You know, I never altogether understood what the Clash meant by that statement, and they may not have, either. But I don't think that they were saying, "Elvis/Beatles/Stones no longer have an impact" or even "Elvis/Beatles/Stones no longer have an impact on us"; probably more like, "We no longer can take what they do (did) as providing much of a pathway for what we will do, even if we do sound somewhat like them and even though we employ their strategies, including their strategy of denying the past." Maybe that's giving the Clash credit for more insight than they actually had. Also seems to me that the Stones in '63-'64 were way more of a break than the Clash and Pistols '77, who came on very much like the Rolling Stones.
Seems to me that when Celine Dion employs Spector - or if she were to do a melody that sounded Beatlesque, for that matter - she's just using it sonically, something for her palette. Which is fine, it's just way farther away from embodying the social impact of rock 'n' roll than the Clash were, and it was the social impact that the Clash were - I think - calling a dead letter.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Celine Dion is the real Clash
Date: 2007-10-21 03:51 am (UTC)Seems to me that when Celine Dion employs Spector - or if she were to do a melody that sounded Beatlesque, for that matter - she's just using it sonically, something for her palette. Which is fine, it's just way farther away from embodying the social impact of rock 'n' roll than the Clash were, and it was the social impact that the Clash were - I think - calling a dead letter.