Saturday, March 4, 2017

Beth’s Music Moment: Paradise Found (Big Audio Dynamite-style)

Move my feet
And touch my soul
Bass sound drum beat
Rock and roll

Just play that music
I don't care what key it's in
Where it's come from
Where it's been

Just play that music

~~ “Just Play Music!” by Big Audio Dynamite

I was on a big Clash kick for a while, which resulted in a natural progression to a Big Audio Dynamite kick. If you don’t know, B.A.D. was the post-Clash project of one of The Clash’s founding members, Mick Jones.

As I started looking up songs and lyrics, I fell down the rabbit hole. One link led to another and I stumbled onto an amazing discovery: an unreleased B.A.D. album!

It’s like rock and roll archaeology!

Yep, way back in 1997, B.A.D. recorded an album but due to a dispute with their record company, it was never released in physical format. The band released it on their website for free, but this was twenty years ago, so it was no longer available. Hell, their WEBSITE is defunct.

But like a dog with a bone, I was determined. I was up into the wee hours as I looked for a legitimate source for the album. I finally found it and when I did, I was blown away. I was up until 5 AM listening to it and I think it is some of their coolest work. What a shame it was never released! It looks like there were several mix tracks on the original download and I was unable to find a source for those, so if anyone can hit me up, please do so!

As much as I love discovering new music that trips my trigger, finding undiscovered music by old favorites is a bit sweeter. Just when you think you’ve heard everything that is out there by them, you find new stuff and it’s incredible!

I adore Mick Jones. I think he’s a genuine musical genius and he continues to make music to this day. Any guy who can write a song like “Around the Girl in 80 Ways” (trust me, it’s sweet) is okay by me. “Admit you’re wrong when she is right.” Mick gets it!

Here are a couple of my favorite songs from this unreleased gem. And remember to keep seeking out music, whether it’s old, new, or new to you. It’s not going to come to you...keep searching. There is so much great music out there and if you tell me otherwise, I’ll tell you that you aren’t looking hard enough!

TURN IT UP!