Dubrobots got in touch and shared these two new songs with me, out soon on North Of Chepstow Records. None other than Don Letts played it on 6 Music, a fact which still has Dubrobots reeling. Don Letts obviously has exquisite taste because this is a wholly excellent track, dub influenced and sublime.
This remix by Wry and Slobby takes it even further and actually sounds like dub made by funky robots. The robots keep a human horn player as their underling. Occasionally they order him to play the horn, which drifts in and out in a Ghost Town sort of manner. The robotic bassline could make kitchen white goods join in the dance.
I have wandered down a Clash shaped alleyway this week so if you don't like them, you'll have to bear with me for one more post. The Clash's approach to Middle East politics may have come across as a bit simplistic on the sleeve of the 12" but, let's face it, it can't have been any worse than the West's dealings over the last few years. Maybe both sides should just get down to some tunes on a ghettoblaster. As it is we get it wrong and make a mess time after time. Our government oppose IS but support Saudi Arabia (some of whom fund IS). And while we act in revulsion at terrorist beheadings of British and American citizens, the Saudi legal system executes its criminals by- yup- beheading. And so on and so forth.
Back to The Clash. On Wednesday, after posting Complete Control, I got an email from Dubrobots saying nice things abut the blog and pointing me towards his own 12" remix of Rock The Casbah, which is a pretty smart job with a stripped down, funky, extended intro and chopped up vox. It would work well played out somewhere. Free download too.
Everyone knows Topper Headon wrote the music for Rock The Casbah, finding himself alone in the studio one morning before anyone else had got out of bed. Joe added some words and job done. It was their biggest hit in the US until the Levi's advert. The video is a hoot- even though the man who wrote the song isn't in it, having been sacked and replaced by Terry Chimes.
I was reading a Clash forum comment thread once, with some people saying they don't like this song or Should I Stay Or Should I Go mainly it seems because they were hits and had videos, and presumably that just isn't punk maaan.
