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

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.

"London Calling" and "Rock the Casbah" are the only Clash songs that ever get played on the radio.

And "I Fought he Law" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go." And "Train In Vain."

Forgot about "Should I Stay"--of course. "I Fought the Law" never gets played here, in any format. "Train in Vain" very occasionally on the classic-rock station.

I hear "Should I Stay" and "Casbah" fairly regularly on the "classic rock" station, and "London Calling" during the "alternative" station's "retro lunch."

Heard "Train In Vain" all the time on top 40 AM in 1980. Didn't know it was the Clash until five years later.

"Train In Vain" got a second life after Garbage sampled it for the basis of "Stupid Girl", which probably led to a lot of "turn it up!" fakeouts when listeners heard those opening beats.

got bollocked by my girlfriend for leaving Pressure Drop and The Prisoner off my ballot

The Terry Chimes' version of "Casbah" is wrong.

I don't blame him though

pressure drop is the only clash cover I can think of that doesn't beat the original

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/noodle_vague/shaking-my-head-picture_zps9f7939cc.gif

Listening to a lot of live tracks the last few days, reminds me that they always played everything so fast. If there was ever a band that needed a little less amphetamine, it was these guys.

I'll give some love to "One More Time."

The Terry Chimes' version of "Casbah" is wrong.

I don't blame him though

― Mark G, Sunday, June 30, 2013 5:16 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

They are definitely in the lineage of Who/Zep in that losing their drummer effectively killed their groove.

I hope Ellen Foley gets her due in the poll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opFyTAA0DiI

Also makes me think there should be a whole poll sometime of pop songs about the music biz.

There wasn't much wrong with Terry, otherwise, apart from 'not being Topper'..

If Mick had still been on board, they could have carried on being almost as great..

Yeah, emphasis on almost. I think their run ended in a good place. Speaking of which, I did vote for "This Is England" but I know its status as a Clash song is pretty suspect.

They are definitely in the lineage of Who/Zep in that losing their drummer effectively killed their groove.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Sunday, June 30, 2013 2:41 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Definitely, but if they'd been able to get along with Mick, Pete Howard could've been their salvation. His playing on the US Festival show trounces anything they did with Chimes in the 80s (granted, not too difficult), but also nips at Topper's heels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2keV-mx14jc

Strong drummer, but more a rock than funk guy. Sounds almost Grohl-ish.

I'd still rep for "In the pouring rain" as a lost classic (you have to get the strummer soundtrack CD to get it) and something to show they could have saved it.

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