Big Audio Dynamite at Coachella
Nice surprise a few weeks ago during Coachella’s webcast to stumble across Big Audio Dynamite‘s set. I missed their first go ’round back in the mid 80’s, but developed an appreciation for their albums over the years since. It was 1991’s The Globe
(with the retooled lineup of Big Audio Dynamite II) that woke me up and made me dig back into their earlier incarnation.
As you see, the boys have aged right along with the rest of us, but how sweet is it to see former Clash-man Mick Jones on stage in 2011, having a ball? Word is they’ll schedule more dates in the U.S. later this year. Keep an eye out…
Big Audio Dynamite’s Site
B.A.D. on AmazonHere’s B.A.D.’s entire April 16th set at Coachella…
Medicine Show
Beyond the Pale
A Party
V Thirteen
BAD
E=MC2
The Battle of All Saints Road
The Bottom Line
RushCarbon/Silicon’s Crackup Suite
Mick Jones (formerly of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik), are old friends from the Brit punk scene of the mid 70’s. They are alive and well these days, churning out new music as Carbon/Silicon.
Free new music.
Every now and then, new albums pop up on their web site with free mp3’s and artwork. Today was one of those days. 4 out of the 6 songs that make up their new album, The Crackup Suite, appeared this morning. You can read the rationale behind this project here on their web site bio.
Here’s one of the new tunes. I picked the strangest one.
You can download all four here. How does this one grab you?
Carbon/Silicon:
T.F. Madness(mp3)New from the Clash, Sort of
Well not really, but two members of the Clash have some interesting projects going. I’ve spoken before of Mick Jones’ collaboration with Tony James, named Carbon/Silicon. They keep pumping out fresh and free material via their web site.
Here’s one that’s pretty damn catchy, and appeals to my I.T. geek-ness.
Carbon/Silicon: The Network’s Going Down – this and many many more full mp3’s available from this page on their web site. I’ve heard rumblings of a U.S. tour, which would be very very cool.
Also active again in the music arena is Clash bassist Paul Simonon. I read about his latest project in the latest Rolling Stone. Made up of former Blur & Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong, Simonon, and former Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. And produced by Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse (the hipster favorite who, with Cee-Lo, makes up Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy” never did anything for me, by the way). Cool lineup, huh?
I’ll have to post some Fela Kuti soon. For those who haven’t heard of him, he was a Nigerian musician / political activist who popularized Afrobeat in the 60’s and 70’s. Find out more about him here. I’ll put a post together soon, though. Shame on me for not posting Fela sooner.
Back to the eclectic project. The album, titled The Good The Bad and The Queen, will be released in January. The first single, “Herculean”, is already available in the UK. As for the band name, Rolling Stone says they’re still nameless, but it appears by their web site and MySpace page that they’re calling themselves The Good The Bad and The Queen too.
As for the single, it’s nothing mind-blowing to me personally, but given the lineup, I’m willing to give it a healthy dose of listens and let it seep in. My musical resume doesn’t include a lot of Blur or Danger Mouse,and just a little bit of Gorillaz. Recommendations?
The Good The Bad and The Queen:
Herculean(mp3) – check out their official web site.From the Clash to Carbon/Silicon
I’ve been reading a bio of the Clash called The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town (thanks to a recommendation from Ickmusic reader Sean – thanks Sean). I’m only 100 pages into a 500 + page book, but it’s really cool to read all of the background of the members leading up to the formation of the Clash.
Mick Jones was Clash guitar-man and the higher pitched voice that complemented Joe Strummer’s snarling rough and tumble vocals. Before the Clash formed, he and bassist /guitarist and friend Tony James were in a number of bands together, the most popular of the bunch called London SS. Tony later went on to form Generation X with Billy Idol. Later in the 80’s, he formed Sigue Sigue Sputnik.
So naturally you tend to wonder what these blokes are up to these days. Mick had his post-Clash success with Big Audio Dynamite (later renamed BAD II), but I hadn’t been keeping up with his whereabouts lately. Much to my surprise, Mick Jones and Tony James teamed up in 2004 to form Carbon/Silicone. They’ve been busy recording and releasing mini EPs exclusively through their web site.
From their Wikipedia entry:
Similar in many respects to Jones’ earlier work in Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon aims to break the traditional approach to rock and roll. The band was described by critic Alan McGee as “…the Stones jamming with a Laptop,” and they make use of samples in their recordings and live shows. The formation of the band was catalyzed by the internet and p2p file sharing. The first song written by Jones and James was entitled “MPFree,” in which they expressed their willingness to embrace the technology of the internet and file sharing, in the interest of spreading music, rather than profit. The band still makes live bootlegs and recordings freely available through their own site, and the popular fansite – carbonsilicon.info.
It’s great stuff. Two of my favorites are featured here. Go to their web site to download about a dozen other tracks as well.
Carbon/Silicon:
The Second Time Around(mp3)
Carbon/Silicon:BarnesWallis(mp3)
