Our First Time Reaction to 'Rock the Casbah | The Clash vs. The Establishment

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
  • have you heard the story behind The Clash's "Rock the Casbah"? Joe Strummer came up with the phrase while jamming with his violinist friend Tymon Dogg and hearing him play Eastern scales. He started shouting "rock the casbah," but Dogg misheard him and thought he was being told to "stop, you cadger!" Then, Strummer got inspiration for the lyrics from their manager's complaint about the band's long songs and the Indian musical style, rāga. The song tells a fabulist story of a Middle Eastern king banning Western rock music, and the people protesting by "rocking the casbah," leading to the military being sent to bomb them. But get this, the pilots of the fighter jets ignore the king's orders and join the protest by playing rock music on their cockpit radios! The lyrics even feature Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Sanskrit loan-words. It's wild! Did you know it's based on an actual ban on Western music enforced in Iran since the Iranian Revolution? Crazy stuff!
    00:00 INTRO
    02:48

Комментарии • 210

  • @SnoBear626
    @SnoBear626 Год назад +107

    The Clash! One simply cannot tell the story of Rock-and-Roll without them, especially the album London Calling.
    London Calling is one of just a handful of albums that changes the course of music.

    • @MrUndersolo
      @MrUndersolo Год назад +2

      I remember when the expanded edition came out. I did not buy it the first week in my in the store. When I went back a week later, the clerk told me that they sold out.
      Respect.

    • @karlschneider9479
      @karlschneider9479 Месяц назад

      I agree and I also thought Sandinista had some quality songs on it!

  • @thomasreitemeyer4778
    @thomasreitemeyer4778 Год назад +50

    Interesting you are wearing a Public Enemy shirt. Chuck D is a big fan. He did a podcast about the Clash. Chuck D said one of his friends told him Public Enemy should be the rap equivalent of The Clash.

    • @johndeeregreen4592
      @johndeeregreen4592 Год назад +6

      The Clash built a bridge between rap and rock long before anyone else... yet, it has been forgotten.

    • @derekodriscoll7178
      @derekodriscoll7178 8 месяцев назад

      Great comment..the clash record 'This is a radio clash' is must ​@@johndeeregreen4592

  • @hamfox9714
    @hamfox9714 Год назад +149

    The only band that ever mattered.

    • @mgoboski
      @mgoboski Год назад +4

      I saw this before and thought the fan was nuts. Radiohead, Tool, MGMT, Nirvana, etc. But then I kept seeing it and knew it had to be a slogan from their day. I was born years after they broke up, but thanks to my boomer dad for having great taste in music!

    • @beatawallace5725
      @beatawallace5725 Год назад +6

      Darn Right!

    • @kierstenridgway4634
      @kierstenridgway4634 Год назад +2

      That's a heavy statement. ❤✌️

    • @shanefraser7764
      @shanefraser7764 Год назад +1

      Oi oi✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿

    • @hobiwankenobi5450
      @hobiwankenobi5450 Год назад +1

      I get you. I have one of those, too. This was my intro into alternative music in the late 80s early 90s.

  • @jacqueline4514
    @jacqueline4514 Год назад +40

    I was 15 in Brooklyn and would go to the local teen club, and even though this wasn’t disco or hip hop, the dance floor flooded when Rock The Casbah came on! The meaning of the song is that the extreme Muslims have banned western music and this was their shining a light on it ❤

    • @johndeeregreen4592
      @johndeeregreen4592 Год назад +2

      You could always guarantee profound lyrics from Joe Strummer... and a catchy song, at the same time.

  • @BattleMatt
    @BattleMatt Год назад +34

    The Clash were very political and wrote a lot about racism and race relations in the UK, the pop ones always get played but their best ones are things like White Riot and White Man in Hammersmith Palais. RIP Joe Strummer an absolute genius and a lovely man.

    • @normandavidtidiman9918
      @normandavidtidiman9918 Год назад

      Can't disagree with 'White Man',but I'll give you 'Complete Control'.

    • @DecidedlyIndecisive09
      @DecidedlyIndecisive09 Год назад +2

      Sadly, there will never be another Joe Strummer. People say that about celebrities and musicians all the time. Difference is, in Strummer's case it's actually true.

