"Description/explanation. I guess you could make an argument for putting a less known artist here, but for me at least it will be a sort of pandering by itself. The Clash are my favorite band of all time. Somehow, while obviously well-known, they are still somewhat underrated. In a period of 5 years they produced an insane variety of classics. Not gonna go full ‘behind the music’ here, but The Clash, to me, were half Joe Strummer and half Mick Jones. Strummer was my history teacher growing up. I didn’t need him to be an angry leftist, but I used him to be an informed one. He was my wikipedia in a time and place where information wasn’t as attainable as now. He was all heart too. This ain’t no Bob Dylan smart-assing politics.
But Clash were far more than the lyrics. and they were far more than Punk as well. So if Joe was my history teacher, Mick was my art instructor. Going from making the best Punk album of all time to releasing the best rock/post-punk/anything album with London Calling. To celebrate, they flew to NY and he casually drops a hip-hop song in 1980 that can rival anything out of NYC at the time (The Magnificent Seven). Just now I realize how much I copied his music journey without really noticing.
“Straight to Hell”, the song I’ve chosen, is also the end of The Clash. Mick was way more into reggae and hip-hop, Joe was ego tripping. It was over. The timing makes this song even greater imo, as it’s not so ironically symbols where the band was going.
The song probably became a whole lot famous thanks to MIA’s Paper Planes, which is fitting as they are both about immigration. To me it’s political poetry at it’s finest. It also taught me stuff I never knew (abandoned American kids in Vietnam after the war) and no one other than Joe seemed to care about. The haunting way Joe says ‘It’s not Coca-Cola, it’s rice’ stuck with me from the very first listen as a teenager.
As railhead towns feel the steel mills rust
Water froze in the generation
Clear as winter ice
This is your paradise"
Review
I hear a really faint melody that sounds like “kung fu fighting” in places. Did they sample that? The more I listened to this, the more I liked it. The lyrics are vicious. A wag of the finger x 100. This gets the bawling-out bump. Great write up too. Good stuff.
lol the write up seems even more out-of-place now. I thought you guys gonna write essays too
It does not sample kung fu fighting.
The song has a distinctive drum beat. “You couldn’t play rock ‘n’ roll to it. Basically it’s a Bossa Nova.” said Topper Headon. Joe Strummer has said "Just before the take, Topper said to me “I want you to play this” and he handed me an R Whites lemonade bottle in a towel. He said “I want you to beat the bass drum”
"I love the Clash. They influenced my worldview in a way that is impossible to exaggerate. Everything about the Clash was political and because of them I became intensely political from an early age - they made me think about and want to learn about issues both personal, national and from around the world, .
Strummer especially, opened my eyes to the world of ideas and ears to the world of music.
They were labelled a punk band but their musical reach was extraordinary. Rockabilly Reggae Jazz Calypso Dub Hip Hop Gospel -There was nothing they didn’t use. My love of reggae and dub comes straight from them
It was hard to chose a song, but I settled on this one. Toppers drumming was never better -Simonon had his bass lines sorted and Strummer’s vocal performance is scorching.
oh and they always looked great…
and they were the best live band I ever saw"
Review
Holy shit! The lyrics to this are quite the tongue lashing. I’m mostly only familiar with their more well known tracks I guess. This is hot fire!
White youth, black youth
Better find another solution
Why not phone up Robin Hood
And ask him for some wealth distribution
Punk rockers in the UK
They won’t notice anyway
They’re all too busy fighting
For a good place under the lighting
…
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They’d send a limousine anyway
As with the other Clash song, this gets the spit-venom bump.
If the other 4 songs are also Clash songs I’ll be happy with my 6th place.
White Man in Hammersmith Palais is one of my favorites too. Great write-up, but I will still fight for Mick Jones recognition when it comes to the musical style of The Clash.
"I was 10 when this came out, and I was just starting to break out from behind my parents’ tastes, musically. Luckily I grew up with access to one of the top modern/alt rock stations in the country (97X BAM! The Future of Rock n’ Roll) and I heard bands like this as much or more often than mainstream stuff like GNR or Bon Jovi. So while other 80’s kids were rocking the big hair and jamming to Def Leppard, I was listening to Joy Division/New Order, U2 when they were edgy and good, PIL, X, Ultravox, Roxy Music, Siousxie and the Banshees, Ministry, etc.
I don’t think there’s any way I could present something from any of my top bands that would be new to you, and I’m sure you’ve already guessed who is submitting this. I contemplating shuffling thru my playlist and finding a B-side or something less popular by EATB, but I realized all that effort would probably be as futile as taming Ian McCulloch’s ego. While as an adult I like some of their other stuff better, this is the song that got me hooked on EATB and thus holds a special place in my heart. The Will Sergeant signature guitar sound stands out, and the lyrics are just weird enough to give you an idea about their other work."
Review
Real Time Initial Review: I remember they played here. I found a video of them playing this song in my city in 2017 and I don’t remember if I was there or not. It’s possible the video I watched has the back of my head in it. Checked my phone for pics. No I didn’t go. I remember I had a bunch of concerts in a row and passed on that one. Such a fool.
I was born in the early 80’s. I think my first cassette was in kindergarten and it was Hysteria. Then I got every Def Leppard album from about grade 1 to grade 3 and later got huge into GNR around grade 3/4. Loved the Young Guns 2 soundtrack by Bon Jovi. I was a hair metal skid in elementary. Slaughter, Skid Row, Warrant then later Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax around grade 5/6. I didn’t get alternative radio until the early '90s. So I missed a ton of good music in the 80’s so that’s why I’m into it now.
Nice choice! Very much in my wheelhouse. I’ve heard of this band but can’t say I’ve ever actually heard their music since they are a little before my time.
Before I reveal this next one. I’ll humble brag that I used to be a hardcore electric blues guitarist and practiced 8+ hrs a day at one point in my life.