Bloggerhythms

Terry Chimes - born July 5, 1956 in London, England and credited as Tory Crimes on The Clash's eponymous, debut album - was their original drummer and is a member of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of his former bandmates. Chimes is a very fascinating individual who is not your proto-typical punk-rocker. In his short, 167-page autobiography, The Strange Case of Dr. Terry and Mr. Chimes , the teetotalling vegetarian and spiritual rocker relates tale after tale about the rock 'n roll lifestyle and great insights about his famous band. He also tells us why he left the music business for a totally new, unrelated career. Unusually for a punk-rocker, Chimes grew up in a loving, stable family with two parents. That difference immediately set him apart from Joe Strummer and his mates, so Chimes often felt like he didn't fit in. In addition, Chimes was not aligned with the angry, political left as the other members of The ...

The Clash were the only punk band I could ever listen to. Perhaps it was because they could find a melody, write some thought-provoking lyrics to go with it and then combine them both with hooks that could grab you instantly - something no other punk group has ever been able to do. Whether they realized it or not The Clash possessed songcraft and that is always a very good thing. The quartet even had a sense of humor and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" is a good example of that. I'm not sure the song was intended to be funny, but for some reason it always struck me that way. Mick Jones combined his sneering vocals with lyrics such as "If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double." He's telling his girl that she loses either way.  "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" is from  Combat Rock , the last album The Clash recorded with their classic lineup of Jones, guitarist and singer Joe Strummer; bassist Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon - a d...