I'm old and missed the Clash, punk, and Joe Strummer, but reading about his music here made me think of The Crystal's sing He's a Rebel, one of my old favorites at the time. I dunno why.
See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet
My, he holds his head up high
When he goes walking by, he's my guy
When he holds my hand, I'm so proud
'Cause he's not just one of the crowd
My baby's always the one to try the things they've never done
And just because of that, they say
"He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should"
But just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
That's no reason why I can't give him all my love
He's always good to me, always treats me tenderly
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no, to me
If they don't like him that way
They won't like me after today
I'll be standing right by his side when they say
"He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should"
Just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
Wonderful. I came a bit late to the Clash, I had their Singles album back in high school / college which had the mainstream hits, but I only a few years ago started digging deeper into their catalog. And wouldn't you know, most of the tracks you mention here are not on my radar. I look forward to checking them out.
Straight to Hell and Spanish Bombs are favourites, though. I hunted down a copy of the book The Death of Lorca after visiting Granada, and I'm also 100% certain Strummer read that as well, because much of the imagery seems to parallel it (ex. bullet holes in the cemetery walls). I also regret not visiting Placeta Joe Strummer while I was there: apparently Granada was a bit of a second home for him, and they honoured him with his own little square.
I am going to look for that book now! thank you! The Clash’s musicianship really advanced quite quickly its amazing what they accomplished in a short amount of time.
I'm old and missed the Clash, punk, and Joe Strummer, but reading about his music here made me think of The Crystal's sing He's a Rebel, one of my old favorites at the time. I dunno why.
See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet
My, he holds his head up high
When he goes walking by, he's my guy
When he holds my hand, I'm so proud
'Cause he's not just one of the crowd
My baby's always the one to try the things they've never done
And just because of that, they say
"He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should"
But just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
That's no reason why I can't give him all my love
He's always good to me, always treats me tenderly
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no, to me
If they don't like him that way
They won't like me after today
I'll be standing right by his side when they say
"He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should"
Just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
That's no reason why we can't share our love
He's always good to me, good to him, I try to be
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no, to me
Oh, he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no,
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
The eternal spirit of rebellion.
I dunno what it is but he sings with some kind of poets voice.
London Calling and all the stuff he sang was deep, ressonant and made a shit day better.
Especially 2002 in a dank apartment in the worst part of town.
Like any great singer songwriter he had truth to offer.
Poet is spot on!
I'm listening to Straight to Hell right now and it's even more obvious than I thought. 😐
I love both versions so much!
How did I not notice that with Straight to Hell and Paper Planes?!
Wonderful. I came a bit late to the Clash, I had their Singles album back in high school / college which had the mainstream hits, but I only a few years ago started digging deeper into their catalog. And wouldn't you know, most of the tracks you mention here are not on my radar. I look forward to checking them out.
Straight to Hell and Spanish Bombs are favourites, though. I hunted down a copy of the book The Death of Lorca after visiting Granada, and I'm also 100% certain Strummer read that as well, because much of the imagery seems to parallel it (ex. bullet holes in the cemetery walls). I also regret not visiting Placeta Joe Strummer while I was there: apparently Granada was a bit of a second home for him, and they honoured him with his own little square.
I am going to look for that book now! thank you! The Clash’s musicianship really advanced quite quickly its amazing what they accomplished in a short amount of time.
I hope you don't mind I linked to this on my Bluesky account?
Will delete if you want.
#KnowYourRights
Heck yeah! Anything to get Joe’s message out there! need it now more than ever! His music brings me so much joy!
Better go dig up those Playboy mags. It seems the apocalypse is upon us.