Stiff Little Fingers singer-songwriter Jake Burns met the late Clash leader Joe Strummer just three times, but he says Strummer impressed him with this: “He gave me the confidence to get up on the stage and write songs for myself.” Burns — born in Belfast and a Chicago resident for the past two years — used that line at Axis a week ago Thursday night to preface “Strummerville,” where SLF’s harsh, hooky, Clash-like rock mutated into the Clash’s own “Clash City Rockers.” Somewhere Joe Strummer smiled and lit a spliff.
In the late ’70s, SLF were often considered little more than a Clash knockoff, albeit a pretty damn good one. Burns broke up one version of the band when he thought the songs sounded more like “cabaret” than rock. He now says they feel more like “folk songs,” which is to say that even if the political landscape in Northern Ireland has changed, the concerns of the songs can be applied elsewhere. The quartet — with original bassist Ali McMordie back in the fold, plus 10-year vets Len McCallum (guitar) and Steve Grantley (drums) — started with “Tin Soldiers,” “Roots, Radics, Rockers and Reggae,” and “Nobody’s Hero,” songs about standing up for your rights, resisting the call-up, comforting the afflicted, resisting the temptation to let “heroes” live their lives for you. Do these themes sound dated in a world torn by war on one hand and obsessed by mindless celebrity on the other? And keeping alive the Specials’ “Doesn’t Make It Alright” — the best anti-racist song extant — goes beyond righteousness. The songs SLF played once were very much of the moment; they’re now part of the canon of politically driven, ambitious rock and roll.
Related:
From Belfast to Boston, Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, Double visionary, More 
- From Belfast to Boston
“You look at the Bosstones," says one veteran punk frontman, "you look at Dropkick Murphys, you look at the Bruisers, the Ducky Boys, and you hear SLF in all those bands."
- Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
Temple captures the chaos of Strummer’s early years, with overlays of interviews with him and footage from the era.
- Double visionary
Joe Strummer was the embodiment of punk, up till his final day, December 22, 2002.
- The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 20
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros | the Roxy | November 22, 1999
- A flair for the drama
"There's not enough hype in the world for Glasvegas," old reliable hypemonger NME recently proclaimed. But that doesn't mean the magazine and the rest of the British music press aren't trying.
- Gabel, Gabel, hey!
New Wave ’s opening title track makes as much of its referential moniker as the Clash did of the phrase “London Calling.”
- Historical fictions
There are Clash fans, and then there are Clash fans . And three more boxes: Gift ideas for the music fan on your list. By Matt Ashare
- Neo-new-what?
The real album of the year is a disc that probably didn’t cross many people’s paths in 2006, a Rhino comp titled Future Retro that pairs various DJs/electronicists (Richard X, Tiga, the Crystal Method) with classic new-wave tracks by the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, and New Order.
- The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 9
The Clash | Harvard Square Theatre | February 16, 1979
- Temple talk
Julien Temple was one of the first filmmakers on the scene when punk erupted in the UK.
- Vinyl goes digital
Some of us still remember the famed Sub Pop singles club, and Simple Machines’ 1993 single-a-month series, which featured everyone from riot grrrls Bratmobile to slo-rockers Codeine.
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Live Reviews
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