Joe Strummer
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- ismith0
Anyone listened to Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros? I think Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse) mentioned their newest on his top 25.
- Horp0
Punk was good for a brief while, but you make a mistake if you consider The Clash as a definitive punk band. The Clash were a rock band riding the music industry's commercial exploitation of punk. They were a commercial exploitation of a working class rebellion. They just liked the aesthetic and could muster leftist attitude and their moms and dads all had good middle class jobs and could afford to buy them some manufactured punk gear from Nelson House. Precocious little darlings.
The Clash were known as the only band that matters, a title created and bandied about by their record label... branding, in other words. It doesn't get much more unpunk than that. Bear in mind this was the late 70's so comparisons to the record industry today don't hold much water.
As for Jet Black, you have a good point, but Jet Black was as hard as fuck and beat the shit out of members of The Clash on one or two occasions, and he got his name as an early teen. It was given to him by people in his neighbourhood who knew him... he didn't sit in his bedroom dreaming it up to sound cool.
- well putprevious
- to be fair, any punk band that gained any mainstream success by definition no longer is punk7point34
- but that doesn't mean they necessarily made bad music.7point34
- Why do so many people hold a bias against a band just for being famous? I guess Chuck Berry sucked too.CyBrain
- I'm not against them for being famous, I'm against them for being culturally fallacious and duping the weak minded.Horp
- 7point340
they did help bring the genre of punk, (and ska, and reggae, etc. ) to the mainstream. no doubt influencing many of their fans to go out and look for bands such as the stranglers because they had a new found interest in punk music.
- No, no no no they din't. They did the opposite, they helped kill it prematurely.Horp
- As for 'helping' The Stranglers... far far from it.Horp
- http://www.contactmu…Horp
- as soon as the media was aware of punk it ceased to be what it was originally.7point34
- it was dead nearly the instant the name was coined to define the genre7point34
- punk music would've self-destructed even without the help of mainstream dilution7point34
- Bunch of moaners. A punch-up ruined us! What a load of bollix.Bembo
- It happens to be true. The Clash were all bezzy mates with the media luvvies, they all went to drama school together,Horp
- so when the Stranglers battered the shit out of them on a tour with the Ramones, the Clash pulled strings...Horp
- in retaliation, asking all their luvvy mates to give the Stranglers appalling reviews. If you look at the reviews is obvious.Horp
- its obvious. The same people reviewed the same albums two weeks running.Horp
- Bembo0
apples & oranges.
- 7point340
let's all shut up and listen to this:
- Just makes me laugh out loud that people who were born after 1985 think The Clash were punk.Horp
- there are clearly 2 types of punk music. one which is a rebellious social mentality and the pop/rock hybrid one.7point34
- i like the clash, because i think they had some great pop songs.7point34
- As a pop group, I can appreciate them more. As bastions of punk ethic, I just have to laugh, or cry.Horp
- CygnusZero40
The Clash were pretty much what you get when you hand guys some instruments that dont really know how to play them. I guess some people are into that though.
- I think they are good musicians - the baselines are good manclearThoughts
- As are the drums...even though the drummer was strung out 24/7!BRNK
- exador10
wow...a lot of hate here for what I've always thought of as a pretty great band.
ok, maybe if they'd never been popular, never sold many records, beat folks up, did more heroin, were more sincere, less sincere, had poor parents etc etc...then would it be ok to like them?fuck.
- Feel free to like who you want to. Nobody is stopping you. Mind if I enjoy the same freedom?Horp
- BRNK0
Horp, you continually deride the Clash for their perceived obsession with their image yet at the same time you are stuck on their image as well. According to your definition Punk must necessarily be an economic/social condition more akin to the phrase "working class" rather than a genre of music because one needs to be "hard as fuck" and from the lower class (I assume this because you continually cite the Clash's middle class upbringing as a detractor.). I think if you could stop obsessing about how they offend your idea of the punk aesthetic, you'd realize that they wrote some good songs, which is really what matters. Being stuck on someone's image is small minded. I'm sure you'd paradoxically both agree and continue to rant about.
Furthermore, I'd argue that The Clash's real redeeming value is not their "punk/NOT PUNK!!!" music, but rather their willingness to explore genres and styles as well as Strummer's song writing.
- Well said BRNK.p-mac
- Okay, I stopped obsessing, had another listen, and...Horp
- nope, I still think they sound like a bunch of chinless cocks emulating rock and roll.Horp
- You're probably 25 years old and from 1000's of miles away.Horp
- LOL. You know Horp, while I may disagree with you about The Clash, you're dead on with that last one.BRNK
- BRNK= 25 yrs old, in Minneapolis, MN. You are good, sir.BRNK
- On export, 30 years after their time, I'm sure they sound great.Horp
- fooler20
Ever see the movie about the Joe Strummer Mescaleros, it was kinda sad. He had no PR or label backing on his last tour so he had to knock on doors of local radio stations to plug himself. The DJ's were in shock that a legend like himself would just stop in unannounced.
He also was handing out flyers on street and no one recognized him, I think he told one one he was in the Clash and she didn't believe him.
- centro0
I'll see you in the Sewer.
- boobs0
I saw The Clash perform a couple of times, including once at a roller rink. Good times!
- Horp0
The Clash were shit.
Nuff said.
- Nuff Said
is a great Dutch rockbandjanne76 - lolspraycan
- hahaarmsbottomer
- Nuff Said
- Horp0
The Clash were all about self delusory posturing, acting out a dormitory fantasy about being bad to the bone rude boys. Much like when Elton John penned Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and when Wham sang Bad Boys.
The Stranglers however...
- good tunes though, you cantankerous old dick. your comparison is erroneuouseouskelpie
- Not if know the history of the two bands and why The Stranglers success was marred by the media luvvie Clash.Horp
- (not if YOU know... I meant)Horp
- I meant your Wham comparison. Everyone knows the stranglers rick.kelpie
- *rockkelpie
- Yeah, stranglers DEFFO rockbabaganush
- benfal990
Strummer doesnt care about what you think.
- He's beyond caring.boobs
- 'cos he's dead?babaganush
- You do know his real name was Graham don't you. He made up Joe Strummer to sound like a tough guy.Horp
- How fucking lame is that?Horp
- many artist do that, stop it please.spraycan
- Name a few...Horp
- ... give yourself some idea of the kind of people who do that sort of thing ...Horp
- "Bono" for example.Horp
- or "Billy Idol"Horp
- "Elton John"Horp
- or how about "George Michael"Horp
- You're right, lots of people do it.Horp
- lol, i wont go further. regards.spraycan
- "Horp", "Orbit Lesser" "Spookytim" etc etc etc.
you are Bono's bumchumkelpie - Thats a different thing completely "Kelpie".Horp
- (< Simon to his mom)Horp
- spraycan0
nuff said