10 Best Songs Under 2 Mins

Length: 1:58

Throughout their storied career, the Clash never really minced words about their feelings towards the British government. From one track to the next, the band would offer a catchy tune whose lyric sheet was much more intense than you'd expect in a pop song. Then again, when you're putting together something as blunt as "White Riot," it's probably best to have only the basic fundamentals.

As soon as this song gets going, most of the musical instrumentation is a bunch of basic power chords centered around the "White Riot" hook, but Joe Strummer has a lot more to say than simply anarchy. Written as a response to the racially motivated riots taking place in England, this song is a great piece of satire about the white men of London who want to be a part of the uprising. Sure, they might be there to cause a lot of destruction, but these guys will get squeamish when law enforcement shows up to shut everything down.

That's a lot to unpack in just a few minutes, but only the Clash could get away with something as harsh as race relations and somehow make it fit in a compact space. The members of the White Riot might not want to go to jail, but the vitriol of Strummer's voice sounds like he would sooner die than to see this injustice continue.