London Calling is the album that defined post-punk. The sound of punk remains, but there’s something new here too: it leans into ska, it tends to be a bit more positive than punk, and the rhythms are classic. At the same time, the vocals, beats, and rhythms emulate that of punk. London Calling, then, is the transition that provided the bridge to the huge diversity of post-punk genres that came out of the late 1970s.

Interestingly, the albums release in 1979 coincides with multiple major events: we might call it the death of radical activism. Thatcher became prime minister in the UK, the Iranian Revolution culminated in Ayatollah Khomeini wiping out leftist activists, and even Pope John Paul II (who came from a then-Communist country) was elected pope. 1979 offered something different from what came before, and London Calling is part of that process.

Beyond its significance, the Clash is simply fun to listen to. This is a good album, and I love the sounds that come through here.