Pure Punk Picks
White Riot – The Clash
The first punk radio show in Boston was on 88.1 Cambridge- WMBR. It was on Saturday afternoon, I believe, four to eight pm. Coincidentally, roughly
the same time I go to punk matinee shows at the Midway now.
This was ’77, I believe, and I had been reading about the English punk scene and had The Ramones and The Dictators first album by then.
Not sure of the dates but one thing I do remember- I clearly remember experiencing the very first show I listened to. ‘Cause I know that was the
first time I heard “Anarchy In U.K.” by The Sex Pistols and also, “White Riot” by The Clash.
The DJ was named Oedipus, who went on to become the station manager at WBCN for many years, and I remember him writing about how, at first, he
played anything he could get his hands on that was remotely related to punk to fill the four hours- because there was scarcely any punk material
released then.
The energy that bursts out of this song seemed even faster than The Ramones to me. Instead of the comical, happy-go-lucky lyrics of The Ramones, this
song had an intensity in the lyrics that matched the power and propulsion of the music.
Starting with some wild, Johnny Thunders like licks (both Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and Mick Jones were both, obviously, listening to him), the
chorus starts right out with it’s powerful chant.
“White Riot! I wanna Riot! White Riot! A riot of my own.”
The verse has a descending bass line and music that rocks but it’s really just a set up for the rousing chorus to come in, once again.
On one of the versions of this song the bridge goes, “Are you taking orders? Or are you taking over? Are you moving backwards? Or are you moving
forwards?”
Though, I knew the lyrics were geared toward a more political, societal stance- I took it, also, in a musical way. I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t
be buying any albums from the old “dinosaur” bands that I previously had. No more Blue Oyster Cult, no more Alice Cooper for me. I would only
purchase punk and new wave albums from now on- and that vow lasted me through most of the eighties.
The Clash, though not actually challenging The Temptations, had some choreographed moves when they played live.
During a particular song, they would retreat towards the back of the stage and then, in step, move forwards to the outskirts of the front of the stage.
It’s kind of a threatening stance. In real life this is called “getting in your face” or now, “getting up in your grill.”
But instead of making the crowd move back, it caused the crowd to move towards them where a nice kind of joyous riot would happen.
When I saw them in ’79, or so, if got people out of their seats. I was in the balcony and it even made us, leap out of our seats and head to the edge
of the balcony. I had gone to many rock concerts by then and that was the first, well, really the only- big show concert where I ever did this.
It was an exciting show! The Undertones and sixties rhythm & blues greats, Sam & Dave opened up!
It was then, and I’m pretty sure will be, the best concert I ever saw or will see.
I actually felt that after the concert, that we might file outside and proceed to set cars on fire. And after that march down to City Hall and torch
that, too.
That didn’t happen. I just got on the subway and rode it on home.
But what did happen was, it lit a fire. This show lit up my mind like a goddamn Xmas tree!
It continued my already strong belief in this new music, and though this music seemed to die away at the end of the eighties, and then I drifted away
from the music scene, as well, in the nineties-
It returned, not as just something I really enjoyed but something that I truly believed in and meant and means a huge hunk of my life and of my soul.
I believe in punk like I believe in nothing else. And that makes me kind of chuckle but it also, makes me know- that’s really true.
There was no riot that night, back at The Orpheum Theatre in Boston- no cars were over turned outside, no fires were set. But there was a sound,
a notion, a feeling that caused a riot in our hearts, setting fire to our souls that caused a disturbance that the authorities, the powers that be,
have still not found a way to put out or how to quell it. (And I’m thinking, they never will).
This still hasn’t stopped.
(Slimedog)