  • @travisshaffer5157
    @travisshaffer5157 Год назад +45

    Other Clash songs that I think you should hit a cover of “I fought the law”, “Should I stay or should I go”,”Train in vain”,”Rudie can’t fail” and “London calling”. I think if you start down the Clash rabbit hole you probably will want to hear more. They were a punk band that at one point sounded like a reggae band more than a punk band. Keep up the good work of sharing good music with the world.

    • @fuzzylogics139
      @fuzzylogics139 Год назад

      Hi Travis, say, I'm trying to remember a song by them that had a video shot in a house/ villa with chandeliers and diamonds everywhere. It was a funny video with I think a kid dancing/ playing guitar and then the singers head on top.. Like you know how we used to do when we were kids where one would do the arms and the other was the head and the arm head coordination was really of to the audience?.. Ok this sounds crazy, I find it hard to explain from vague memories, but I did my best: do you know which song I mean?
      EDIT never mind I've mixed up The Clash with Talking Heads somehow (and how the chandelier and diamonds mixed in with the memory of "Buring down the House" I have no idea, lol ) Getting old I guess!

    • @travisshaffer5157
      @travisshaffer5157 Год назад +1

      Couldn’t for the life of me think of a Clash song with that video. Glad you figured it out.

    • @fuzzylogics139
      @fuzzylogics139 Год назад

      @@travisshaffer5157 😅 Sorry and thanks for your willingness to help!

    • @adamcee7251
      @adamcee7251 Год назад

      punky reggae

  • @nessaseetah1805
    @nessaseetah1805 Год назад +30

    The whole Combat Rock album is the most incredible trip. Heavy stuff!

  • @HemlockRidge
    @HemlockRidge Год назад +23

    A Casbah was/is the ancient fortress that was/is the center of a number of North African cities. The one in Algiers is the most famous.

  • @stephenodubhlaoich
    @stephenodubhlaoich Год назад +6

    Basically talking about Muslim war on western music and how the jet fighters that were supposed to bomb pla ces playing their music basically just ignored orders and started playing western rock instead in the jets lol. Real events

  • @frasercathygartside1356
    @frasercathygartside1356 Год назад +16

    the Clash were trying to build some bridges and burn some others -- they were reaching out and pushing back -- thanks for picking up on this tune

  • @karlschneider9479
    @karlschneider9479 Месяц назад +7

    They are my all time favorite band. Joe Strummer was and still is my idol!

  • @jesuspena8415
    @jesuspena8415 Год назад +2

    Imagine to have a jew & Arab getting along and dancing & rocking together was definitely not kosher. Iran 🇮🇷 arrested 5 young teenagers for making a dance video in public. Iran 🇮🇷 is a deadly place to live, no rights for the Iranians.

  • @CALLAHAN19
    @CALLAHAN19 Год назад +17

    One of the first bands to ever on MTV... we laughed our asses off to this video when it first Came out in very early 80s

  • @cindycollier456
    @cindycollier456 Год назад +20

    I remember turning up my car stereo loud and singing this song with my young kids. Memories.
    😊

  • @ClueSign
    @ClueSign 10 месяцев назад +9

    Written by their drummer while waiting for the other band members to show up to rehearsal.

  • @angelagreen778
    @angelagreen778 Год назад +15

    Read the lyrics!!! Reads like history!

  • @geoffsullivan7902
    @geoffsullivan7902 Год назад +13

    Oh the 80’s were fun! 😂great reaction guys….❤️

  • @kimberlygarcia8271
    @kimberlygarcia8271 2 месяца назад +1

    Lol 😂...I ALWAYS thought he sung "CHARLENE DON'T LIKE IT" Haven't got a clue who Charlene is...😅

  • @antonybrent6232
    @antonybrent6232 Год назад +10

    The clash. Guns of Brixton is a banger 🔥🔥

  • @allisterfiend_2112
    @allisterfiend_2112 Год назад +7

    Look up Kasbah, it is the same as Casbah. Basically means a fortress.

