Saturday morning – welcome back to the blog or hello for the first time. I’ve a few things to be catching up on so let’s get straight to it.

If you don’t visit The Quietus website you really should. They offer a great range of news, interviews and opinions. It’s one of my favourite sites for indie music interviews and they never fail to deliver thought provoking interviews and break news as quick as anyone. Thumbs up as usual to the site for a great interview with Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks. Pete is always a good conversation and this is no exception as he discusses Joe Strummer, the legacy of his band and punk rock. An articulate chap he also muses on the (huge) gap between London and Manchester.

“We found this whole other world of ideas, but tried to temper all that meaningful stuff with humour. Really, punk was about questioning things”            Pete Shelley

Next then………..as much as I like and admire Joy Division and New Order was it enhanced by the antics of Peter Hook? Yes he plays mean bass and of course he was instrumental in the appeal of both acts but he never struck me as anything other than a difficult chap. If more evidence was required (it’s not) here’s some from a recent story in Rolling Stone.

Another good article about the demise of albums that is worth a read. In a very suitable analogy is compares the record buyer of 1980 who purchases London Calling thus acquires the equivalent of a novel, while the ipod generation (need a term for that, leeches seems weak) are essentially cherry picking songs and never getting the full flavour of an artist. I tend to agree and I’m sure the gap can be bridged especially when a 13 year old can spend $40-$50 on a PS3 game, you could get 3-4 cds for that. Come on parents – do the right thing!

This sounds like a good book to look out for – Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History 1955-Present. Fans of The Clash won’t be surprised to see Bob Gruen (happy birthday yesterday Bob!) and Pennie Smith feature in the book. There’s something about those black and white images that just completes the legacy. I look at the Bob Gruen Clash book at least every week as those photographs are simply magic.

Speaking of books there is a new release for Clash fans:

New Clash Book released...

The Clash: Essential Interviews (Rifftastic!/Rock Reader Books) – compiled by John D. Luerssen

Here is the link and part of the blurb:

From its first-ever gigs with The Sex Pistols to the creation of its triumphant 1979 album ‘London Calling’ and on to the global success of 1982’s ‘Combat Rock’ and everything in between, THE CLASH: ESSENTIAL INTERVIEWS collects the group’s most candid and indispensible media interactions. It is a must-read for any Clash fan.

I’d be happy to write about a review copy if I was sent one (hint hint…again) but can’t imagine there’s a great deal I’ve not read yet…but prove me wrong!

Okay that’s all for now. More news this evening.

Tim

Hello and welcome back again. A strange day as the Clash blogette had a painful trip to the Doctor and now I’m playing nurse…if you know me you realise that’s probably not a sentence you would want to hear from my lips.  She’ll be fine….right! Okay then on to matters Clash and there are a few pieces for your persual. First off -  don’t forget that this Thursday marks the debut of ‘Breaking Rocks’ the JGD film in Camden. If you are in London or nearby I’d highly recommend you take the tube to Camden Town and the short walk for a great event. As far as I know tickets are still available, if you know different please let me know.

It seems Mick Jones made a short trip to the South of France last week to appear at the Festival Marsetac with Rachid Taha (as his guest I believe). Video clip is below and as you can see it seems to have been a splendid time -- I’m waiting to learn more. That sounds like the perfect weekend, a music festival and Marseilles which is such a lovely city. It’s really great to see just how public Mick Jones has been since I started the blog, it makes you wonder where he might show up next. I hope it means the Carbon Silicon album is ready to go and not that he has other time to spend elsewhere? Further info on Rachid Taha on his myspace page. Additional video of Rock The Casbah has now surfaced too along with other great clips though not sure about Mick Jones doing an Algerian dance!!!

San Francisco has always been an interesting city for music and along with Los Angeles had it’s own very vibrant punk scene back in the day. With that in mind this book review sounds great (and of course reference our boys). Gimme Something Better is available now in the US from $12.25 on Amazon.

Billy Bragg sits down with the Newham Recorder (East London’s finest) and further explains the inspiration behind the Jail Guitar Doors project.

Visitors to the blog who live in the New York area should try and visit the following exhibition which starts October 30 and runs through til the end of January. Amongst the collection of Rock and Roll photography are some Clash pieces by Pennie Smith which would be nice to see first hand. Full details with address and hours etc are here.

Finally….I learned a new word today - Rhotacism. It’s the inability to properly pronounce the letter ‘R’ and no I’m not making light of it. The examples that come to mind Jonathon Ross in the UK or Barbara Walters in the US (or Elmer Fudd globally). Why am I mentioning this? Well I found a list of famous people with speech impediments and Joe Strummer is on the list for Rhoaticsm. I’ve seen dozens of interviews with Joe and of course all the songs…surely I would have noticed it?? Does he actually sing White Wiot? Am I missing something? Answers on a postcard or via comments please.

More soon -- Tim

Sorry about that last post ~ just had to get it written to save me explaining to everyone.Back to the topic at hand as there are lots of Clash related odds and ends coming through the wires and want to fire through them so the featured posts get completed this week also.

There’s a continuous tide of Clash related art being produced and I know for collectors and fans alike it’s an interesting attraction. I’ve always admired rather than envied those who could put their earnings toward art for art’s sake (sorry for the trite cliche) – the few times I’ve come close to purchasing something from that realm I’ve always determined the $150 could be better spent on 10 CDs, some clothes, a holday or whatever. In truth my own music collection is a bit out of control, okay a lot out of control. Then again I’m ten times more likely to be listening to music that watching TV.

London Calling has become the Taj Mahal of all things Clash it would seem and perhaps more so in the last decade. Along with the 19 tracks on the record the cover art seems to have become iconic to all music lovers – and indeed the image captured by Pennie Smith is unique to say the least. I still recall first buying that record – and first I was excited that it had lyrics (a first for The Clash) and also lots of small b/w images from that US tour. The inserts and the front and rear artwork were as enjoyable in some respects as the music contained on the vinyl. So speaking of that cover here is a link to a canvas art print of the Simonon photo. I do like the fact that only a portion of the original image has been painted and the colour pallette and intentional distortion/blur adds to the lack of convention. Maybe it’d look cool on a wall??

Don Letts’ movie Carnival remains in production but somewhere I read that it’s near release? I know I read Aug 29th for a premiere so I’ll keep digging. Definitely something to look out for. More information in the coming days I promise. Notting Hill coverage in full on the blog!

A film I want to eventually both talk about at length but also ensure everyone has seen is the Strummer documentary ‘Let’s Rock Again’. While The Future is Unwritten got so much press and attention this film was somewhat sidelined. I’ll delve into it at length later but in the meantime take a visit to - The Noising Machine – and check his review of the film. An accurate and concise summary of a film that clearly has to be seen for any Clash fan. Joe was so relaxed during the shooting and it’s a treasure that Dick Rude got this film made.

More later – no roof visits scheduled. Tim