The Clash have long been a favorite band of mine. My relationship with the group gets closer as the group reveals new favorite songs for me in strange succession. The Clash wrote in such a wide variety of styles, you start liking different songs from all of their releases as your musical tastes change. My love for the Clash started with tracks like “Lost in the Supermarket”, “Clampdown”, “Spanish Bombs”, and “Train in Vain”. Joe Strummer’s vocal delivery and the aggressive rhythms drew me in. The Clash made me jealous, I wanted Strummer’s passion. It’s impossible to ignore the urgency of their criticisms. The Clash, much like The Rolling Stones, possessed swagger in the truest form, impossible to ignore and devoid of accurate classification. Strangely, as big as The Clash has become, there’s no reason they shouldn’t me mentioned in the same breath as the Stones more often, but the punk label has irreparably harmed society’s impression of the group. Ask anyone who has only heard of The Clash who the group sounds like, and the likely comparison will be Sex Pistols almost every time. Let’s be clear, Sex Pistols are a terrible band who never should have made music. While Sex Pistols were spending their time being rockstars, Joe Strummer spent his time as a student of world music, constantly pushing the limits of what his group could be and embracing genres ranging from dub reggae to electronic, hard rock to soulful ballads. Today I am still rediscovering Clash tracks that suddenly become favorites, lately “Atom Tan” and “Ghetto Defendant”. The Clash is an exercise both in patience and the lack of value in first impressions. Check out a couple Clash jams.
MP3: “Ghetto Defendant” – The Clash
Deftjams 