Clash single choices

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Dr. Medulla »

matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:08am
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:08am
What about a shout for Inoculated City? I remember the first time I heard CR and that was the one that stood out other than RtC and SIS.
It has a hook/refrain for sure. It's just a weird two minute long song minus the advert. I love how their "sellout" album has just those two singles. Everything else is too...weird?
Which is why the sell-out argument is bullshit. They were never that single-minded that they could follow a coherent strategy properly. The crazy messiness of Sandinista! wasn't a dope-fueled indulgence (well, it was but …), it was the contradictory and pluralist essence of the group.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Low Down Low »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:40am
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:08am
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:08am
What about a shout for Inoculated City? I remember the first time I heard CR and that was the one that stood out other than RtC and SIS.
It has a hook/refrain for sure. It's just a weird two minute long song minus the advert. I love how their "sellout" album has just those two singles. Everything else is too...weird?
Which is why the sell-out argument is bullshit. They were never that single-minded that they could follow a coherent strategy properly. The crazy messiness of Sandinista! wasn't a dope-fueled indulgence (well, it was but …), it was the contradictory and pluralist essence of the group.
For what its worth, this more or less corresponds with my own thesis on the commercial side of the band. I would also keep some space for the word integrity in there, not that it doesn't come without a raft of qualifications and caveats, but when you entangle all the acts of apparent self-sabotage, all the fuck ups and missed opportunities and whatever other crap went on, I do strongly believe there was a core element of integrity underpinning it all.

Inder
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Inder »

matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:08am
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:08am
What about a shout for Inoculated City? I remember the first time I heard CR and that was the one that stood out other than RtC and SIS.
It has a hook/refrain for sure. It's just a weird two minute long song minus the advert. I love how their "sellout" album has just those two singles. Everything else is too...weird?
Seriously — how do you even describe songs like Atom Tan, RAD, GD or Sean Flynn? Or even First Night, Cool Confusion, Long Time Jerk, etc.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 1:05pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:40am
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:08am
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:08am
What about a shout for Inoculated City? I remember the first time I heard CR and that was the one that stood out other than RtC and SIS.
It has a hook/refrain for sure. It's just a weird two minute long song minus the advert. I love how their "sellout" album has just those two singles. Everything else is too...weird?
Which is why the sell-out argument is bullshit. They were never that single-minded that they could follow a coherent strategy properly. The crazy messiness of Sandinista! wasn't a dope-fueled indulgence (well, it was but …), it was the contradictory and pluralist essence of the group.
For what its worth, this more or less corresponds with my own thesis on the commercial side of the band. I would also keep some space for the word integrity in there, not that it doesn't come without a raft of qualifications and caveats, but when you entangle all the acts of apparent self-sabotage, all the fuck ups and missed opportunities and whatever other crap went on, I do strongly believe there was a core element of integrity underpinning it all.
Depending on how you apply the word, yeah. Sincerity is what I'd say. Given how cyncical and how unromantic most of us tend to be, the Clash end up seeming weirdos.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Wolter
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Wolter »

Jimmy Jazz wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:57am
Overpowered by Funk is the obvious third choice from Combat Rock. All the kids love the rap!
Without the rap, and better production? Maybe?
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Wolter »

I also agree that if CR is a sellout album, they had no idea how. My biggest problem is that it’s meandering and strange without being as compelling as Sandinista.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson

"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"

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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Low Down Low »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 1:14pm
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 1:05pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:40am
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 11:08am
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:08am
What about a shout for Inoculated City? I remember the first time I heard CR and that was the one that stood out other than RtC and SIS.
It has a hook/refrain for sure. It's just a weird two minute long song minus the advert. I love how their "sellout" album has just those two singles. Everything else is too...weird?
Which is why the sell-out argument is bullshit. They were never that single-minded that they could follow a coherent strategy properly. The crazy messiness of Sandinista! wasn't a dope-fueled indulgence (well, it was but …), it was the contradictory and pluralist essence of the group.
For what its worth, this more or less corresponds with my own thesis on the commercial side of the band. I would also keep some space for the word integrity in there, not that it doesn't come without a raft of qualifications and caveats, but when you entangle all the acts of apparent self-sabotage, all the fuck ups and missed opportunities and whatever other crap went on, I do strongly believe there was a core element of integrity underpinning it all.
Depending on how you apply the word, yeah. Sincerity is what I'd say. Given how cyncical and how unromantic most of us tend to be, the Clash end up seeming weirdos.
Sincerity might be the more apposite word alright. I find it compelling that Mick was generally the one portrayed as the more commercially minded, the one who wanted the hits and all the rock star trappings, and yet if he'd had his way, we'd have had the unwieldy and probably unsellable Rat Patrol over the accessible CR. The Clash finally made money on a record, virtually secured their pensions, and Mick was probably the one least happy about it.

