NME - Joe Strummer cover

So I am having quite a phase of listening to The Clash recently. To add to that, I've taken quite an interest in the life of their lead singer - the late Joe Strummer. To date this is the only Clash related item I have (along with a postcard on my wall), but I hope to rectify that soon with Christmas coming up. Anyhow, this is an NME special that was made in August to commemorate what would have been Joe Strummer's 60th birthday had he not passed away. As you could imagine it was a retrospective type feature and it also featured more current artists talking about why his legacy is so important and that sort of thing. I remember I was really excited to get this issue because I wanted to find out a bit more about Joe Strummer. Its a really interesting article that the NME did on him, what was particularly fascinating was the reprinting of an old interview from the Clash's heyday that he had done for the NME. I found a lot of what he said in the interview not only made a lot of sense, but it also resonated with me a fair bit. It was definitely instrumental in making me want to investigate The Clash/Joe Strummer more if I'm honest!

Little gems from London Calling

So last night I watched two really interesting shows: London Calling and London Songs at the BBC. The documentary was hosted by Jools Holland and told a history of London through various songs written about places in the city. What was a real treat though was the second show which was essentially a compilation of various performances of songs written about London. I just love watching those sort of compilation shows for the variety of music. The two highlights for me though (as well as Pet Shop Boys performing West End Girls naturally) were these: Blur's For Tomorrow official video and a performance of London Calling  by The Clash but this time it was by Joe Strummer and the Mescalero's.  It's quite a bittersweet performance too I think as it was only two years before Joe sadly died rather suddenly in December of 2002. It's actually made me all the more eager to watch The Future is Unwritten. My only criticism is that it would have been amazing if, instead of showing For Tomorrow they showed Damon Albarn and Ray Davies together singing Waterloo Sunset/Parklife as it's a stellar performance. Never the less, both shows were so interesting!

The Killers return!

Every time a new Killers album is announced I do turn rather giddy, childish even with excitement as they were my first serious musical love. With that in mind, I was delighted to wake up this morning to the news that The Killers debuted some more new songs at their somewhat intimate concert last night in Asheville, North Carolina. They performed new single Runaways, The Rising Tide which was first performed live a year ago at Scala in London but the real treat for fans came in the form of Miss Atomic Bomb and Flesh and Bones. Miss Atomic Bomb sounds particularly good but both tracks are very strong I think. Honestly, I am so excited for this album, as each of the songs have impressed me, I think Brandon wasn't exaggerating when he said that Battle Born was their best album yet! A full review of the gig will be in the coming issue of NME magazine which is out Wednesday, July 25 along with an interview with Brandon Flowers. Meanwhile, you can hear the new songs from last nights show by clicking HERE. Their full set list was as follows

Runaways
Somebody Told Me
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
This Is Your Life
Rising Tide
Miss Atomic Bomb
For Reasons Unknown
Bling
Shadowplay
Human
A Dustland Fairytale
Read My Mind
Mr Brightside
All These Things That I've Done
Encore
Flesh and Bone
Jenny Was A Friend of Mine
When You Were Young