A Thing I Had No Clue Existed

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

Made it 24 years without knowing that Big Audio Dynamite released one last album and it was one of the first download-only albums. (If only I could claim the same ignorance of F-Punk.) I don't recall any of whatever publications I was reading in '97 (I'm guessing Alternative Press, Option and Spin - maybe Magnet - not sure when it first started turning up in my neck of the woods) uttering a peep about it - really seems like Option at least should've.

Ranking Roger was a member on this one.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2021 05:16AM by breno.

I suspect being one of the first DL-only albums probably doomed this to obscurity.

I suspect it was also terrible.

I've not bothered clicking the youtube link in the wiki article to listen to it yet, but judging by BAD's 90s output, that's probably a safe guess. "Rush" may have been their biggest hit, but I severely disliked it the first time I ever heard it and that was before it even got to the whole "I wish I could sing like that" break in the middle, which is definitely on the short list for the single most excruciatingly annoying thing a musician I'm a fan of ever did. And they went downhill from there...

Anyhoo, the album was rejected by their label - a label that DIDN'T reject F-Punk. Which could mean this particular album is really dreadful, or it could mean any label that released F-Punk has questionable judgment and this thing might be good.

I'm just kind of fascinated to discover that the thing exists at all, and apparently has since the late 90s.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2021 10:06AM by breno.

and how 'bout that artwork?

COMIC SANS!

News to me as well, but my ride with B.A.D. started and ended with the first album, which was as good as it got for me. Never cared for anything else that reached my ears.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

I ditched the band after the first BAD II album, The Globe. I never heard the two that followed, nor did I know they had a "lost" album. Part of what turned me off was seeing them live on the Globe tour. I was so excited to see the legendary Mick Jones, since I was pretty obsessed with The Clash around that time. But the show really turned me off the BAD.

All of that said, I'm always curious to hear "lost" albums such as this, so I'll check out that YouTube stream at some point.

Finally got around to listening to this, and while this is definitely low expectations talking here, it ain't wretched. I'd go so far as to describe a couple of the songs as reasonably swell. It's definitely better than F-Punk, but that's like saying Chester A. Arthur was a better president than Trump - it's clearing a hurdle that's buried 60 miles beneath the Earth's crust. So that's a meaningless comparison. I'd have to say that after one listen, I probably also prefer it to The Globe, which was another of those annoying instances of a band's most popular album being one I kinda loathe.

I can't say I'll ever listen to it again, given that streaming an entire album on Youtube isn't an activity I'll volunteer for very often, but I can say the idea doesn't repulse me. At least it's not 45 minutes or so of Mick Jones asking "Wanna listen to me fart?" like F-Punk was.

After the work week I had, this thread has gotten my weekend off to an excellent start. Not because I'm stoked to hear the great lost Big Audio Dynamite album, but because the mere existence of the artifact has brought forth the reliable humor and sarcasm I love from my TP friends, especially the always reliably badass Brad Reno.

I'm not a big fan of B.A.D., but I've never hated them. The Globe was the last disc of theirs that I listened to, start to finish. At their best, they've been a decent singles band, but not much more. For the most part, the Planet B.A.D. comp does the job for me. I held onto my copy of The Globe, though, because (get this) I actually get a kick out of the "wish I could sing like that" break in "Rush" ... the sheer silliness of it makes it kinda charming to me. But hey, you know my personality.