Joe Strummer and The Only Band That Matters.
Raven
only 50.
In that short span that man and his band called the Clash rocked my
world harder than anybody could.
On this side of the Atlantic we had the Ramones, on the other side was
the Clash.
That's the way it was back then. It was a great time for music, one
that has never repeated itself. It was "Blitzkrieg Bop" over here and
"White Riot" over there.
America finally got a taste of the Clash in '78 when Epic records
released "Give 'Em Enough Rope". But if you were in the know than you
already had an import copy of their first album "The Clash". CBS
didn't want to release it in the states because they didn't like the
way it sounded. Once again corporate wisdom shines through. Eventually
they released the US version of "The Clash" with all the import
singles that weren't on the original British album. But by that time I
had already purchased all those great songs on 7" vinyl. The American
release was a great way for many newcomers to the Clash to catch up.
To me it was the sheer power of songs like "Clash City Rockers" and
"Capital Radio".
These songs spoke of rebellion, like in "White Riot".
"White riot,
I wanna riot,
White riot,
Wanna a riot of my own."
I couldn't always make out the lyrics but I knew what they were
saying. Back then the Clash called themselves "the only band that
matters". That seems as true today as it did back then. Especially
after checking out Top of the Pops on BBC America. I just saw a girl
singing duo calling themselves Cheeky Girl singing their hit tune
"Touch My Bum". God, how pop music suck today.
The Clash were singing about the sellouts in '78.
"The new groups,
Are not concerned,
With what there is to be learned,
They wear Buxton suits,
They're all too busy,
Fighting for a good place,
Under the light head."
That was from "White Man in Hammersmith Palaise", a song that mixed
punk and reggae. That one song was on my turntable so much in'78 I'm
surprised that it still plays today.
"If Adolph Hitler flew in today,
They'd send a limousine anyway."
Also from White Man, those lyrics have as much power today as when
Joe wrote them.
The Clash were straight ahead punk and the music made you angry and
exhilarated at the same time. Just look at footage of their concert
performances. Not many bands have ever matched the energy that the
Clash would put out on any given night. If you got to see them back
then, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise check out their film
"Rudeboy".
The Clash played NYC for the first time in February 1978. They called
it the "Pearl Harbor" tour and they performed one show at the
Palladium on 14th Street. The show was sold out but I was able to buy a
ticket from a scalper for $20. Not a bad price even for 1978 dollars.
On the bill
also were the Cramps and Bo Diddley.
The Band burst on to the stage and went right into "I'm So Bored With
the U.S.A."
"Yankee dollars go to the dictators of the world,
Their banks give them the orders,
And they can't aford to miss a word".
Why don't bands have the balls to make such a statement today?
Thankfully Joe and The Clash had the courage back then.
That show will go down in my personal history as the best concert I
have ever been to. Even the Clash couldn't top it.
As the years went by the Clash exposed their audience to all sorts of
other musical styles besides straight ahead punk. A lot of us, who
were just discovering punk didn't really appreciate it. I can remember
an angry Joe Strummer admonishing an audience at one of the palladium
shows. The crowd was just not getting into the opening act Mikey
Dread. It wasn't what they were used to. Mikey was out there alone
with no band, toasting into the mic with a DJ backing him up like they
do in Jamaica. Joe was pretty angry that people were booing and he
came out on the stage during Mikey's set and told them so. The show
went on anyway.
Many of the songs on London Calling seemed too popish and the overly
long Sandinista was a real disappointment. On those records The Clash
embraced Hip Hop, Funk, Rockabilly, and pop. In my world at the time,
"disco sucked" so I wasn't too thrilled when The Clash tried their
hand at rap. I'm older and wiser now.
I have to give credit to the Clash and especially Joe Strummer for
exposing me and many other young Americans to reggae. And they did it
pretty damn good too.
From a punked up "Police and Thieves" on their first album to the
heavy dub of Mikey Dread's production of "Bank Robber Song", The
Clash put out some of the best reggae around, outside of Jamaica that
is.
I was so happy to hear that Joe Strummer was touring again. In this
post 9/11 world we needed Joe's voice now more than ever. I saw him in
Brooklyn at St. Ann's this past spring and he did not disappoint. His
band the Mescaleros was tight and Joe still had that energy that I
remembered from those shows so many years ago. His performance of
"Armageddon Time" was closer to the original reggae tune than to the
Clash's version. It was fantastic and the highlight of the show. I
also loved it when Joe went into a cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop".
Joe's punk anthem "London Calling" was featured this year in the
latest 007 film, "Die Another Day". I'm still not sure how to take
that. I mean The Clash and James Bond aren't exactly on the same page
politcally speaking. I doubt Strummer would have approved of it when
the song first came out. Even more distressing was the use of the same
song for a Jaguar commercial. A rich man's car. It was Joe who said in
"Rudeboy" how he doesn't want to be the one riding around in the big
black cars.
"There's nothing in it" he said.
Joe Strummer dead at 50. Just when the world could use his vision. It
sucks. In the words of his long time friend and Clash DJ, Scratchy,
"He had a big heart and gave generously. 25 years plus on, he was
still throwing open his dressing-room to the fans at the end of each
show. 'Man of the People' may be a cliché, but he was one to the
end."
BRIAN SMITH
>
> Joe's punk anthem "London Calling" was featured this year in the
> latest 007 film, "Die Another Day". I'm still not sure how to take
> that. I mean The Clash and James Bond aren't exactly on the same page
> politcally speaking.
I think 'London Calling' works very well in the context of its place in the
film. On a basic level, both Bond and Graves are converging on London, but
it is one of the lines in the song that gives a big clue to Bond's fate
later in the film: "The Ice Age Is Coming, The Sun Is Zooming In."