Rush, The Clash or AC/DC in what order and why?

[ArnoldLayne]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the General Discussion forum).

[Skittles]

1. AC/DC, Rush, The Clash

I guess because I saw AC/DC five times (the first time with Bon Scott), Rush three times and The Clash....not at all

[Celerity]

16. The Clash - London Calling

Label: CBS – CBS CLASH 3, CBS – S CBS CLASH 3
Format:
2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: 14 Dec 1979
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, New Wave

[bedazzled]

26. You are so.lucky!

I never saw them until the "for those about to rock" tour and lost interest after that.

[MatthewG.]

2. Rush, then the Clash.

Last edited Thu Sep 15, 2022, 01:53 PM - Edit history (2)

While their somewhat chirpy sound and Geddy Lee’s voice won’t be to everyone’s tastes, Rush’s virtuosic technical skills were such that they’d have to be considered among rock’s greatest instrumentalists. They really blazed their own trail, basically playing in a style that wasn’t exactly prog, or hard rock, or metal, but drew from all three (especially the first two.) I’m not hugely enamored of their earliest work, and not all of their songwriting was on point, but Rush was really unique, with arguably - or maybe inarguably - the greatest drummer in rock history and one of the best bass players to boot.

The Clash are second, a good band that that was seminal to punk. I’m not really into punk, but I’d say they made some solid songs and earned a place in the rock pantheon.

AC/DC is basically what I’d call party rock. If you like ‘em, you like ‘em.

[ArnoldLayne]

3. I agree with you 100 percent.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

4. This is tough

But I’m gonna go Rush - The Clash - AC/DC
Rush was longtime favorite band and one of the first bands I truly loved. I’ve seen them around 20 times in 40 years.
But The Clash made some of my favorite albums as well, and I listen to them more now.
AC/DC I love as well, but nowhere near the same level.

[johnp3907]

5. Among those three?

The Clash is the only band that matters.

[Celerity]

10. +1

[Carlitos Brigante]

17. Ha! Indeed.... nt

[Dorian Gray]

23. I love The Clash

I like Rush.

AC/DC... meh.

[Sky Jewels]

36. Damn straight!

[scarletlib]

37. Gotta agree.

[treestar]

42. LOL

So they said!

Their effect, I think, was greater than the other two.

[joemacdawson]

6. It Depends

Music means different things for different people. It depends what you’re looking for.
Rush, obviously I think, were technically the most skilled band. Innovative even. AC/DC were the most fun band. A three chord bar band writ large. But I think The Clash were the most socially and culturally important band. At least politically. And they’ll be the band best remembered generations from now. Like Dylan and Elvis and the Beatles, they stirred the pot. They shook things up. And inspired others to do the same. Closer To The Heart and Shook Me All Night Long are well recorded fun songs but they wont be remembered like Know Your Rights or even the cover, I Fought The Law (and the Law Won).

[ZZenith]

14. On YouTube right now, on the official Clash Channel,

Know Your Rights has 69,000 views.

Tom Sawyer has 62,000,000 on Rush’s channel.

Pretty sure I know which one future generations are going to be aware of.

[Celerity]

19. 100% lock The Clash will be FAR more remembered, influential, and culturally important than Rush

It will not even be close, especially on a global level.

AC/DC is obviously the biggest seller commercially between the 3, but do not have the cross-cultural and multi-decade artistic impact cache of The Clash.

Know Your Rights has 69,000 views.

Tom Sawyer has 62,000,000 on Rush’s channel.

cherry pick

I can do that too

The Clash - Rock the Casbah (Official Video)

83M views

[ZZenith]

46. Total album sales:

The Clash - 6,317,191

Rush - 40,000,000+ (Moving Pictures alone sold 5,710,000)

[Celerity]

47. those figures for the Clash are bollocks, apparently culled from some dodgy rando Russian site:

About
Русский раздел

Contacts
Any questions, suggestions and notes send on [email protected]. Indicate BEST SELLING ALBUMS in the subject of the email.

Per the BBC in 2019 (and this is just one album):

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-49892621

Since being released as a double album, London Calling has sold more than five million copies and influenced countless people.


The Clash were together for a far shorter time (the majority of the core of the band was already starting to leave by 1982/83) yet left a far larger global imprint cross-culturally and band influence-wise. They are still a vital source of inspiration for hundreds (more likely thousands) of newer bands across the planet.

