Only me again with the latest installment of the Clash Blog. I’m not impressed today as the temperature is back over 110f just when I thought the worst of the summer was gone, if you’re sitting somewhere and complaining about it being in the 60’s outside I don’t want to hear it. Make sure you check back with the blog over the weekend as I should have approval for some very cool images from a recent art exhibition for you. This afternoon back like a zombie it’s time for The Clash Cup, I know it’s been dormant for a few weeks but all of the events surrounding Joe Strummer’s Birthday including reviews and previews took out much of the blog during the latter part of August.

So will it be this B-Side...

The Clash Cup if you’re new to the blog is a very simple and democratic process allows you to select your favorite Clash song by way of voting on the blog. We are now in round two and looking to whittle down the best Clash songs ever until we reach a final 16, then eight and so on. Each of the pairings is set 100% at random so you take what you get even with the decision isn’t always easy. Before tonight’s pairing we do have to review the voting for the most recent installment of the cup which was earlier in August. Decent voter turnout for the last matchup but I would suggest the more likely song still won out:

This is Radio Clash defeated Ghetto Defendant 28-18

Closer than I expected but I don’t think enough runner-up votes to allow the Combat Rock track to make it through to the next round, which to be fair is probably how it should be. As I said this is most likely the last round where the voting will often be fairly easy, so let’s have a look at the next pair:

Round 2 Match 10

City of the Dead versus  Justice Tonight/Kick It Over

Well that’s a turn up for the books as neither song would make the most obvious list of Clash songs which is not to say either song is poor by any means. In fact both songs are quite unique in terms of sound and come from that spell of hyperactivity that The Clash were guilty of from ‘77 until ‘79. The other thought I had almost immediately is how do you separate the two and choose a winner? I know which one I prefer (just) but I won’t share it so as not to influence your voting… as if. Also by sheer coincidence both tracks appeared on Super Black Market Clash which I think is another novelty in this pairing. The extended version of the album is sometimes just the perfect tonic for a good Clash fix perhaps especially because it featured many songs you don’t hear quite as often. Battle of the B-sides!!

Form book:

Round 1 – City of the Dead defeated Freedom Train           98% of the vote
Round 1 – Justice Tonight defeated Junco Partner             73% of the vote

Odds:

I am not quite sure what you can take from the first round, both for convincing wins although Justice Tonight had to overcome a trickier challenge from Junco Partner which was tough because I love both songs. If I had to predict a winner I think it might just be City of the Dead because it is an original track and not a dub/remix. Though I do think the voting will be close.

Stuff:

...this B-Side?

Not many tracks by the Clash have dated that badly at all, although I do think City of the Dead is one of the rare exceptions where the production just sounds a little muddy and the song could only be from the mid-late 70s. Worth remembering a song this good was originally just a B-Side to the stellar Complete Control. Justice Tonight of course was B- side to another of the most famous Clash singles London Calling so for yet another reason this pairing has fantastic symmetry. You don’t need me to tell you it’s also the dub version of Armagideon Time, a song that I will go on record and proclaim as my very favourite Clash cover version and high on my list of all Clash songs.

As for the voting the polls open immediately and you will have until next Tuesday morning to cast your vote for which song remains in the competition. Before you vote it’s always good to have one last chance to compare the songs side-by-side so if you’d like to just click the links that I provide. For City of the Dead let’s substitute the live version so we don’t focus on the production of the original. I do think some of Joe’s lyrics on the track are superb. Your last task is to reserve 8:54 of your life to just mellow out to Justice Tonight / Kick It Over and make sure you turn up the bass first of all.

Enjoy voting and thank you – this is actually rather an interesting pairing.

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Nice stormy night heading here and a double rainbow just before sunset, not sure what signifies but it looked pretty special to me. I noticed the delay between bouts of the Clash Cup was a bit longer than planned so lets get one of those in before the weekend arrives in earnest. Before the next pairing are pulled (these are all 100% random) we’ve got the results from the last match up to announce. Regular readers will know we are now in round 2 and the best runners up still might have a chance to make the final 64 Clash songs up for voting. That might be the case from this as it was really close:

Lightning Strikes defeated 48 Hours      27-24

This was a close run thing from the very beginning of the voting and the overall support for 48 hours should see it still perhaps remain though we won’t know until the end of Round 2 of course. Now for the next two, and if you’re new to this its just as easy as it sounds. No need to register just give both songs your serious consideration and cast one vote. This is the round that will sort out most of the legitimate contenders because when we’re done with this round we’ll be down to the some of the best Clash songs recorded. The two picked tonight aren’t too shabby either:

Round 2 Match 9

Radio Clash versus Ghetto Defendant

Not a bad pairing but like a horse at the starting line I can clearly spot an immediate favourite amongst these two. Both songs of course came late in the career of the band with Radio Clash filling in the time just post Sandinista! (and becoming a legitimate club hit) and Ghetto Defendant signaling the new twists the band would make on Combat Rock. Both feature a good amount of Joe while the former tacks on horns and a track that’s really showing Mick’s ability to take the sounds he’s hearing and mesh them into the sound of The Clash. I’ll never forget rushing out to get This is Radio Clash on 12″ single when it came out and thinking the future had just landed on my turntable.

