[a fool in paradise]

When push came to shove, Joe Strummer would back down on the political rhetoric. Read Lester Bangs’ lengthy roadtrip interviews with them. Joe wasn’t a debater. And he faked lower class background “roots” for cred.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

“When push came to shove, Joe Strummer would back down on the political rhetoric. Read Lester Bangs’ lengthy roadtrip interviews with them. Joe wasn’t a debater. And he faked lower class background “roots” for cred.”

Apparently the Clash rather enjoyed the trappings of rock stardom too. Don’t recall if it was Bangs or not, but I remember reading about one writer for Rolling Stone getting dressed down by the Clash for showing up in a taxi to pick them up at the airport.

Still, they were a damn good band. Arguably the best to come out of the early British punk scene.

[Caramelgal]

When push came to shove, Joe Strummer would back down on the political rhetoric. Read Lester Bangs’ lengthy roadtrip interviews with them. Joe wasn’t a debater. And he faked lower class background “roots” for cred.

Ah, Lester Bangs. I used to read Creem and Rolling Stone back in the day (mid to late 70’s). Funny, I just re-watched the movie “Almost Famous” the other day – Lester Bangs is very well portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

I liked the Clash but if you want to talk about punk - The Ramones, IMO where the real deal.

Although he had his own demons and wasn’t exactly a nice guy per se, Johnny Ramone was a Republican who thanked the band's fans and blessed George W. Bush and his presidency at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – LOL! Joey Ramone, on the other hand was his political and personal polar opposite.

There is a very good documentary about the Ramones – “End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones” that has been running on cable recently. It not only covers and has lots of good footage and interviews with the Ramones, but also documents a lot of history of CBGB’s and bands with punk roots that performed there like Blondie, The Talking Heads and Patti Smith and an interview with Joe Strummer where he credits the Ramones as being a strong influence.