Top Lady
1) Spanish Bombs
Ardently political, punky, poppy, with a touch of romanticism (“O mi corazon”)—this song perfectly embodies the Clash.
2) London Calling
In the Clash’s world, a perpetual war rages on--in economic, social, and environmental spheres. That military-march guitar sound (that could have been coming from the Gang of Four) is offset by that mysterious, ominous bass line that seems to come from the Thames at the start of the song, and the distress-call lyrics are finalized by the fading S.O.S. Morse code at the end. Pretty terrifying for a song you can rock out to.
3) Janie Jones
A song about a young laddie—how British (and a precursor to about three dozen Blur/Oasis songs).
4) Guns of Brixton
Joe Strummer learned everything he ever knew about reggae from Clash bassist Paul Simonon, who wrote and sings this one. Kind of a precursor to the “Bad Boys” song from COPS, now that I think about it…
5) This is Radio Clash
A fun, youthful song that pushes them over into “Should I Stay or Should I Go” territory, but they’re still singing about the First Amendment, so I guess it’s political enough. Interestingly, this song contains the line “this is not radio free Europe” and came out in the same year as R.E.M.’s song of that name—but I doubt there’s a connection.
1) Spanish Bombs
Ardently political, punky, poppy, with a touch of romanticism (“O mi corazon”)—this song perfectly embodies the Clash.
2) London Calling
In the Clash’s world, a perpetual war rages on--in economic, social, and environmental spheres. That military-march guitar sound (that could have been coming from the Gang of Four) is offset by that mysterious, ominous bass line that seems to come from the Thames at the start of the song, and the distress-call lyrics are finalized by the fading S.O.S. Morse code at the end. Pretty terrifying for a song you can rock out to.
3) Janie Jones
A song about a young laddie—how British (and a precursor to about three dozen Blur/Oasis songs).
4) Guns of Brixton
Joe Strummer learned everything he ever knew about reggae from Clash bassist Paul Simonon, who wrote and sings this one. Kind of a precursor to the “Bad Boys” song from COPS, now that I think about it…
5) This is Radio Clash
A fun, youthful song that pushes them over into “Should I Stay or Should I Go” territory, but they’re still singing about the First Amendment, so I guess it’s political enough. Interestingly, this song contains the line “this is not radio free Europe” and came out in the same year as R.E.M.’s song of that name—but I doubt there’s a connection.
Top Guy
1) Garageland
The Clash’s eponymous first album closes with the perfect punk rock song. It’s loud. It’s fast. It’s angry. And it has a great first line: “Back in the garage with my bullshit detector.”
2) Guns of Brixton
Speaking of great first lines, it’s difficult to top “When they kick in your front door/How you gonna come?/With your hands on your head/Or on the trigger of your gun?” The beauty of the Clash was that it expanded what could be considered punk—“Brixton” owes more to reggae traditions than it does to the Ramones.
3) Straight to Hell
The band had pretty much broken apart by the time it recorded Combat Rock, and the resulting record was a mixed bag at best. For every “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Rock the Casbah,” there’s an “Overpowered by Funk” and “Ghetto Defendant.” With its wiry guitar line and almost trance-inducing pace, “Straight to Hell” is the album’s true gem.
4) I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.
Bands tread a fine line between insight and sloganeering with political songs, and the Clash walked that tightrope better than most. It took Joe Strummer and the boys less than three minutes to synthesize everything wrong with the American dream, and they get bonus points for having the balls to open their first-ever U.S. show with the diatribe.
5) Train in Vain
London Calling closed with the greatest hidden track of all time. Why was “Train in Vain” hidden? Because it’s not political. Instead, it is a love song (or more precisely, an ode to love gone wrong). But “Train in Vain” proves that the Clash could write a great pop song but instead chose to write about what it thought truly mattered.
The Clash’s eponymous first album closes with the perfect punk rock song. It’s loud. It’s fast. It’s angry. And it has a great first line: “Back in the garage with my bullshit detector.”
2) Guns of Brixton
Speaking of great first lines, it’s difficult to top “When they kick in your front door/How you gonna come?/With your hands on your head/Or on the trigger of your gun?” The beauty of the Clash was that it expanded what could be considered punk—“Brixton” owes more to reggae traditions than it does to the Ramones.
3) Straight to Hell
The band had pretty much broken apart by the time it recorded Combat Rock, and the resulting record was a mixed bag at best. For every “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Rock the Casbah,” there’s an “Overpowered by Funk” and “Ghetto Defendant.” With its wiry guitar line and almost trance-inducing pace, “Straight to Hell” is the album’s true gem.
4) I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.
Bands tread a fine line between insight and sloganeering with political songs, and the Clash walked that tightrope better than most. It took Joe Strummer and the boys less than three minutes to synthesize everything wrong with the American dream, and they get bonus points for having the balls to open their first-ever U.S. show with the diatribe.
5) Train in Vain
London Calling closed with the greatest hidden track of all time. Why was “Train in Vain” hidden? Because it’s not political. Instead, it is a love song (or more precisely, an ode to love gone wrong). But “Train in Vain” proves that the Clash could write a great pop song but instead chose to write about what it thought truly mattered.
2 comments:
Great lists. Wasn't there always a Clash night at Little Bros. back in the day?
It moved to Skully's a few years ago. My last Columbus band, Press Gang, played the Clash-a-thon one year. Our songs, "Koka Kola," "What's My Name" and, of course "Garageland."
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