On this week's show we're talking about one band, The Clash. Are they the only band that matters?
Danny Sigelman and Mark Wheat join me to discuss The Clash at what was arguably their peak in the late 70s and 80s, and we cover the two albums they came out with at that time. First Mark Wheat packs in the seminal "London Calling", which he finds captured the Clash full of confidences and souped-up on their punk credibility. Danny claims they upped the ante on punk with this album, and then drops to the next record, Sandinista!
Sandinista!, their triple album with 36 tracks (including my pick of the record, "The Magnificent Seven") covered so much musical ground. It included streaks of R&B, Hip-hop, American Routes music, and Reggae. They've given me so much music. What did you discover because of The Clash?
Listen to the show and join the discussion here.
Artist name link above goes to PublicRadio Music Source. Other links for reference:
The Clash Online Head's up, there's music
The original Rolling Stone review of Sandinista!
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
email
print
Comments: 16
I just read the official description:
We may have been a podcast for some time, but since we're new to The Current's airwaves, we thought we'd introduce some of our newer listeners to a classic program from last year for Membership week. So tune in as I welcome Mark Wheat and Danny Sigelman for another one of occasional looks at "Crucial Current" CD picks. This time it's the two albums that The Clash made at the peak of their career: "London Calling" and "Sandinista."
Maybe this sounds predictable, but really, The Clash made the right music. Just ... simply... right. And although it was merely on the radar at the time of release, I really lucked out and truly discovered it at the right time in my own life.
I had a friend working hard to convince me to listen to the Clash in the early 80's. My musical mind was too closed. It wasn't until he convinced me to go to an all ages show at the old Seventh Street Entry on a cold Sunday afternoon in January 1984 to see this band "Ya gotta see". Reluctant as I was, I was blown away and then many bands, including The Clash, then made sense. I saw my first Replacements show. The Clash, and The Pretenders, and many others, really did "matter".
That, and Paul Simonon just look cool playing his bass.
It was released 26 years ago and still sounds awesome!
Anyone see the Clash at the St Paul Civic Center on 8/11/82?
That was a memorable show for me. I almost got trampled to death. It was a general admission show. I remember being at the very front of the line to get in. Eventually they opened the doors and there was a mad rush to stake out the best spots near the stage. Me and my pals made it in and were situated right upfront.
Local favorites Shangoya were the opener. They eventually took the stage and played their brand of Caribbean music. The jockeying for position began. There was lots of pushing and shoving. All I could think of was the Who's Cincinnati show a few years earlier where several people were trampled to death. Shangoya wrapped up their set and started throwing t-shirts to the crowd. Me and my pals were right next to the stage and being pushed from 3 sides. We were beginning to sweat.
Finally the Clash hit the stage & took off into a blistering version of "London Calling". People all around me were starting to fall. Many jumped onto the stage to escape. My buddy started falling and pulled himself up with my shirttails. We decided try to get outta there & find a nice place to sit & enjoy the show. As I was fighting my way back to daylight I lost both of my shoes. Then security tried to throw me out for not wearing shoes. Aah, I had em' when I got here!
Eventually, I found a nice place to sit. Me and my buddies were all separated in the chaos. It was a memorable show, to say the least!
Four times, Mitch? Four! Hardcore. Must have been one hell of a show. I heard they could kick out the energy relentlessly - was that the case?
It always comes down to the Bass, doesn't it, Michael. *grin*
Bill that is possibly the single best concert story I've ever heard. An '82 Shoeless DeVille, perched in the Civic Center. Man. You're lucky that's all you lost, and luckier still for the story you gained. And the Shangoya flashback...Whoa! Whoa! I should dig the old Shangoya out. (still muttering Whoa! to myself)
My friend in Jr. High hipped me to the whole punk/new wave scene while I was still in my post KISS phase and moving to more eclectic things. I still have a tape he made for me of Sex Pistols, Ramones the Clash, Gary Numan, B-52's, and XTC. I was more of a Ramones fan than the Clash, it took awhile to wrap my mind around the reggae influences and more political leanings of the lyrics. The Ramones were more fun and accessible to me at the time. I still find "The Clash" album to be my favorite, but also find "London Calling" go be a seminal record of the times. Never listened to "Sandanista" as I had moved on to other things by that time. It's funny to listen to all those early punk albums today and hear how actually poppy they really are/were.
Frick, now I'm gonna go dig out my Shangoya CD. I have their tune, "Shango" stuck in my head!
Anyone have any great stories about the Clash?
Mitch: I've only seen Elvis Costello out of that group. And that was his re-formation w/ the Attractions at Northrup Auditorium w/ Crash Test Dummies opening.
Didn't the Clash open for the Who at the Civic Center during The Who's first "Farewell" tour? I seem to recall Pete had a thing for The Clash.
Found that Shangoya CD. It's called The Collection. It does contain "Red Pants Jam" & doesn't feature "TC Jammin"
Planning on playing a tune Sunday afternoon. I LOVE playing summery tunes in the winter!
"London Calling" is virtually flawless; words don't do it justice, so I won't try. "Sandinista!" has plenty of great tracks, but it still seems a bit bloated to me. I won't be one of those people saying it should have been a single record, but I do think it would have been better as a double album. They should have just released the third record as its own album. I do have a soft spot, though, for the kiddie version of "Career Opportunities" -- when I recently graduated college, this version of the song resonated with me through my fruitless job hunt. The little kids really bring out the sheer ridiculousness that's inherent in the rat race of life.
Mitch that's a pretty cool deal and a cooler story. Seventeen shows. Man!
You're right about that, Mac, Bill's got a total "I shouldn't be alive!" story there.