Joe Edmonds

“London Calling” was released in 1979 as the title track and lead single from The Clash’s third studio album, London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens, the song is a tense punk anthem with a reggae-influenced rhythm. The album around it went much further, drawing on reggae, rockabilly, ska and other styles as the band expanded beyond straightforward punk. It reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was also released as a single in the United States, although it failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its relatively modest chart performance, “London Calling” became one of The Clash’s most iconic songs and has since been regarded as one of the defining recordings of the punk era.

“Kool Thing” was written by Sonic Youth and appears as the lead single from their 1990 major-label debut album Goo. The song grew out of an interview Kim Gordon conducted with LL Cool J for Spin magazine in 1989. Gordon came away disappointed by his attitude toward punk and women and channeled the encounter into the track. Public Enemy’s Chuck D contributed the spoken-word responses simply because he was recording down the hall at the same studio. Released in 1990, the song reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 81 on the UK Singles Chart. It became Sonic Youth’s highest-charting single on alternative radio at the time and remains one of their best-known tracks.