Moments of Maybe

Betsy Ross did okay, given what she had to work with.

I just thought I could do better.

—Sly Stone

Never see anyone mention the more-than-passing resemblance between “White Riot,” by the Clash, and “Scare Him,” by the Maytals, or talk about what it meant for Joe Strummer and Mick Jones to sing about wanting a “white riot” (”a riot of our own”) to a tune lifted so blatantly from a Black band.

Maybe they were being ironic?

Maybe so, but irony wasn’t a Clash calling card. Either way, the copyright reads, “ Strummer / Jones” and that’s where the royalties go.