The CLASH - Albums Rated and Top 25 Songs

        

The Clash produced three outstanding, innovative albums in my opinion.

Their debut Clash record was like a cannon firing into the punk wilderness heralding their arrival on the scene.  Brass, angry and political, it would help elevate them as the 'Only Band that Matters'.

After a similarly sounding second LP, it was the break-through masterpiece London Calling that entrenched their standing in rock history. Released in the last months of 1979 but receiving airplay in early 1980, this diverse album ushered in the wide musical influences affecting the band at the time. Elements of jazz, reggae, rockabilly, R&B and ska blended incredibly well with the punk setting. Revolution rock with no boundaries!

How to follow-up a masterpiece?  By venturing into deeper musical soundscapes! Sandinista continued on the Clash's political theme, with some stand out songs, but the music was so experimental (and over three records) that it was easy to see why this record was reviled. Fans and critics were were confused and upset! The music was meandering and intoxicating at the same time, adding rap, dub, soul, gospel and choir to their expanding world music repertoire according to Joe Strummer's tastes in particular.  Today it sounds so fresh and relevant.  Musical genius decades ahead of its time.

Albums

London Calling            5          (7 songs)

Clash                           5          (4 songs)

Sandinista                   4.5       (4 songs)

Give ‘em Enough Rope  4      (3 songs)

Combat Rock             3.5       (3 songs)

Black Market Clash    3.5       (3 songs)

Cut the Crap.              1.5       (1 song)

Top 25 Songs

1. Clampdown
2. Guns of Brixton
3. White Riot
4. I Fought the Law
5. London Calling
6. Brand New Cadillac
7. Police on my Back
8. Magnificent Seven
9. Lost in the Supermarket
10. Should I Stay or Should I Go
11. Rock the Casbah
12. Train in Vain
13. Charlie Don't Surf
14. Stay Free
15. Bank Robber
16. Police + Thieves
17. Pressure Drop
18. This is Radio Clash
19. Straight to Hell
20. This is England
21. Career Opportunities
22. Safe European Home
23. Somebody Got Murdered
24. Tommy Gun
25. The Call Up

WINNER - Battle of the New Wave Bands

Drum Roll please .....  and the Winner of the New Wave Bands contest ..... by the closest of margins...... is THE CLASH!

The outcome was always in doubt and not determined until the final vote was cast.

Two distinct camps were forged throughout the contest, the synth-goth-emo crowd up against diehard punk rockers.  Depeche Mode, New Order, Cure and Smiths crowd vs. the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash and Undertones fanatics.  Kinda like Disco vs. Rock in the 70s.

New Wave music is a vibrant diversified genre, and in light of the narrow victory, I am comfortable recognizing the Finalists as Winners in distinct sub-genres as follows:

The CLASH - Winner in Punk Rock category
The CURE   - Winner in Goth Pop category

Thanks goes out to all the loyal fans of New Wave music who cast votes in every Round!  Without your regular participation this contest would not have been possible!!


P.S.  I am currently ON VACATION but will amend this post with additional materials on the Clash upon my return, i.e. Ranking of their albums and Top 25 Clash songs.

Battle of New Wave Bands - Finalists (Round 5)

The final championship match-up has been confirmed!  The voting was equally split until the very end!!

The two Final Bands standing are:

The Cure (58%)                                   vs.                           The Clash (58%)




The Cure Studio albums

 (courtesy Wikipedia)

• Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
• Seventeen Seconds (1980)
• Faith (1981)
• Pornography (1982)
• The Top (1984)
• The Head on the Door (1985)
• Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
• Disintegration (1989)
• Wish (1992)
• Wild Mood Swings (1996)
• Bloodflowers (2000)
• The Cure (2004)
• 4:13 Dream (2008)

The Clash Studio albums

 (courtesy Wikipedia)

• The Clash (1977)
• Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)
• London Calling (1979)
• Sandinista! (1980)
• Combat Rock (1982)
• Cut the Crap (1985)

Simply select the ONE band that is best representative of the New Wave genre and ethos.


Deadline:    Friday April 25th 5pm EST.

Thanks for your ongoing participation throughout the Battle of the Bands!

Make this Final Vote Count.  I suspect a Winner will not be evident until the final submission!

