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Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros — Global A Go-Go
Album: Global A Go-Go
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3176









Released: 2001
Length: 5:47
Plays (last 30 days): 4
World service bulletin from the nightshift D.J.
To all wavebands on earth
Reconnoitre on the killahertz

This tune is going out to Marconi
To all corners of the globe
There ain't no hut in the Serengeti
Where my wavelengths do not probe

If a rocket went to Saturn
We sure hope a D.J. is on board
For some anti-gravity mixing
With two dub plates of U-Roy

Throwdown Stray Cat strut in Bulawayo - hey, Bulawayo
Buddy Rich in Burundi
Quadrophenia in Armenia
Armenia City In The Sky
Big Youth booming in Djkarta
Nina Simone over Sierra Leone
Wild sound of Joujouka in Nevada - hey, Joujouka
Everywhere, everywhere Bob's bringing it all back home

Yeah, I let the boogie-woogie rumble
In the back of Bangalore
I get complaints from Bondi Beach
What, no longboard surf hardcore?
Oh, send the rock steady out to Freddy
Who juggles plates in Tsing Tao City

'Cause tonight Bo Diddley's in Finland Station - hey, Bo Diddley
Sun Ra's in Omaha
The Skatalites in New York City - hey, Skatalites
The Stooges rule over Habana
The Bhundu Boys rock Acapulco - hey, hey Bhundu Boys
Good hip hop in Islamabad
Ali Farke Toure's in Oaxaca - hey, Farke Toure
And Baaba Maal's all over Stalingrad

Yeah, while some are waking, some are sleeping
From Kamchatka to the Gabon
Above the tradewind, wingtips beating
We calling out for Ronnie and da-do Ron, Ron, Ron

We call the Cumbria to tumble
From the peak of the Himalayas
We send the funk into the jungle
To the last outpost of the bass player
Comments (259)add comment
lame, . . .skip
Love the song and probably the only song I ever liked that involved Joe Strummer, including the Clash
 ddbz wrote:

DOG like, I think this  web-site offers,
or Joe Strummer's  right hand (with all do respect to Mr. Cale).
Bob had a good right hand as well...green.....



whut?
Some of my favorite songs are call-outs to other musicians such as
"Talk in 79" by Phil Lynott
Solid. No other word for it.
 coloradojohn wrote:

In addition to the groovy beat and killer hooks, I've always loved the lyrics of this and how they reflect my own experiences around the world... On the topmost ridge of Pulau Samosir, near Lake Sidihoni, where I'd ridden on a dirt-bike with Lady Veronica -- Singapore Airlines stewardess and one of the best travel companions ever -- we met a little boy tending a herd of goats who was wearing an "Elton John Live in Concert" T-shirt! The penetration of Music among global cultures is truly amazing, and Joe's spirit lives on in an infinite multitude of places...  RP rules!



I guess this beats arriving at the Fifth Station on Mt. Fuji, a site with all the accoutrements  of modern Japanese modern culture, and hearing piped over the ubiquitous public loudspeakers, was Creedence Clearwater's, I put a Spell on You (yes, SJ Hawkins). It seemed so odd, yet so characteristically Japanese. I miss the strangeness yet familiarity of the culture.
DOG like, I think this  web-site offers,
or Joe Strummer's  right hand (with all do respect to Mr. Cale).
Bob had a good right hand as well...green.....
In addition to the groovy beat and killer hooks, I've always loved the lyrics of this and how they reflect my own experiences around the world... On the topmost ridge of Pulau Samosir, near Lake Sidihoni, where I'd ridden on a dirt-bike with Lady Veronica -- Singapore Airlines stewardess and one of the best travel companions ever -- we met a little boy tending a herd of goats who was wearing an "Elton John Live in Concert" T-shirt! The penetration of Music among global cultures is truly amazing, and Joe's spirit lives on in an infinite multitude of places...  RP rules!
Great tune 10👍
I thought it was a song I didn't know from the Clash! Close enough....
 Relayer wrote:

Punk had moments of brilliance, but mostly moments of just shit music.  Sex Pistols were just idiotic, no talent other than being novel for their dirty image and lyrics of rage.  Then you have the Clash; brilliant songwriting, true political/social commentary, great music composition, and actual melodies.  There were other decent punk bands, but The Clash was the best. 

