Music for Ethicurean ears: Carbon/Silicon’s “The News”
I've been wanting to launch a series on "Ethicureanish" music, and a friend in England has just turned me on to a great band with which to start. Carbon/Silicon is the project of Mick Jones (formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik). They make politically astute, current-sounding punkish rock, much of which is free to download from their website.
Having just come home from the farmers market this morning, I was hooked on their energetic song "The News" with the very first lines: "People started caring about what they eat/People started smiling at everyone they meet."
Given all the horrible news right now — flooding in the Midwest, food riots, etc — I defy anyone to not be cheered up by it. Alas it's no longer posted on their site for download, but you can watch the (jerky) video for it on there, or hear the whole thing streamed for free at LastFM. The album it's on, 2007's "The Last Post," is available on iTunes. I also recommend "Soylent Green," which you can listen to on their MySpace page, and "Buckethead," their 8-minute, slightly pedantic screed about carbon vs. silicon, or "meatspace" versus "internet" (and disengagement).
And while I'm at it, I've always thought the Shins' "Sleeping Lessons" would make a great SOLE food anthem: You're not obliged to swallow anything that you despise." (Official video on YouTube)
Got any songs you want to recommend about chewing the right thing? Even tangential ones are fine. :-)
Related:
- Dan Sullivan's "Keep On Shoppin' In a Label-Free World" homage to Neil Young
- Pattie of Foodshed Planet writes about meeting folk singer Alison Adams and her song about raising chickens
No related posts.
Comments
By De in D.C. on June 15th, 2008 at 1:33 am
"The News" was played on one of my local radio stations twice while I was working on a cheesecake tonight, and both times it got me dancing around my kitchen. A very fun song.
By Meg Wolff on June 15th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I could get hooked on this song to. "And the weathers good."
By Steve Atkinson on June 16th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I nominate "Canned Goods" written by Greg Brown as the all time best food song. The cover by the Fyder and Everhart is best. Their Northern Min. accent gives it a earthy homemade flavor. I don't fully understand it, but hearing the song always chokes me up. Here is a taste of the lyrics:
Chorus: "There's peaches on the shelf, potatoes in the bin. Supper's ready, everybody come on in. Taste a little of the summer. Taste a little of the summer. Taste a little of the summer. Grandma put it all in jars."
And a few lines from the verses:
"Well, maybe you are weary and you don't give a damn. I bet you never tasted her blackberry jam."
"Cause the canned goods that I buy at the store ain't got the summer in 'em anymore. You bet, Grandma, as sure as you're born, I'll take some more potatoes and a thunderstorm."
By mezzaluna on June 16th, 2008 at 11:08 am
the link to the chicken song is broken, and i can't find it by googling, but i'd love to hear the song! Â i've just started raising chickens!
By yann on June 19th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Great vegan hip hop song by the Dead Prez - here's a taste :
...
Lentil soup is mental fruit
and ginger root is good for the youths
Fresh veg-e-table with the mayatl stew
sweet yam fries with the green calalloo
careful how you season and prepare your foods
cause you don't wanna lose vitamins and miner-als
and that's the jewel
life brings life, it's valuable, so I eat what comes
from the ground, it's natural
let your food be your medicine (uh huh)
no Excederin (uh uh)
...
They say you are what you eat, so I strive to be healthy
my goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy
cause true wealth comes from good health, and wise ways
we got to start taking better care of ourselves
...
niggaz been livin fat for too long, knowamsayin?
Smokin bogeys, fu**in drinkin all types of shit
wailin out, not givin a f**k what they puttin in they
bodies, son, knowamsayin?
Bout time niggaz start thinkin about that shit, son, knowamsayin?
That shit is fu**in, makin us deteriorate, son
word up, we gotta care bout our little babies an shit, son
niggaz got kids to raise, straight up
ya gotta start learnin yo self, learning bout ya health, son
learnin this world we live in, kid, knowamsayin?
It's time to start changin all that shit god, word up
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1386703876c1c061/