"London Calling" at 25

Sep 15 21:52 UTC 2004

  Has it really been 25 years?  That probably depends on which country
  you live in, as the record had different releases on different sides
  of the Atlantic.  Music news sites, however, are reporting that Sony
  Music is preparing to commemorate the original release of the Clash's
  brilliant "London Calling" with a special 25th anniversary edition.

  Hailed by many, possibly even most, rock critics as one of the greatest
  rock records of all time, the Clash's sprawling masterpiece was not only
  an influential blend of several musical genres and a pitch-perfect
  expression of the angry politics of punk near the peak of its powers,
  it was also a damn fine collection of songs.

  Launched by the distinctive rhythm of the menacingly apocalyptic title
  track and the high-energy rumble of "Brand New Cadillac" the album 
  moves through 19 tracks (all the way to the unlisted classic closer,
  "Train in Vain") rarely, if ever, hitting a wrong note along the way.

  Back in 1979 / 80 when it was first hitting the shelves in record
  stores it probably wasn't clear that "Londond Calling" would become
  a generational touchstone or that the coming years of the 1980s'
  Reagan and Thatcher administrations would only magnify its meaning
  to a generation of angry young music fans but in the time since its
  release critics and cultural commentators haven't shied away from
  making sweeping claims, some of them implausibly vast, concerning the
  album's importance in the history of music.

  But 25 years later what part of the album's legacy remains?  Are today's
  music fans aware of these songs at all, except as part of an occasional
  movie soundtrack or (good lord!) car commercial?  And will "London Calling"
  continue to appeal to a new generation or were its accomplishments 
  specific to a time and place and its success in capturing the particular
  zeitgeist?

  Comment here on "London Calling."  Have you heard it?  Do you own a copy?
  Are you on a replacement copy after having worn out or lost the first?
  What's your favorite track?  Conversely, have you never heard of it and
  have no idea what I'm writing about?

response 2 of 27:

Sep 15 22:09 UTC 2004

 I wish I could claim to have gone out and bought "London Calling" on the
 day it was release but I'm afraid I simply wasn't that cool at age 11.
 I heard bits and pieces of it at the time but It wasn't until my (first
 set of) college years in the late 80s that I bought myself a copy and
 really discovered the true depth of the album.

 Favorite song on the album: 

   "Brand New Cadillac"

 Best lyric:  (from "Death or Glory")

   "Every cheap hood 
    Makes a bargain with the world,
    Ends up making payments
    On a sofa or a girl.

    But I believe in this
    And it's been tested by research:
    That he who f*cks nuns
    Will later join the church."

response 4 of 27:

Sep 15 23:11 UTC 2004

my favorite thing about the album is that it inspired one of the
few local punkers (back then in marquette) to try to sing the title
track as "Soumi Kootsu" (sp) in honor of the local finnish population.

i liked Sandanista better.

spanish bombs is a beautiful song.

response 6 of 27:

Sep 16 00:56 UTC 2004

I just bought the damn thing. Now I'll have to go and buy it again. Oh well,
at least it's /worth/ buying again, and I can sell the old one. (I have a rule
that I do not sell gifts. It's the thought that counts.)

response 8 of 27:

Sep 24 16:36 UTC 2004

I got my LP copy of LONDON CALLING pretty close to the week it was 
released; I'd already been enthusiastic about the Clash, ever since
the first UK import album came out.  (I can still remember seeing the 
poster at the original Where House Records store in East Lansing.)
LONDON CALLING was always a favorite, and it's the only Clash album I 
come back to; it was the only one I re-bought on CD.

I used to propose that the Clash were the only punk band who really
understood the importance of a good hook.

response 10 of 27:

Sep 24 19:18 UTC 2004

yeah, that's something they'd think was pretty funny.

AS FAR AS SANDANISTA sounding like a collection of singles, i'd say 
that's true of all of their albums except for
"Give 'Em Enough Rope"

response 12 of 27:

Sep 24 20:03 UTC 2004

point

response 14 of 27:

Sep 24 20:56 UTC 2004

 Oh, c'mon, there're much worse things than Blue Oyster Cult out there..
 BOC is actually pretty enjoyable in a campy way, which is not at all
 inconsistent with what I think the band intended.  I don't think they
 ever intended their act to be taken completely seriously.

response 16 of 27:

Sep 24 21:14 UTC 2004

/secretly loves "Agents of Fortune"

response 18 of 27:

Sep 25 00:01 UTC 2004

shit...i must have seen them 4-5 times in the 70's

response 20 of 27:

Sep 25 04:03 UTC 2004

i enjoy them the way i enjoy spinal tap.

response 22 of 27:

Oct 8 06:26 UTC 2004

Ken said, "I used to propose that the Clash were the only punk band who
really understood the importance of a good hook."

I'm not sure if this applied to the Clash, but a lot of bands around
that time wrote songs that a good hook incongruously wedded to stuff
that did not fulfill that promise at all.  The name "Big Country" comes
to mind.

response 24 of 27:

Oct 23 00:27 UTC 2004

re #23:
> to try to understand what people saw or heard in The Clash.

Can't (or won't) speak for anyone else, but for me it's the
energy, attitude, and (to a lesser, but still important extent)
the musical borrowings they managed to rework into something
distinctly their own.

Like many of their contemporaries, their music, especially
early in their career, is definitely rough-edged, which some
people find off-putting.  They're not virtuoso musicians headed
by a velvet-voiced crooner, they're Angry Young Men armed with
guitars and the D.I.Y. spirit of punk.

> I'm open minded. I will keep trying.  I didn't like "Rock The
> Casbah" either but lately I've been thinking it's rather topical.

I love the Clash but I wouldn't recommend "Rock the Casbah" all
that strongly, either.  It's a catchy radio novelty single but
there's not much there there, if you will.  It's like many other
singles -- great radio fodder but not the best the artist has to
offer.