Then I discovered JS & Mescaleros; wow.  Great production, musicianship, and songwriting all around.  Joe left us way too early.




 The Pistols very quickly became idiotic, I'll give you that, but for a brief moment in time they gave us some of the most powerful music known to man. Matlock and Lydon had plenty of talent. Cook and Jones.. average for a punk band. Viscious.. yes, idiotic! It's not their fault if you didn't get it. Great production, great songs, and the musicianship, well, it was, err, adequate.
A 6.5 rating? Could this be the most underrated song on RP?
This tune is going out to my pony!!
 rgio wrote:

When I saw Joe live (the Clash) I was underwhelmed.... Yet find myself amazed at how almost 20 years after his death the Mescaleros stuff continues to grow on me.



I saw the Clash in Chicago touring to support Combat Rock album - weak show - I guess w/o Topper, they were average.
 Relayer wrote:

Punk had moments of brilliance, but mostly moments of just shit music.  Sex Pistols were just idiotic, no talent other than being novel for their dirty image and lyrics of rage.  Then you have the Clash; brilliant songwriting, true political/social commentary, great music composition, and actual melodies.  There were other decent punk bands, but The Clash was the best. 

Then I discovered JS & Mescaleros; wow.  Great production, musicianship, and songwriting all around.  Joe left us way too early.



If you are a fan of punk, you would know that the Crass always called out he Clash for being main stream!
Punk had moments of brilliance, but mostly moments of just shit music.  Sex Pistols were just idiotic, no talent other than being novel for their dirty image and lyrics of rage.  Then you have the Clash; brilliant songwriting, true political/social commentary, great music composition, and actual melodies.  There were other decent punk bands, but The Clash was the best. 

Then I discovered JS & Mescaleros; wow.  Great production, musicianship, and songwriting all around.  Joe left us way too early.
I saw the Clash in 1980 at the Santa Monica Civic in LA and it changed my musical direction forever. I was a main stream, stadium rocker, saw all the classics;  Who, Stones, Styx, Pink Floyd, Queen, Journey etc. The Clash opened with a Solo Reggae performer , who wasn't well received , then another ska band, which may have been the Beat. The Clash rocked my world, sent me in to the clubs of Hollywood, searching out punk, reggae, rockabilly, everything. It was a good time for music for me! Like someone else mentioned, I didn't follow Joe as closely after the Clash break up as I did Mick Jones but his music continues to grow on me. Thank you sir!
11
An overlooked gem!
Cannot believe Joe Strummer was reduced to handing out tickets before a Mescalero show - he and the band were still rocking, sans casbah
So great for ever
Ya man
When I saw Joe live (the Clash) I was underwhelmed.... Yet find myself amazed at how almost 20 years after his death the Mescaleros stuff continues to grow on me.
Come on boys, lets all sing in tune, A one, a two, a three, a four...
And you can listen to the nightshift DJ here:
Joe Strummer's London Calling

I was lucky enough to see The Clash at their peak in the late 1970's and standing there in the front row looking right up at Joe Strummer I was struck at how bright his eyes were.

Not the 'piercing blue' that some people have - no they were a light brown but just as intense.

He was the 'real deal' - not just a singer frontman like John Lydon of the Sex Pistols -  more like a punk version of Bruce Springsteen singing and playing the guitar.

You are sorely missed Joe but thanks for the memories.


Awesome direction post-Clash..
Name checks are on point!
A bit disappointed that this gem is such a low score.  Oh well.  Love me some Mescaleros.... but still wish Joe had stayed in the Clash.
 Dave_Mack wrote:
I like it. All sorts of stuff going on.
 
First comment on this is listed above - Posted: Jan 16, 2003 14:27
 johnalexford wrote:
This tune is going out to Marconi / To all corners of the globe / There ain't no hut in the Serengeti / Where my wavelengths do not roam

Joe Strummer at his best!!! One of my all-time favorite songs.



