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Jeez Where In The Hell Have I BEEN
So last week I'm watching Channel 13 late at night and I see a special about The Clash. And I remember how sexy the bass player, Paul Simonon was, back in the day, so I watch this hour-long special.
And I learned that not only was Paul Simonon sexy (he still is, btw), but Joe Strummer was one of the most political lead singers, lyricists, and rhythm guitar players since....well, since maybe John Lennon. <b>And then some<b>.
One week later, two DVD orders later, dozens and dozens of youtube video viewings later, dozens and dozens of wiki hits about each song, each album, each band member, and I'm wondering why in the hell I thought Duran Duran was hot back in the day. As I told Sean last week, I have no Duran Duran songs on my iPod.....but I now have 11 songs by The Clash and am buying up about 3 per day.
The music, the lyrics, the politics, the <i>emotion</i>....how did I miss all of this until now?
Where in the hell have I been?
And ain't it a crying shame that Joe Strummer passed away in 2002?
Comments (31)
Oh man. When am I gonna learn that the html only works in the comments section? Maybe it's my fear of hitting buttons? LOL, as if.
June 22, 2008 12:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
One more comment and I'll leave you all alone:
I haven't yet heard "Washington Bullets" but I read the lyrics and I've heard it is one hell of a hard hitter.
I downloaded, today, "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" because I've been watching the live rendition all weekend and I like the melody, and because I read Joe's reasons for writing it, and I read that he had it played at his funeral because it's one of his own personal favorites.
So far, on my iPod, I've got "Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now" because I've always loved it. I've got "Rock the Casbah" for the same reason. I've got "London Calling" because I love the lyrics and the Pennie Smith photo on the album's cover. "Train in Vain" because I've always loved it. "This Is Radio Clash" because I used to hate it until now. "The Magnificent Seven" because it makes me move in ways I didn't know my body could move.
I've got others, too, like "Clampdown" only for the lyrics and the energy. "The Guns of Brixton" for the lyrics and the energy and because Paul wrote and performed it, switching up his bass with Joe's guitar.
And "Know Your Rights" because it's the freaking truth.
June 22, 2008 12:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Washington Bullets" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNdy2z23kIw
June 22, 2008 12:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. Thank you for that.
We really lost a big, big voice when we lost Joe Strummer.
This song is getting added to my iPod too.
June 22, 2008 12:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
"The Future Is Unwritten" - Is this the special you saw LisB? I missed this at my local arthouse theater, but definitely intend on seeing it. I've been told for years to get into The Clash more. Was hoping this movie would get the ball rolling... Thanks for the enthusiasm!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3md__8IaQ
http://www.joestrummerthemovie.com/
June 22, 2008 12:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, that's it. I ordered the DVD, which won't be shipped until the beginning of July, but meantime I have been rocking around my living room to "Revolution Rock: The Clash Live". The snippets I saw of this DVD on PBS are what started my latest obsession.
I think it's a great obsession to have.
June 22, 2008 12:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Number 1
You have the right not to be killed
Murder is a CRIME!
Unless it was done by a
policeman or aristocrat
Know your rights
And Number 2
You have the right to food money
providing of course you
don't mind a little
investigation, humiliation
and if you cross your fingers
rehabilitation
Know your rights
These are your rights
Know these rights
Number 3
You have the right to free
speech as long as you're not
dumb enough to actually try it.
Know your rights.
June 22, 2008 12:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Cool
June 22, 2008 12:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Though the Pistols & the Mats were more my thing, always loved the Clash. "Train In Vain" still makes it.
Mick Jones from the Clash kept on doing interesting stuff - first with Big Audio Dynamite & now as a duo called "Carbon/Silicon." The nice thing is that C/S are very free about sharing their music, constantly posting it for free download. And still political, albeit in a wider, cultural sense. Try out 'Total Fucking Madness' on the site.
http://www.carbonsiliconinc.com/mp3.aspx
June 22, 2008 1:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, I will. Mick Jones apparently wrote most of the actual melodies, with Joe Strummer writing the lyrics. Very unsimilar to the Beatles.
Mick Jones is a continuing voice in the "movement", but without Joe's political lyrics. Still, Mick's music is obviously good.
