TRAINWRECKORDS: "Cut the Crap" by The Clash

My main takeaway from the album is that Bernie Rhodes was a total fraud and any positive musical contributions he made to The Clash must have been accidental. I mean, the guy put Dictator first on the album, which is the song rendered most unlistenable by production bells and whistles. Dude thought that was a good thing to lead with instead of putting it, like, ninth on the record. I don’t think that anybody who actually had any musical sense could have thought that was a good idea. I am a fan of “In The Pouring Rain,” undoubtedly the best Clash song of the late era, though it never made it to a record. Live recordings exist though. Worth seeking out if you don’t know it.

Adam Dukovich

i had to double check on spotify and these are indeed the album versions. that's what it sounds like. yikes...

surasshu

I've been thinking about this more and it hit me: Cut the Crap is like if John and Ringo teamed up to sing on a disco album and credited it to "The Beatles."

Kristopher Bluth

Androgyny and synths are what made the '80s great.

Steph

So are the song clips you use from the studio album? Because they sound like crappy live recordings. How does it sound so bad?

Steph

Genuinely thrilled to hear your mention and approval of Big Audio Dynamite. They deserve more credit

I think this may top Unplugged 2.0 as the worst thing you've ever covered on Trainwreckords. I can at least figure out what that album was attempting to do, but this? Literally, what the fuck?

Kristopher Bluth

Dead Man's Party also came out in 1985. It probably said 100X times more than this, and I don't know that it was trying 1/10th as hard. I'll also take any song on that record over even "This is England."

Keith Badje

honestly it appears that Bernie saw what happened to New Order/Joy Division (mainly Ian Curtis' passing) and tried to do the same transformation. New Order's first album was a bit of a mess but they quickly got their mojo back for their second. This however... was such a disaster it just torpedoed everything. Cut the Crap makes Movement look like the best record ever by comparison.

Michael Furey

Okay, "We Are the Clash" sounds like a call and response song you'd hear on like, a school bus or something.

AstarothLuLz

Sandinista! deserves its own episode of Trainwreckords.

Paggy

Lol, why does it sound like Chumbawumba are singing backup on "We Are the Clash"?

Charles Kieser

This album is the death of punk.

Paggy

14:09 Minor nitpick, but it's Malcolm McLaren. Not MacLaren.

Grace

"It's a hell of a drug."

Joe G

As a giant fan of London Calling, Combat Rock, and Sandista, I just though that Cut the Crap would be boring and uninspired, but man, I’m not even sure if it can be classified as music

Julian Dene

Well done, dude! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Crash Thompson

Are you getting a black screen as well? When I click the link (on my phone) I get a brief flash of the thumbnail, then the whole page goes black

Spalfos

God, all the "there are MEN in DRESSES and everything has too much SYNTH" stuff reminds me of why I never got into punk music. Too much dudebro posturing for me. Can't deny how important the movement was to music history as a whole, of course, so I appreciate the video, though, Todd,

Shiny Skunk

Ugh it wont load and I want to watch so badly!!!!

I streamed this album a few months ago, and oh my GOD is the production horrible. It's like somebody took an Oingo Boingo record and splattered it in sewage water. Suddenly, Mike Post's work on Van Halen III sounds halfway decent.

Jacqueline Sailer

VO: "We Are The Clash" was filmed before a live studio audience.

Steve

What happened in the 80s? They switched from heroin to cocaine.

HankMan