Carbon/Silicon The Die-Hard Demos & Show # 381

Recently a pair of demos appeared under the name Carbon/Silicon via their website. For those of you don’t know Carbon/Silicon is the current project between Mick Jones of The Clash and Tony James of Generation X that formed in 2002. The two also have a history playing as far back as 1975 in the now infamous London SS group.  Carbon/Silicon are a prolific group that have released numerous recordings online for free, their two most recent full length releases are The Last Post (2007) and The Carbon Bubble in 2009. Now back to the demos, in 1994 Mick Jones and Tony James worked on some demos recording them in his garage on a mono cassette recorder with a drum machine. Inspired by the movie Die Hard, James imagined a song if Jack Nicholson were to be the lead vocalist, the result is the song “Rock and Roll with Jack”, a song that James says was never completely finalized. The other track made available is the song “Expensive Habits”, a song that lyrically adheres to the DIY Punk ethos of the 70s. Upon discovering some cassette tapes in his garage, James converted these two tracks for us “die-hard” fans and named them after the inspiration he got from the villains who looked like a band in the film Die-Hard.

James goes into more elaborate detail to the events surrounding the creation of these songs, in the article titled The Die-Hard Demos.

The songs can be heard here:


They have also made available eight tracks featuring songs from four of their studio albums A.T.O.M., Western Front, The Crackup Suite and The Carbon Bubble.



All these tracks are free, for more info on Carbon/Silicon visit http://www.carbonsilicon.com./

This week's play list:

1. The Fun Things - (I Ain't Got) Time Enough For Love
2. Dale D'amore - Get Me Home
3. Teenage Head - Disgusteen (Alternate Version)
4. Sonic Youth - I Know There's An Answer
5. Billy Childish & Thee Headcoats - 409
6. Pterodactyl - Searchers
7. Bad Weather California - You're My Friend
8. The Dead Milkmen - Here Comes Mr. X
9. A Place To Bury Strangers - In Your Heart
10. The Who - Whiskey Man
11. Locusts Have No King - Trench Song
12. Field Assembly - Don't Go Running
13. The Sadies - Rat Creek
14. Carbon/Silicon - Rock and Roll with Jack (1994 James/Jones Die Hard Demo)
15. Mystics - Metamorphasis
16. Mystics - Sunburn
17. The Polymorphines - I Gotta Vibration
18. The Mark Inside - The Bottom Line
19. Tandoori Knights - Bucketful
20. The Fleshtones - Cold, Cold Shoes
21. The Waves - Going Down To Liverpool
22. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Get Down Moses
23. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Long Shadow
24. True Lovers - Love and Affection

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for December 6. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Yes Sir, No Sir... The Kinks Arthur Turns 40... & Show # 270

Its hard to believe that forty years ago in 1969, The Kinks first released their album Arthur (Or The Decline of The British Empire). It was released following their album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, that upon it's initial release sold poorly. Since then Village Green has gone on to become a cult classic and many Kinks fans favourite Kinks album, but people often overlook Arthur. It is based upon a concept revolving around Arthur and his son, who moves to Australia from England with his wife after World War II. The album originally had its first inception by Ray Davies as the soundtrack for a television play. When the play was cancelled, Ray used the themes and ideas he created and transferred them into album form via The Kinks.

The album was recorded from May to July at Pye Studios in the UK in 1969. Another interesting fact about this album is that it was produced by Ray Davies (as was Village Green). The albums concept was based loosely on Rose (Ray's Sister) and her husband Arthur Anning, who moved from England to Australia. This was also the very same Rosie that the song "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" from Face To Face was based on. Themes on the album are addressed such as war, British oriented nostalgia, and the boringness of suburban life. The album opens with "Victoria", a Hard Rock based song that lyrically addressed the British Empire in a satirical way. The ballad "Some Mother's Son", addresses the horrors of war, while the song "Shangri-La" is in a world of its own. It addresses what seems to be a paradise, but as the song carries along the listener finds out that what Arthur thinks is his paradise is actually his own prison as well. Musically, the song mixes elements of Folk, Hard Rock and has been said to be one of Dave Davies favourite Kinks songs that his brother, Ray Davies has written.

"Mr. Churchill Says" references the effects of World War II on the British people. Musically the song picks up from a slow Blues influenced Rock song to being Hard Rock once again. The song actually features paraphrased parts from the speeches of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a siren in the middle of the song that is supposed to represent the air-raid siren heard during World War II. The album also features many other songs playing into this over aching concept. There are other interesting songs such as "Brainwashed", "Arthur", "Nothing To Say", and the six minute "Australia" which features excellent guitar work from Dave Davies. Overall, the album musically is an exciting Rock album.

