A good Friday morning to you then, I’ve had better weeks but a cold isn’t enough to stop me from getting an update out to you fine people. There are a few things to get to some of which we’ve looked at before. I’m glad to say we broke the news of Julie Delpy being given the reins on the forthcoming Joe Strummer biopic before many of the other sites but over the last 48 hours it’s been given some coverage by many outlets. Here are a selection of those stories:

 BBC News gives a straightforward ‘just the facts as we know them’

The Guardian had a long and interesting article which they’ve now removed….very curious as to why

The Telegraph (honestly!) must now appeal to older Clash fans too

Rolling Stone (former Clash lovers) offer three sparse sentences

Variety suggests Delpy will be in the film itself….as Gaby I’m guessing

Spinner suggests the film will cover from 1982 right up until Joe’s death in 2002. That’s a new spin…

It would seem that official word is hard to find and a lot of speculation is beginning to dominate and I’m guilty of that too to some extent, but my biggest concern is the working title of the film. It’s a poor choice.

As I mentioned on Facebook that above and beyond being concerned about how the project will turn out I also think ‘The Right Profile’ is simply the wrong title for it. Yes it’s a Clash song but it also happens to be very specifically about troubled film star Montgomery Clift, thus the title (to a Clash fan) refers more to Clift than it ever could to Joe Strummer. I think we need to concoct a better title, I think simply ‘Strummer’ would work or even go back to the original ‘Joe Public’ which I didn’t think was great at the time but certainly more apt than what’s now getting selected. I don’t know how we contact Julie Delpy although we could try and bombard her facebook fan page although I doubt she reads it. Anyone well connected enough to have Julie’s ear please drop me a line and while you’re doing that I think I’ve come up with the ideal title for the film. How about just calling it ‘Joe’?

image courtesy hitsville uk 08 http://www.flickr.com/photos/26858003@N04/

The film is on track to be in production around the same time as the film about the making of London Calling which could make for a very interesting or disastrous 2012 at the cinema depending on how these projects actually turn out. Let’s keep our optimistic goggles in place at least until we find out who is being cast for the films then we can make an immense racket. I still think the wisest solution for both films is to cast an unknown actor in the key roles as it would be more believable than the calls for John Cusack and James McAvoy that I’ve seen thrown around. Also, nothing personal rest of the world but the actors needs to be British and preferably Londoners, I don’t want my Mick and Joe having a UCLA background thanks very much. What has been confirmed is that ‘The Right Profile’ will centre around the period of time when Joe Strummer went missing in Paris in 1982, again a strange part of The Clash story to focus in on if you ask me. Especially when you could I imagine easily build a film around the creation of the band, the early tours, conquering the US or even the extended stay at Bonds. 1982 wasn’t the peak of the tale and is strange era to zoom in on. Right then, I’ll be back tonight or early tomorrow with lots of news about the Justice Tonight tour.

In the meantime a huge thanks to those additional kind hearted Clash lovers who have donated to the blog in recent days (over on the right margin), it’s greatly appreciated and I’m flattered that you were able to help the blog out and view it in such a good light. Remember there’s no ‘minimum donation’ if you care to help out every penny counts. Thank you! If you’ve got a good idea for that film title please add it in the comments. More soon – Tim

Hello once again, yes I know it has been a while. I’m sorry, best laid plans and all that and suddenly the week has passed me by. Not that such trivial excuses help as their is much Clash related stuff to be getting to so I’ll try like mad to make amends over the coming week. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict 9 or 10 new posts over the next 7 days – that’s the only way we’re going to get current so check back often. Where have I been? Well it goes like this, last weekend I sliced open the top of my index finger that made typing rather tricky for a few days, then I had some pressing work to get done on a new website with a rushed deadline, then I had stomach flu and my server was down for 24 hours – follow that up with email issues and it’s been the week that shouldn’t have been. On the positive side there is decent likelihood of a move back to the west coast in 2012 and work remains busy so these are good things.

I am really keen on seeing if funding can be stretched to take in a trip back to England and Ireland next year and mix that in with some Arsenal games and Clash based events. If I plan and save and of course save and plan it might just happen. My relatives aren’t getting any younger and I miss good sausage rolls and quavers. I’d also have to visit this village (pictured left) in Ireland near Waterford, what could be better than a town named after The Clash (it wasn’t) but a town called Clashmore. Sounds ideal if you ask me. For those of  you who learned Gaelic in school – does ‘Clais’ truly translate to ‘Clash’?