Battle of the New Wave Bands - Final Four (Round 4)

The Final Four have been determined!!!

After a tight even split of votes in the early going, clear favorites emerged in the end.  Below are the winners (and margin of victory) of the four brackets, and the Final Four match-ups:

    

              

A)  The Cure  (64%)              vs.               D)  Talking Heads  (73%)

   

B) The Smiths  (55%)             vs.               C)  The Clash  (64%)

The Final Four are all giants that left an indelible imprint during their heyday:

A)  The Cure debuted in 1976 and Robert Smith created a series of dark, brooding records that planted the seed for goth rock.  Top LP's included Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Head on the Door (1985) and Disintegration (1989).  Controversial song 'Killing an Arab' was based on Camus classic novel 'The Stranger'.

B)  The Smiths were another brooding, melancholy UK band that featured Morrissey, a celibate ironic crooner and Johnny Marr, guitarist extraordinaire.  Formed in 1982 the band released five albums before disbanding in 1987, with high-points being 'Queen is Dead' LP and the haunting 'How Soon is Now' single.

C) The Clash were formed ironically after Joe Strummer saw the Sex Pistols in concert during 1976, but quickly became the definitive UK punk band.  Hard rocking, passionate with a leftist political ideology, their motto was 'the only band that matters'.  Musically the Clash evolved to explore dub reggae, rockabilly and soul/blues in their pinnacle 'London Calling' 2-LP record.  'Clampdown' and 'Guns of Brixton' still resonate.

D) Talking Heads got it's start early opening for the Ramones in the seminal CBGB punk club.  David Byrne came from the art school New York scene, and brought theatrical intellectual edge to the band.  And music that morphed from punk pop to a funk/R&B unique rhythmic hybrid.  Ten LPs were released over a 12 year career, with the first four essential listening.  'Pyscho Killer' and 'Life During Wartime' are personal favorites.


Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections.  

DEADLINE for Votes:  Friday, April 18th 10 pm.  

Battle of the New Wave Bands - Elite 8 (Round 3)

We are now down to the remaining Elite 8 bands, all influential in their own right.  Several were near-unanimous selections, namely the Cure, Police, Clash and New Order.  Depeche Mode came soooo close to upending the Ramones, but the last vote cast decided the winner!

Now for Round 3, the selections become that much more difficult but the actual voting process is simple: select one winner for each of the four brackets, ie

A)  Cure vs Police

B)  Ramones vs. Smiths

C)  Clash vs. New Order

D)  Sex Pistols vs. Talking Heads

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections.  As a reminder, when voting take into account the Band's legacy to the New Wave genre and their entire body of work.

The winners for Round 3 will be announced in this coming weekend, so DEADLINE is Friday April 11th, 10 pm EST. 

GOOD LUCK and MAKE YOUR VOTES COUNT!

A) El Mocambo			B) CBGB
1. English Beat	4. Cure (91%)		1. Ramones
4. Cure		1. Ramones (55%)	4. Depeche Mode
2. Blondie	3. Police (82%)		2. Smiths
3. Police		2. Smiths (64%)	3. Joe Jackson
D) 100 Club			C) Roxy
1. Sex Pistols	1. Sex Pistols (73%)		1. Clash
5. Duran Duran		1. Clash (91%)	5. Pretenders
2. Elvis Costello	3. Talking Heads (64%)		2. New Order
3. Talking Heads		2. New Order (91%)	6. Undertones

Battle Of The New Wave Bands - Sweet Sixteen (Round 2)

The results for Battle New Wave Bands (Round 1) have been tallied and 32 core acts have been reduced to 16 worthy of consideration for little of Most Popular New Wave Band as selected by your Votes.

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections, ie A) 1, 3   B) 1, 2  etc......

As a reminder, when voting take into account the Artist/Band's legacy to the New Wave genre and their entire body of work.

The winners for Round 2 will be announced in one weeks time, so DEADLINE is Sunday April 6th, 6 pm EST.   Good Luck and make your VOTES Count!