The album sold poorly in the UK, but in the US it received greater acclaim and reached #105 on the US album charts. Singles released for the album were "Drivin'", "Shangri-La", and "Victoria". Only "Victoria" would do well on the singles market (with the exception of "Shangri-La" in the Netherlands). It went to #62 on the US Billboard Hot charts and #33 on the UK singles charts. Arthur would also mark the beginnings of The Kinks return to mainstream success and a return to the bands Hard Rock style. Arthur was reissued in 1998 with several bonus tracks.

Other Kinks Links:

Waterloo Sunset: The Story of The Kinks Part One
Drivin': The Story of The Kinks Part Two
Some Kinda Kinks (Village Green/Dave Davies Post)
Dave Emulen's Kinks Website


The Play List:

1. The Kinks - Nothing To Say
2. Supergrass - Never Done Nothing Like That Before
3. The Black Hollies - Gloomy Monday Morning
4. The Flaming Groovies - Teenage Head
5. One Way Street - I See The Light
6. J.B & The Playboys - Leave My Woman Alone
7. The Count Five - Double Decker Bus
8. Dr. Feelgood - Riot in Cellblock No.9
9. The Dishrags - Sold Out
10. Ex-Boyfriends - Special Occasions
11. Lost Patrol - Outta My Mind
12. Dream Dates - Search and Destroy
13. Ramona - A Way Over
14. The Goodamn Goodamn's- Steel City Livin'
15. No Age - You're A Target
16. Islands - Vapours
17. The Raveonettes - Bang!
18. Carbon/Silicon - What's Up Doc?
19. Young Executives - Ice Age
20. Mando Diao - Go Out Tonight
21. Van Morrison - Everyone
22. The Clash - Every Little Bit Hurts
23. The Kinks - Shangri-La

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 13th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

In addition to my feature on The Kinks album Arthur, I also played a new song by Carbon/Silicon. Here is the music video for "What's Up Doc?"

Show # 180 - The Live Show

This week my show consisted entirely of live recordings from some of my favourite bands. This included official live albums, and rare unreleased recordings. Some of the material I played was:



The Bootleg Series Volume 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert

After years of being bootlegged, Bob Dylan officially released this live concert as part of his Bootleg Series in 1998. This is the concert where Dylan went electric, causing many of his fans to believe him a sellout. Other interesting facts about this double CD set is that Bob Dylan is backed by a group of Canadian musicians then known as The Hawks. Serving as his backing band, The Hawks would later change their name to The Band.

Sex Pistols - Live in Chelmsford Prison (2002 Sanctuary)

This is a live concert featuring the Sex Pistols live at a prison in 1976. On this CD there are all the Pistols classics such as "Problems", "Anarchy in the UK", "God Save the Queen", and a variety of covers "No Fun (The Stooges)", and "Substitute (The Who)". This bootleg recording sounds better than a large majority of the bands live recordings. Recorded by the bands sound man Dave Goodman, the album showcases an early version of the band featuring Glen Matlock on bass. The actual overall performance of the band has been described as the group not at their best, but it is a good sounding live recordings by the legendary Sex Pistols. Earlier releases of this show, have sound man Dave Goodman adding overdubs to the show, sometimes even singing over top of Rotten making the release worthless. If you want to get this bootleg make sure it is the 2002 Sanctuary version.

Talking Heads - The Name of this Band is Talking Heads

Originally released in 1982, This was a double live album cataloguing the bands career from 1979 to 1981. The title of the album originated from the incorrect pronunciation of the band as The Talking Heads (it's just Talking Heads). The first disc contains live recordings from the period of 1977-1979 and the second disc contains live recordings from the period of 1980-1981. When released on CD in 2004, not only was the album remastered, but also expanded with 15 bonus tracks. The album also contains the song "A Clean Break" which was previously unreleased, and is an excellent track. This is a live album that is just as good if not better than the bands other live album Stop Making Sense.

In other news, on January 11th, Mick Jones and members of Carbon/Silicon played live on stage with none other than Topper Headon (former drummer of the Clash). It was the first time in 25 years the two played together and here are two videos of it:

Train in Vain
Should I Stay or Should I Go

Finally, an article was written for the University of Windsor's newspaper The Lance on my radio show Revolution Rock. If you would like to read it, you can check it out here.

