![]() ![]() I like the phrase “London Calling,” particularly how it punctuates (or maybe just punctures) the song. I think my favorite track on the album is actually “London Calling,” though the reasons why are still a bit unclear. “The Guns of Brixton” sounds a little like talking to a distant drunk, with the strange over-enunciation and the sproings around 1:15 in. “Brand New Cadillac” is Elvis-y, “Jimmy Jazz” is jazzy, there’s some really reggae songs on here, and then there’s stuff like “London Calling” or “The Guns of Brixton”, which I don’t really have the vocabulary to describe yet. I was just surprised by the diversity of the music on the album. Not to say that I don’t like it–I actually like London Calling quite a bit. This feels like music people ride drive around to and sing with, you know? More than that–it sounds like a radio-friendly rock album. Instead, it just sorta sounds like a regular rock album. Something growly and mean, the sort of music I could scare my neighbors with or disappoint my parents (in this scenario, it is also 197something). I was expecting something with some sharp snares, or something about anarchists and antichrists. London Calling didn’t sound at all like I expected. I bought it, downloaded, and listened and was caught completely flat-footed. I was heavy into the Beatles and it seemed like a good idea because… I don’t remember, I think I asked Ron Richards of iFanboy because he knows this stuff. January 28, 2011: the day I purchased London Calling. Who knew?Īnyway, enough faux guilt over having ignored an entire genre of music that people apparently like a whole lot. For headbangers, not head nodders, basically. I mean, real talk, full disclosure, confession time: I figured punk was basically just NWA for white people. I thought it was this, from Brian Azzarello and Guy Davis’s Hellblazer: Something really aggressive, dark clothes, piercings, and a dude with weird hair growling into the microphone. I’m pretty sure what I thought was punk rock before I actually sat down and asked a friend where I should start with punk was in fact, black metal. I owned a Sex Pistols shirt before I ever listened to a Sex Pistols album because I liked how it looked. I know of cyberpunk and steampunk, though I couldn’t tell you if they’re called that because of the music or because somebody came up with “cyberpunk” and now “-punk” is the new hotness. ![]() Most of my punk knowledge comes from the periphery of punk culture. I don’t even really know what punk music is, man. The upbeat stuff is when your grandkids come around for playtime and you stand up, stretch your back, and then you show them youngins how to do some pushups. It’s old man music, the sort of album you listen to while chilling on a recliner or on a porch somewhere. Minutes from previous meetings of the Society: The Beatles – “Eleanor Rigby”, Tupac – Makaveli, Blur – 13 (with Graeme McMillan), Blur – Think Tank (with Graeme McMillan), Black Thought x Rakim: “Hip-Hop, you the love of my life”, Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), On why I buy vinyl sometimes, on songs about places, Mellowhype’s BlackendwhiteĪnother giveaway! Tell me something I need to know about punk in the comments (meaning: tell me something you like that I probably don’t know and will probably like), and you’ll get a free copy of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here (mp3s, obviously). I don’t know anything about punk, so both albums were eye-opening. I’ve been experimenting with punk music lately, and I think I might have something interesting to say about The Clash and the Sex Pistols, or, more specifically, their albums London Calling and Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. This is the tenth, a milestone number that I am going to completely fail to celebrate. The Damon Albarn Appreciation Society is an ongoing series of observations, conversations, and thoughts about music. ![]()
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