A) El Mocambo			B) CBGB
1. English Beat	A Winner 1 vs 4		1. Ramones
4. Cure		B Winner 1 vs 4	4. Depeche Mode
2. Blondie	A Winner 2 vs 3		2. Smiths
3. Police		B Winner 2 vs 3	3. Joe Jackson
D) 100 Club			C) Roxy
1. Sex Pistols	D Winner 1 vs 5		1. Clash
5. Duran Duran		C Winner 1 vs 5	5. Pretenders
2. Elvis Costello	D winner 2 vs 3		2. New Order
3. Talking Heads		C Winner 2 vs 6	6. Undertones

Battle of New Wave Bands - Round 1 Results

The Votes are cast, and the winners of Battle of New Wave Bands Round 1 are tabulated below.

In the end, a baker's dozen UK bands advanced as well as three seminal New York acts that received their first breaks at CBGBs.

With early returns it appeared that Devo, Gary Numan, Billy Idol and Talk Talk were poised to upset their much higher seeded opponents.  However the heavy final Sunday selections pushed them all out of contention.

Nonetheless, #6 Undertones advanced and #5 seeds Pretenders and Duran Duran won handily.  The only unanimous choice was the Sex Pistols (perhaps due to relatively unknown Toronto punk opponent, the Diodes) with Police and Clash nearly perfect.  However the match-ups in the 'Sweet Sixteen' Round 2 will been increasingly more difficult.  Good Luck to all remaining New Wave Bands!!!

A) El Mocambo			B) CBGB
1. English Beat	1.English Beat (64%)		1. Ramones
8. Devo		1. Ramones (86%)	8. Jam
4. Cure	4. Cure (64%)		4. Depeche Mode
5. Eurthymics		4. Depeche Mode (86%)	5. Madness
2. Blondie	2. Blondie (71%)		2. Smiths
7. B-52s		2. Smiths (64%)	7. Simple Minds
3. Police	3. Police (93%)		3. Joe Jackson
6. Human League		3. Joe Jackson (64%)	6. Gary Numan
D) 100 Club			C) Roxy
1. Sex Pistols	1. Sex Pistols (100%)		1. Clash
8. Diodes		1. Clash (93%)	8. Boomtown Rats
4. Cars	5. Duran Duran (71%)		4. Kraftwerk
5. Duran Duran		5. Pretenders (71%)	5. Pretenders
2. Elvis Costello	2. Elvis Costello (57%)		2. New Order
7. Talk Talk		2. New Order (64%)	7. Billy Idol
3. Talking Heads	3. Talking Heads (71%)		3. Specials
6. Joy Division		6. Undertones (64%)	6. Undertones

Battle of New Wave Bands (VOTING DEADLINE: Sunday March 30th 5pm EST)

Borrowing a page from the NCAA College Basketball 'March Madness' tournament, I have created a Battle of New Wave bands (punk, synth, power pop, ska) ranked bracket of 32 artists/bands grouped into four 'concert venue' categories.

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections, ie A) 1, 4, 3, 2  B) etc...

When voting take into account the Artist/Band's impact to the New Wave genre and entire body of work.

The winners for each round will be announced in a few weeks after enough votes are collected.  Then the voting continues..... until ONE Champion New Wave Artist/Band is Selected by Popular Vote.

Good Luck and keep the Votes coming in!

A) El Mocambo			B) CBGB
1. English Beat	A Winner 1 vs. 8		1. Ramones
8. Devo		B Winner 1 vs. 8	8. Jam
4. Cure	A Winner 4 vs. 5		4. Depeche Mode
5. Eurythmics		B Winner 4 vs. 5	5. Madness
2. Blondie	A Winner 2 vs. 7		2. Smiths
7. B-52s		B Winner 2 vs. 7	7. Simple Minds
3. Police	A Winner 3 vs. 6		3. Joe Jackson
6. Human League		B Winner 3 vs. 6	6. Gary Numan
D) 100 Club			C) Roxy
1. Sex Pistols	D Winner 1 vs. 8		1. Clash
8. Diodes		C Winner 1 vs. 8	8. Boomtown Rats
4. Cars	D Winner 4 vs. 5		4. Kraftwerk
5. Duran Duran		C Winner 4 vs. 5	5. Pretenders
2. Elvis Costello	D Winner 2 vs. 7		2. New Order
7. Talk Talk		C Winner 2 vs. 7	7. Billy Idol
3. Talking Heads	D Winner 3 vs. 6		3. Specials
6. Joy Division		C Winner 3 vs. 6	6. Undertones