Garageland

"Garageland"
Song by The Clash
from the album The Clash
LanguageEnglish
Released8 April 1977
Recorded27 February 1977, London
GenrePunk Rock
Length3:12
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Joe Strummer
Composer(s)Mick Jones
Producer(s)Mickey Foote

"Garageland" is a song by English punk rock band The Clash, featured on their first album, The Clash.


Writing

Upon The Clash's appearance at the Sex Pistols 'Screen on the Green' concert, NME critic Charles Shaar Murray said:

"The Clash are the kind of garage band who should be returned to the garage immediately, preferably with the engine running,[1][2] which would undoubtedly be more of a loss to their friends and families than to either rock or roll."[3]

The Clash responded immediately by writing the song 'Garageland'.[4] The opening verses are: "Back in the garage with my bullshit detector / Carbon monoxide makes sure it's effective", followed by the chorus: "We're a garage band / We come from garageland", and concluding with "Back in the garage".[5]

Yet, only two years later, Murray was describing the band as "the greatest rock band in the world" in the same paper.

References

  1. ↑ Murray, Charles Shaar (2003-04-05). "Joe is dead, but the Clash are immortal". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 2011-09-20. I described them as the kind of garage band who should be speedily returned to their garage, preferably with the engine running
  2. ↑ Don Letts; Rick Elgood, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, The Clash (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World (DVD). New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. ISBN 0-7389-0082-6. OCLC 49798077.
  3. ↑ "Screen on the Green - Islington". BlackMarketClash.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  4. ↑ Salewicz, Chris (2006). Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer. New York: Macmillan. p. 162. ISBN 9780571211784. OCLC 76794852.
  5. ↑ Coon, Caroline (1977). 1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion. London: Hawthorn. ISBN 0801561299. OCLC 79262599. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2011-09-19.