The Play List:

1. The Clash - Jimmy Jazz (Live From Here To Eternity II)
2. The Damned - New Rose (Live Paris Theatre 1977)
3. Sex Pistols - Substitute (Live Chelmsford Prison 1976)
4. Teenage Head - Little Sister (Live 1978)
5. Teenage Head - Ain't Got No Sense (Live 1978)
6. Young Canadians - Poison of Thought (Live No Escape)
7. Saints - Untitled (Live London 1977)
8. Saints - Nights in Venice (Live in London 1977)
9. Gang of Four - Return the Gift (Live Ann Arbour, Michigan 1981)
10. The Jam - And Your Bird Can Sing (BBC Session)
11. Bob Dylan - Tell Me, Momma (Live Royal Albert Hall 1966)
12. Sloan - The Lines You Amend (4 Nights at the Palais Royale)
13. Sloan - Iggy & Angus (4 Nights at the Palais Royale)
14. Generation X - King Rocker (Live Sheffeild 1978)
15. Neil Young - Sedan Delivery (Rust Never Sleeps 1979)
16. Pearl Jam - Fuckin' Up (Live Toronto 2006)
17. Modernettes - Rebel Kind (Live on the Vancouver Show 1983)
18. Smugglers - What Do You Want Me to Do (Live Growing Up Smugglers 1998)
19. The Clash - Hate & War (Live Something Else 1979)
20. Buzzcocks - Fiction Romance (Entertaining Friends 1979)
21. Talking Heads - Don't Worry About the Government (The Name of this Band is Talking Heads)
22. Dead 60s - Liar (Live i-tunes Music Festival 2007)
23. The Hives - List of Demands (XFM Session 2007)
24. Ramones - Let's Dance (Live at the Roxy 1976)

Carbon/Silicon...Show # 171

In 2002, former Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and former Generation X bassist Tony James formed a new group called Carbon/Silicon. Jones and James previously played together in the London SS in 1975, which spawned three different punk bands (The Clash, Generation X, The Damned). Carbon/Silicon was started due to Internet file sharing, one of the first songs Jones/James wrote was "MPfree" which was available for free online. The band began using samples similar to Mick Jones post Clash band Big Audio Dynamite and had two albums worth of material by 2003. Instead of getting clearance for samples for official release Carbon/Silicon made the songs available for free via a fan website. The releases only available through the Internet were titled, Sample This - Peace, and Dope Factory Boogie.

In 2004, the band made their own official website to distribute their recordings. The band also began playing live shows and encouraged fans to record and share the material. The band also released The Grand Delusion and The Homecoming in 2004; Along with the first two releases these were seen as demo recordings. The band then started functioning more as a rock band and less of a band that used samples. In 2006 came A.T.O.M. (A Twist of Modern) and Western Front. Both releases were the first official releases from the band and they featured new recordings as well as re-recordings of older Carbon/Silicon songs. The band then released The Crackup Suite, which was a mini-album featuring new recordings in March of 2007. A series of EP's came next, The News EP, was the band's first physical released which meant you could actually buy it instead of just downloading it, the same for The Magic Suitcase EP.

Finally recently in 2007, the band released it's first official full length album The Last Post. This was twelve tracks, eleven previously available in different forms on their website, and one new track; The tracks were all remixed by Engineer Bill Price (who worked on London Calling, and Nevermind the Bollocks). Carbon/Silicon is still touring, and the band sounds like a mix of Big Audio Dynamite and The Clash, a different kind of rock not exactly the same as Jones and James previous punk bands, but still good. Also around this time the band got former B.A.D. bassist Leo "E-Zee-Kill" Williams, and Dominic Greensmith of the band Reef on drums. From 2004-2005 William Blake played bass for the band, and Danny The Red played drums. For more info on the band as well as free mp3 downloads visit Carbon/Silicon Inc.

What was played:

1. XTC – Science Friction
2. Rezillos – Top of the Pops
3. The Skids – Into the Valley
4. The Perks – Escape
5. The Sinners – In With the New
6. Spiral Scratch – Jimmy Was a Virus
7. The Saints – Lipstick on Your Collar (One Two Three Four EP)
8. The Saints – One Way Street (One Two Three Four EP)
9. The Saints – Demolition Girl (One Two Three Four EP)

10. The Saints – River Deep Mountain High (One Two Three Four EP)
11. Replacements – I Will Dare
12. 63 Monroe – Media Junkie
13. Lowlife – Thinking Naturally
14. Animal Kingdom – Tension
15. Public Image Limited – Swan Lake
16. Klark Kent – Office Girls
17. Subway Sect – Ambition
18. Elvis Costello – Welcome to the Working Week
19. Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World
20. Redwalls – Hangman
21. The Charms – Don't Let Me Down
22. Neil Young – Dirty Old Man
23. The Hives – Won’t Be Long
24. Dead 60s – Prime Time
25. Carbon/Silicon – The News
26. The Clash - What's My Name

Download Part One of Show 171
Download Part Two of Show 171

Carbon/Silicon Videos:

The News
What The Fuck?
Tell It Like It Is
Mpfree
Gangs of England
Soylent Green
Why Do Men Fight? (Live Isle of Wight Festival 2007)