Shesaiddestroy.org offers an .avi of The Clash, onstage in 1977, performing “London’s Burning.” [via The Cartoonist, again!]

For reasons unclear to me, there has been a subcurrent of Joe Strummer in my mediasphere over the past week.

This clip is interesting to me for several things:

Mick Jones looks at his fret hand the whole time he is playing the basic chords of the song and only looks away when he freestyles.

They must be hot in those jackets.

What is up with the oddball flat-and-bright lighting?

The cameraperson might be new to the game, not varying the shoot at all. Could this be from Don Letts’ footage? Is it a rip from “From Westway to the World”? Is this one of the art school gigs? The original site says it’s a gig in Munich.

I remember as a thirteen-year-old thinking those spring-coiled patch cords were the shiznit. Later in life I actually used one for a while, and they suck: they tangle in epic manner, and when they age, the cables snap in the coil. Avoid them.

I love the film scratches. What gear was this shot with? That really seems to be the live audio, and with that static camera work I’d guess this is an 8mm shoot; in which case the footage may have been shot silent. Whatever, it would be interesting to get the backstory.