Paul Simonon is now painting. Well, he's actually been doing it for a long time. And his painting is incredible. I see shades of Ganguin mixed with Van Gogh when I look at his stuff. His pictures of The Thames are amazing.
June 22, 2008 1:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
And (just to stir some debate Lis!), the Sex Pistols were THE political bomb that went off in the UK. People tried to spin them as more "cultural" or "only" being anarchists or not being "serious," but they blew that whole culture open. After all, the Clash's 1st concert was supporting the Pistols. And "Nevermind The Bollocks," the Pistols one and only album, is still what I throw on when politics gets just too too pathetic. (Today a good day?) Anyhoo. They blew open the scene, and the Clash came pouring into the gap. Not saying either/or, as I'm a both/and fan with these two. Here's Johnny's views in one para, followed by one of the greatest songs ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6X1fVmneWs
('N don't get me goin' on the Mats - Gods Who Walked The Earth!)
June 22, 2008 1:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
For some reason, the Sex Pistols don't do it for me.
They don't get me jumping up out of my chair and bouncing around the living room (into the dressing room, followed by a mad spinning and bouncy dash into the bedroom to check on my roomie, followed by an "air bass guitar" moment back into the living room).
The energy that Mick, Paul, Joe and Topper fed off each other is missing.
And...one album? ONE? When The Clash offered double, even triple albums to their fans at single album prices to the point where they owed their record company until 1982? It ain't working for me. But I thank you for your point of view, and I still find it amazing you can sing and talk with those tubes in your nose, heh heh.
June 22, 2008 1:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
In 1976 there was a British band called the 101'ers. They played covers of American R&B songs, and were generally called (in the UK) a pub-rock band. One night, the Sex Pistols opened for them.
The lead singer for the 101'ers said this after he saw them:
"5 seconds into the Pistols' first song, I knew we were like yesterday's paper, we were over."That was Joe Strummer. Within weeks, he went punk, and the Clash were born.
However. After having been witness to & (unhappily) caught up in the Brixton Riots of '85, "London Calling" still holds a certain special place for me. So if the Clash get you dancin', well... nothin' to do but turn it up! (Though with these tubes, my radius is somewhat limited.....)
June 22, 2008 2:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Point well taken, and swallowed with my crow pie.
But....I am still more into the Clash than I will be the Pistols.
Love ya, quinn. Nose tubes and all.
June 22, 2008 2:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Clash were actual musicians. That's why.
June 22, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Old Grouch Dude. Go look up why Joe Strummer got that name. The answer has a ukelele in it. And yeah, Sid was clueless. But check out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQO0yYrI41M
And they did this at 21, 22. One album, world changed. Call 'em what you will.
June 22, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Been playing myself since I was in about 8th grade. Very little professionally, lots of serious jamming. There is no way you are going to persuade me that the Pistols could carry the Clash's guitar cases. And Clash music sounds good to me today, while the Pistols sound tired and dated.
I'm just not open to persuasion on this. "De gustibus..." and all that.
June 23, 2008 12:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
White Man in Hammersmith Palais ("Turning Rebellion into Money"), Safe European Home, the 4-year-old singing the Guns of Brixton ("when they kick down your front door, how ya gonna come, with your hand on your head or the trigger of your gone.... i'm tired now i want to stop").
Find the movie "Rude Boy".
June 22, 2008 7:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wanna know why I wasn't given all this wisdom when I was in my 20's. If I had had all this wisdom when I was in my 20's, I wouldn't have made half the mistakes I've made in my life that got me into my 40's.
And without all those mistakes that got me into my 40's I might have been more clear-headed and more well-monied in order to make a difference somewhere, all the while being ME.
I gave up being me, in order to make a living. I gave up being me, in order to get along with three or four guys who I lived with, all of whom ended up squelching me, silencing me, and stifling me and ultimately not understanding me.
Why did I wait so long to learn about the significance of having a voice?? Why????
June 22, 2008 2:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I love the fact that having an unrecommended post gives me the freedom I craved and needed and am now exploiting, in order to say to everybody here (which is not that many people, apparently, which is fine by me): I AM ME!!!! It took me 43 and a half freaking years to get here, but....I like my voice. I like my outlook. I like my perspective. I like the voices that I listen to, and no, they are not in my head, they are in my iPod and on my television screen and in my paper and I take them all in at once and digest and regret and celebrate and recommend and -- most of all -- live it.
