Credit: David Shankbone
Joe Strummer died on December 22nd, 2002. Fifteen years later and his music is as vital as ever. As the front-man and lyricist of The Clash, he composed some of the most important socially conscious music ever.
“Straight To Hell” appears on The Clash’s 1982 album, Combat Rock. Like many of The Clash tunes, it is a protest against many social injustices. The lyrics address economic issues, the plight of immigrants and racism. When you look at the current political climate with Brexit in Strummer’s native UK and the ongoing fallout from Trump’s US Presidency, the song sadly remains as relevant as ever. If Joe was still alive, he would have no shortage of material to write about.
The tune was also sampled in M.I.A.’s 2007 hit, “Paper Planes”.