  • @avenueb
    @avenueb Год назад +3

    come on guys this is the most commercial song The Clash ever made. Go deeper

  • @salamecas5293
    @salamecas5293 9 месяцев назад +2

    I think people ought to know that
    we're anti-fascist,
    we're anti-violence,
    we're anti-racist,
    and we're pro-creative,
    We're agaist ignorance.
    Joe Strummer

  • @Another_User_Name_
    @Another_User_Name_ Год назад +5

    Punk Rock/ New Wave/ Alternative Rock, whatever genre you want to call the Clash, they were fantastic! This may have been their biggest hit, but it's far from their best in my opinion. "I Fought the Law", "Train in Vain" are just 2 that come to mind.

  • @objectiveobserver4278
    @objectiveobserver4278 Год назад +1

    You guys need to pull up the lyrics. LOL! This song is about oppression of young Arab people from listening to westernized music. The young Arabs defied the orders.

  • @jimilemons7680
    @jimilemons7680 Год назад +9

    “It could have been the theme to footloose” is one of the best comments of ALL time. The ad lib Jie Strummer through in at the end “He thinks it’s not kosher!” Really irritated some people.

    • @edwardmunoz7853
      @edwardmunoz7853 Год назад +2

      I always thought about kosher pickles when I was younger listening to this 💯🤬

    • @brenetssss
      @brenetssss Год назад +1

      YOU KNOW HE REALLY HATES IT

  • @terrisue4059
    @terrisue4059 4 месяца назад +2

    This video was filmed in Austin. The planes came from Bergstrom AFB before it was turned into the city airport. It was so small back then. Nothing like today. I was able to ride in that Texas limo with longhorns back in the 80's. Ya'll have a great day.

  • @DanSolo871
    @DanSolo871 Год назад +5

    The drummer practically recorded the whole song. He laid down drums, piano, bass and percussion all by himself and that was almost the whole thing.

  • @paulleach1042
    @paulleach1042 Год назад +5

    I love rock and prog rock but this was one hell of a band full stop

  • @JeffSearust
    @JeffSearust Год назад +2

    Most of this was filmed in and around Austin Texas... That's why there's an armadillo..lol

  • @taradalik1405
    @taradalik1405 Год назад +2

    What people seem to not see is that this is one of the most subversive videos EVER made, if not THE one! The rabbi and the Bedouin outside their normal warzone just get along fine, drink alcohol, eat burgers (possibly with bacon), break all the rules and end up in a Clash concert!!!
    Boy, the Clash was unique!😂😂😂

  • @andrewwright9378
    @andrewwright9378 Год назад +4

    I think the three of you should listen to the album ‘Sandinista’ by the Clash. you’d love it.

  • @terryconnelly484
    @terryconnelly484 Год назад +2

    Droping rock bombs on the casbah... Early 80s reference of dropping bombs. Meaning music

  • @cynthiaschultheis1660
    @cynthiaschultheis1660 Год назад +3

    London Calling is a good one, too

  • @betsyduane3461
    @betsyduane3461 Год назад +1

    Umm Casbah is a real word, first on Googles list.

  • @MrVvulf
    @MrVvulf Год назад +2

    What exactly is a Casbah? I got you fam -
    Definition: a North African castle or fortress. : the native section of a North African city.

  • @Nickel138
    @Nickel138 Год назад +3

    Fun fact: This video was filmed in Austin, Tx.

  • @neill392
    @neill392 Год назад +3

    The drummer Topper Headon wrote and played and recorded the track single headedly, while the rest of the band were sleeping in. Joe turned up after lunch wrote and recorded the lyrics and they had one of their biggest chart hits.
    Some years later, after the band had split and Topper was down on his luck, recovering from addiction and working as a taxi driver, Will Smith sampled it for his album Will2K. The royalties bought Topper a house.

  • @TMFMD
    @TMFMD 8 месяцев назад +1

    The Clash & the Sex Pistols created Punk music. The Clash definitely had many songs worth revisiting today.