 
Just today I finally "heard" the lyrics and BOY am I impressed with his geography lesson AND a Bob Dylan reference!!  Bumping my 8 to a 9 now....thanks and as always, Long Live RP!!

This tune is going out to Marconi / To all corners of the globe / There ain't no hut in the Serengeti / Where my wavelengths do not roam

Joe Strummer at his best!!! One of my all-time favorite songs.




And because it's Christmas, it's also a good time to remember Joe Strummer (21 August 1952 - 22 December 2002), and even when it's not Christmas, it's still always a good time, right?

.


 westslope wrote:

Thanks for sharing Redpoint.  Good to know.  This is a terrific song.  

 
I don't even think this is the best song on the album. If you like this, you'll love the whole disc.
 Redpoint wrote:
One of my all time top ten albums. So many great tunes In one listen. His voice is sadly missed.

 
Thanks for sharing Redpoint.  Good to know.  This is a terrific song.  
For some reason I kept thinking I was hearing Noir Désir
Just good solid music...
 Redpoint wrote:
One of my all time top ten albums. So many great tunes In one listen. His voice is sadly missed.

 
agreed, this disc is amazing I think, he is missed by many! RIP Joe{#Dancingbanana_2}
One of my all time top ten albums. So many great tunes In one listen. His voice is sadly missed.
well, I prefer J.S. leading his Mescaleros instead of singing with late Clash....
 willmcnaught wrote:
{#Devil_pimp}STILL miss you Joe, thanks for the music!

 
We all do
 Foot wrote:

I guess Joe was & you weren't...

 
Strummer and the Mescaleros is one of those acts that some people just dislike for some reason, like Talking Heads (or in my case Bob Dylan.)
{#Devil_pimp}STILL miss you Joe, thanks for the music!
Wow. A lot of Joe Strummer today—a good thing.
Really like this song!  Solid 8 In my book. 
 hanssachs wrote:
Well, that's a rather overlong bit of self-indulgent not-much, isn't it?  Guess you had to have been there ...

 
I guess Joe was & you weren't...
Well, that's a rather overlong bit of self-indulgent not-much, isn't it?  Guess you had to have been there ...
 moodfood wrote:
{#Yes}   {#Bananajam} {#Jump}  {#Guitarist}  {#Yes}

 

You got that right{#Smile}
{#Yes}   {#Bananajam} {#Jump}  {#Guitarist}  {#Yes}
8 > 9 - Thank you RP!
This one goes out to my pony!!
One of my absolute all time favorites.  Deserted island disc for me.
Song about RP right? Hearing you loud and clear in Nairobi...
I love the chaos! strangely... sounds alot like my moozishun friends casually ad libbing...{#Dance}
To many people in this band! That makes a tohuwabohu, huh!
I really want to like this song, but I just can't.  I am a Clash fan and I like some of the Mescaleros songs that are played here.

There is just something about the rambling in this song that leave me cold.  rated a 6 
I was compelled to move to a 9. This songs gets better with time. Especially when cranked. I think that much of his post-Clash work was really innovative and I appreciate that RP plays so much Joe Strummer.
Miss you Joe! {#Bananajam}
 dlirious wrote:
This deserves much more than a 6.4!!!! The chorus & the bass are great and just kind of stay with you long after it stops.
 
Agreed.  6.4 is a crime.  
 Limpopoking wrote:

Commercial pop radio awaits you... go to the white zone. You'll love it. It's a way of life!
 
Have you been jammin' in Joe's Garage again (with a coupla quarts of beer)? 
I appreciate this guy. He lets me relish Bob Dylan's vocal talents.
 dlirious wrote:
This deserves much more than a 6.4!!!! The chorus & the bass are great and just kind of stay with you long after it stops.
 

Yes, UNFORTUNATELY it does stay with you long after it stops.  Please make it go away {#Wall}.
This deserves much more than a 6.4!!!! The chorus & the bass are great and just kind of stay with you long after it stops.
Agreed, a fantastic track. Always a great groove, energy and feel from whatever Joe Strummer wrote and performed. Miss you Joe!
Good stuff, this.

Strummer could neither sing nor play the guitar!

