The Clash: Classic or Dud

joe would have loved jeff tho

classic! (ecxept cut the crap obv)

It's better than its rep.

So my 17-year-old son likes The Clash's London Calling cd but this slightly older NPR intern is lukewarm about it (see below). They should get rid of this kid:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/02/11/133631581/youve-never-heard-london-calling

here's part of his review:

Ultimately, London Calling feels like a time-and-place album. If I'd been a teenager when this record dropped, I probably would sing its praises like so many others have. It's definitely a great entry point to one of the most important bands and periods in the last 30 years, and I plan on checking out the rest of the group's discography. I'm not giving up on the band, but I've come to love the subsequent bands London Calling inspired more than the album itself.

Um, that reads OK to me.

That's a bit like my take on "Big Star"...

What bands did it inspire? I preferred the Clash when they were a punk band personally. Coupla later singles aside.

Well, you have yer Alarm, yer Manics, oh god...

Yeah, I'd be curious to hear who he likes that were inspired by The Clash. If his only answer is Green Day, then I know to not take him seriously.

Well, you have yer Alarm, yer Manics, oh god...

Exactly, I don't think it inspired anyone good

It also inspired a lot of good bands that sound nothing like that album, so hey

No Doubt, sorry, no doubt

Yeah, I'd be curious to hear who he likes that were inspired by The Clash. If his only answer is Green Day, then I know to not take him seriously.

Rancid?

What about stuff like the Angelic Upstarts? Though maybe that's not what this kid is talking about. I'm thinking there were a ton of bands that sprang up in 77 from the Clash/Pistols emergence?

Yeah, I'd be curious to hear who he likes that were inspired by The Clash. If his only answer is Green Day, then I know to not take him seriously.

I hear The Replacements in "Four Horsemen" and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists in "Lost in the Supermarket." Other songs sound like they're laying the groundwork for the influx of pop-punk acts that spent the last two decades on the extreme-sports and music Warped Tour.

Grr at "if I'd been a teenager when this record dropped..."

(...unless he means "dropped onto my old-fashioned turntable", I guess)

The amount of music in London Calling is staggering, but the songs aren't all winners. For every "Spanish Bombs" or "Death or Glory," there's a "Rudie Can't Fail" or "Jimmy Jazz."

RIGHT THAT'S IT

I think I want to kill him. Not because he's not enthused, but...maybe it's the tone? agh.

Rudie and Jimmy aren't winners? GTFO.

Light your torches, people

Nah, I just clicked the link and read the whole thing. He's basically alright.

I'm okay with him being lukewarm

but Rudie Can't Fail...

I just can't

Tom's recent "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" is worth a read for the intelligent anti-Clash sentiments in the comments.

joe would have loved jeff tho

if only he'd lived long enough to hear him :(

i hope this kid gives 'london calling' a few more spins. i mean, i didn't love it all the first time i heard it either.

i'm sure the clash have had all sorts of influence on bands that don't actually sound like them, but most of the ones who actually tried to act and look like the clash were indeed pretty shitty, yes.

Rudie and Jimmy aren't winners? GTFO.

― Hardcore Bangage (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, April 13, 2011 1:41 PM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'm still reeling over Rudie

It's just so sad, I want to help him...or beat him senseless, i can't decide

Tom's piece is fantastic and the comments cover the waterfront nicely. As someone who came to the Clash late and not wholeheartedly, I always felt that having reservations was crucial to liking them, and that the band themselves (or at least Strummer) would probably concur. They're a band who tried so many things that they were bound to fuck up some of them, but that gave their failures a certain nobility. People who profess to hate them seem to hate the myth more than the music.

watching clash live on youtube - they really seemed to not care how they sounded that much and it was still awesome - how inspiring

I love the way they look like they're going to leap into the crowd and start whaling on them, esp Joe

The Clash are probably my favorite live band ever, but is there any doubt that they did too many drugs in the studio?

As someone who came to the Clash late and not wholeheartedly, I always felt that having reservations was crucial to liking them, and that the band themselves (or at least Strummer) would probably concur. They're a band who tried so many things that they were bound to fuck up some of them, but that gave their failures a certain nobility. People who profess to hate them seem to hate the myth more than the music.

― Pop is superior to all other genres (DL), Thursday, April 14, 2011 7:50 AM (1 year ago)

this really sums it up nicely!

I've been learning all of "London Calling" with my guitar teacher, track by track, which has forced a closer listen. Remarkable how much chorus effect is on almost all the guitars, also how so many of the simple chord progressions support some awesome arrangements (organ, horns, percussion, etc.). Also amazed to discover that, for some inexplicable reason, "Lost in the Supermarket" seems to be in open E tuning, which is weird and relatively rare outside of the Allman Bros. and, I dunno, "She Talks to Angels" by the Black Crowes.

Ooh Ooh Ooh, Complete CLASH POLL (that's a laugh) - ILX Artist Poll #41 (?) - Voting Ends July 9th at Midnight (EST)

super-mad to be travelling during Clash poll and disco poll and Neptunes results

Spanish bums

http://bandwidth.wamu.org/nick-hall-on-i-need-a-dodge-his-film-about-joe-strummers-soul-searching-years-after-the-clash/

In his first full-length documentary, I Need A Dodge: Joe Strummer On The Run, English filmmaker Nick Hall investigates what seems like a nearly impossible task to find Strummer’s car, a Dodge GT3700, lost in Madrid more than 20 years ago.

Why search for the Dodge? Because Strummer — who died 13 years ago — loved the car. It transported him from Madrid to Granada and the rest of Spain during his creative crisis. But the car is simply, well, a vehicle. The film’s real aim is to document Strummer’s search for a new identity. It captures his devastation as The Clash disbands for good, then follows his recovery as he dedicates himself to producing a record for 091, a young and unknown band from Granada.

The tale of Strummer’s 18-month “Spanish period” is told mostly through the memories of other musicians, who were first enamored by The Clash leader, then became his friends and collaborators.

Sounds interesting if a little reaching

Yep, that's how it was

Not all flattering re Strummer--he only races back to London from Granada at one point because his significant other has called him (via a bandmate) and said that she's about to give birth and would like him there in the hospital. He had gotten so wrapped up in doing something new musically (producing the obscure band 091) after his version II of the Clash disentegrated (and folks were giving him grief for the dismissal of Mick Jones and more) that he lost track of stuff.

Oh, and it does sound like "Spanish bums" sometimes...

Pleasantly surprised by "Janey Jones" at a Five Guys this morning.

Circa 1999, I was well known for my hilarious parody song, “I’m in love with the Jenny Jones Show!

Ha

I thought those were the actual words, for longer than I would care to admit.

My wife always thought Mick Jones was saying Oh my car is on throughout Spanish Bombs

shareef don't like it,
lock the taskbar

I used to think it was a song about walls.

The rock and roll wall
The Ghetty Stone wall
The ginnyjone wall

etc

lmao mark. that's good.

haha mark otm, i used to think that too!!

*bump*