Hello all and welcome back to the Clash Blog, hope your weekend is going well. Updates from the desert – George the Clash Blog cat is doing a bit better with some medication it seems, still looking for root cause but pinched nerve /arthritis look to be leading contenders for said cat’s recent struggles. Poor old George. I’m alright just got it from playing football and suitably knackered, had a look back at the recent posts and noticed we’ve yet to go on a search for new/odd/interesting videos so far this month so that will be on the agenda. I also don’t know that anything more taxing than looking at videos sounds ideal after dropping more money at the vet. The goal remains the same, hopefully less than most of you have seen many of the videos selected – so let me know if that is the case. Some may not be new but recently loaded to the video directory at youtube et al.

“That’s a good album if you’re into your punk music” This chap might remind some of you of yourselves or someone you know. Very basically this very nice lad introduces us to his collect of ‘Clash stuff’. He’s simply a fan but that pure adoration of the band comes through from him laying out all his cds, records and books. In the background he’s got the band providing backing to his narration as he just rambles on a bit. You might not need the full 10 minutes of the video to get the gist of it but its fun to watch just to see the devotion of a fan. I’d also guess he’s no more than in his mid 20′s as he doesn’t reference double or triple albums so he was probably well after the time the band were in full flow, that in itself I think says so much about the continuing impact of the band. I like the video most for his delivery and instructions ‘don’t download that, just buy it’  – also listen (near the end) for the story of how he got into The Clash it might make you a bit weepy.

Paul Simonon interview – 1990 I realise there are a lot of clips online I’ve never seen before and this is one of them. Taken from Canadian TV in 1990 Paul Simonon and Gary Myrick are interviewed at length (ostensibly of course about Havana 3am). Interesting interview overall if for no other reason in the contrast between a lad from London and another from Dallas, Texas. Also reminded me how Havana 3am did some support slots for Big Audio Dynamite upon suggestion from Mick, another one of those things that gets buried in the mountain of debris in my head. If you’ve never seen it you’ll enjoy it.

London Calling covered by SOR Band? – 31/7/10 Where to begin, I can’t resist a Clash cover version and I don’t add many to these posts unless there is something a bit different. This one is different but they look young, they’re doing their best and its a nod to The Clash. Things to watch for: the club looks like the back of my Nan’s house in Dublin, they are playing the song with keyboards (a bit different), the drummer is Animal from the Muppets as best as I can tell. I feel awful as I can’t share a thing about SOR Band, so if you know them or are them please write in, I think the ‘gig’ was in New York.

The Offspring cover ‘Guns of Brixton’ in Vancouver: They’ve covered this for quite a while as far as I know but I’ve never mentioned it on the blog. Its a good run through of the Simonon track if a little bit too regimented. Tell me honestly that The Offspring are normally a little more animated on stage than this surely? That said its a decent version.

Honourable mentions:

Not karaoke, not a cover but this girl just seems to love to mime to Rock the Casbah. Watch for jazz hands and….well the rest of it, I can’t explain…

The Sunshiners cover ‘Should I Stay…’ , not quite calypso or reggae and neither completely awful or especially good.

That will be all I’ve got this evening, I need to check the cat and it just started raining so I need to go and get wet (it never rains here). Thanks for dropping in.