  • @j.rebekah8605
    @j.rebekah8605 Год назад +2

    Reaction to Iranian revolution of 1979. Sherif is obviously the origin of 'sheriff'. These lyrics are full of political and general history, etymology, commentary on religion, and human nature for better or worse. All set upon the best rock music of all time. And a pretty great video. Thanks guys!

  • @zeroxox777
    @zeroxox777 3 месяца назад +2

    This reaction is lots of fun to a British person 'cuz everyone here has heard it a million times and we see it afresh through your eyes. It was good to see u smiling!

  • @traveldoc1234
    @traveldoc1234 Год назад +2

    Filmed entirely in Austin, TX!

  • @cynthiaschultheis1660
    @cynthiaschultheis1660 Год назад +2

    Middle Eastern students at my University...LOVED IT!!!!👍👍👍😎😎😎

  • @goeienacht
    @goeienacht Год назад +1

    To the guy that said “I only know black shit”….my family is big on the clash and many bands that fell into ska…which was a genre birthed from people of color and inspired reggae. We need to stop believing black is not rock genres too… y’all should react to the specials too.

  • @yolandabrooksqueenofsevens
    @yolandabrooksqueenofsevens Год назад +3

    This was my cut y’all in 1982🔥🔥🔥

  • @ELIZABETHANNEBuonagura
    @ELIZABETHANNEBuonagura Год назад +2

    The Casbah (Arabic: قصبة, qaṣba, meaning citadel) is the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Kasbah of Algiers a World Cultural Heritage site, as "There are the remains of the citadel, old mosques and Ottoman-style palaces as well as the remains of a traditional urban structure associated with a deep-rooted sense of community."[1]

  • @carlwarrell3216
    @carlwarrell3216 Год назад +1

    The video was filmed in Austin Texas and I knew several places filmed.

  • @rhllnm
    @rhllnm 9 месяцев назад +1

    Filmed in Texas.

  • @DKLGalactus5
    @DKLGalactus5 7 месяцев назад +2

    There's always a massage in there music.

  • @jillk368
    @jillk368 Год назад +3

    Are Whoppers Kosher, though? ;) Good reaction, guys. Have you checked out: Should I Stay Or Should I Go? If you haven't, I hope you will!!

    • @TheDivayenta
      @TheDivayenta Год назад +1

      Sure are as they are beef, not pork.

  • @thatmanstumototours2270
    @thatmanstumototours2270 Год назад +1

    The Casbah is a section of the city of Algiers in Algeria...It has been used to name many restaurants,nightclubs etc in order to evoke the mystery and secrecy of the old Casbah, which is almost maze-like in its layout,full of hideaways and back alleys and was a stronghold of the Algerian independence fighters in their struggle against the French ...you can visit it today,just get on a plane and get ready to smoke some most excellent kif....the sharif was the head of the local government in the Ottoman empire and is where we get the term Sheriff....

  • @lucagoodwinnicholls9451
    @lucagoodwinnicholls9451 5 месяцев назад

    Kia Ora hello guys from AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND brothers this is my favourite band ever. My 17 year old son is called Strummer Clash Palace (palace is my surname) . Ps this isn't my account 😮 it's my stepsons 😊

  • @jaydMANifistation
    @jaydMANifistation 8 месяцев назад

    Dictionary
    Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
    noun
    the citadel of a North African city.
    "a town dominated by its ancient casbah"
    the area surrounding a North African citadel, typically in the old part of a city.
    noun: the kasbah; noun: the casbah
    "he took me to a flat in the casbah"

  • @dallismurphy3802
    @dallismurphy3802 Год назад +3

    You might like 'Guns of Brixton', 'Straight To Hell', 'Rudy Can't Fail', 'London Calling ' & 'Bankrobber'. Too many great songs to list but these ones are also good inroads into The Clash.

  • @markchapman4466
    @markchapman4466 26 дней назад

    Check out The Clash cover "Police on my back" - cover of a 60s song by The Others (Eddy Grant on lead vocals)

  • @trevorwilliams7279
    @trevorwilliams7279 2 месяца назад

    The clash were a punk rock band from ladbroke grove w10 west london year 1982

  • @kayakuprising5914
    @kayakuprising5914 9 месяцев назад +1

    This music video was filmed around Austin, TX in 1982.