101Walterton
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by 101Walterton »

matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:57am
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:37am
Straight to Hell is arguably Joe's greatest lyric and a top 10 Clash tune at the worst, but I never got commercial single vibe off it. SISOSIG is on all levels a far inferior song but a more viable commercial entity. Just my gut feeling on it.
Agreed. I wouldn't release STH as a single for commercial purposes. If I had to pick a third single from CR...Car Jamming? I don't know, KYR is about as strident and monotonous as you can get, so that one is out. Other than that, Ghetto Defendant is the only other sort of traditional song structure. Other than the Gingsburg bits.
I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!

Olaf
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Olaf »

101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 3:24pm
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:57am
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:37am
Straight to Hell is arguably Joe's greatest lyric and a top 10 Clash tune at the worst, but I never got commercial single vibe off it. SISOSIG is on all levels a far inferior song but a more viable commercial entity. Just my gut feeling on it.
Agreed. I wouldn't release STH as a single for commercial purposes. If I had to pick a third single from CR...Car Jamming? I don't know, KYR is about as strident and monotonous as you can get, so that one is out. Other than that, Ghetto Defendant is the only other sort of traditional song structure. Other than the Gingsburg bits.
I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Who pfaffed the pfaff? Who got pfaffed tonight?

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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Heston »

Olaf wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 5:19pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 3:24pm
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:57am
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:37am
Straight to Hell is arguably Joe's greatest lyric and a top 10 Clash tune at the worst, but I never got commercial single vibe off it. SISOSIG is on all levels a far inferior song but a more viable commercial entity. Just my gut feeling on it.
Agreed. I wouldn't release STH as a single for commercial purposes. If I had to pick a third single from CR...Car Jamming? I don't know, KYR is about as strident and monotonous as you can get, so that one is out. Other than that, Ghetto Defendant is the only other sort of traditional song structure. Other than the Gingsburg bits.
I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Correct, that one took me by surprise back in the day.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

101Walterton
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by 101Walterton »

Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:21pm
Olaf wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 5:19pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 3:24pm
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:57am
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:37am
Straight to Hell is arguably Joe's greatest lyric and a top 10 Clash tune at the worst, but I never got commercial single vibe off it. SISOSIG is on all levels a far inferior song but a more viable commercial entity. Just my gut feeling on it.
Agreed. I wouldn't release STH as a single for commercial purposes. If I had to pick a third single from CR...Car Jamming? I don't know, KYR is about as strident and monotonous as you can get, so that one is out. Other than that, Ghetto Defendant is the only other sort of traditional song structure. Other than the Gingsburg bits.
I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Correct, that one took me by surprise back in the day.
:scared: I never made that connection until this post!!!


Heston
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Heston »

101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:45pm
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:21pm
Olaf wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 5:19pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 3:24pm
matedog wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:57am


Agreed. I wouldn't release STH as a single for commercial purposes. If I had to pick a third single from CR...Car Jamming? I don't know, KYR is about as strident and monotonous as you can get, so that one is out. Other than that, Ghetto Defendant is the only other sort of traditional song structure. Other than the Gingsburg bits.
I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Correct, that one took me by surprise back in the day.
:scared: I never made that connection until this post!!!

To clarify, by "back in the day" I meant when Olaf mentioned it years ago on here. I never made the connection at the time.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

101Walterton
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by 101Walterton »

Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:49pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:45pm
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:21pm
Olaf wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 5:19pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 3:24pm


I disagree about STH.
Remember this was 1982 the charts were full of weird and wonderful stuff. Even DA Da Da got to #2!!!
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Correct, that one took me by surprise back in the day.
:scared: I never made that connection until this post!!!

To clarify, by "back in the day" I meant when Olaf mentioned it years ago on here. I never made the connection at the time.
Coincidence or not?
Trio released Da Da Da as a single March 1982 and SISOSIG released June 1982.
But both songs were written and recorded in 1981 but Trio included it on their s/t album released 1981 yet CR not released until 1982?
So unless Trio heard it live????

Olaf
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Olaf »

101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 10:06pm
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:49pm
101Walterton wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:45pm
Heston wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 9:21pm
Olaf wrote:
21 Aug 2018, 5:19pm
But Da Da Da is much closer to Should I Stay Or Should I Go. In fact, they're more or less the same song.
Correct, that one took me by surprise back in the day.
:scared: I never made that connection until this post!!!

To clarify, by "back in the day" I meant when Olaf mentioned it years ago on here. I never made the connection at the time.
Coincidence or not?
Trio released Da Da Da as a single March 1982 and SISOSIG released June 1982.
But both songs were written and recorded in 1981 but Trio included it on their s/t album released 1981 yet CR not released until 1982?
So unless Trio heard it live????
I don't think it was on the original s/t album (maybe added later). It's just a weird coincidence I guess.
Who pfaffed the pfaff? Who got pfaffed tonight?

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Clash single choices

Post by Dr. Medulla »

"Da Da Da" was one of those rare moments when the charts welcomed something truly unusual (e.g., "O Superman" or "Pump Up the Volume") and you can't figure out how the fuck that happened, that the gatekeepers fucked up somehow to let the unconventional and genuinely captivating thru.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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