Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Unsung Forum

IanB

6761 posts

Edited Dec 14, 2009, 13:09

Re: Cope vs. The Clash

Dec 14, 2009, 12:45

"As LL said, it's their 'patronising' tone that rankles most!"

Well yes. There is a long list of bands and songwriters in that category. Including most of the pantheon of critic's "greats" - Dylan, Neil Young and Lennon have all had their hectoring moments. Some never stopped.The current generation of stadium fillers are no different. Rock bands are only really any good at writing about their own self-obsession and their politics (sexual, socio-economic or ecological) spring entirely from a fairly narrow area of self-interest. Life as one long free ride with all the power and none of the responsibility. Adolescence extended indefinitely with, to misquote Alan Bennett, "the women following behind with a bucket".

Strummer was memorable for the odd stirring couplet, a couple of good haircuts and some original dental work. He was also part of a band who had a string of great little agit pop singles over about eighteen months. That's it. Beyond that all the "lets own the record company, lets own the radio station, lets treat the fans right" rhetoric was just that. Forfeiting royalties to keep Sandinista at under £6 was a huge act of hubris. The kindest thing they could have done for their audience would have been to edit it down to 45 mintutes and sold it for £3! They couldn't even get the Socialism bit right in their own back yard let alone in the wider world. Even a Fan Boy like Lester Bangs could see that yet there they all are, untouchables in the Rock Crit Hall Of Fame.

What do we really expect from an Art Form where the bar was always set low at entry level and gets lower every passing year?

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Re: Cope vs. The Clash (sanshee)

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Re: Cope vs. The Clash (sanshee)
Re: Cope vs. The Clash (Lord Lucan)

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