| Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Tony Adams Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Joe has introduced this song as "about a catastrophe hitting New York City." This was written pre-9/11, but some of the imagery is eerily relevant to that day. Also, Tony Adams was a famous English footballer (soccer player) that played mostly for the club team Arsenal. (Joe was a Chelsea fan) | |
| Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Forbidden City Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| about the human rights violations of China. However, it is an optimistic song, longing for the Chinese people to make social progress. | |
| The Clash – Washington Bullets Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Gotta bring up the story of Victor Jara, because magpi1 touched on it, but the legend is a good story. As magpi1 said, he was a leftist folk singer, imprisoned in Santiago Stadium during the US-backed overthrow of Allende. He was tortured, his fingers broken, and his guitar smashed. His captors mocked him, and suggested he play a song. Jara picked up what was left of his smashed guitar with his shattered hands and fingers and played the melody of the Populist Party Anthem. It was then that the soldiers shot him. Now, keep in mind, this is the legend of Victor Jara. Probably exaggerated and embellished over the years, not necessarily completely true. Regardless, it is a great story, and Jara was a great artist and a powerful voice of the oppressed. | |
| The Clash – Rock the Casbah Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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To clear up a few things: 1. Topper wrote the riff. Joe the lyrics. 2. A casbah is a section (the citadel) of MANY middle eastern cities. Not just in Algiers. Just like many western cities have a downtown, an arts district, etc., many Mideast cities have a casbah. (In fact this song is loosely based on something that happened in Iran) 3. This song was the first song played on armed forces radio during Desert Storm (something that made Joe Strummer furious). He obviously opposed everything that the US invasion stood for. Need proof? Listen to songs like 'The Call Up', 'Clampdown', and 'Washington Bullets'. 4. I'm not even going to waste my time discussing whether the Clash "sold out." Stop playing 'punk rock police' and get a life. The scene doesn't need you. |
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