Punk Rock Countdown: No. 21 "Revolution Rock," by the Clash Punk was so earnest in its early days, that a lot of people missed the humor of it all. Not the Clash. "Revolution Rock" was a blatant laugh at the whole punk movement. (As was much of London Calling, but I digress.) On this, the penultimate tune on London Calling, Strummer sounds like a half-sloshed wedding singer or karaoke king, crooning to a calypso/Jamaican dub rhythm: Everybody smash up your seat and rock to this brand new beat...
Well, the beat wasn't brand new. But Strummer and the Clash were having a bit of fun at the expense of the newcomers to punk -- the suburban kids (or rural kids, like me) who had just discovered the sound and subculture.
It took me awhile to figure out that the joke was on me, and many others. When I finally got it, I thought, That's pretty funny.