This is a public service announcement with guitar!
The only band that mattered was indeed The Clash– Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. My favorite band form the punk moment is these guys. The Strummer and Jones Clash produced five out of the total six Clash records and was only 7 years long. Even with all the band’s turmoil, they remain one of the most influential and important bands ever in music.
The Clash was first and foremost they began as a raw, all powerful punk prowess; straight up, in your face noise with driving force and energy. The beauty of these guys is they would add influences of reggae, ska, new wave, rockabilly, funk, hard rock and post punk to their music. Bonus, they were also just a fucking good band.
Every Clash album up until Jones’ departure from the group is good. And then there is the iconic “London Calling” LP which sits alone as one of the ten greatest records ever. Ever. As I sat watching MTV in my Ohio living room in the Summer of 1982, the video for Rock the Casbah was pretty heavy in the MTV rotation. This was my real entrance to The Clash. A few years later I would move to a suburb of Washington DC where Should I Stay or Should I Go became a high school staple song for a few friends and I. I then sought out the entire record where these two tunes lived. “Combat Rock” has remained my favorite Clash album and one of my go to discs for the past 32 years. “Combat Rock” also offers a myriad of scents and smells so there is something for everyone. Every song is good. I said every song. And I really won’t single out any single track today, but instead mention them all: Know Your Rights, Car Jamming, Should I Stay or Should I Go, Rock the Casbah, Red Angel Dragnet, Straight to Hell, Overpowered by Funk, Atom Tan, Sean Flynn, Ghetto Defendant, Inoculated City and Death is a Star. Yes times 12. Here’s a friendly reminder for you, “Combat Rock,” rocks.
I don’t feel that I have stressed enough about just how much The Clash meant to music. They continue to give and give and give. Now there’s a legacy for you that I don’t think they ever really intended to leave. Thankfully for us, it happened anyway.
365, Album of the Day 2014 