Don Yates wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jerry Curry wrote:
>
> > The Clash did absolutely nothing for me. I NEVER understood the critic's
> > fascination with this group and I absolutely never understood my cohort's
> > slavish devotion to them either.
>
> Ya know, a few years ago I would've given Curry a good thrashing for the
> above remarks, but I have to admit their music has not aged well. Yeah,
> their politics were generally admirable, but smart politics don't
> necessary equate to good songs -- most of Strummer's lyrics now sound
> unbearably awkward and painfully obvious to these ears, and later Clash
> albums like Sandinista and Combat Rock are unlistenable.
There's good, even great tunes on SANDINISTA, ("Police On My Back", "Somebody
Got Murdered", "Hitsville, U.K.", "Charlie Don't Surf" to start) but you have
to work to find 'em. (Reminds me of BEING THERE that way<g>)COMBAT ROCK is two
essentially novelty songs, granted.
> Of all the early British
> punk bands, I think the Pistols have aged the best.--don
Matter of taste, but this seems like in a sense you're penalizing the Clash for
standing for something (and that message aging) while rewarding the Sex Pistols
for basically standing for nothing, nothing but themselves anyway. "The only
band that matters"? Well, maybe not, and the message was articulated better
earlier in their career, but I don't think it aged so badly as that some of it
was awkward to start with. And wasn't the tension between Strummer/message and
Jones/music a contributor to the late bloat and eventual split-up anyhow?
b.s.
n.p. THE SEBADOH (here Friday)
b.s.