Still - "it" works anyway!

 

BRAVO JOE - R.I.P.


 oldsaxon wrote:

yeah, me too.
 
I'm in. Great song. Great album.
 ick wrote:

Me too.
 
yeah, me too.
 cosmiclint wrote:
Up to Godlike this morning.
 
Me too.
 fredriley wrote:
There's a moving memorial on Skye to Joe Strummer, a wood planted in his memory. See the following Flickr links for pics of the sign at the entrance of the wood:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mixmage/501264637/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/byannika/4716771414/

(Sorry, for some reason embedding those links in the image dialogue in the editor fails. )

 

Thanks*10^3 fred!

To forests everywhere; to fish and forest people everywhere. Long may you thrive.


 Limpopoking wrote:

Commercial pop radio awaits you... go to the white zone. You'll love it. It's a way of life!
 
...and it looks like a Telefunken U47.

Woody's 100th birthday makes everyone in my trailer park think of Joe!
 jjbix wrote:

  you are too kind!  this is a mish mash of crap!
 
Commercial pop radio awaits you... go to the white zone. You'll love it. It's a way of life!
 Erwin wrote:
I can not found the Rating "-1".

 
oh really, Erwin, you could not FOUND it. Poor thing!
Hmm...I can't believe I actually went through a period of letting this float past in the background without DIGGING IT, which was until just now, which was of course after years of loving it and maybe to death, but now I am hearing it and feeling it and various things are reminding me that THIS THING ROCKS, in true global fashion!  Play on, Joe Strummer, we still hear you!
 Bosami wrote:
Love it!

I forgot that Roger Daltrey sings on this....
 
I'd never listened that closely but I'd always wondered about the "Armenia city in the sky" line.
 
 

So diggin' this.


I dig it.

Love the chorus.

Great beat, you can dance to it... 
This tune has really grown on me after first hearing it here.  I really like it now. 
 HazzeSwede wrote:
Load up some more from "Sandinista"...please Bill?!!
 
Pleeeeeeeeeeeease !

Load up some more from "Sandinista"...please Bill?!!
 sirdroseph wrote:


{#Lol}Just what I was thinking! Hello from Peachtree City!{#Wave}
 

Greetings neighbor!
 olivertwist wrote:
Cool. Nice change of pace from the Peter Gabriel dirge a moment ago, which nearly made me throw in the towel before my Friday workday started.
 

{#Lol}Just what I was thinking! Hello from Peachtree City!{#Wave}
There's a moving memorial on Skye to Joe Strummer, a wood planted in his memory. See the following Flickr links for pics of the sign at the entrance of the wood:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mixmage/501264637/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/byannika/4716771414/

(Sorry, for some reason embedding those links in the image dialogue in the editor fails. )

Cool. Nice change of pace from the Peter Gabriel dirge a moment ago, which nearly made me throw in the towel before my Friday workday started.
I can not found the Rating "-1".

 S-curvy wrote:
This is a great tune from a great band.  I this wonderful example and am amazed that they never hit it big in the mainstream.  Joe deserved better than that!
 

I really like some of their stuff a lot, but it was inconsistant.

And so was Joe.......

And thats why we love him, but not the mainstream.
This is a great tune from a great band.  I this wonderful example and am amazed that they never hit it big in the mainstream.  Joe deserved better than that!
pump it up rommel
 Orodrigues wrote:
I don't know which I like most: Joe Strummer & The Clash or Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros...
 

No contest! Clash overrated; Joe was too good for em and proved it!{#Yes}
I don't know which I like most: Joe Strummer & The Clash or Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros...
Up to Godlike this morning.
Go. Just Go already
My favorite song on this outstanding album!
 bam23 wrote:
Although it is true that some of the songs on the CD have lyrics that are possibly not the most erudite and literate, or even possibly immediately comprehensible, the CD is actually very enjoyable. I have never had a particularly high opinion of the Clash, outside of a few exceptions, but both Mescaleros albums are easily worth the couple of dollars I paid. Easily worthy of repeated listening.
 
The music the Clash made was wonderful, I loved em!


Great track!

I love Joe!

