NO BRAINS

“Poison Ivy, a golden harem sphinx, a sheen of perspiration over her alabaster body. Sweat streaks her guitar as she plays keen blood notes. The songs are of decapitations, transmogrifications, psycho frenzies, invading saucermen, voodoo, and pussy. Always pussy. It’s a smoking, fuzzy, wild sound, full of an intensity that lies halfway between sexual stimulation and demonic possession.”

Mick Jones during his Big Audio Dynamite era, here posing in London with MCA (Adam Yauch) & Mike D (Mike Diamond) of the Beastie Boys plus photographer & common friend Josh Cheuse in an early '86 photo probably shot by Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz).

Here's a excerpt from an AD-Rock interview on The Guardian in which he recalls how MCA re-taught Mick Jones how to play 'Clash City Rockers’ during their visit at Mick's house while surprise guests keep ringing his doorbell:

"We’re in London for a few days to “work”. Our friend from New York, photographer Josh Cheuse, was friends with Mick Jones from the Clash. He worked with them a little bit and hooked it up for us to go hang out with him one night. AT HIS FUCKIN’ HOUSE! And by the way, he is one of the nicest people in the world. We meet, hang out, have a little tea, a couple beers, and then he shows us his studio in the basement. Not a practice space, but a nice little studio, with all kinds of equipment. While Mick Jones is showing us a guitar of his, Yauch asks him to play Clash City Rockers. I don’t know what possessed him to do that but, I mean, fuck yeah, I wanted that to happen. He kind of laughed and said that he forgot how to play it, and so Yauch took the guitar and taught Mick Jones how to play the song. Yes! Mick Jones from the fucking Clash. Oh wait… Someone’s at the door. Yup. It’s Joe fucking Strummer! Our new close friend Mick Jones had said some people were coming over; Now Joe Strummer’s here and the doorbell rings again… It’s fucking Johnny fucking Rotten! He’s with this cool-ass German lady and we are now officially drunk, and freaking out. In Mick Jones’s living room. We’re getting ready to go see a movie, and one more person shows up on our way out. Take a guess… could be any-fuckin’-body, right? It is one of the coolest people in the world. Ever. Paul Simonon. Picture yourself with your two best friends… real tipsy. Driving around the streets of London at night in two cabs with, basically, the fucking Clash and Johnny Rotten. Stopping at red lights, laughing, screaming, and throwing things at each other out the windows. I mean… just a few years ago, these people made music that changed our lives. We absolutely and totally fucking love them. And now we’re getting drunk with them and we’re on our way to go see a slasher movie together. IN LONDON!!!".

Lux Interior & Chopper Franklin, last ever bass player to record with The Cramps, backstage at The Paradiso, Amsterdam, where they performed on Sept. 18th, 2003, about a week after Johnny Cash had passed away (here in a photo captured by Arjan van den Berg and published in 'Oor' Magazine issue Nov. 2003).

Scott "Chopper' Franklin had started out as a Black Flag teen roadie, learning guitar & bass and jamming with anybody that he could. In Hollywood he crossed paths with the infamous Rick Wilder and began playing bass for the notorious punk rock outfit The Mau-Maus, then later joined the trash rock outlaws The Joneses. He relocated to New York and after having met Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, he eventually joined the Cramps in 2002. He did several tours and recorded the final Cramps studio album “Fiends of Dope Island”. After performing with various bands, he has been playing with the goth americana band Heathen Apostles for the past decade.

Tales of Paul Simonon's effortless rizz: The Clash signing autographs at their WBLS radio interview in NYC, 1981, as captured by Paul Busch.

When the Clash came to the US, the band, impressed with the burgeoning hip hop scene, fully embraced that NYC vibe and 'The Magnificent Seven" was one of the earliest takes on rap by a rock band. When they hit New York in May 1981 for a three-week residency, the landmark black-owned soul and R&B outlet WBLS had "The Magnificent Seven" on heavy rotation.

Here's footage of The Clash performing the song on New York-based talk show "The Tomorrow Show" with Tom Snyder, as well as archival shots of the band in Manhattan during their residency at Bond’s International Casino: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD5N0rTsulQ

The Leningrad Cowboys"ジンギスカン"

馬にまたがり大地を駆けろ

世界に高きその名はジンギスカン

風を起こし　いざ行け　平和を乱し　暴れろ

世界は俺のもの

※ジン　ジン　ジンギスカン

　飲めや食えや歌えや踊れや

　ジン　ジン　ジンギスカン

　飲めや食えや歌えや騒げ

　俺たちゃ天才　わはははー！！

　君たち凡人　　とほほほー！！

　トサカを立てろ〜！！

　ジン　ジン　ジンギスカン

　へーこら　やーこら　なんだ釈迦　こんな釈迦

　ジン　ジン　ジンギスカン

　ジンでもウォッカでもビールもチューハイも

　俺たちゃ天才　わはははー！！

　君たち凡人　　とほほほー！！

　人生酒びたり〜

ラクダに乗り世界を駆けろ

行く手にトナカイ　ウォッカにサンタクロース

ジンギスカン！　いざ行け　昼間っから　ノリノリ

ビールを一気飲み〜

　（※くりかえし）

人生酒びたり〜

歌詞／『ジンギスカン（Dschinghis Khan）／愉しい寄り道』さんより転載