Awesome. Awesome.
June 22, 2008 2:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
All those mistakes? "Time Well Wasted" - wisest slogan on TV.
I was raised conservative Baptist. Took me 15 years of listening to Hendrix to finally "get" it. 15 years to get Bob Marley. I just look at it as more music I can get into when everybody else has fallen asleep in their chairs.
If you don;t know them.... try The BoDeans. Wisconsin, Late 80's, early 90's. Great harmonies. Big crunchy guitars. Sing-a-long lyrics. Beloved pals of U2.
The lyrics to this one may hit the spot tonight - Closer To Free.
http://www.imeem.com/people/kX4Dhqp/music/Y4SJZpSx/bodeans_closer_to_free/
June 22, 2008 3:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know that many people on this site, myself included like you and your perspective. You go girl!
June 22, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Clash rocks, but if you want to hear USA 2008 political commentary, you need to zip right on over to your local iTunes store and purchase and download James McMurtry's "Can't Make it Here Anymore." James is the son of the novelist Larry McMurtry (wrote "Last Picture Show" and many others). He lays it on the line!
Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore
That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore
The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore
High school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore
Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their sh@# don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the da$% little war
And we can't make it here anymore
Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat sh$%, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore
And that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why
In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore
June 22, 2008 3:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Tell it like it is, honey.
Tell it. Like it is.
Two thumbs up.
June 22, 2008 3:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lis, you have a wonderfully original voice, keep at it. And yea, the Clash is great, always have been. You didn't get them back then because you weren't open to them. Forgive yourself, you were still in HS, or a young Republican. You get them now, that matters too. Political music didn't go away after Vietnam, it just went punk and hard rock and new wave. What's the saying? "When the student is willing, the teacher will appear.?" I think that's where you are in re., the Clash.
Anyway, keep on being you, you're someone worthy of being.
June 22, 2008 3:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, thank you.
I'm glad that I'm finally getting it, in my mid-life/old age.
I wish I could've gotten it earlier, but yeah, I was a young Republican.
My loss, their gain, for all these years.
June 22, 2008 3:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've never been a Republican.
But I was young once.
Best I can recall, anyway.
June 22, 2008 3:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOL. So now I know the diff between young Republicans and young people.
'Bout time, eh?
June 22, 2008 3:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, how did you do that? You somehow deleted most of your comment.
Or...someone did.
June 22, 2008 4:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another recommend for you, as well as a suggestion: Go find yourself a copy of Spirit of St. Louis by Ellen Foley. She was hanging with Mick Jones at the time, and the backup band is...The Clash!
Foley was the first woman attorney on Night Court, you may recall, and has a wonderful voice. The album is mostly "art songs", including a wonderful cover of "My Legionnaire". There is also a first-rate duet with Jones on the Clash-sounding "Torchlight", and a truly surreal number entitled "Death of the Psychoanalyst of Salvador Dali".
It's worth it - it was almost impossible to find on CD until maybe 3-4 years ago.
June 22, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow--thanks for the alert on the music. We're going to need all we find.
Here's a little excerpt from a 1972 song by Martin Gaye and Kenneth Stover, You're the Man.
...
Your opponents always lying
Think about the mistakes you make
I believe America's at stake
You know, busin', busin' is the issue
If you have a plan wager
If you have a plan
If you've got a master plan
Got to vote for you
Hey hey, got to vote for you
You're the man
We don't wanna hear no more lies
About how you planned a compromise
We want our dollar value increased
Employment to rise
The nation's taxation
Is causin' all, all this inflation
Don't give us no V sign
Turn around and rob the people blind
Economics is the issue
Do you have a plan wager?
'Cause if you've got a master plan
Got to vote for you
You're the man
Don't you understand?
There's misery in the land
People marching on Washington
Better hear what they have to say
'Cause the tables just might turn against you, brother
Set around Election Day
Politics and hypocrites
Is turning us all into lunatics
Can you take the guns from our sons?
Right all the wrongs this administration has done?
Peace and freedom is the issue
Do you have a plan wager?
If you've got a plan
If you've got a master plan
Got to vote for you
Hey hey, got to vote for you
'Cause you're the man
Got to vote for you
June 22, 2008 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
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