Hello good people, let’s see how this works out. If this is your first visit to the blog I usually write daily (or so) with Clash related news, updates, opinions and previews of events or reviews. We’re trying something new today simply to allow you to filter through some of many Clash related stories that there isn’t room to cover in depth (or enough thought/time). So welcome to the first installment of Westway Traffic! All the headers are links if you are so inclined.

Green Day Versus The Clash : I know, it hardly sounds like a sensible debate to be having but it’s taking place over on the inconsistent (read messy) format that is last.fm with the heading “Who’s Best – Classic Punk Green Day or The Clash?” The comments are somewhat funny and you’ll not be surprised to see The Clash stroll it. By some margin. Incidentally last.fm is a decent site to set to your favourites and listen away but it’s a messy layout and full of things that might drive you a bit mad.

Clash Shopping: Pick of the day a 7″ single of London Calling signed by the entire band. Looks like an import perhaps Spanish (not quite sure) and was apparently signed by the band during the Bonds Residency. Dealer looks authentic – reserve price a lofty $279.99 which looks keen. Based on the vinyl is this a promo or an acetate? I’d guess the latter.

Album Review – The Future is Unwritten Soundtrack: I’m not a compulsive completist when it comes to the bands I love and although I know I spend too much money on music I still try and be selective. Some of you probably have every Clash/Clash related release imaginable while some of you probably just download what you like. This soundtrack was an interesting mix which matches up in the same patchwork way the the film works and occasionally fails. This review is accurate enough, highs – Joe Strummer’s links from the radio work and Rachid Taha’s cover of Rock The Casbah, lows – a bit of a mess as a concept. Should you own it – probably. Does The Clash Blog own it – no, gave it a miss.

Influenced by The Clash : In an enjoyably candid Q+A  interview, Australian author Gregory Day reveals when he was 12 years old he wanted to be Joe Strummer. Who didn’t Gregory…who didn’t?

Cut The Crap: Tynan’s Anger blog goes on a ramble about the greatest years in music history. Good. 1977 ranks 3rd on the list. Fair enough. Somehow despite this being a site I respect he chatters on about 1977 without once mentioning the debut Clash album. Not acceptable…cut the crap! Add your comments….comments drive change….**addendum, he replied advising it was due to the album coming out in the States in 1979. A bit like World War II starting in ’41 I guess…

Music You Should Own already: Just a quick note pertaining to a well versed review on Hellbomb of an album that is simply one of the best of its ilk and generation. The Minutemen (as noted in the review) were proclaimed by Joe to be one of the best punk bands ever – and for one album at least- ‘Double Nickels on the Dime’ I’d have to agree. As to why…just check out this review and then track down I think the best of California’s punk exports. SST label too…very nice.

Defintely Maybe, Maybe not: Recently demised Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher tells the NME he ‘plans to write a book, or a film’ in the near future. Don’t keep us hanging Noel…one or the other mate. The band that wouldn’t go away did finally break up and now we can get the Oliver Stone version. I’ll risk offending here but if The Sex Pistols had plodded along for a decade they would have been Oasis, fitfully trying to recapture what you can only really do properly once.

As a final occasional guest on Westway Traffic I’ll dig out a Clash related video – they may be funny or excellent, dodgy or questionable but ideally something some of you haven’t seen. Tonight…you’ve not seen it before but I hope you can relate.

So that’s the format…do you like it…will it work? Let me know and thanks for reading.

Tim

Good evening, just walked in the door after playing football in 105f heat and I feel a bit like a dried out husk of something or other. Will chug down some more water and see if that helps, that said I don’t think we did any worse than France in the World Cup today – what a shambles that was. I must say I’ve really enjoyed looking at the photographs from the Ray Lowry exhibition in London that just opened (more details on this earlier post). Looking at Lowry’s work takes me right back to his illustrations that were in the NME for so many years and of course the brilliant work he did sketching The Clash. I thought I’d include some more on the blog today to give you a bit more sense of his ability to capture the mood of The Clash camp which perhaps above all else is what he did so well. His role was so unique, and while there have been hundreds of photographs that have caught the band forever frozen in their youth there is something about his drawings that adds a spark of humour or frustration to the proceedings that he witnessed. Very cool stuff and I hope some of you in London and surrounds are able to make it to the exhibition at the Idea Generation Gallery. (All images courtesy Ray Lowry and the Gallery)

Its quite remarkable that events like this are happening with more and more frequency now, all through the 80′s and into the 90′s The Clash were initially seen by the establishment as both a sell out and an implosion but gradually as the 90′s wore on the perspective of time and obvious influence on other bands saw the stock of the band increase. That turn around has continued ever since to the point where strangely The Clash have never been regarded as highly by the press and media in general as they are today. In essence that’s a good thing but I’m sure like me you wonder why the consensus had failed to notice what a wonderful band they were much earlier. Apparently it all happens for a reason but the pleasant upshot is that I don’t think in truth the members of the band (including in the belated case of Joe Strummer) truly understand how much they changed our expectations of music and so many lives. Just as vital is the fact that it keeps happening, thousands of people who weren’t born when The Clash ceased to be will now cite them as the greatest band ever. This rarely happens with rock music, it puts The Clash in a special place. Thus the thought of more gallery exhibitions cropping up (and not just for The Clash but that whole era) manages to both make me feel a bit old but also remind me that we were onto something special. Those albums and singles, concerts and memories really did make a difference and perhaps the biggest difference might be how you average Clash fan views things ever since. But it does signify something special, not to name names but we don’t see the growing interest in the music, the clothing, artwork and photographs of Dire Straits do we? (just to name a name). Dire Straits would be an example of a band that sold millions of albums at their peak, far more than The Clash but are now just a footnote and a sweatband.

