Why Joe Strummer believed 1990s punk was better than the old guard
Despite what certain corners of the internet might have you believe, punk has never really died. It has, however, experienced countless different eras, subgenres, and offshoots since it first captured the anarchic airwaves back in the mid-1970s. As a member of punk’s ‘old guard’ back in the 1990s, Joe Strummer gave his seal of approval to the changing tides of the scene.
It is within the rights of every ageing musician to despise and lament any up-and-coming artists or the scenes that they populate; it is, after all, a well-established tradition within the musical realm.
During the early days of The Clash, for instance, Mick Jagger cast scorn upon this new generation of rebellious rock and rollers, just as the older generation despised The Rolling Stones during the prior decade. Joe Strummer, in contrast, always remained far more humble and, crucially, he always kept his ear to the ground when it came to new music.
Over the course of his short-lived late-1990s radio show on the BBC’s World Service, for instance, the frontman made an effort to showcase various contemporary artists – the likes of Cornershop, Underworld, and Wu-Tang Clan being particular favourites – alongside his selection of old favourites. What’s more, Strummer seemed to find an appreciation for the new era of punk that blossomed in the 1990s, too.
In terms of mainstream consumption, at least, the punk scene of the 1990s was far more ‘pop-punk’ orientated than the DIY abrasion that denoted the Roxy Club scene of the 1970s, which produced The Clash. Groups like Green Day, The Offspring, and Blink-182 were ushering in an entirely new punk sound, indebted to the influence of people like Strummer but taking a few of their sonic influences from his output.
While some of Strummer’s 1970s contemporaries, the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon being the prevailing example, railed against the likes of Green Day at every given opportunity, writing them off as poseurs and agents of MTV, the former Clash frontman was far more diplomatic in his assessment of 1990s punk.
During one interview from 1999, he explained, “People talk about the new punk and what do I think of it is something that I get asked. I always say, like, it’s better than the old punk because a, they’re playing it faster and b, it’s just better.”
Adding, “I mean, I’m sick of the old punk. How many times can you hear the records? So, I like it, there’s thousands and millions of punk rock groups out there.”
Admittedly, the songwriting didn’t cite any specific groups that sprang to mind when talking about the new age of punk, but he certainly has a point. After all, one of the prevailing reasons for the short-lived nature of the original punk scene, and The Clash’s decision to expand their musical repertoire, was that the ethos of ‘here’s three chords, now form a band’ inevitably led to a lot of different groups who all sounded virtually identical.
Expanding that sound into bold new directions during the 1990s, while certainly not intended to appeal to everybody, did at least breathe some new life into the rock and roll rebellion of the scene, whether it was in the mainstream or not.
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