sound of the suburbs

A fair number of you probably know the Rolf Harris classic 'Two Little Boys', the title of this song was what sprung to mind when considering a post on the latest venture heralded by Mick Jones and Tony James, Carbon Silicon inc. Their friendship might not quite go back to school days but does date back over 30 years. The duo were founding members of the seminal UK punk band London SS legends despite never having played a single gig. What happened after is as they say history with both men's careers following similar paths until they were to reconvene as a unit at the debut of the century. Tony James went on to form the punk/pop-art Generation X with Billy Idol after the pair had spent some time with Gene October in an early version of Chelsea the demise of the band left James free to form the provocative future looking Sigue Sigue Sputnik which kept him busy through the eighties. As for Jones, after finding the person he wanted to front his next group he thankfully managed to persuade him to leave the 101ers and so it was that Strummer/Jones became another legendary songwriting partnership while at the helm of the Clash. Upon being kicked out by Strummer, Jones wasted no time in pursuing his interest in dance music with his new project Big Audio Dynamite which was to sadly peter out in the nineties. That last decade of the 20th century was not to be kind to either of the two men, and they both started to follow other paths, though during this period they were to discuss how to start a grown up group with maybe Jack Nicholson! The got to work together again in 2002 citing the ability to burn cds and mp3 technology along with P2P networks as the original inspiration, they composed their first song built around the title 'M.P. Free'. Around this time Jones returned to his rock/punk roots when he produced the Libertines second album, this experience proved to be another inspiration as creative juices began to flow and more and more songs were born. These early compositions relied heavily on machinery and samples but by mid 2003 the guitars were getting heavier as they said themselves leading to the adoption of a real live rhythm section, as James switched to second guitar, and a first gig in 2004. The same year saw the web site go live as the band practiced what they preached and posted works in progress. They have continued this way for the last 2 years and visibly have no desire to release hard product as their first real album A.T.O.M. (A Twist Of Modern) has been available on their web sit since July 28 this year. While it is true that neither of the two men really need to work again, it is still honorable of them and much to their credit that they believe in spreading their music as opposed to making money, I agree that the music they are making is hardly revolutionary but what is different is their way of existing outside of the music biz norms. This may well have back fired a little when one executes a web search very little comes to light, even the mighty AMG has no entry for the band, nor do they mention them in their entry on Mick Jones, it's almost as if a record is a prerequisite for existing in this world that appears more and more to be controlled by (deaf) accountants in suits as opposed to business minded music lovers. I don't want you to think that the music they are producing is no good and suggest that you waste no time in downloading the 14 songs that constitute the album here. Current faves are 'Night Falls' that reminds me of the more experimental side of 'Combat Rock' and 'What The Fuck' which follows a line that goes from Bo Didley, the Who and The Clash to Carbon Silicon inc. Just to show that old interests remain intact this member of the last gang in town has penned a song paying tribute to those that record and share their shows 'Gangs Of England', I think Joe would approve.