I'll say it again they were and are not "The Only Band That Matters". I hate that quote completely.
You could paraphrase it then: the sole rock n roll combo of significance.
The Clash's core product was catharsis- a bunch of pissed-off little tweekers going absolutely apeshit and coupling that with memorable hooks. It was a great product but it was the right product at the wrong time. The Boomer cokehead-douchenozzles who had the entire industry in a headlock didn't want to know about it, they wanted Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers music 24/7. If the band could have hunkered down for a year or two they could've ridden out the storm. But they started second-guessing themselves and making compromises. The record companies love that- you make for an easy bronco to bust. Hence going from Drug Stabbing Time to Death is a Star in less time than most bands today release followup albums.
I'll say it again they were and are not "The Only Band That Matters". I hate that quote completely.
You could paraphrase it then: the sole rock n roll combo of significance.
The Clash's core product was catharsis- a bunch of pissed-off little tweekers going absolutely apeshit and coupling that with memorable hooks. It was a great product but it was the right product at the wrong time. The Boomer cokehead-douchenozzles who had the entire industry in a headlock didn't want to know about it, they wanted Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers music 24/7. If the band could have hunkered down for a year or two they could've ridden out the storm. But they started second-guessing themselves and making compromises. The record companies love that- you make for an easy bronco to bust. Hence going from Drug Stabbing Time to Death is a Star in less time than most bands today release followup albums.
That's something I often find curious because it seems so obvious in retrospect. A group is suffering from serious in-fighting, creative differences, all that crap, so just agree to hit pause for a couple years to let people do their own thing and cool the room. Then see if time apart serves as a reminder of why they enjoyed working together in the first place. The Beatles, obviously—everyone go do a couple solo albums and then come back in a few years. Why the dramatic act of firing or quitting?
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
I think it's just human nature to want to tell the people you're sick of to fuck off and to go start something fresh. The people who have a clear enough head to not burn the bridges and wreck what they've built are pretty impressive people, imho.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
That's something I often find curious because it seems so obvious in retrospect. A group is suffering from serious in-fighting, creative differences, all that crap, so just agree to hit pause for a couple years to let people do their own thing and cool the room. Then see if time apart serves as a reminder of why they enjoyed working together in the first place. The Beatles, obviously—everyone go do a couple solo albums and then come back in a few years. Why the dramatic act of firing or quitting?
I would say two things: familiarity breeds contempt and contractual stipulations. Being in a band under that kind of pressure really leads musicians to hate each other, because you're stuck together around the clock under some boring, grueling conditions. The other thing is back then bands were contracted to do an album a year and tour, which makes it hard to write good songs. There are all other kinds of legal and contractual witchcraft that inevitably poison the well with musicians, who are usually not well-adjusted mature adults.
Maybe a bad quote, but the band bought into it. It's not just something ascribed to the band that they wanted nothing to do with.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Maybe a bad quote, but the band bought into it. It's not just something ascribed to the band that they wanted nothing to do with.
They mattered to their friends/families/fans etc. But then so do many others.
A band that matters definitely. But "The Only" no way.
They marketed themselves as the only band that matters. When you do that, I think you're giving the impression you're trying to be more than just another band trying to make the charts.
It's weird you're denying this.
Addendum: you're not denying it, were just having different conversations
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
