The 500 - #407 - Sandinista! - The Clash

 I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 407

Album Title:  Sandinista!
Artist: The Clash
Genre: Too many to list

Recorded: 5 Studios - Manchester, New York, Kingston, Jamaica & London
Released: December, 1980
My age at release: 15
How familiar was I with it before this week: One song
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Police On My Back 

On Episode 407 of The 500 Podcast, host Josh Adam Meyers welcomed guest Tom Morello, best known as the guitarist for Rage Against The Machine & Audioslave. Morello is equally noted for his political activism. Consequently, he was the ideal guest to discuss Sandinista!, the fourth studio release by English post-punk legends The Clash. 

Sandinista! album cover by The Clash

Morello shared the following quote when discussing the politically charged song Washington Bullets from side four of the three-disc album:

"My world view was intact before I heard The Clash, but to have your favorite band reflect your world view back to you in a way that you don't see from the educational or authority figures in your life was powerful. Their point of view was not in the classroom and not on the news, but it was absolutely true and accurate. There are bands that you like, bands that you love and then there are bands you believe in. For me, that's why I put both hands around The Clash forever." 

I was walking when I heard Morello make this statement. I had been listening to the podcast while loading groceries into my car and this quote stopped me in my tracks. It was a sentiment I understood and it resonated powerfully. For me, it wasn't The Clash, it was the musician Peter Gabriel who reflected my world view with the passionate political statements he made on songs such as Games Without Frontiers, Not One Of Us and the anti-apartheid protest song Biko on his untitled 1980 record (sometimes referenced as Melt). 

Peter Gabriel's third untitled record (1980)

Morello had summarized the passion that drew me to music when I was in my early teens. The incredible feeling that comes when all the things you've been thinking and feeling are reinforced by intelligent, kind and passionate artists who package ideas with lyrical and musical beauty. Although I didn't articulate it completely as an early ten, this was the thing that drew me to music. It was the reason I spent hours in my bedroom listening to records and memorizing the lyrics that spoke to the best version of me.

I realized that The Clash is a band that should have played a more important part in my life as a teen. Don't get me wrong, I liked them and owned a copy of London Calling (which we will get to in about six years...it is #8 on The 500 list.) The band wasn't a big part of my musical orbit at that time. I was deep into my progressive rock phase, so bands such as Rush, Yes, Genesis and the aforementioned Gabriel dominated my turntable. 

The consolation to missing out on this record in my early teens it would be that I got to discover Sandinista! this week. It is a lengthy record with 36 tracks, so it has been playing in the background for several days. There are many genres explored by the band on this record. There is funk, rock, gospel, reggae, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso disco and even rap (at a time when that genre was in its infancy). It was challenging to select a song for my Spotify mix, but I finally settled on Police On My Back after consulting with my friend Claudio, who is a big fan of The Clash and Sandinista!

So, beyond the bands you like and love...is there one you believe in?