With all that said there is another Clash related exhibition that I hope you’ll take a look at and happily its right up the other end of the country in Liverpool. The venue strangely is an opticians (!) but they also regularly feature special collections for exhibit. Photographer Francesco Mellina was a vital observer of punk and post punk in the NorthWest and many of his images are very special. His current display features photographs of Strummer amongst others (Sex Pistols, New Order, Siouxsie and The Banshees) and will be on display throughout the Summer until August 31st. I managed to find a recent podcast interview with Mellina about the work on display at the opticians/gallery, the audio is a little choppy but still worth a listen. ArtInLiverpool.com have a fuller feature on his work and the link is right here for you. Mellina was born in Italy but settled in Liverpool in his 20′s and was very involved in the punk/post punk music scene and photography on Merseyside – after more than 30 years he must be an honourary scouser and a vital one at that. Find out more about Francesco via his facebook page. The exhibition (I almost forgot!!) is located at:

Optimark, 72 Bold Street, Liverpool – Tel 01517 076866

(less than a 10 minute walk south of Liverpool Lime Street….we were chased to that famous old train station by Liverpool fans more than once)

From the garage to the galleries….The Clash keep rolling along. Thanks for stopping by…more very soon.

Video above: Francesco Mellina Exhibition – magic stuff

Saturday night and I should be out seeing the sites but domesticity and a stomach flu keep me on a very short rope. I was explaining the kid’s rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’ today (to a child) and found myself getting the words mixed up – all due to Clash City Rockers I expect. I’ve a few things to be getting through tonight so let me cover the off topic matters first. Everton Football Club I must thank for keeping my hopes alive in consecutive weeks and cheers to Amy Williams who won Britain’s first Olympic individual gold medal since 1980! Is it true that Robin Cousins used to listen to Rudie Can’t Fail over and over again on his brand new Sony Walkman back in 1980? Seems such a long time ago…..my excuse is that the UK is severely lacking in mountains and snow (well at least up until the last two winters). On to Clash related matters some time soon…I hear you mumble.

I need a secretary to get through all of these bits and pieces as I just reviewed my list of pending stories. I plan to update the stats on the Global A Go Go page soon also as the US traffic to the blog is now leading the UK by a sizable amount – so I’m going to lay down a challenge to my homeland to catch up! I realise the US has 5 times as many people but The Clash are ours and the blog traffic should reflect this. (this is all a bit tongue in cheek of course).

I feel a bit remiss in failing to spread the word that the Jail Guitar Doors ‘roadshow’ is doing some dates this week and next. All the details are here and there is still time to make it along to Nottingham, Bristol, Southampton, Cardiff and London. Billy Bragg is on the bill and of course a chance to see the film so please show support if the schedule fits. Speaking on Billy Bragg (so long as he keeps talking about The Clash I’ll reciprocate) there was a good article profiling his career and recent activities in The Times.

The Sidebar in Baltimore (downstairs I'm guessing)

Clash fans near Baltimore/Washington (maybe Philadelphia?) need to consider dropping $5 next Saturday night to attend the 3rd annual ‘Night of The Clash’. Seven (!!) bands will be performing Clash cover versions – so there should be something to your taste on the menu. Event takes place at The Sidebar Tavern in Baltimore starting at 5pm (seven bands after all) next Saturday.

Weren’t we just talking about Manic Street Preachers? I thought so…was glad to read about a bit of a battle of principals in Glasgow this week. Seems that Manic Street Preachers Nicky Wire had a good old go at the bloated carcass that is Radiohead. Bad words were exchanged and the whole nasty event has reached the music press. At the heart of the issue is downloading killing music (you know where I stand) and Wire accused Radiohead of only being bold enough to offer free or near free downloads after they became multi-millionaires. I must say he has a point when you think about it. Things simmered until MSP performed during which Nicky Wire said this of Ed from Radiohead (I’ll have to censor the ‘c’ word…probably the only word I won’t put on the blog….and I don’t mean country music although the first syllable is the same)

“Apparently Ed O’Brien called me a wanker, I’m really fucking scared, go back to your boarding school you ****!”

Full details are on the NME. Worth noting this a festival of bands that had previously played there marked the 20th anniversary of the famed King Tut’s in Glasgow. This made my radar because the owner was interviewed by the BBC and he was asked what was the best over gig at the venue, naturally he had the sense to say Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros in 1999. Link to that story right here. I need a rumour confirmed or denied and I know someone will know the answer (ideally someone reading this). Did Mick Jones really appear on The Damned’s Machine Gun Etiquette as an uncredited vocalist? If so what track? I thank you. Finally for now please read this article from the wonderful Quietus about some quotes attributed to John Lydon. I’m not someone to downplay the importance of the Sex Pistols and PIL but the jury is out on where Lydon resides today (and I don’t mean Los Angeles). He just seems to have morphed into something that is 50% parody and 50% confused, it would be nice to see some of the earlier (music based) output from Lydon – failing that get an agent who ensures you get better press.

Right…that’s me out for now, more tomorrow and thanks for visiting.