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Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-06-25 13:40:51 +0000

Oops, sorry - just found out it doesn't hit US movie screens 'til the fall. But you can read & listen to related suff at www.joestrummerthemovie.com.

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-06-25 13:41:16 +0000

I saw "Once" last night. Solid "B." Huge gigantic plot holes, and some of the songs weren't that great to hear again and again. Other than that, taut understated realistic drama.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-06-25 13:52:16 +0000

Lorbering: trailer: Stupid Bono.

Posted by tgl on 2007-06-25 15:30:57 +0000

Taut understated musical, or at least, that's what they want us to believe.

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-06-25 15:52:31 +0000

If musical means featuring a busker singing songs that really don't further the plot along, then, it's a musical all right.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-06-25 17:29:14 +0000

Here's a question I've been kicking around recently: How political were the Clash, and what, exactly, were their politics?

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-06-26 02:47:13 +0000

Well, I'm not an expert - but as per usual I have my opinion... :o) JS (as a lyricist) was heavily influenced by early folk and reggae - as y'all probably know, he went by the name "Woody" (after Woody Guthrie) for a while before the Clash came along. I reckon his lyrics generally follow in those footsteps, seeing his role (as early folk and reggae lyricists saw themselves) as a reporter of news un(der)represented in mainstream (white & western) media. JS really believed that people - informed, politically active people - could make a difference. He started out as a very aware hippie, living in a squat, busking for change to supply the squat with food, and playing squat parties to entertain his friends and housemates. I think he felt that he (as part of the Clash) was continuing that lifestyle - contributing to the collective good. The Clash saw their fans as part of their community, and their work aimed at enlightening and activating that community. What were their politics? We are all part of the global community and have an obligation to protect our fellow community members. Fight injustice everywhere you find it. (Just my two cents - hoping to see other opinions...) edited to add: Yes, they sang some love songs and played some disco. Even Billy Bragg's done that (well, apart from the disco) and he's still considered the poster boy for socialism.

Posted by ConorClockwise on 2007-06-26 03:36:39 +0000

I was in a musical at Nashua H.S.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2007-06-26 07:37:21 +0000

Boom!

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-06-26 11:59:31 +0000

A+ response.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-06-26 14:37:35 +0000

Je suis l'animal de compagnie du professeur punk. Fantastique!

Posted by jbcardinale on 2007-06-26 18:19:39 +0000

Having witnessed The Clash on their first 3 US tours, I want to go on record as saying Joe Strummer was the most intense and riveting live performer I've ever seen. And no band has kicked ass as The Clash did on their first two US tours. After reading the definitive biography of The Clash I learned more about the dichotomy that existed between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. As talked about in Pamsterdam's post, Joe tried to stay more "salt of the earth" while Mick was more "rock star" with his upscale flat and lifestyle. But unless you were there, how can you say who contributed more to "Police and Thieves", "All The Young Punks", "Spanish Bombs", "Charlie Don't Surf", and "Straight To Hell". I'm fairly sure we know that Paul Simonon inspired "Guns of Brixton", a song that describes a situation that is not inherently political, but because of the ideas it poses to the listener, the song is political. (sidenote: I still get amused when they lead into the next inning on Red Sox radio with "Lost In The Supermarket") For years I would replay in my head the line from "Spanish Bombs" (which is pretty poppy) 'Federico Lorca is dead and gone' I eventually picked up a biography of Frederico Garcia Lorca. Since Lorca was assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, it piqued my curiosity about a period of history which I only knew of from a macro view (never having read "For Whom The Bell Tolls"). Is "Spanish Bombs" a political song? I imagine that it depends on what your definition is of what makes music "political". I find the idea of politics in music to be a large gray area. On the other hand I admire Woody Guthrie who inscribed on his guitar, "This machine fights fascism". Epoisses: Good essay question

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-06-27 01:20:39 +0000

I'll stash it for later.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-11-03 05:35:49 +0000

It's now being released over there, y'all. The first US review I've seen.

Posted by virtue on 2007-11-05 12:51:17 +0000

I agree that politics in music(art) can be a gray area, especially with collaborative productions, but the Spanish Civil War is itself so politicized that I think any reference to it is necessarily political, especially in the Clash's case, who I do think of as being political, even if it was more JS than anybody else. I always thought that about them--I don't know if it was just the ska/reggae connotations and my young impressionable mind that fit the clash into the whole rudeboy/sharp/ara spectrum, but it was definitely part of thier appeal for me. Unlike pamsterdam, I never really had sexual fixations on musicians, and I don't think I'd recognize most of the musicians that I like best if I ran them over in the street. But I'm a sucker for a lefty message with a good downbeat. The Jones/Strummer dichotomy makes me thing of something Wayne Kramer (I think) says in True Testimonial--something about how the politics was mostly him and Fred Smith, and the rhythm section was just along for the ride, but I think most people still consider them to be political.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-11-05 12:57:44 +0000

"Romantic fixation" might make me sound a bit less ridiculous... ...and it might not.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-11-09 07:36:49 +0000

I'm going to see this at Coolidge Corner @ 4:30 pm on Sunday. Anyone else wanna come along?

