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

And my obligatory lobbying post goes to "Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad."

Deep cut?

One of my "live" noms is gonna be "How can I understand the flies"

Excited for this one!

Oh yeah..

When it came out, I thought one of their songs was about loads of walls...

"He's in love with a Rock and Roll Wall
He's in love with a GettyStone Wall
He's in love with a Jenny Jones Wall..."

I still love Mick's bad moods being described by Joe as "Liz Taylor on a bad day"

"okay okay don't push us when we're HOT" is probably going to tip "Armagideon Time" into my ballot.

voted.

i like plenty of Clash moments but good god "London Calling" is the dreariest, most over-played piece of shit in their career

The song or the album?

I included the song, but mostly for 25-ish years of kicking around in my head. I honestly don't need to ever hear it again.

the song, i don't know if it's the tempo, the over-familiarity, the lack of range...the other week i thought about starting a thread about it and Bowie's "Heroes" as examples of artists' most popular songs that are amongst their suckiest

Clash are a prime example of a band with enough facets that i can find some fans whose fandom is inexplicable to me, like they like a different group to the one i do.

i don't really like the myth tho, just individual moments. i like Joe best when i can't understand a word he's saying tbh

I think overhearing it has done that song in for me as well, but it still works brilliantly as an album opener. It's just that the rest of the album is so much better.

Clash sure knew how to open an album - Janie Jones, Safe European Home, London Calling, Magificent 7, Know Your Rights

"Clash City Rockers" opened the US version ;_;

ballot sent, though I didn't do much re-listening. I ended up putting Complete Control a lot higher than I might have expected

Guerrilla marketing via the thread title. Should've gone with Give 'Em Enough Votes

i like Joe best when i can't understand a word he's saying tbh

That's what I wrote in an obit for Pop Matters:

I fixated on the voice because I couldn’t understand what the hell he was saying. The more I listened, the harder it was to tell his guttural snarls from the equally guttural guitars. To this day, I have probably listened to that first Clash album more than any other single piece of music. And to this day, even after reading the lyrics, I can’t tell what the hell he’s saying. But I know what he means—you can feel it in every joyful angry spit and gargle. He got a little more comprehensible as time went by, but you never needed the words to understand the songs.

Also "Clash City Rockers" rules! It's their Louie Louie/Can't Explain/You Really Got Me.

Been thinking about this since I saw it queued up last year, so here goes:

I think there are many perfect Clash songs but no perfect "Clash" songs: Clashy perfection lies in the whole. To wit:

__the self-discovering excitement and beauty of the UK debut, but without the funky agility of Topper--big without for me.

__the giddy musicality of London Calling, but mythic-romantic literary BS and incipient gloss. (Though compared to so much other punk that year is sounds like '83 hardcore.)

__more personal lyrics but more diffuse arrangements and production on Sandinista!, leaving best tracks not quite Ur-Clash: slower than usual with Topper on steel drums ("Street Parade"), without Paul ("The Magnificent Seven"), or just beautifully weird ("Somebody Got Murdered").

__finest moments on Combat Rock atypically sad or resigned ("Straight to Hell," "Ghetto Defendant") or again without Paul ("Rock the Casbah").

__great singles in between, but with the produced-for-echo problem ("Complete Control," "White Man (In Hammersmith Palais)") or perfect recordings of not-Clash songs ("Armagideon Time," "I Fought the Law") or might-as-well-not-be-Clash-songs ("Bankrobber," "This Is Radio Clash").

The result for me is compulsive re-ranking, so I may just favor the underdogs and get it over with.

Pretty sure something from the US Festival will make my live ballot. Pete Howard was a motherfucker, and watching that show you can easily imagine them continuing on without Topper.

i think i'm the only person in history to like "remote control" better than "complete control"

Well, they're both on my short list. But my short list has 48 songs, so.

Also "Clash City Rockers" rules! It's their Louie Louie/Can't Explain/You Really Got Me.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Friday, June 28, 2013

OTM + All Day and All of the Night surely

the song, i don't know if it's the tempo, the over-familiarity, the lack of range...the other week i thought about starting a thread about it and Bowie's "Heroes" as examples of artists' most popular songs that are amongst their suckiest

― for many people a really special folder makes a huge difference (Noodle Vague), Friday, June 28, 2013

whoa. "heroes" may be played out but it's still A+... "london calling" at least B+

rock the casbah can go fuck itself tho

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? is all of these things xxp

Yeah this is definitely one where omitting the biggest hit doesn't feel at all contrarian.

(that was an xp about Casbah, not SISOSIG)

Casbah has that baseline though

So maybe I'd vote for Mustapha Dance

There's not a damn thing wrong with Casbah. Overexposure's not the song's fault.

It has its own kind of genius, it's just not one of my 30 favorite Clash songs.

Funny thing about Casbah is that it was some people's first or only experience of the Clash. I have run into people who think of them as some kind of one-hit novelty act.

"they also did Should I Stay or Should I Go"

"Ooh, that was them?"

I forgot to write up there but please include your ILX username in your ballots!

And now, to rep for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpKWH8nXjBI

There's very little from this band I would not rep for.

But I will rep for "Know Your Rights."

And I will also for The Prisoner. Johnny Too Bad meets Johnny B. Goode in the Charing Cross Road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLxM47cCTFc

^^ yep good'un

And "Groovy Times"!