Joe Strummer 2 by ~spoof-or-not-spoof
Richard Stone  ©2009-2010 ~spoof-or-not-spoof

Oil on canvas. 45x30 cm. Slightly blurred photo of this, shame because the cigarette smoke came out really well in the original.


 westslope wrote:

Why is that the damn Marxists are always the best artists, the best novel writers?  Couldn't run a lemonade stand if their life depended upon it but the instances of grace.

 
The best artists were traditionally not efficient businessmen - whether or not they were all Marxists is debatable.


 westslope wrote:

Why is that the damn Marxists are always the best artists, the best novel writers?  Couldn't run a lemonade stand if their life depended upon it but the instances of grace

 
Arf! :-D Actually, I always thought it was anarchists made better artists as they're less hidebound, but wtf, I'm not proud. Quite a coincidence as I was just listening to Rock The Casbah, so this made an excellent unintentional segue.

It was an awful loss yer man Strummer croaking early. It brought a lump to my throat a few years back when walking on Skye I came across a newly-planted wood, at the entrance of which was a sign dedicating it to Joe Strummer's memory.

"The Stooges rule over Habana"
 fredriley wrote:

'Fraid not - yer man Strummer was a Marxist (he's dead now, very sadly).

 

Why is that the damn Marxists are always the best artists, the best novel writers?  Couldn't run a lemonade stand if their life depended upon it but the instances of grace.

 

Anybody like Julio Cortazar?


I can't believe this track rates so low! 
{#Bananajam}
 peter_james_bond wrote:

Shultz

 

Shultz...Shultz!!!Shultz...Shultz!!!

Love it!

I forgot that Roger Daltrey sings on this....
 bam23 wrote:
Although it is true that some of the songs on the CD have lyrics that are possibly not the most erudite and literate, or even possibly immediately comprehensible, the CD is actually very enjoyable. I have never had a particularly high opinion of the Clash, outside of a few exceptions, but both Mescaleros albums are easily worth the couple of dollars I paid. Easily worthy of repeated listening.
 
I agree with all of that except I would go further extremes with both, Clash pretty much sucked except for a few exceptions and everything of Joe Strummer is absolutely Golden!!{#Notworthy}
 michaelgmitchell wrote:


Well, we were hoping for something a little more Sunday night-ish. Snuggly stuff. So, Jaclyn and I must be off. 'Night all.
(Coming, dear ...) 
 
Shultz

damn shame he deaded


Well, we were hoping for something a little more Sunday night-ish. Snuggly stuff. So, Jaclyn and I must be off. 'Night all.
(Coming, dear ...) 
Although it is true that some of the songs on the CD have lyrics that are possibly not the most erudite and literate, or even possibly immediately comprehensible, the CD is actually very enjoyable. I have never had a particularly high opinion of the Clash, outside of a few exceptions, but both Mescaleros albums are easily worth the couple of dollars I paid. Easily worthy of repeated listening.
Freakin Great
dynamic tension
storytelling
what did he say ?
The more I hear this, the better I like it. It really has some complexity going on that I did not pick up on in the first few listens.
Bill seems to be playing Mario Batali's Tasty Tunes playlist tonight: R.E.M.'s Driver 8 and this are two of the songs on it (from USA Weekend).


Did Henchman 24 sing some backup on this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX7Xy3EY6tk&feature=related
 bindi wrote:

more of an anarchist, isn't he?   If not, I have to get a new bowling shirt.

 
'Fraid not - yer man Strummer was a Marxist (he's dead now, very sadly).

 Danimal174 wrote:
The music's pretty good, but the words are undistinguishable.
 
On par for Rock'n'Roll, I say!  It's 50 years too late to criticize people for it now :)

A few years ago, I was in Quebec City and saw an otherwise pretty good cover band. Part of what was throwing me was that some parts of the songs were gibberish.  These guys didn't speak English and were using lyrics that sounded somewhat like the original but were largely made-up words.

{#Mrgreen}
 hamer12string wrote:
Ah, my favorite Marxist!
 
more of an anarchist, isn't he?   If not, I have to get a new bowling shirt.

Photo

Well, OK, it's a bit of a stretch