"POLICE ON MY BACK" THE CLASH (1980)

For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

From the late seventies into the early eighties, three bands made some noise as disruptors. They achieved this distinction by experimenting with various genres, never content to stay within a single genre. They are Talking Heads, The Police and The Clash. With the latter, we heard a cross-section of different sounds and styles on the band’s previous release, London Calling. Sandinista ended up being a far greater melting pot, using a triple LP format to experiment with funk, reggae, disco, rockabilly, folk, rhythm & blues, among others. This experimental rigor on songs like “Police On My Back” is what makes The Clash a fun band to listen to.

The song was written by Eddy Grant, who showed us how it take it higher with “Electric Avenue”. While The Clash often dabbles in bigger socio-political commentary, these lyrics felt more deeply personal – and still seem like quintessential Clash. The song smacks of rebellion, recklessness and abandon. The chorus is iconic, but my favorite part is still the guitar riff that mimics a police car siren.

“I been running Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

'LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET" THE CLASH (1979)

This month, I’m jumping into the #APlaceInTheSong challenge from @JukeboxJohnny2. Great songs have that special ability to describe places in a way that makes us feel like we’re right there. Each day, I’ll pick a track that I think accomplishes that feat.

Many of the most legendary recordings in music got their legendary status from the strength of their cohesive sound. The ability to make the whole and the individual parts work equally well is no easy feat. Well, that isn’t London Calling. As legendary as it is, the album veers into various rabbit holes, exploring multiple sounds and genres. It’s a true mish-mosh. It’s exceptional, but it’s still a mish-mosh. Eight tracks in, we come up on a song that doesn’t even sound anything like The Clash. It’s the beautifully addictive “Lost in the Supermarket”.

What’s going on here? Is that a disco rhythm we hear? This isn’t the anti-establishment, Brit punk outfit we know and love. Instead, “Lost in the Supermarket” showcases a band that’s going beyond its comfort zone, stretching itself musically. My favorite track off London Calling, Track 8 is a wry commentary on suburban alienation. The lyrics and the way that they are sung are unforgettable. It may not sound anything like a punk rock song, but therein lies its punk rock essence. The refusal to simply follow suit.

“I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for that special offer. A guaranteed personality.”

"LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET" THE CLASH (1979)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #31DaySongLyricChallenge

Day 22

Is that a disco rhythm we hear? This isn’t the anti-establishment, Brit punk outfit we know and love. On “Lost in the Supermarket”, The Clash went far beyond its comfort zone, stretching itself musically. My favorite track off London Calling, Track 8 is a wry commentary on suburban alienation. The lyrics and the way in which they are sung are unforgettable. It may not sound anything like a punk rock song, but therein lies its punk rock essence. The refusal to simply follow suit.

“I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for that special offer. A guaranteed personality.”

"LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET" THE CLASH (1979)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Many of the most legendary recordings in music got their legendary status from the strength of their cohesive sound. The ability to make the whole and the individual parts work equally well is no easy feat. Well, that isn’t London Calling. As legendary as it is, the album veers into various rabbit holes, exploring multiple sounds and genres. It’s a true mish-mosh. It’s exceptional, but it’s still a mish-mosh. Eight tracks in, we come up on a song that doesn’t even sound anything like The Clash. It’s the beautifully addictive “Lost in the Supermarket”.

What’s going on here? Is that a disco rhythm we hear? This isn’t the anti-establishment, Brit punk outfit we know and love. Instead, “Lost in the Supermarket” showcases a band that’s going beyond its comfort zone, stretching itself musically. My favorite track off London Calling, Track 8 is a wry commentary on suburban alienation. The lyrics and the way that they are sung are unforgettable. It may not sound anything like a punk rock song, but therein lies its punk rock essence. The refusal to simply follow suit.

“I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for that special offer. A guaranteed personality.”

