What really killed the Clash

[IkarisOne]

This is actually quite timely and apropos- Tegan and Sara's rationalizations sound just like the kinds of things Joe and Mick bandied about in their interviews.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/video ... t-20130413

[Tim Bucknall]

Surely its all Bernies fault, obviously Joe takes some blame for believing Bernies bullshit

[Marky Dread]

The lack of a Dr. Pepper advert killed The Clash. I mean come on what's the worst that could've happened.

[muppet hi fi]

The lack of a Dr. Pepper advert killed The Clash. I mean come on what's the worst that could've happened.

A whole lot more people would've known about them and bought their records and made em money and they might have stayed together and...that would all be horrible. Doesn't fit the narrative at all.

[weller259]

Well to me, the Clash ran their course and their time together ended a bit prematurely (in my opinion it was prematurely) but the music they left us will live forever. What more could anyone ask for really? The greatest "band" of all time, the most prolific, influential and successful "band" ever, the Beatles, only recorded together for 6 years. The Clash was what, 5 years, 6? Most "bands" don't last very long. Back then, bands didn't take sabbaticals like say the Stones do, if the Clash had time off, out of the pressure cooker that was "band life", who knows what would have happened/what they would have evolved to. For me, they did what they did, gave the world as much as they could at that time, and rather than lament the fact that they split apart for whatever reason(s), I celebrate what they did give us and the music and memories they left behind. Yes, I liked Joe's post-Clash work, and I really love Big Audio, and while I would have loved for the Clash to keep making records and touring, life is all about change. How people react to the constant change is what everyone's ultimate challenge is. I am grateful they did what they did, i'm grateful that I witnessed it and lived through it, i'm grateful for all the memories they gave me and i'm grateful their influence and music lives on.

I'm glad that the Clash allowed their music to grow, evolving with each record, changing yet still having the underlying core that knew where they had been before and desiring to go somewhere new. They easily could have taken the "Groundhog Day" route and kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but they didn't, they kept challenging themselves and their "fans" and to me, that is something that all influential artists do, they are not content staying in one place.

[Chairman Ralph]

I'm glad that the Clash allowed their music to grow, evolving with each record, changing yet still having the underlying core that knew where they had been before and desiring to go somewhere new. They easily could have taken the "Groundhog Day" route and kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but they didn't, they kept challenging themselves and their "fans" and to me, that is something that all influential artists do, they are not content staying in one place.

Hear, hear! I was going to say something along those lines, but you took the words right out of my mouth. I don't see the point of lamenting what might have been -- as Lennon said, you've got all the old records if you want to reminisce.

[muppet hi fi]

I'm glad that the Clash allowed their music to grow, evolving with each record, changing yet still having the underlying core that knew where they had been before and desiring to go somewhere new. They easily could have taken the "Groundhog Day" route and kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but they didn't, they kept challenging themselves and their "fans" and to me, that is something that all influential artists do, they are not content staying in one place.

Hear, hear! I was going to say something along those lines, but you took the words right out of my mouth. I don't see the point of lamenting what might have been -- as Lennon said, you've got all the old records if you want to reminisce.

Yep. Was gonna comment on Weller259's point about taking time off ala the Stones. Might have made a world of difference, saved the band(all members, including Topper); and my impression that the Clash could have aged gracefully, with the dignity the individual members have shown, and let the music "grow up" with them as time marched on.
I love nearly all their solo works, but what IF they had been able to keep it together as a small unit combo? (another thread perhaps).

[Chairman Ralph]

I'm glad that the Clash allowed their music to grow, evolving with each record, changing yet still having the underlying core that knew where they had been before and desiring to go somewhere new. They easily could have taken the "Groundhog Day" route and kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but they didn't, they kept challenging themselves and their "fans" and to me, that is something that all influential artists do, they are not content staying in one place.

Hear, hear! I was going to say something along those lines, but you took the words right out of my mouth. I don't see the point of lamenting what might have been -- as Lennon said, you've got all the old records if you want to reminisce

Yep. Was gonna comment on Weller259's point about taking time off ala the Stones. Might have made a world of difference, saved the band(all members, including Topper); and my impression that the Clash could have aged gracefully, with the dignity the individual members have shown, and let the music "grow up" with them as time marched on.

I love nearly all their solo works, but what IF they had been able to keep it together as a small unit combo? (another thread perhaps).

Funnily enough, I was interviewing Jason Newsted yesterday, and he said exactly the same thing -- that, in many ways, his cohorts in Metallica made a similar mistake by not taking any time off when he came into the band.

It seems to be an endemic thing, I guess, once you get to those heights -- but, at any rate, I do agree that if the Clash had taken some time off, it's possible to imagine the band still being together (in some fashion), even today.

Of course, it's an old, old problem, and hardly unique to the Clash -- I seem to recall hearing from Ken Burns's jazz special that 700-mile drives were not unusual for the big bands...what was that about the devil pushing 'em out on a pitchfork again?

[IkarisOne]

I'm glad that the Clash allowed their music to grow, evolving with each record, changing yet still having the underlying core that knew where they had been before and desiring to go somewhere new. They easily could have taken the "Groundhog Day" route and kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but they didn't, they kept challenging themselves and their "fans" and to me, that is something that all influential artists do, they are not content staying in one place.

Hear, hear! I was going to say something along those lines, but you took the words right out of my mouth. I don't see the point of lamenting what might have been -- as Lennon said, you've got all the old records if you want to reminisce

Yep. Was gonna comment on Weller259's point about taking time off ala the Stones. Might have made a world of difference, saved the band(all members, including Topper); and my impression that the Clash could have aged gracefully, with the dignity the individual members have shown, and let the music "grow up" with them as time marched on.

I love nearly all their solo works, but what IF they had been able to keep it together as a small unit combo? (another thread perhaps).

Funnily enough, I was interviewing Jason Newsted yesterday, and he said exactly the same thing -- that, in many ways, his cohorts in Metallica made a similar mistake by not taking any time off when he came into the band.

It seems to be an endemic thing, I guess, once you get to those heights -- but, at any rate, I do agree that if the Clash had taken some time off, it's possible to imagine the band still being together (in some fashion), even today.

Of course, it's an old, old problem, and hardly unique to the Clash -- I seem to recall hearing from Ken Burns's jazz special that 700-mile drives were not unusual for the big bands...what was that about the devil pushing 'em out on a pitchfork again?

How much time did they need? They were on vacation from the Jamaica gig to the US Fest rehearsals and then again after that. The only thing they did was do Joe's home movie and work on demos. Compared to a lot of bands the Clash were not particularly overworked. 1982 was the only year they toured as hard as bands like The Police or your average metal band.

[Silent Majority]

You do have to give it to the Minutemen, Husker Du, and Black Flag, in terms of time in the fucken van. Strummer may have enjoyed a life like that - even if it would have driven him barmy - but Paul, Topper, and Mick weren't about to criss cross a country like an Our Band Can Change Your Life group.