The Clash: Kill Your Idols (Kill Your Idols Series) - Softcover

Quantick, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560252693 ISBN 13: 9781560252696

Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2000

Synopsis

For seven years The Clash conducted a barely contained experiment in popular music, dragging in styles as far-flung from their council flat beginnings as rap, reggae, drum and bass, rockabilly and their own concoction of amphetamine (and cocaine) fuelled rock and roll. The Clash made only five records and never had a number one hit but Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon represented one of the last, great, quixotic attempts to wrest transcendence from rock and roll. " The idea of the band was to play it maximum," said Joe Strummer, and that's exactly what they did. The entire Clash back catalog has been re-mastered and re-released to coincide with the October 1999 release of From Here to Eternity, the first ever live Clash album. A complete discography of Clash albums and singles, and band members' post-Clash careers are included.

About this title

From Library Journal

Because the subjects of the publisher's "Kill Your Idols" series are "unafraid of experimentation," "hold nothing sacred," and "inspire skepticism of idol-making in their listeners" (for the most part), they are perhaps more magnetic than popular music's traditional gods and goddesses. These anti-idols may not have directly sprung from the pelvis of Elvis, but they are related to the Velvet One. Here, original research is not the point (rabid fans have frayed these musicians' yarns anyway); the authors relied on each performer's standard biography, documentaries, liner notes, and other sources to relate a condensed chronology of career and personal highs and lows. Rather, this is a chance for a "professional" fan (read: a music critic) to express his opinions on the roles that pompousness, vision, and circumstance played in his band's life. Each profile is under 150 pages and consists of three sections: "The Story," "The Music," and (often the most compelling section) "The Legacy." Quoth Quantick in his insightful closing: "People were inspired by The Clash not for what they actually achieved, but for what The Clash thought they might achieve." Much like Cliff Notes for frustrating music careers, these pocket-sized biographies contain indexes but no bibliographies. That absence, along with the personalized tone, recommends the series to comprehensive music collections. Johnny Green's A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with the Clash (LJ 1/99) and Ira B. Nadel's Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen (LJ 11/1/96) will well serve library patrons. [The standard Neil Young biography may end up being Shakey: The Biography of Neil Young by Jimmy McDonough, who spent eight years writing the tome. Right now, however, McDonough is suing Young for $1.8 million for prohibiting its publication after Young signed an agreement to cooperate with McDonough. Ed.] Heather McCormack, "Library Journal.
- Heather McCormack, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Quantick's wit and irreverence suit the Clash's leader-of-the-punk status. He first recounts the group's formation, its rapid rise to being known as "The Only Band That Matters," and the inevitable internecine conflicts that led to its demise. Then comes critical evaluation of each Clash album. Quantick notes that the group broke new ground by absorbing the then-outre reggae and rap styles, and managed to succeed in America without compromising its decidedly British approach. The Clash remains popular 15 years after its last record, as the recent release of vintage live recordings verifies, and its influence is likely to continue. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1560252693
• ISBN 13: 9781560252696
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 152
• Editor: Aizlewood John