Didn't Like Jazz, Didn't Like Funk...

A great lost song here for you- from the end days of Big Audio Dynamite and their final album, called F-Punk, this is I Turned Out A Punk. Some wheezy garage organ, crashing punk rock riff, shambolic drumming and Mick's tale of how he turned out a punk.

'Mummy was a hostess, daddy was a drunk

Cos they didn't love me then, I turned out a punk

An ex-house full of memories, memories and junk

Never had a childhood, I turned out a punk

Then I learned to play guitar, with a plink and a plunk

I didn't like jazz, I didn't like funk

I turned out a punk'

Nothing clever or sophisticated here, just a cracking garage punk song.

I Turned Out A Punk

At The Top Of The Dial

Poking around the internet I found this, the lead track from a tribute to Joe Strummer album called Shatter The Hotel, all the tracks being reggae and dub versions of Clash songs. It's actually pretty good with several standout versions and worth tracking down if Clash covers are your thing. You can get it at emusic and on Amazon. The album's proceeds go to Strummerville which supprts several worthwhile Strummeresque causes. If you like the Easy Allstars cover albums of Pink Floyd and Radiohead chances are you'll like this too and many of The Clash's songs take easily to dub and reggae-isation. This one is London Calling, covered by Dubtronix ('Dubstep, future garage and beyond' his website says, and hopefully 'weddings, parties, anything, and bongo jazz a speciality' as well), with the great Don Letts and Dan Donovan (currently playing keyboards in reformed Big Audio Dynamite) guesting. Skanking.

London Calling [feat. Don Letts & Dan Donovan].mp3 - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

There's Been A Brainwave At The Radio Station

Two pieces of wireless related news as Bagging Area toys with becoming an online listings service. Andrew Weatherall, featured once or twice round these parts, is in the chair on 6 Mix tonight (Sunday) from 8 until 10. Don't touch that dial.

On Tuesday night Mick Jones is on Radio 2, also from 8 o'clock, with Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie talking about The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite. The original line up of B.A.D. have reformed for a tour this spring to play their still wonderful, groundbreaking first album (Medicine Show, The Bottom Line, and E=MC2 are all firm favourites) and hopefully this 1986 follow up, C'Mon Every Beatbox- a rush of guitars, samples, machine drums and catchy lyrics. B.A.D. play Manchester on Friday April 8th, the day we drive off for a week away. Bugger. I'm currently weighing up Liverpool and Leeds as alternatives.

02 C\'mon Every Beatbox.wma

Live And Direct From My Living Room

After the end of Big Audio Dynamite Mick Jones formed a band with mate Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik), and started off making guitar and sample based punk-riff-rock, distributing everything for free over the internet. I saw them at some point at Night And Day, good fun, very hot and sweaty, no Clash songs, but a good night out. By 2007 the songs had sharpened up and they issued a cd album The Last Post, with a cover featuring a load of the memorabilia Mick has collected over the years, and is now displaying in his mobile rock 'n' roll museum. Bring it up North Mick! This song, Why Do Men Fight?, was the closer to the album and the best, a cool guitar riff, driving bass, four to the floor drumming, and Mick's meditations on the nature of blokes and why they can't help punching each other- 'religion, race, colour, creed, law, jobs, drugs, whatever'. Alcohol, girls and football seem to be missing from the list but hey, this is a good, simple song, great when played loud in the car.

We're off camping for the Bank Holiday, despite the mixed weather forecast and below average end-of-summer temperatures. Brave or foolish? Time will tell. Don't worry, the rockabilly's all set up for later. Have a good weekend.

12 Why Do Men Fight-.wma

Big Audio Dynamite 'The Bottom Line' Film & Cinema Version

This popped up on the mp3 player on the way home today, and fits in nicely with the Joe Strummer and Return To Brixton posts we've had at Bagging Area this week. The Bottom Line was one of the stand out tracks from B.A.D.s 1985 debut album This Is Big Audio Dynamite, and showed Mick forging ahead after being kicked out of the band he started, teaming up with reggae punk Don Letts. B.A.D. pioneered, certainly for a British band, using drum machines with guitars and using samples from films. Medicine Show, The Bottom Line and E=MC2 showed Mick in a burst of creativity, and all three and most of the rest of the album sound great today. This is the 12" version of The Bottom Line, stretched out over seven and half minutes but not feeling a second too long, and picks up from where the album version finished with 'I'm gonna take you to, I'm gonna take you to, I'm gonna take you to... part two'.

bottom line film & cinema version.mp3