Eye-opening, boundary-stretching: the legacy of The Clash
February 07, 2018
International Clash Day is Feb. 7, 2018. The day is organized by Seattle-based radio station KEXP, and is described as a day of "celebrating music as a tool for social consciousness, and a band that made it sound so damn good."
In the spirit of International Clash Day, hosts from The Current were asked to share a few thoughts on The Clash, including a favorite song (listen to the Spotify playlist, below) and what the Clash continue to signify today.
Jay Gabler
Favorite song by The Clash: "Hateful"
Why it's a favorite: It's just fun, with unstoppable momentum.
Why the Clash still matter: The Clash showed how punk music, and the punk ethos, could be incorporated into a broad musical palette.
Mac Wilson
Favorite song by The Clash: "Spanish Bombs"
Why it's a favorite: Who else could turn the Spanish Civil War into a complex, three-minute pop song??
Why the Clash still matter: It's very difficult to synthesize politics and music, and the Clash managed to do so in a thoroughly enjoyable, effective, and non-cheesy way.
Bill DeVille
Favorite song by The Clash: "London Calling"
Why it's a favorite: It's a fierce rocker and an anthem of major proportions. It's an important song that will never get old. "London Calling" still rings loud and true.
Why the Clash still matter: To me, the Clash's legacy is that they made great punk-inspired music. The also had something to say. They were social commentators, sticking up for the working class and speaking out against racism. The Clash's music also led me to other musical styles and introduced me to artists like Bobby Fuller Four, Delroy Wilson and Junior Murvin.
Jim McGuinn
Favorite song by The Clash: "Clampdown"
Why it's a favorite: "What are we gonna do now?" Growing up in early '80s suburbia, I didn't understand the world beyond my subdivision until I heard the Clash. This song made me think about politics and pop in a totally new way. Wait — we could be revolutionary? Anger could be power? Authority figures don't always have my best interests at heart? It just opened my brain to start asking questions I'd never thought about before. Still does.
Why the Clash still matter: I loved them. I wanted to be them. I loved that they were a gang, that they were a unit, that they were adventurous musically, that they respected the past, reflected the present, and fought for the future. I loved how they projected this message that anyone could do it, anyone could make rock and roll (or anything they wanted to do). At the same time, they were the best in the world at it for a minute. They were the band that moved from the punk of '77 to widen their perspectives sonically, with an appreciation of the history of rock and roll and into world music and early hip hop, and that appetite for new sound fueled my own path to discovery. It was a scene that was open to all who wanted to join — regardless of race or gender. It was aggressive but tender, clever, and funny. It was human music at a time when a lot of mainstream rock and roll was showing its worst humanity. It changed the way I viewed the world, and inherently made me a different and (I hope) better person.
Mary Lucia
Favorite song by The Clash: "Know Your Rights"
Why it's a favorite: The power of the actual song structure combined with the cynical message.
Why the Clash still matter: Joe Strummer was a poet, a hood and a shaman. Mick Jones is a pop music genius.
Mark Wheat
Favorite song by The Clash: "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais"
Why it's a favorite: Because it's a perfect example of why their legacy is so important, and it was the venue that I saw a ton of shows in back then.
Why the Clash still matter: When some punk music was more tribal and exclusionary in the late 70's, saying that us early punks could ONLY like it and nothing else, The Clash were going out to see reggae artists and they ended up introducing us to a lot of the black music influences, especially when the Clash came to America and made Sandinista!
Sean McPherson
Favorite song by The Clash: "Rock The Casbah"
Why it's a favorite: "Rock the Casbah" was the Clash I grew up with. Being born in '81 to parents who checked out of music when they had their first kid in '76, the Clash fell into this post-The Last Waltz, pre-MTV, no ears' land. So "Rock the Casbah" was an irresistible song to dance to, and it exposed me to the idea that danceable music could still be edgy and anti-conformity.
Why the Clash still matter: So many rock bands seem to either be political in their music or in their actions, but they won't fuse those two things. I have always admired the Clash for paving the way for so many important steps in a band communicating their political position. The Clash were early advocates for affordable ticket prices; they brought artists out as openers who they believed would make the night amazing, even if the Clash's fanbase disagreed (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were booed at a concert in '81). And although it seems that Dylan and Hendrix proved the same thing 15 years earlier, I always appreciated that neither of the vocalists for the Clash sounded like the priority was gymnastic vocal performances. They channeled the passion of the compositions through their natural voices, and the energy was raw. Nowadays there are rows and rows of artists who run like that, but all of them owe a debt to the Clash for putting the music and the message first.
What do the Clash mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Clash - official website
