The Clash: I don’t like you/But I love you

A thoughtful “I can’t quit you” post by Ed Barrett at Flashbak, prompted by the “New Year’s Day” doc:

The Clash’s tower block chic and Joe Strummer’s ludicrously affected accent were the start of a middle-class cult of ‘street credibility’ which soon saw the noble Doctor Marten appropriated by right-on students, as they cut their hair and brought feminism, vegetarianism and other dubious causes to punk’s table. The deathly ‘post-punk’ era was born, with its humourless lyrics, boring tunes, horrible hennaed hair and boiler suits. Of the other, more overtly left-wing acolytes like Tom Robinson and Billy Bragg, the least said, the better.

Of course, it is ultimately pointless to analyse the politics of The Clash, because their politics weren’t really the point. The point was passion. Everything Strummer did and said came from the gut. His rage was an emotional response to the world around him, and it is impossible to appreciate its impact without understanding the way we were before punk came along. (…)

From time to time I bump into former punks. They are a varied bunch – not quite anything from a duke to a dustman, but not far off. And whatever they are doing now, you can always spot them…