The Clash With a Crash of a Song

 

Here we are at Number 430 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and once again I find myself dealing with a song I had never heard of before reading the list.

Then I listened to "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" by The Clash.

When I woke up, I understood why the song never made a blip on my radar, even though it was released in the spring of 1978 when I was in rehearsal for a production of Godspell in Fort Wayne, Indiana and listening to the radio while traveling to and fro.

Answer: Because it's musically boring and the lyrics are all OVER the place. Allow me to quote the insightful article for the song posted in the world's most-respected repository of knowledge, Wikipedia:

"White Man in Hammersmith Palais" starts by recounting an all-night reggae "showcase" night at the Hammersmith Palais in Shepherd's Bush Road, London. The song then moves away from the disappointing concert to address various other themes, nearly all relating to the state of the United Kingdom at the time. It first gives an anti-violence message, then addresses the state of "wealth distribution" in the UK, promotes unity between black and white youths of the country before moving on to address the state of the British punk rock scene in 1978 which was becoming more mainstream. Included is a jibe at unnamed groups who wear Burton suits. The lyric concludes that the new groups are in it only for money and fame.

The final lines refer to right-wing politics, noting sardonically that things were getting to the point where even Adolf Hitler could expect to be sent a limousine if he “flew in today”.

And then we have to deal with the names of the bandmembers and their contributions to the song

Topper Headon – drums
       Okay, this kind of makes sense, what with the TOP of a drum that gets hit with a stick being called its HEAD.

Paul Simonon – bass guitar
       I suspect this guy's name really is Paul Simon, but in order for him not to be confused with the short half of Simon & Garfunkel, some typesetter somewhere changed "Paul Simon on bass guitar" to "Paul Simonon – bass guitar".

Mick Jones – backing vocals, lead guitar, harmonica
       Someone who does this many musical things should never have allowed himself to be called such a dull name

Joe Strummer – lead vocals, piano
       Shouldn't a guy named Strummer play guitar instead of piano?

But hey...what's in a name? A rose by any other name would still prick your finger.