The classic rock of Rush as a genre is quite moribund, has been for ages, other than, for the most part, nostalgia or commercial-driven revivals (Queen comes to mind) that come and go.

It may well have a revival, but the genres The Clash and their successor bands influenced and came from (punk, post punk, alt rock, electro, reggae, etc) have never stopped producing popular and influential bands on a global basis, dwarfing any continuance of classic rock nowadays (and for years) in terms of new (not a rehash of greatest hits) widespread output of comparable degree.

We can revisit this anytime (assuming I live to roughly to the ages of the now passed on females in my family trees' generations, which is well into their 90's for many, especially on my mum's side, the Bajans) anytime over the next 65-70 years or so.

[ZZenith]

52. I hope you know this is all in good fun and I mean no offense

And it’s absurd to try to rank art of any kind

But!

I do know for a fact that if you take any halfway decent bar band and give them a Clash song they will have it down in a half hour. Give them a Rush song and you can come back next week and they will still be trying to get the bridge right.

So, if your taste runs to simple 3 chord punk songs, you are likely to enjoy The Clash. For forty years Rush made music of an amazingly high degree of complexity and nuance, which, while it may not be to your liking, is the far greater accomplishment.

[Celerity]

57. of, yes of course, every person has their own tastes, but I also would not reduce The Clash

to 3 chord punk bashers, they were vastly more expansive than that

The Call Up

Following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, as the US geared up to reintroduce the draft, the Clash spearheaded the resistance with this fantastic Sandinista! single. “It’s up to you not to heed the call up / I don’t wanna die ... I don’t wanna kill,” cries Strummer, over a magnificently eerie reggae-ish backdrop.



and I think this:

which, while it may not be to your liking, is the far greater accomplishment.

is quite dismissive and contentious


I also never once stated I dislike Rush

I love comlex music like atonal and other forms of jazz, many types of orchestral compositions, and also avant-garde electronica, etc

[ZZenith]

61. That's a 3 chord song you just posted.

F#, G# and E if I had to guess.

Regardless, I think it dismissive and contentious to not recognize how much more difficult it is to produce music like Rush did relative to what The Clash did. The Clash were successful because of their attitude and the zeitgeist, not because they possessed any extraordinary musical abilities.

[ProfessorGAC]

72. Anecdotal Counter Fact

I've been substitute teaching for 4 years.
When 12-18 year Olds find out I was a musician, the rockers want to talk music. As I'm an old guy, classic rock comes up.
Not once in 4 years has The Clash come up. Of course, Beatles, Stones, Who, et al come up.
So does Bowie, Clapton, Zeppelin, Nirvana, and others come up.
I see rock tee-shirts all the time. I see AC/DC shirts regularly.
At my age, these kids are 2 generations my junior, but not once have they come up.
I think you're letting your personal fandom (completely justified) distort their importance.

[Celerity]

20. 100% lock The Clash will be FAR more remembered, influential, and culturally important than Rush

It will not even be close, especially on a global level.

AC/DC is obviously the biggest seller commercially between the 3, but do not have the cross-cultural and multi-decade artistic impact cache of The Clash.

Know Your Rights has 69,000 views.

Tom Sawyer has 62,000,000 on Rush’s channel.

cherry pick

I can do that too

The Clash - Rock the Casbah (Official Video)

83M views

[treestar]

43. +1

[Celerity]

49. great response

But I think The Clash were the most socially and culturally important band. At least politically. And they’ll be the band best remembered generations from now.

[scarletlib]

67. Love their music.

Find the many of lyrics have deep meaning especially in today’s current political environment.

Like them so much, I have read 2 books. One devoted entirely to to the landmark London Calling album, and another biography of the group. In addition have watched one or two documentaries on members of the group.
Great music from a great group.

[fishwax]

7. The Clash

They're not quite *really* the only band that mattered, but I can't imagine the world without them.

Then Rush and then AC/DC.

[Earth-shine]

8. Rush -- keep the rest

Unquestionably, my favorite band since the late 70s.

Complex, technically precise music with lyrics that are among the most thoughtful and verbally clever I have ever read.

[BigmanPigman]

9. The Clash, The Clash and The Clash...

in that order.

Arnold Layne...

[Wingus Dingus]

11. Rush way out in front. Not even close.

Virtuosos on their instruments, complex songs, thoughtful lyrics.