Form book:

Round 1 – Radio Clash defeated Midnight to Stevens                  83% of the vote

Round 1 – Ghetto Defendant lost to Brand New Cadillac            (35% of the vote) but remained in the Cup due to high runner up vote total

Odds:

I don’t often feel a song is essentially a shoe-in for the next round but when I really line these two up against one another I can only see one winner. Radio Clash will make round 3 – it’s a stronger and more adventurous song and a key link between the last two Clash albums. Just my prediction mind you, it has no impact on the voting.

8 D batteries to power this beauty

Stuff:

I’m in the camp that says This is Radio Clash was a really important single, not just in terms of where The Clash were heading but also in the crossover between rap/funk and rock. I don’t know how it sounded if the first time you heard it was 1998 for example and not having the perspective of where music was in 1981/2 on your shoulders and in your ears. It’s a bit like when you now hear Run DMC or Schooly D and it might sound a bit boxed in by the production and sound but once again its looking at what was going on all around at that time. In the US Talking Heads were ahead of the curve in incorporating other styles of music and in England The Clash were picking up as much New York energy as anybody else. For historic benchmarking – 1981 was the year of Antmusic in the UK as Adam and The Ants dominated the charts, Radio Clash is far more lasting (to these ears). In addition the lyrics are a call to action rather than the banality that was order of the day in the charts of 1981. To refresh you, check out the clip on the Tom Snyder show in the States recorded in the summer of ‘81 some 5 months before the single got released. Then there is Ghetto Defendant, not for the first time I’ve got more affection for the longer version on the Mick Jones Combat Rock sessions (Rat Patrol). Oh…and for those who say Gorillaz have no correlation to The Clash with the numerous guests on their albums, what do you think of The Clash recruiting radical poet Allen Ginsberg from the shadows in the 1980’s when his forte was poetry that shook society in the 50’s and 60’s. Another testament to the ability of The Clash to not follow the path of the expected. Before you vote here’s the longer version that I mentioned.

Please take time to consider your vote…and don’t give up on a song that’s trailing…that’s how Bush ‘won’ Florida….. Talk to you soon…..(if you get a chance to tweet or facebook the post I’ll be chuffed)

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Round 2, Match 7 – Two Seven(s)….this better be a good one. Hello again its time for you to get all democratic on me and vote for a Clash song. A simple task in theory but it carries great weight, songs that survive this round will be really strong and offer a decent chance to make the final top 20 Clash songs ever. So vote with your mind and not just your tapping toes, we are not looking for some lukewarm coalition approach to our final top ten tracks.

Before we turn the dusty spotlight on tonight’s contenders we do need to look back to the last match. The outcome was as I predicted but it was close enough to be interesting (think Spurs trying to break into the top 3).

Hitsville UK     defeats     Inoculated City     28-17

So one of the least ‘Clashlike’ songs in their arsenal is through to the next round. Cry your tears and shed your fears all you like but the election stands, we have another Sandinista! track marching on. Now back to the random number machine to pull the next two from the bobble hat of Terry Chimes…..and what do we have for you?

Round 2 – Match 7

Last Gang in Town vs.       Career Opportunities

I don’t like that pairing whatsoever, really great songs both which represent each of the first two albums with equal importance. How many times have I sung along with each of them over the last 30 years? Should I base my vote on that? I’d really hate to see either one knocked out, there is a slim chance that enough second place votes will keep the runner up alive so yeah this is a vote that does matter. Nothing like your local MP but much more important.

Form:

Round 1 – Last Gang in Town defeated Sound of the Sinners        61% of the vote

Round 1 – Career Opportunities defeated I’m so Bored with the USA      74% of the vote

Odds:

I’d forgotten how well Career Opps did in the 1st round as it hammered strong competition. Some Clash songs are firmly rooted in the late 70’s but I thing Career is a song that holds as much value lyrically in 2010 as it did back in the black and white days of 1977. I think many (most) Clash fans felt at one time or another that working was little more than an obligation and what we really wanted to do played no part in the jobs on offer after school. Though I also still like Last Gang in Town I can’t see it going much further than Joe Cole in the league next season. Career to win with at least 60% of the vote….

Stuff:

Surely no introduction is needed for either song? Career Opportunities might rank as one of the 5 most autobiographical songs Strummer ever wrote, for anyone who ever stood in a dole queue this is your anthem. With great significance its also the place where Jones and Simonon first met Joe Strummer. Last Gang is a song for all of us too however. Please listen before you vote - I’ve got Career Opportunities recorded in awesome live fashion in Amsterdam in 1981, tight drumming, dual barking and a song that got bigger the more The Clash played it. Last Gang in Town is the original LP version, Paul’s bass pumping all over the song. If I ever learned bass I’d have to learn this song! Also, are they any other Clash songs where the vocals start the very moment the song begins as is the case here with Joe? Surely there must be….please vote – I welcome your thoughts as to why you chose the wrong track.

Well…I’ve got no choice ! Also…wanna help the blog? Hit the WIKIO vote button at the bottom of this (and any) post, if you don’t see it just click the title of the post so it refreshes on your screen.

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