I have heard my share of Clash covers and tributes over the decades. Most are OK. Some are truly awful. And thankfully, every now and then a good one comes along.
Today I got a really good one: Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats, an upcoming album of 10 Clash classics reinterpreted by the likes of Dandy Warhols, TEKE::TEKE, Gotobeds and more. It displays both of the key qualities I look for in cover tunes and tribute albums: Unusual songs (ie: deep cuts, album tracks and something beyond the obvious hits) and inspired performances (who needs Xeroxes?). I’ll let the press release below give you all the blah-blah. But first, check out two swell previews from the album: TEKE::TEKE’s bilingual, shape-shifting psychedelic romp through the moody single Bankrobber and Mirah’s low-key folk-rock rendition of London Calling’s resilience anthem I’m Not Down. And trust me; there’s plenty more goodness where these came from. So be sure to get the rest of the album when it comes out Feb. 7 — International Clash Day. Apparently that’s a thing. Cool.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Today, Brooklyn singer songwriter Mirah (Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) and Montreal Japanese psych band TEKE::TEKE shared their contributions to Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats, a compilation of tributes to The Clash that will benefit the International Rescue Committee. The album is due for digital and vinyl release on Feb. 7, International Clash Day.
Mirah’s take on I’m Not Down slightly slows the original’s hard-charging groove, infusing the original’s headstrong yet sweet melody with a touch of The Shangri-Las, all while maintaining its overdriven guitar pulse. She explains, “One of the best things about being asked to work on a project like this is the opportunity it gave me to play a bunch of Clash albums all at once and to pay close attention as I was listening. I wanted to pick one that felt right for my voice, with words which reflected something about me and my own experiences. Like a lot of people, I began having some run-ins with anxiety and depression during the pandemic. I wasn’t playing shows or making much music and I was spending nearly every waking hour with a tiny person who I’d given birth to 15 months before the pandemic started. I’m Not Down was written as a sort of F you to hard times and depression, and that felt, and feels, pretty relevant.” To help with the recording, Mirah tapped the inimitable Erica Freas and the one and only Karl Blau.
TEKE::TEKE’s interpretation of Bankrobber was inspired by a sound that was developing in Japan in the ’70s, in parallel to the U.K.’s punk scene, with avant-garde bands like Tokyo Kid Brothers or JA Seazer, which inspired them to sing the lyrics in Japanese. Vocalist Maya Kuroki felt an immediate connection to Bankrobber, upon hearing the same words that her late father used to jokingly say, “someday I’ll become a bank robber;” she wanted to represent the meaning of this poem as the voice of the “community,” striving to counter the increasingly widening wealth gap. The band’s Sei Nakauchi Pelletier adds, “Bankrobber was the first-ever song I heard from The Clash. It was on a compilation tape a dear friend of mine had made for me in my early 20s. The Clash went on to become one of my favorite and most-inspiring rock bands of all-time, way beyond their musical genius but also for their political stances and DIY approach.” That “dear friend” was Malcolm Bauld, who Sei enlisted to guest on TEKE::TEKE’s cover, providing the English verses — a profound collaboration and full circle moment.
Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats invites bands and visual artists to create work inspired by The Clash and celebrate their music and human rights message. The album, mastered by the legendary Ted Jensen (Rolling Stones, Green Day, Norah Jones, Madonna, Alice In Chains) also features The Dandy Warhols, Smokey Brights, Seán Barna, Julia Massey of Warren Dunes, The Gotobeds, Big League, Labasheeda, and The Rust & The Fury. Proceeds from the album sales will go to the International Rescue Committee’s global fund, supporting their vital work in responding to humanitarian crises and helping impacted individuals rebuild their lives.
Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats Tracklist
1 | The Dandy Warhols — Straight To Hell
2 | TEKE::TEKE — Bankrobber
3 | Mirah — I’m Not Down
4 | The Rust and The Fury — Guns of Brixton
5 | Labasheeda — Deny
6 | Smokey Brights — Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
7 | Seán Barna — Hitsville U.K.
8 | The Gotobeds — I’m So Bored With The USA
9 | Julia Massey (Warren Dunes) — Rock The Casbah
10 | Big League — Lost In The Supermarket