  • @cynthiaschultheis1660
    @cynthiaschultheis1660 3 месяца назад

    Casbah is surrounding area outside Mosque, Temples.🙏

  • @cmoplay1
    @cmoplay1 Месяц назад

    A casbah is an ancient fortified city. Mostly in North Africa, specifically Morocco. A sharif is a regional government.

  • @davihinghaus9785
    @davihinghaus9785 Год назад +1

    Another amazing reaction video hahaha
    You should react from Clash: London Calling and Guns of Brixton

  • @lisar3944
    @lisar3944 Год назад

    I was always sad this song was the one of the two that "made it" - it is (of course in my humble opinion) their least good song, closely followed for least bad by "Should I stay or should I go" - The Clash are so much better than this. Yeah everyone raves about London Calling (no doubt a great album) but I recommend checking out "The Clash" and "Sandinista" (sadly underappreciated). Political? You get it in spades with those two. Rather uniquely so, on several topics that weren't popular in music at the time.

  • @clareshaughnessy2745
    @clareshaughnessy2745 Год назад

    Ah, 1982, Liverpool, the State night club

  • @darrylwiggins4799
    @darrylwiggins4799 Месяц назад

    Why does the thumbnail always show clueless and shocked black people whenever the clash is played for the first time.?

  • @whatnowwomandamn8055
    @whatnowwomandamn8055 6 месяцев назад

    You three buffons look up with casbah is and about Islam back in 80’s maybe you'll understand the true meaning of the song

  • @timlong7787
    @timlong7787 Год назад +4

    There was an interview with the Clash’s manager. He said he was yelling at the band for their attitudes. And not coming up with songs fast enough. Right after that meeting he handed in this song. And he knew Stummer wasn’t paying attention to him and was somewhere else in his mind

    • @thisisitreactions
      @thisisitreactions  Год назад +2

      The video gives off that rebellious energy, so we can see that story being true!

  • @marcoramirez709
    @marcoramirez709 25 дней назад

    A lot of good bands like The Clash get identified with one song, and it's unfair to them, but much more so to their listeners. They had all kinds of good musical playing and political thinking, but this is what took them into public life. It's not even that they were better than this, they were much more interesting than this. This song was a fun joke that they through out there, and it became their identifying pop hit. Please, keep listening.

  • @mletrout7942
    @mletrout7942 Месяц назад

    London Calling album by The Clash is the Fifth Book of the rock ‘n roll Torah.

  • @debnor5387
    @debnor5387 2 месяца назад

    You wonder why Baby Boomers are a bit crazy, this is what we grew up with! The 60's were all about Vietnam.

  • @brooksboyd1959
    @brooksboyd1959 Год назад +2

    Filmed in Austin.

  • @catboxvideo
    @catboxvideo 8 месяцев назад

    The Clash released a ton of great tracksalso check out the post Clash band of Big Audio Dynamite- the Globe is a good starting track

  • @helenmckeetaylor9409
    @helenmckeetaylor9409 7 месяцев назад

    Sharif don't like it.. Sharif is like the head man of the clan. The Casbah is like the stronghold of the town or area .

  • @alankelsey949
    @alankelsey949 22 дня назад

    everyone would sing F... the Cassbar !

  • @pauledwards2564
    @pauledwards2564 Год назад +4

    No-one walked or rocked like The Clash

  • @c.s.m.k5737
    @c.s.m.k5737 7 месяцев назад

    This vid would be cancelled today given the middle-east conflict now. Still an awesome song though

  • @williamp5858
    @williamp5858 27 дней назад

    His face is pure joy. It's funny seeing religious people in a music video.

  • @deborahnicholas6200
    @deborahnicholas6200 10 месяцев назад

    The sheikh didn't like it be because music in Islam is not halal (allowed) but haram i.e. forbidden.

  • @katyareads221
    @katyareads221 Год назад +1

    Love your channel. How about Pat Benater "You better Run" the 2nd song aired on MTV.or "I am the Fire" by Halestorm.....anything by Van Halen...."Eruption".

  • @seanharrigan6365
    @seanharrigan6365 2 месяца назад

    The only older band that the punks respected was the Kinks.

