Lost in the Supermarket

Song infobox
Name = Lost in the Supermarket


Artist = The Clash
Album = London Calling
Released = 14 December, 1979
track_no = 8
Recorded = August-September 1979, November 1979 at Wessex Studios
Genre = Rock
Length = 3:47
Writer = Joe Strummer, Mick Jones
Label = CBS
Producer = Guy Stevens
Misc = "Lost in the Supermarket" is a 1979 song by The Clash.Green, Johnny; Garry Barker (2003). "A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash", p. 172.] Written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones and produced by Guy Stevens, it is credited to the Strummer/Jones songwriting partnership. It was released on their third studio album "London Calling". It is the eighth song on the track listing. Although it features Mick Jones on lead vocals, the lyrics were written by Joe Strummer.cite journal
last=Blashill
first=Pat
date=2004-10-14
title=London Calling 25th Anniversary Edition Review
journal=Rolling Stone
volume=
issue=10
pages=
publisher=Straight Arrow Publishers
location=San Francisco, CA
issn=0035-791X
oclc=1787396
accessdate=2008-01-08
Related news articles:
*cite web
url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9714
title=Lost In The Supermarket by The Clash Songfacts
accessdate=2008-01-11
format=PHP
publisher=Songfacts
*cite web
url=http://www.superseventies.com/spclash.html
title=The Clash - London Calling
accessdate=2008-01-06
publisher=Super Seventies ] cite web
url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9714
title=Lost In The Supermarket by The Clash Songfacts
accessdate=2008-01-11
format=PHP
publisher=Songfacts ]

Writing and recording

The song was conceived and recorded in Jones' grandmother's flat where he was living at 36 Causton Street, down by the River Thames, near Vauxhall Bridge Road in Pimlico, London, between May and August, 1979 and recorded at Wessex Studios, 106A Highbury New Park, an old converted church between Islington and Stoke Newington (nearby Clissold Park), produced by producer Guy Stevens and engineered by Bill Price on August-September 1979.cite web
url=http://www.theclash.org.uk/London.htm
title=London Calling
accessdate=2008-01-11
publisher=theclash.org.uk ]

cquote
Hearing Mick's soft voice over the studio speakers singing "Lost in a Supermarket", and its story of high-raise walls


Joe Strummer

The supermarket in question is located beneath the Jones' grandmother's flat.

Music and lyrics

A slower song than many of the others on the album, its lyrics describe someone struggling to deal with an increasingly commercialized world and rampant consumerism. The song opens with Strummer's autobiographical memories of his parents' home in suburban Warlingham, with a hedge "over which I never could see." With lines such as "I came in here for that special offer - guaranteed personality", the protagonist bemoans the depersonalization of the world around him. The song speaks of numbers about suburban alienation, the feelings of disillusionment that come through youth in modern society.cite web
url=http://londonsburning.org/lyr_complete_lyrics_06.html#LostintheS
title=Lyrics Part 6 of 10
accessdate=2008-01-11
work=Clash Lyrics Page
publisher=londonsburning.org ] cite book
last=Dimery
first=Robert
title=Collins Gem Classic Albums
accessdate=2008-01-08
year=1999
publisher=Harper Collins Publishers
location=Glasgow
isbn=0004724852
oclc=43582584
pages=
chapter=
quote=On "Koka Kola" and "Lost In The Supermarket" advertising is rubbished.
Related news articles:
*cite web
url=http://www.superseventies.com/spclash.html
title=The Clash - London Calling
accessdate=2008-01-06
publisher=Super Seventies ]

In the "Making of 'London Calling': The Last Testament" DVD, released with the 25th anniversary edition of London Calling in 2004, Strummer said he wrote the lyrics imagining Jones' life growing up in a basement with his mother and grandmother. [cite video
people = Clash, The
date2 = 2004-09-21
title = London Calling
medium = Compact Disc, DVD Video
publisher = Epic
location = New York
accessdate = 2008-01-08
oclc = 56620494
quote = Compact discs accompanied by bonus DVD. Song lyrics inserted in container. 2 sound discs: digital; 4 3/4 in. + 1 videodisc (DVD, ca. 50 min.: sd., col.; 4 3/4 in.) + booklet ( [36] p.: ill.; 12 cm.) + 1 lyrics sheet (2 p., folded). Contents: CD, disc 1, original LP: London Calling – Track listing. CD, disc 2, The Vanilla Tapes (previously unheard rehearsal sessions including five new songs) track listing. DVD: Last testament: The making of London Calling (30 min.) – Extras: Promos of London Calling, Train in Vain, Clampdown – Home video footage of The Clash recording London Calling at Wessex Studios. ] cite web
url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9714
title=Lost In The Supermarket by The Clash Songfacts
accessdate=2008-01-11
format=PHP
publisher=Songfacts ]

Cover versions

The song was covered by Ben Folds for use in the movie "Over the Hedge". In addition, a cover performed by The Afghan Whigs was released on the tribute album "Burning London"; lead singer Greg Dulli sings portions of the Ben E. King song "Stand By Me" and another Clash song "Train in Vain" over the outro.

Notes

References

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