"ROCK THE CASBAH" THE CLASH (1982)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Growing up, I remember seeing the “Rock the Casbah” video air incessantly on MTV. I didn’t fully appreciate The Clash sound back then. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, but I couldn’t pull myself away from the video. The song’s story went over this elementary school kid’s head. Looking back, I wonder if I was listening to it over and over again to try to understand what the hell Strummer was singing about. Maybe I really liked the unusual word “casbah”. Or maybe I just dug the melody.

Years later, I understood “Rock the Casbah” as a narrative about an Arab king trying to ban rock music among his population. But the people rebelled and played the music even louder. At its root, it seems the song was the essence of punk: hard-edged, anti-establishment. But in true Clash fashion, they opted against a stripped-down sound, adding an iconic piano jam, a variety of percussion sounds and synth samples. “Rock the Casbah” was just one more prime example of a band willing to push punk rock further ahead.

"POLICE ON MY BACK" THE CLASH (1980)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

A year after recording the legendary double album London Calling, The Clash chose not to rest on their laurels. Instead they came back right away with the triple album Sandinista! It probably could’ve been tighter and a lot leaner, but you can’t fault The Clash for their ambition and creativity in pushing their brand of punk into even more genres. “The Magnificent Seven” was the indisputable banner track and it’s still one of my all-time favorite Clash songs, but “Police on My Back” isn’t far behind.

This cover classic showed The Clash could put serious social issues out there, but do it with a sense of humor. The opening guitar riff doubles as a police car siren and the rebellion-fueled chorus once again feels like it always belonged to The Clash, not to the original songwriters. “Police on My Back” proved that, more often than not, it was The Clash that influenced the rest of the music world, not the other way around.

“I been running Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

"CLAMPDOWN" THE CLASH (1979)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

The fact that London Calling is universally hailed as one of the greatest rock albums of all time is a well-known fact. But what may not be as obvious is why. What the casual fan may miss is that this was not just a record by a punk rock band transitioning to new sounds. This was an album that helped build new genres from the ground up. Some say it was the first post-punk album, many describe it as a seminal new wave LP. And about halfway through it, “Clampdown” laid down the gauntlet.

In many ways, “Clampdown” sounds like the antithesis of punk rock. There’s still that Clash grit, but with it comes an unusual finesse and instrumental nuance. It’s not just an incredibly catchy song, it’s a foreshadowing of the new wave invasion. It’s an introduction to the early sounds and sensibilities of the genre with eerie resemblances to Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. What “Clampdown” made clear was that The Clash actually never lost their punk roots. Instead they brought their punk agenda to the masses.

“The men at the factory are old and cunning. You don't owe nothing, so boy, get running. It's the best years of your life they want to steal.”

"I FOUGHT THE LAW" THE CLASH (1979)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

“The only band that matters”, The Clash were musical pioneers in every sense of the expression. They inspired. They led. They explored existing genres like ska and reggae, and paved the way for new ones like post-punk and new wave. They were fiercely political. And they simply rocked — whether they were penning originals or reinventing other people’s songs like “I Fought the Law”.

One of the marks of a great cover song is a band’s ability to reset a song as if it was their very own. That’s the one similarity among all the great ones, from Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” to Cash’s “Hurt”. “I Fought the Law” is the same. You think of it as a Clash song first and foremost, and it’s how most music fans will always remember the song. On it, they proved punk didn’t have to be basic, merging riffs from Strummer and Mick Jones to create something far more than just noise and rebellion.

“I fought the law and the law won.”

"LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET" THE CLASH (1979)

About halfway through London Calling, we come up on a song that doesn’t sound anything like The Clash. What’s going on here? Is that a disco rhythm I hear? This isn’t the anti-establishment, Brit punk outfit we know and love. Instead, “Lost in the Supermarket” showcases a band that’s going beyond its comfort zone, stretching itself musically. It’s a wry commentary on suburban alienation. The lyrics and the way that they are sung are unforgettable.

“I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for that special offer. A guaranteed personality.”