So for tonight and probably half of the next few posts I thought I’d take the quick path to a speedy redemption and link you to those shorter Clash stories that merit a quick review on your part. If you think any are especially meaty or deserve closer inspection please let me know in the comments. All of which means we’re going to jump on to the Westway for the latest installment of Westway traffic. So then….off we go:

 Dodgy analogy of the week: The more I learned about Steve Jobs the less I liked him and that wasn’t a sentiment that arose after he passed away. He just seemed to treat a lot of people in a less than decent manner in a self important manner and also skipped a lot of bad press that wasn’t misplaced in the name of profit. Thus this article that begins with Paul Simonon smashing his bass being one of the most iconic rock and roll images (it is) having a parallel with the path carved out by Steve Jobs (it doesn’t) left me scratching my chin. It’s well written and worth a look but says ‘like many musicians he believed he could change the world with his ideas’. Which, in short, isn’t why I love music. I think the best lyrics and musicians that inspire me have made me ask how can I change the world – not wait for them to do the task for me. Have a read and see what you think.

Mick Jones impersonating Alexander The Great: Just file this under funny/great 7 second videos. It’ll make sense after you click the link I imagine.

Settle this debate – The best punk band of all time: Yet another of those daft/intriguing polls that asks for a decision on a broad question such as the ‘best punk band of all time’. The venue looks strangely to be a UFC site or something of that nature but I didn’t stay long enough to find out more. The promising news is that The Clash are currently joint first with 22.1% of the vote which puts them level with ‘other’. Second is shared between Black Flag and The Sex Pistols. Looks like you need to register to vote but if you have a few moments and want to make sure the final results are accurare please do so at the sherdof.com site via the initial link.

Want to feel inspired? Look to the punks: Sometimes a writer manages to capture something really well in the space of just six or seven paragraphs and so it is with this great piece written by Tom Hodgkinson in the Independent. Highly recommended read as it looks at the impact of punk music on someone in a less obvious setting than London or New York; in this case an activist who grew up in the former communist Czechoslovakia and how the music punctuated much of his energy. I really like the fact that 7″ singles continue to inspire.

“Punk thrives around the world. And it has been kept alive by its very physicality: while there are plenty of downloads and blogs in the movement, much preferred are old-fashioned formats such as vinyl, books and real fanzines made of real paper, which can be passed around and last for years”

Right then that should be enough to get you through the night but the photo above reminds me that I need to write about how bloody cool Paul Simonon is over the weekend and then we have to write to an ‘esteemed’ magazine who don’t seem to quite understand that. I’ll explain more – remind me. OK – it’s pouring outside so I need to go and enjoy that rare event but you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me and as ever thanks for reading and circulating the blog wherever and whenever you see fit. Tim

Good morning and how is it then? I’m wondering just what life would be like (and what was it like before) coffee? I don’t know if it’s the smell, the taste or the caffeine but I’m not getting out of bed until it kicks in today. Better yet I don’t need to, as this post writes itself which is how a Saturday morning post should be. Just turn up your speakers, sit back and click and I can promise you nothing but goodness.

Best cover versions of all time? That’s a list I would have a lot of fun with but I know for certain that The Clash would have half a dozen songs that would make my own top fifty. Rarely has there been a band who would take a song, fill it with a thousand volts of power and make it sound like the original artist was just chaperoning it until The Clash could rip it up and create the definitive version. That’s no exaggeration either. There are Clash songs that people are surprised to learn were written by others, not learned readers such as yourselves of course but your more casual listener. Our goal – to convert those casual listeners to the more dedicated variety.

Topper Headon - image the exclusive rights of Bob Gruen http://www.bobgruen.com/

You’ll hopefully remember from the past on the blog that those rock band games do actually serve one purpose beyond the obvious one of you not needing to personally spend time with your children. Some clever wag has been taking The Clash songs on the game and stripping them down to their composite parts of vocals, guitar, bass and drums. So far we’ve seen the method applied to Complete Control and London Calling to brilliant effect and now a third (are there more?) song has had ‘the treatment’. It just happens to be a cover version and features some of the greatest drumming ever committed to a recording studio which is why I’ll make the kickoff video be Topper’s treatment of the 1959 classic. To save space on the blog I’ve decided to just give you the direct links to the vocals, guitar (brilliant) and bass here. Green Day’s version? Come on…it’s not even close. I hope this chap continues to strip the songs down as it provides simple but effective pleasure and really lets you deeper inside songs that we’re already familiar with. After about a decade I’m still a hopeless guitarist so perhaps it’s time go get that drum kit….or not. That’s all for now, I hope your weekend is full of fire and commitment. Remember that you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me and as ever I appreciate you sharing the blog wherever you can.

I Fought The Law – Drums (isolated)