Music critics can debate forever about who invented rock n’ roll, or who the greatest guitar player is, but one thing’s for certain like Joseph Stalin behind the Iron Curtain: without Les Paul, this rock shit definitely never would be going on.
Yesterday Paul passed away at the age of 94, and while he wasn’t really a rock dude himself, the guitar he helped create (appropriately named the Les Paul) spawned the sound of heavy metal and punk, and was the go-to axe for countless other musicians. To commemorate Paul’s passing, Complex presents The Greatest Performances in the History of the Les Paul Guitar…
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The Clash (l to r): Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer
Before MTV and Clear Channel radio made punk rock about as dangerous as a box of kittens, there was The Clash, a group so raw and in your face (pause X 2) that their own label refused to release their first record because it wasn’t “radio friendly.” Last Friday marked the 32nd anniversary of their first show, and today comes the DVD release of an award-winning documentary on their lead singer Joe Strummer called The Future Is Unwritten.
Narrated through interviews with Strummer’s pals like Johnny Depp, Courtney Love and Melle Mel, Unwritten follows the self-proclaimed “punk rock warlord” from his childhood to his untimely death in 2002, and includes his theory (sure to have the Surgeon General going nuts) that people who don’t smoke shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy art made by cigarette smokers. Check the trailer for Unwritten after the jump.
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