Since I've already turned in my ballot, I feel good about people mentioning tracks I've voted for.

"White Man in the Hammersmith Palais"/"The Prisoner" might be my favorite A-B sides of any single ever.

"Groovy Times" is good, too. Best part is when Joe yelps "Hey, groovy!"

Don't get me wrong, they wrote some great songs, but some of their covers were even better. Police on My Back, Brand New Cadillac, Armigideon Time, Police and Thieves, I Fought the Law....

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, June 27, 2013 10:06 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyv16mZakVE

live version but i love it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8XziO7L78I

That Amsterdam 81 bootleg is a beast--surprisingly, it only entered circulation pretty recently. Sony has proper masters for it and considered it for release but decided on the tedious Shea Stadium thing instead, which still annoys me.

ctrl+F "Train In Vain" no results found >:-(

More and more these days all I need to hear is "I'm So Bored" or "Straight To Hell."

pressure drop is the only clash cover I can think of that doesn't beat the original. but, hey, it's Toots and the Maytals ffs!

xxpost

surprisingly, it only entered circulation pretty recently. Sony has proper masters for it and considered it for release but decided on the tedious Shea Stadium thing instead, which still annoys me

a LOT of full shows in great quality started circulating after the From Here To Eternity live compilation was put together. if you want to conclude that a band member who was remastering that album, and all the records, at the time may have decided to release them into the wild since Sony didn't want to do a box set as well as the comp, I can't stop you

"Time Is Tight" too? (xpost) The Clash's cover is very good, though. I had "The Prisoner" high on my ballot.

Overexposure's never the song's fault, WC, but I do think it's a fact of life, and "London Calling" and "Rock the Casbah" are the only Clash songs that ever get played on the radio. Anyway, I've always really disliked "Casbah," so the overplay there doesn't much matter with me.

but decided on the tedious Shea Stadium thing instead

That and the '82 tracks on Eternity are unlistenable, entirely due to the ham-footed Terry Chimes.

:/

It was so weird to learn about his addiction/firing (which I didn't know anything about until I saw WttW), because I'd assumed that he was some kind of health/fitness nut (pretty much just based on his workout scene in Rude Boy).

I love 'Clash City Rockers', best bit is the sarcastic "YEAH YEAH" before the guitar solo.

― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, July 10, 2013 10:10 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Such a Mott The Hoople* moment...

*Who also certainly taught Strummer & co. a thing or two about self-mythologizing.

Jones was big on Mott if i recall correctly

hell, everyone should be big on Mott

otm

GODDAMMIT I FORGOT TO VOTE FOR LISTEN. Entire poll is therefore invalid.

re: mott/clash connection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Stevens

Guy Stevens produced Brain Capers which is essential listening for ny Mott fan.

love the clash but let's not pretend they weren't deeply corny or awash in bullshit mythology

Well, what are we talking about here? The politics? Because if the politics fail, that's one thing, but I don't blame the mythology.

Ok everyone. Because of some extra work stuff + impromptu family/friends visiting over the next few days, I don't think I can roll out the results in a way that would be Britisher-time-friendly, so I propose I wait until Monday. I've got the results, and I'm pretty sure that anyone who wanted to vote in this has already voted (42 ballots!), but I'm fine with leaving it open for stragglers until Friday night, unless anyone has objections and would feel aggrieved that they rushed their ballot because of the Tuesday night deadline.

If any of that seriously fucks anyone off, then I can try to alter it and maybe roll it out quickly this week.

I'm fine with waiting, I had a six-hour Clash frenzy last night so a few days away is maybe a decent idea

Cool with me, too

Monday's cool.

NO RIGHT NOW!

Bummed, but will watch recent videos of Topper playing well and looking healthy to cheer myself up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG_B4iBmvI

WHEN THEY HOLD UP YOUR CLASH POLL, HOW YOU GONNA COME?

You grow up and you calm down, and you start putting off Clash polls til next week.

tbqh i had no idea there was any notion rollout would start before monday but any excuse for a riot imo

it's proven by research, that he that delays rollouts will later .. Um, oh bol

bobby said he'd roll out no wait that's the springsteen poll

I'm so bored with the poll delay
I'm so bored with the poll delay
But what can I do?

they just systematically ruined everything in ways I didn't even think were possible.

(who even plays on CTC? I think Vince White, Paul Simonon and Pete Howard are all AWOL).

as I said upthread, it was made by Bernie from Joe demos after Joe walked. Norman Watt-Roy was brought in to do basslines.

Well I've been waiting for your Clash Poll/The one that never came/like a man about to burst/I was dying of thirst

I was pretty surprised to read that he didn't kick his addiction until the early 00s; I thought he'd kicked it by '99 at the very latest (as he seems to allude to in WttW).

Mick and Joe paid for him to rehab at least twice in the 90s, and I'm sure there were times when he was clean to his mind at that moment

Topper talks about this fairly touchingly in the Viva Joe Strummer doc -- the last time he saw Joe he was off heroin but still drinking, and Joe asked what was in his cup and it was beer "and my one regret today is that I couldn't honestly say Coke or water or something."

Voting has now officially ended. Countdown begins Monday. Top 60.

WOOOOOO

(Hands up for Hollywood)

HOORAY!

yay

can't wait for this

weeeeeeeeeee

This is a CLASH POLL service announcement...WITH RESULTS!!!!!! ILX Artist Poll #41