  • @lauraartis5452
    @lauraartis5452 Год назад +4

    When I first heard this song eons ago, I thought it said lock the cashbox! 😂😂😂😂

  • @jameshannagan4256
    @jameshannagan4256 Месяц назад +1

    This was not an anti-Islam song at all they wrote it because Iran outlawed popular music after the Shah was deposed and they were just poking fun at how stupid that was.

  • @edwardmunoz7853
    @edwardmunoz7853 Год назад +2

    Filmed in Austin Texas 🤘

  • @jennifergreene6828
    @jennifergreene6828 4 месяца назад

    Need to listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan and double trouble

  • @QuicknStraight
    @QuicknStraight Год назад +1

    The Clash were politically active and their songs mostly made points a about the state of society, big business and politics. And especially racism. They had plenty of hits!

  • @DavidPurvis-dt6iw
    @DavidPurvis-dt6iw 9 месяцев назад

    Think of the year this was in the charts then look at what is happening in the world today I think it's time for the punks to rock the Casbah

  • @dang1086
    @dang1086 11 месяцев назад

    i always thought rock the casbah was about the over throw of the iran royal family sharia dont like it.

  • @cynthiaschultheis1660
    @cynthiaschultheis1660 3 месяца назад

    Sharif is "noble" "elite" of society.😵😵😵😵

  • @saintsataniko2116
    @saintsataniko2116 Год назад +1

    I don't remember much of an uproar related to Rock the Casbah or reports of death threats (although it's certainly possible). But there's another song that came out a few years before called "Killing An Arab" by The Cure that really ran that risk. It's not at all about what the title suggests. It was actually about the French novel "L'Etrangere" (The Stranger) by Albert Camus who was actually born in Algeria. The song was one of The Cure's first singles, but started to disappear from compilations by the late 90's. I thought The Cure were legitimately afraid to even be associated with it but I see there's a video of them playing it live in Mexico as recently as 2019.

  • @marqmars3599
    @marqmars3599 Год назад +4

    "Are we reunited?" 🤦😂🤣🤣🥰

    • @thisisitreactions
      @thisisitreactions  Год назад +3

      LOL. That's what I thought they really said...LOL. 😃 Glad you enjoyed the video. -- Corey Roy

  • @candicelitrenta8890
    @candicelitrenta8890 Год назад +1

    Midnight Oil is a band out of Australia and they had a number one hit with Bed's are Burning. I would love to see you react to that one. It is very political as well. From the 80's

  • @iamthecaptainofmysoul2293
    @iamthecaptainofmysoul2293 Год назад

    Check out ‘white man in Hammersmith Palais’

  • @bibakroll8999
    @bibakroll8999 Год назад

    Love the jew and the arab dancing together - that's what music can do if we let it!

  • @harlee2191
    @harlee2191 3 месяца назад

    Sound of my 8th grade experience 😂🎉

  • @karenmandeville7116
    @karenmandeville7116 Год назад +2

    the Casbah is a citidel/castle in Algeria.

    • @karenmandeville7116
      @karenmandeville7116 Год назад

      you probably typed what is the casbah, which gets you this video. you need to type WHERE is the Casbah-it's a place.

  • @admiralbillom7559
    @admiralbillom7559 Месяц назад

    they were our local squat band - legends!

  • @Mariosilvagt3
    @Mariosilvagt3 3 месяца назад

    Try the Magnificent 7 by the Clash

  • @4x4vw
    @4x4vw 9 месяцев назад

    The Kasbah is a place in the country of Morocco

  • @aliciagail6018
    @aliciagail6018 Год назад +2

    I'm sorry you all missed them in real time 🥲

  • @blakerh
    @blakerh Месяц назад

    If this came out today, the band would be dead af.

  • @stevesharp6138
    @stevesharp6138 4 месяца назад

    Lite punk with a absolute message

  • @cyberash3000
    @cyberash3000 Месяц назад

    some muslim sects dp drink alcohol

  • @loriprovencher8984
    @loriprovencher8984 7 месяцев назад

    Know Your Rights is another great song of theirs.