Like Sublime? Thank The Clash.

Anyone who has hung out with me in the last two months knows that I have been on a huge Clash kick. It pretty much started in February when a few friends and I visited the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame Annex in the city, where the museum had an exhibition on The Clash. Though I had always liked the band, my knowledge of the group basically started and ended with the album London Calling. However, after visiting the museum I now have every album on my Ipod and a collection of live bootlegs.

Additionally, anyone who has been friends with me over the last 10 years knows I also love Sublime. The origins of this love-affair date back to being 15-years-old and blasting "The Wrong Way" on my friend Dan's boombox during hockey practice.

What I and many people who I encounter cite as their reason for appreciating Sublime was the band's diversity in music. In particular what was impressive was the bands seemingly effortless blend of punk and reggae music. Certainly to their credit, the band were masters at this and though other groups such as Slightly Stoopid and Pepper have tried to duplicate the sound, there is still no substitute for the Bradley, Eric, Bud and Lou Dog.

Yet, what very few people of my generation realize is that the road that Sublime traveled was actually built two decades earlier by The Clash.

Now The Clash are by no means unappreciated and this blog post is not intended to diminish Sublime while building them up. I'm simply writing this to show that all rock has it's roots somewhere.

Check out these two side-by-side comparisons between Sublime and The Clash:

First up, the classic "Same in the End" off of Sublime's self-titled album.



Ok, one quick caveat here. Obviously the use of distortion in rock music really hit its peak in the 1990s. During the Clash's era, distortion wouldn't even be considered.

Now, the Clash's "Police on My Back."



You have all the basic elements of punk there and, generation gap notwithstanding, the two bands are similar.

Now check it out as both bands switch it up and drop some reggae beats on us.

Sublime's 5446/Ball and Chain (I know that 5446 is actually a cover, but for the sake of showing their ability to play the genre, please stay with me):



Now The Clash mixing things up with some reggae of their own with "Revolution Rock."



So there you have it, the evolution of the punk-reggae genre.

P.S. I also want to recommend The Clash Live at Shea Stadium for anyone who wants to hear more from the band. It's really one of the best live albums I have ever heard.