[ZZenith]

12. Rush...................The ClashAC/DC .. AC/DCThe Clash (Doesn't matter)

Rush, as a collection of musicians, is so far beyond the talent of either of the other two it’s ridiculous.

A bit like, “Who was the better musician, Mozart, Brittany Spears, or Debbie Gibson?”

[jcgoldie]

13. AC/DC their album is so good...

... they put it out like 15 times!

No seriously the answer is Rush and the other two are not close.

[ZZenith]

15. LOL!

[Captain Stern]

27. Angus Young agrees.

I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same.“ -- Angus Young

[MatthewG.]

73. LOL. :)

[GoodRaisin]

18. Rush, AC/DC

Rush #1 best music, I bought more of their albums.
AC/DC #2 for some serious rocking, as someone else mentioned they were fun.

I still listen to both on occasion.

Never warmed up to the Clash though.

[ZonkerHarris]

21. The Clash, AC/DC and I'm done.

I said good day!

[Act_of_Reparation]

28. Same.

I'd rather spend a day in the dentist's office than spend ten minutes listening to Rush.

[Straw Man]

22. AC/DC, The Clash, Rush

AC/DC defined a genre and then stayed true to it for decades. They played nasty hard rock better than anybody before or since.

The Clash started out very strong but became caricatures of their former incarnation.

I never cared for Rush -- lots of virtuosity but too much pretension and corny concepts.

[meadowlander]

24. Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Clash

[bedazzled]

25. I put AC/DC first with bon scott ... last without

Bon was very witty and a real showman. The band spun their wheels without him. Rush was magnificent also. I wasn't into the Clash except for couple of songs. AC/DC ... Rush ... Clash

[48656c6c6f20]

29. My favorite cat is a puppy.

[Sky Jewels]

39. My favorite puppy is a kitten.

[lark]

30. AC/DC , the Clash, Rush

Based on the number of songs I like from each group. Rush comes nowhere near the other 2 in my book, just don't care for them much and never have.

[emulatorloo]

31. AC/DC, The Clash, Rush

AC/DC - pure unadulterated joy. Can’t listen without grinning and dancing.
Clash - great rock and politics
Rush -

[Just A Box Of Rain]

32. I went to the very first concert by The Clash in the USA (Berkeley). Not my last show.

AC/DC is fun. I'm not sure I've ever heard a Rush song. Who knows?

The Clash. AC/DC, then Rush.

[Sky Jewels]

33. The Clash - #1

I saw them in ‘82 — opened for The Who. Amazing!

I can’t stand Rush — hate the lead singer’s voice. AC/DC brings back bad memories of high school. I never liked that band, even when I was 14.

[Sky Jewels]

35. I'd rather stick ice picks in my ears than listen to Rush.

[Beausoleil]

38. Of the three, The Clash is best, by far

To me AC/DC was mostly noise, never listened to them, turned them off when they came on the radio. I kinda like to think of that kind of music as aimless and pointless "rock".

Rush is much more interesting, intricate and entertaining but a real lack of mature themes, IMHO.

Never tire of the Clash, the music, the messages, the lyrics. One of the greatest rock bands ever. I was saddened by Strummer's demise.

[Sky Jewels]

40. Same. Joe was amazing.

[Celerity]

53. I love Big Audio Dynamite too

Mick Jones – lead and backing vocals; guitars
Don Letts – lead and backing vocals; FX sound effects
Dan Donovan – keyboards
Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams – bass; backing vocals
Greg Roberts – drums; drum machine; backing vocals


Big Audio Dynamite - Medicine Show (1986 Medicine Show US Remix – Rick Rubin)

Label: Columbia – 44 05359, Columbia – 44-05359
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Electro, Downtempo




Big Audio Dynamite - Medicine Show (1985 UK Remix Paul "Groucho" Smykle)

Label: CBS – DTA 7181
Format:
2 x Vinyl, 12", Single, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Breakbeat, Synth-pop

[moonshinegnomie]

41. rush the clash and the acdc

rush #1. neil peart may have been the greatest drummer of all time and 2112 is my favorite album
clash for rocking the casbah and london calling
not really an acdc fan

[Stratman]

44. My thoughts

Number 1 for just fun to listen to
AC/DC

Number 1 for cultural significance and poignant songs that are great listens
The Clash

Number 1 for lyrical diversity, musical virtuosity and intricate lead and bass guitar
RUSH

[USALiberal]

45. This should be lounge!

[ArnoldLayne]

63. Yea I know

[Retrograde]

48. The Clash is the only band that matters

They said so themselves. "London Calling" is one of the greatest rock albums of the 1970s.

