Magic Poster
Spanish Bombs - The Clash (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
I’ve been back at school for a little while now, and that means I had to decorate my room. Usually I make my own posters and print them myself, but we had this poster sale that I just had to stop by at. So here I was, flipping through binders that took two hands to turn, when I saw it. Nestled in the middle of a collection that included Frank Sinatra’s mugshot and Johnny Cash flipping the bird, all of the world’s beauty was revealed to me in the form of a giant honking London Calling poster. Now here was something I wanted! I even had the perfect spot for it - right next to where I put my record player, of course. To find this poster was a good omen, because I also went on a great run AND ate one of the best sandwiches of my life at lunch after I put it up! My magic Clash poster is now proudly on display, ready to give a little luck to whoever comes to my room. It also serves as a reminder of how my tastes change. I’m a little ashamed to say it, but it took me a little while to get on board with the album. All I had ever heard was the title track, which I considered repetitive, and “Train in Vain”, whose harmonica would be such an earworm that it drew a massive amount of undeserved hate from me when I was younger.
The song that changed my view was “Spanish Bombs”, a terrific track five that my Dad blasted loud and proud. It was a different Clash than I had ever heard, one still gives me Squeeze/Elvis Costello-y vibes to this day. It’s a bright song with a nice edge, a smiley melody with darker lyrics below. I always drift to the drums in this tune, as while they are prominent in the mix, they have this softer side, almost like they’re not being hit quite as hard as you might expect from The Clash. They get this weird groove on the chorus that make the emphasized beats from the verses even more prominent, to the point that its hard to resist mimicking the counts with a nod of the head or tap of the fingers. I also admire the way that this song puts Joe Strummer’s nasty voice on display. When I say nasty, I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s rough around the edges (plus a little more), but in a way that really helps set the song apart. He goes from putting lots of emotion into certain words to sounding like he desperately needs to either spit, clear his throat, or BOTH on the next. That to me is unique enough to earn my heart in some kind of twisted way.
“Spanish Bombs” is a song that combines a melancholy chord progression with a beat that raises it up, a whole bunch of different feelings packed into a song that holds more than it seems. When I think of the Clash, I think of that song, and I sure am glad I overheard it that day. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have listened to the album, I wouldn’t have gotten the poster, I wouldn’t have gained the magic energy from the poster to go on a run, I wouldn’t have gotten my awesome sandwich, and that would’ve been quite a shame!
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