What's your favourite Clash song?

[phantom_power]

The first one that came to mind was Spanish Bombs but there are loads that could take its place on any given day.

[SpiderChrist]

The bit in the live version of Complete Control (From Here To Eternity) where Strummer just yells WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Another shout for White Man. Also always had a soft spot for The Card Cheat.

[mrClaypole]

I love Bankrobber especially Joe Strummers  mescaleros version where he would freeform the lyrics for about 5 minutes.
Straight to hell is always a favourite.  I used to love hearing that at Pogues gigs just before they walked on.

[Head Gardener]

Complete Control

[itsfredtitmus]

Punk Is Dead, Tired, White Punks on Hope, Rotten to the Core

[willbo]

complete control, i like the the lead guitar notes at the end

[sevendaughters]

Complete Control is a great bit of 3 minute rock but the inside baseball lyrics are a bit jean clad dad.

[Johnboy]

Sean Flynn
Charlie Don't Surf
Deny

....so many

[Pancake]

The Card Cheat, it's like a punk Spanish Train

[Old Thrashbarg]

I'd also go for Complete Control, though it's never been quite the same for me since a correspondent name Darrell Tomlin on Danny Baker's All Day Breakfast Show wondered why it was claimed that he was speaking: https://youtu.be/KHtTkKNAbWQ?t=124

[poodlefaker]

The trouble with Complete Control is that you can't hear Lee Perry's contribution, so it feels like a bit of a vanity project getting him to produce it.

[itsfredtitmus]

fucking its fred titmus

[SpiderChrist]

The trouble with Complete Control is that you can't hear Lee Perry's contribution, so it feels like a bit of a vanity project getting him to produce it.

Don't understand this comment at all.

[the ouch cube]

Lost In The Supermarket

Seems to capture a particular sort of bleakness about living in London or the southeast in general. I'm from Newcastle, and I've twice tried living down there, and there's something very difficult to take about the place. I don't mean living costs, and I don't mean some professional northerner rubbish about how "no one says good morning to you", it's something else, harder to pin down, and it's in this song.

[poodlefaker]

Don't understand this comment at all.

What's the point of getting a producer who is known for his very distinctive and characteristic production style to produce your single if there is none of that style in evidence on the final product? Other than to say "Lee Perry produced our new single".

[Pancake]

Lost In The Supermarket

Seems to capture a particular sort of bleakness about living in London or the southeast in general. I'm from Newcastle, and I've twice tried living down there, and there's something very difficult to take about the place. I don't mean living costs, and I don't mean some professional northerner rubbish about how "no one says good morning to you", it's something else, harder to pin down, and it's in this song.

I know it too, I just can't vocalise it. Weirdly I quite liked that feeling.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

The "I don't trust you..." bit of Complete Control couldn't have been produced by anyone else but Perry. There's other Clash songs where they try to do something like that again but never quite pulled it off.

[SpiderChrist]

The "I don't trust you..." bit of Complete Control couldn't have been produced by anyone else but Perry. There's other Clash songs where they try to do something like that again but never quite pulled it off.

There's also the connection between punk and reggae in the early days that made The Clash want Perry as a producer. You could call it vanity, or you could call it wanting to work with one of your heroes. And is it really feasible that anybody would want to tell Scratch how to produce a record? Complete Control sounds like it does because that's how Perry wanted it to sound.

[McChesney Duntz]

Didn't the record company (ironically) reject Perry's original (supposedly more characteristic) mix?

[pigamus]

Rock the Casbah

Now the king called out his jet fighters... pew pew pew pew pewwwwwwwwwww!

[SpiderChrist]

Didn't the record company (ironically) reject Perry's original (supposedly more characteristic) mix?

From Wikipedia:

Perry's contribution to the track, however, was toned down – the band went back and fiddled with the song themselves to bring the guitars out and played down the echo Perry had dropped on it.

If this is true, then I must offer apologies to poodlefaker for my presumptuous attitude.

[Waking Life]

I know it too, I just can't vocalise it. Weirdly I quite liked that feeling.

Feels more like a transitory existence, like living in a hostel sometimes. Probably true for London in particular, where settling longer term is out of reach for most and also might be perceived to be lacking in any homely charm. Could say the same for most cities, but I get that mostly in London.

Anyway, I like Spanish Bombs, chorus and all.

[itsfredtitmus]

supermarket innit

[Seedsy]

The card cheat for me. Bloody brilliant.

London Calling is just packed full of tunes.
I actually can take or leave the title track. I actually think it doesnt suit the sound of the rest of the LP.

[Waking Life]

The problem with London Calling (the track) is its ubiquity. It was engrained in my consciousness long before I heard the album, so I feel like it's just a slightly boring intro when I listen to the album in full. I guess that's different for folk who heard it when released, but I'd agree it also doesn't have the warmer 'sound' of the rest of the album.

[markburgle]

It's the opposite for me - London Calling the song is a banger, a really distinctive, original, fantastic rock song whereas the rest of the album is a bunch of cheesy genre-hopping. Guns of Brixton and Rudie Can't Fail are the only other ones I like.

Capital Radio Two comes close to taking the "best song" crown, except they never, in either version, really worked out where to take it after the 2nd verse. Still, awesome bassline, great vocals, great song

[Kankurette]

I know it too, I just can't vocalise it. Weirdly I quite liked that feeling.

Jones just sounds so depressed.

And yeah, I'm another one who always associates Straight to Hell with the Pogues.

[mrClaypole]

https://youtu.be/27RTyF5uN_0

[mrClaypole]

https://youtu.be/dJLcrLRtT0M

[mrClaypole]

https://youtu.be/MLLg0IjZAo4