And this really is Lounge material, much as I love and admire the Clash

[gldstwmn]

50. Let's see.

F*ck AC/DC
Marry The Clash
Kill Rush - I cannot stand them.

[Brainfodder]

51. Back In Black, Moving Pictures/Presto, Combat Rock

Most likely order of listening to the albums I own by the 3.



But listening to the Clash one at the moment, been a while.

[LexVegas]

55. The Clash are in top 5 greatest rock bands ever territory. The others are not. nt

[ZZenith]

56. According to whom?

AC/DC record sales mop the floor with either.

[Skittles]

58. says who?

I can think of many bands better than the freaking Clash.

[Deep State Witch]

59. Rush, AC/DC, The Clash

Damn, this is a tough choice!

[Goodheart]

60. New Order

[mvd]

62. Like the Clash quite a bit, Rush is at least interesting, and AC/DC is kind of fun

I just don’t find myself going out of my way to listen to AC/DC.

[MatthewG.]

64. One more thing I'll say about Rush

I’ve shared most of my relevant thoughts on this thread already, but one other thing I’ll say about Rush is that, uniquely among rock bands, to some degree they represented solid middle class, North American values. Eschewing male sexuality for technical proficiency and coolness for hard work and the kind of good-humored nerdy decency that appreciates smart talk and the occasional backyard puff, Rush connected with millions of uncool but striving-to-be-decent suburbanites like myself who saw some of ourselves in their music.

I have some Canadian friends who tell me that while they don’t necessarily love Rush’s musical style per se, they did appreciate them for the respectable values they came to represent.

It wasn’t as sexy as the Clash’s punk rebelliousness, but I’d also say that was part of the point.

[ZZenith]

66. Thank you.

Very well stated. They’ve been written off in this thread as having “a real lack of mature themes,” when the very thing that set them apart from most rock bands was their abundance of mature themes.

This article sums it up nicely:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-nyt-rush-neil-peart-20200114-c45ymgsq4bf4pmrjmdztg6edra-story.html



“And then there were Rush’s lyrics. Most pop songs are about love. Most heavy metal songs are about sex. Most country music seems to be about hard knocks and heartbreak.

Peart’s songs, by contrast, were about — anything else. He wrote about suburban alienation (“Subdivisions”), the cosmological significance of tidal pools (“Natural Science”), metaphorical struggles for equality between oaks and maples (“The Trees”) and a futuristic dystopia in which fast cars are banned by something called “the motor law” (“Red Barchetta”). The themes were political, scientific, interpersonal, futuristic, philosophical.”

[MatthewG.]

68. Good article.

You are welcome.

Good article, btw. I’ve long felt that Rush never got a lot of critical praise (except maybe towards the very end of their career, when their longevity and following among successful musicians compelled some degree of reanalysis) because rock critics tend to look to “coolness”, and Rush was more about middle class values and integrity.

If one is of the school that says “rock is cock” - i.e. a genre entirely about male sexual charisma and norm-breaking - then yeah, Rush probably won’t be to one’s taste.

If one is more into rock as a musical form through which technical virtuosity can be expressed, Rush might be more to one’s liking.

[leftstreet]

69. +1

What a spot-on analysis. You've obviously spent some time thinking about it.

Like Rush or not, they were unique for most of the reasons you state. Include them in any anecdotal "best rock bands evah!" discussion, and they're instantly glorified or vilified.
Which proves they really need their own category.




Sub Triumph for Rush and these polls would look a bit different.

[MatthewG.]

70. You are welcome! And I agree Rush was truly unique among rock bands.

[iemanja]

65. The Clash, the Clash, the Clash

In that order. Because there is no comparing the Clash to the other two.

[highplainsdem]

71. Apples, oranges or kiwi fruit. In what order and why?

[ForgedCrank]

74. My list

1) AC/DC
2) AC/DC
3) AC/DC

I have to say, I'm disappointed in you all.

[JudyM]

75. Locking

Hate to lock this but it was alerted on… please post in the Lounge instead. GD’s SOP:

Discuss politics, issues, and current events.