I will say this first and at least set it up.  Anyone that witnessed the Clash in there prime knows why the passion for Joe Strummer will always survive and he is the true eccence of the "real" punk.

 I loved this film because it was filmed around a campfire (mostly).  Julien Temple gets it right as candid as it is.  Joe Strummer is the real deal and he is something.  The footage is vintage in parts and brings a unique perspective to the man from ex-band mates to numerous celebs. 

After seeing this flick it reminded me of the "danger" of this kind of rock.  I saw the Clash many times and there was always a sense of anything could happen at anytime.  I loved it.  Wether driving down to Asbury Park (then seeing my friend Eddie from Braintree, who I had no idea would be there also) or to Bonds in New York City. 

That brings us to a great Clash story I have.  One of the cancelled shows in New York was re-scheduled and I got to go by some twists of fate.  I had my tickets and couldn't go because of my weekend shift that I couldn't get out of.  The tickets I had for months now had to go to one of my buddies at work and there was no shortage on getting rid of them.  Everyone wanted to go to Bonds in June 1981 because the Clash were it, the real deal.  My friends leave for New York with the Clash blasting and me thinking "those bastards have my dam tickets and I got shit".  Things change rapidly when they got back.  They got locked out of the shows and had the re-sheduled tickets for the next Saturdays (my weekend off) afternoon show to accomadate the crowds.  Needless to say "those bastards" handed me the Clash gold as they were called.  Now the three of us who were screwed out of the show were now on our way.  My friend Herbie (who knew NYC extremely well) , Danny, and I head down to the shows in my 72 Duster.  Clash at Bonds or Bust.  It was gloreous.  The ride was half the fun.

2 pm at Bonds in NYCity we find out these shows are just for the kids that got screwed out of the over-sell.  We wait drinking only apple juice or cherry colas because the night before the place had every drop of booze consumed as our bartender informed us.  I had seen the Clash before but they were on a mission and they were totally on.  Before the show started I noticed that there only 250 or so people all milling around and then the Clash come in ripping.  Standing in the front row for this kind of shit was as intense as it gets, it was a spectacle.   It didn't matter if there where only 250 there or a packed house of a couple of thousand you were going to get the real deal right in you face.  What a buzz.  The Clash were relentless.  Joe Strummer was golden telling all of us thanks for coming.  "Washington Bullets" was full of Clash propaganda at the end and I was drained.  6pm in the evening we walk out on to the busy New York streets not believing what we just saw.  I remember to this day returning like heros to our fellow Clash brethern and blasting the Clash for weeks.  I had a huge Clash from Bonds subway poster that took up a wall in my apartment and it was always a conversation piece

Well here is the first blog on music and bands.  I have waited to do this until I had some time to absorb some new and different material. 

Sound Tribe Sector 9 had caught my ear awhile ago when I heard there disc "Artifact" from 2004 and thought it was interesting electronica music.  I love bands like Tangerine Dream, the Orb, and the like and I am always looking for more in that vain. 

That brings us to there new disc "Peacemaker".  "Matameme" the third song on the disc is brilliant.  Taking very cool elements of prog and bringing it up a notch with extremely nifty samples and sound effects that would be ultra cool in a club atmosphere.  The disc rolls along very Tangerine Dream-ish at times which is not a problem.  "Shock Doctrine" has a Pink Floyd-Depeche Mode feel that rapidly crosses many areas into the bliss of "The Spectacle" that is as spaced out as it gets in electronica.  "Beyond Right Now" could have been on a Flaming Lips disc (it throws more depth into the album) and fits perfect after "Regeneration" with it's moving on to the next move segement.  "The Fog" is to StS9 , as "The Waiting Room" is to Genesis's "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".  Haven't heard anything like it in years and it is influenced by early Syd Barrett Pink Floyd which I dig allot.  "Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist" has a quality that has grown on me with repeated listenings to be very grand and extremely full of textured keyboards.  The guitars are crisp echoed and reverbed while what sounds like a full bodied up-right bass lays down some top notch grooves.  "The Last 50,000 years" is low key durge that leads to "Empire" a wandering jewel still full of soaring keyboards that are at times just that soaring.  The drums are not my favorite though, sounding very drum machine-ish (then again this is electronica) so not to mind.  This one is very spacey at times also.  "The New Soma" is just an out for a stroll kinda of tune that brings you into "Oh Little Brain" the pop song on the disc?  I love the ending as it fades off into the abyss.  "Late For Work" plays light and easy.  "Squishface" includes an adaptation of Ballade Four:Casa Grande by Gill Glover Johns/ Beethoven's Bust which rounds out the disc in all it's glory. 

I enjoy this disc on a good long drive and reading the Sunday paper.  Some would think of it as "background" music, there is way to much more to it than that.  Sure it can be laid back but there is lot going on and some subtle jems here that should not be overlooked.  Enjoy Sts9 there different and hail from Santa Cruz, California   http://sts9.com/