Angelina Jolie’s favourite song is a British punk classic by The Clash
Just when I thought Angelina Jolie couldn’t get any cooler, I discover her favourite song. Which just so happens to be by her favourite band. Which just so happens to be the best god damn punk band there ever was. The actor has always had a strong connection to music, once explaining that her husband, Brad Pitt, likes to joke that she “took the music out of his life” because she only plays very specific songs at very specific moments.
“If I hear a piece of music I will actually be moved towards it,” the actress told Charlotte Green’s Culture Club podcast. “If it’s very deeply sad I might become more melancholy. If it has a great energy and rhythm and drums behind it, I might feel that extra bit of fight and fire in the day. So I have to be very careful what I put on because I know this about myself.”
Angelina Jolie rose to fame in the 1990s. After appearing in music videos for Lenny Kravitz and The Rolling Stones before she landed her first film role in the cyber-thriller Hackers. Though the film was ultimately a flop, it introduced her to her first husband and led to 1997’s George Wallace, which earned Jolie critical acclaim. Following her Oscar-winning performance in Girl, Interrupted, she spent the 2000s as the star of action flicks like Tomb Raider and Mr and Mrs Smith. As well as starring in blockbusters like The Tourist and Malificent, Jolie has also directed her own work, including the World War Two drama Unbroken.
The star’s favourite song wasn’t hard to uncover. It’s actually tattooed on the back of her neck and reads: ‘Know Your Rights’ – featured on The Clash’s 1982 album Combat Rock. The single makes it clear that, when it comes to human rights, the richer you are, the better. Though its brilliant opening line (‘This is a public service announcement… WITH GUITARS!) implies a sort of intellectual nihilism, ‘Know Your Right’ is one of the most intelligent punk anthems of the era.
Written in the late summer of 1981 and used as the opening song for Combat Rock, ‘Know Your Rights’ identifies the three real human rights, each of which comes with a hefty caveat. Number one: humans have the right not to be killed; that is unless the killer was a “policeman or an aristocrat.” Number two: humans have the right to food – as long as you’ve got the “food money” to pay for it and don’t mind “a little investigation, humiliation, and if you cross your fingers, rehabilitation.” And finally, number three: humans have the right to free speech, “As long as you’re not actually dumb enough to try it!”
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