Today it only sounds like stating the obvious to say that the importance of popular music as a means of building one's identity has indubitably been shaping the so-called counter-culture of the second half of the twentieth century. Indeed, in this consumerist society, classical music has always "belonged" to the wealthy, leading upper class; and is different from traditional music which is endemic to a particular area and culture, whereas the term pop can be applied to music coming from any part of the world. Popular music has proved to be the main field in which artists can express their opposition to and denial of all possible establishments. Hence the well-known objection usually uttered, often with reason, by those willing to run pop music down: how and why do pop musicians try to discredit and replace or even destroy an economical and ideological system upon which they depend, as well financially as for their artistic credibility? In other words, would popular music exist without the socio-ideological reality it's been tackling for so many years?
[...] Monthly review, June 2003, online : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1132/is_2_55/ai_103383507/pg_1?tag=ar tBody;col1 Robert Hilburn, re-formed Clash is back on the attack", Los Angeles Times, January The most famous event showing the English Prime Minister's attitude when facing a conflict abroad being the Falklands war, during which nearly a thousand soldiers (both English and Argentine) were killed in barely two months. Antonino D'Ambrosio "'Let fury have the hour': the passionate politics of Joe Strummer". Monthly review, June 2003, online : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1132/is_2_55/ai_103383507/pg_1?tag=ar tBody;col1 Richard Cromelin, Strummer on Man, God, Law - and the Clash. Los Angeles Times January 1988. Symbolised by one of its most representative emblems: the supermarket. Robert Hilburn, re-formed Clash is back on the attack", Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1984. [...]
[...] Besides, he sings in a sort of lamenting and monotonous way, on a rather slow beat when compared to most of the other songs of the band. This general depressing ambiance suggests a dull, frozen world where nothing happens, which contrasts with the fast throbbing rhythm of booming Thatcher England. In this way, "Straight to Hell" is quite representative of the recurrent topics in The Clash's songs: Strummer, as always, chooses to sing about the empty half of the glass by telling no more than facts. [...]
[...] In "Clampdown", Joe Strummer depicts a society whose rule is about the same as the jungle's, as is Thatcherism's rule: success for one means failure for another, not only in the economical field but in all the circles of man's activity. The reality shown is, once again, a violent one, and contrasts completely with the pet values of Thatcherite doctrine. This is especially true about morality, a ubiquitous notion in Margaret Thatcher's speech whose recurrence only seems a hypocritical attempt to temper the brutal reality of the Iron Lady's dominion. [...]
[...] He showed young people there are alternatives to complacency, opportunism, and political ambivalence that dominate popular culture.[8] If one were to pick a single example of The Clash's refusal of any shift in their political convictions, the best one would certainly be the release of the 1982 triple album "Sandinista ยป The title, for a start, was an obvious reminder of the band's ideological orientation, referring to the Nicaraguan guerrilla organization, by then one of the main targets of the American foreign policy in Latin America, i.e. constant attempts at crushing all left-winged movements by helping the long time ruling dictators. The album itself, being a three-disc opus, was about to be sold at a higher cost. [...]
[...] As Antonino D'Ambrosio puts it: "While the Sex Pistols spent their time being reactionary, tawdry, and snide, the Clash were active, thoughtful, and serious."[1] In a way, this blunt statement summarizes the two trends of the punk movement. The Sex Pistols have all the negative features of the punk bands as generally presented by the media, especially the press and television: they advocated anarchy without responsibility, provocation without purpose, wrote offensive lyrics without real political message, were utterly non-productive[2] and didn't last long. [...]
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