Posted by jbcardinale on 2007-11-09 15:00:26 +0000

I hope I can meet you there...

Posted by cdubrocker on 2007-11-09 15:52:02 +0000

Same here.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-11-09 17:27:01 +0000

We'll get some Zaftigs afterwards.

Posted by tommy on 2007-11-09 18:02:41 +0000

M's mom is in town this weekend. Depending on airport dropoff times, I might be able to make it... won't be sure until then. I'll look for you if I can get there.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-11-12 02:58:46 +0000

So: Julian Temple takes a lot of chances in his films -- 'Filth And The Fury' was largely successful because of his whole Shakespeare theme. There were a few recurring threads in 'Future' -- his repeated usage of Orwellian imagery (both in the guise of the 'Animal Farm' cartoon and '1984') worked well with the dystopian vision that the Clash were singing about. The visual campfire theme is a nice try -- pretty much everyone who talks about the Clash is lit like they're sitting around one (save for Scorcese and some insufferable Irish asshole). The motif is meant to illuminate (sorry) Strummer's post-Clash/self-imposed exile revelation at Glastonbury that punks and hippies should be united/there are people who he had a lot in common with. Thing is, the film assumes that everyone seeing it knows who all of the speakers are without visually crediting them -- I mean, yeah, some of them are pretty obvious, but the chronology gets muddled and a lot of names are thrown out in rapid succession. Major pacing problems, too -- a lot of filler; a lot of bits that needed more elucidation. Certainly a nice addition to the pantheon, but nowhere near as definative as it coulda been.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-11-13 00:02:15 +0000

L: 'Sandanista!' isn't as bad as I thought.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-11-13 05:37:33 +0000

I guess I saw this film as intentionally flying in the face of a lot of biopic conventions, which I liked. I don't believe that, as Epoisses says, "the film assumes that everyone seeing it knows who all of the speakers are without visually crediting them". The result of the lack of credits, at least in the London art theater where I saw it, was that fellow viewers would stage-whisper names of potentially unfamiliar faces to their date/friend/seatmate (a stage-whisper which those of us straining for a clue would hear), and I could actually hear people around me saying (very quietly) "Oh, yeah." That camaraderie was part of the fun for me - like going to see a really great band that isn't as well-known as it should be. And an extension of the campfire theme, I thought. Also, I think the campfire theme was very important in Temple's pre-emptive countering of those who would deem Strummer's post-Clash life as not important enough to devote time to in this film. It pulled together Strummer's squat-dwelling hippie days and his post-Clash Glastonbury days. Sure, I wondered up until the end, WTF (cue crazed cat-face). But when the explanation came, I found it very satisfying. As I said before, I was predisposed to love this film. So, y'know, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Fans are notoriously forgiving. Or not.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-11-13 08:19:48 +0000

I understand what yr. saying re: the campfire motif, but it was a little scattered -- there were times when it felt like Temple counldn't decide whather the radio station was the theme (or whether it was the dystopia the recurring Orwellian imagery alluded to). I might've felt different if I had seen it in a London art theater, sure. The fact of the matter is, though, is a) I didn't, and got lost even though I know my shit, and b) the film is going straight to DVD. It's cool if Temple is assuming that everyone seeing the film will be in a community atmosphere, but it's naive, too.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-11-13 10:09:43 +0000

Fair points.

Posted by jbcardinale on 2007-11-13 15:28:04 +0000

I don't want to quibble what may be weaknesses in the film . I especially liked the early concert footage and the scene where they are letting fans into the back stage through a window. Definitely worth checking on DVD. I'm still puzzled about the bit with Martin Scorcese saying that Raging Bull was inspired by The Clash, he didn't really explain it at all. Maybe they blared "White Riot" before filming the boxing scenes to get pumped.

Posted by jbcardinale on 2007-11-13 19:23:33 +0000

They use a picture of Woody Guthrie early in the film. Correction: Sticker says "This Machine Fights Fascists". Also, a part about Strummer making a Lorca pilgrimage to Granada post-Clash...

Posted by jbcardinale on 2007-11-13 19:23:36 +0000

They use a picture of Woody Guthrie early in the film. Correction: Sticker says "This Machine Fights Fascists". Also, a part about Strummer making a Lorca pilgrimage to Granada post-Clash...

Posted by ConorClockwise on 2007-11-14 06:06:06 +0000

Post x 2 = rule