Complete Control

Mick Jones and Joe Strummer wrote this about their record company's heavy-handed management. It chronicles how The Clash signed a contract and immediately lost control of their music.

The Clash were upset that their label, CBS, made them release a song called "Remote Control" as a single, and came up with "Complete Control" as retaliation. So in the UK in 1977, The Clash released a single they didn't like followed by another one (this) that ridiculed the decision to release the previous one. From that point on, The Clash went to great measures to get control of how their music was distributed.

When the song was released as a single, The Clash issued this statement to the press: "'Complete Control' tells the story of conflict between two opposing camps. One side sees change as an opportunity to channel the enthusiasm of a raw and dangerous culture in a direction where energy is made safe and predictable. The other is dealing with change as a freedom to be experienced so as to understand one's true capabilities, allowing a creative social situation to emerge."