Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - Big Audio Dynamite II and "Rush"
Mick Jones takes the latest iteration of Big Audio Dynamite back to #1 with a trip down memory lane, both musically and personally
Big Audio Dynamite II - “Rush”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 4 weeks (August 10 to August 31, 1991)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: Siouxsie And The Banshees - “Kiss Them For Me”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - “So You Think You’re In Love”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Bryan Adams - “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (8/10/91 to 8/31/91 - 6 total weeks so far)
It’s nothing personal when it comes to Mick Jones and Big Audio Dynamite. Truth be told, I didn’t *hate* their first Modern Rock Tracks #1 hit “Just Play Music,” but it definitely wasn’t one of my favorites. I thought “E=MC2” was a far better track, and the streaming data on Spotify back that up (not that number of streams always equates to a band’s best track, but there is something to be said for the objectivity of the numbers).
But when it became personal for Mick Jones and Big Audio Dynamite II, the second iteration of Jones’s post-Clash project, I was fully on board from the first listen. Even though this is still the “dark ages” of my transformation into a modern-rock lover, I can appreciate this track because this song touches deep into my own music-loving history, and it’s that DNA that likely helped push “Rush” to the top of the MRT charts for most of August 1991.
Without even starting my research into this track’s history, I had this song pegged as an homage to some kind of past musical legacy. You don’t have to put too much energy into listening to this track in order to hear “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” one of The Clash’s most well-played and long-revered hits. I wasn’t able to find a suitable mashup on a quick internet search, but the cadence of the drum beats and the structure of the verses just lend themselves to this type of treatment.
As it turns out, there’s something to this connection: In 1991, The Clash re-released “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” as a single, and “Rush” from BAD II was the B-side! In terms of the music and even with the physical packaging of the songs, the two are interconnected. (Interestingly, the reason for the 1991 re-release: The popularity of a Levi’s jeans commercial.)
So yeah, I already have a thing for “Rush” because of its connection to Mick Jones’s hit with his previous band, but the musical ancestry in the song dives far deeper than The Clash. Indeed, there are selections from several different songs in the track, and they all have some level of connection to my musical roots.
Take Tommy Roe’s “Sweet Pea,” a #8 Hot 100 hit from 1966. I’m forever a fan of ‘60s-era bubblegum pop, and I can recall hearing “Sweet Pea” quite frequently during my early childhood days, with my dad listening to oldies radio on weekend mornings. And even though Roe’s hit gets trivialized by referring to it as “bubblegum” pop, there’s some good music in there. And the connection between “Sweet Pea” and “Rush” lies in that specific drum break:
I’m a sucker for a good drum break, and while I wouldn’t put it among the greatest drum breaks in music history, it’s simple and effective. And while I might not have made that connection at the outset, I love how it creates the backbone of “Rush” and brings back those memories, almost subliminally, to hits from nearly 30 years before its release.
And then there’s that brief period where Jones taps The Who and “Baba O’Reily,” and throws in that instantly recognizable psychedelic keyboard flourish into the middle of “Rush.” Though, admittedly, I think Dr. House played it the best:
And hell, there’s even samples from Pigmeat Markham, Deep Purple, and Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” all placed throughout in an unusual yet rhythmically pleasing amalgam of drum breaks, organ flourishes, and guitar riffs that take you back to a different time and place musically. This type of sampling definitely presaged the coming onslaught of Hot 100 chart toppers that would take older music samples and turn them into contemporary hits, and puts Jones and BAD II among the early ‘90s musicians who helped turn this musical styling into successful hits.
When I call out “Rush” and its homage to the past, I can’t help but reflect on Jones and the lyrics of the song, all of which call toward a past that he thinks back on fondly, both the good times and the bad. The first handful of lyrics speak to Jones and his desire to reminisce, remember all the things that happened before, and unequivocally advocate for living them all again without regret:
If I have my time again
I would do it all the same
And not change a single thing
Even when I was to blame
For the heartache and the pain
That I caused throughout my ears
How I learned to be a man
Through the laughter and the tears
To the backbeat of music from the ‘60s and ‘70s, in an arrangement that sounds eerily like one of his former band’s hits, Jones waxes philosophical on life, being good to the people who were good to him, and accepting that sometimes things go wrong and there’s nothing we can do about it but move forward. Situation: no win. Rush for a change of atmosphere:
And of all my friends
You've been the best to me
Soon will be the day
When I repay you handsomely
Broken hearts are hard to mend
I know, I've had my share
But life just carries on
Even when I'm not there
It’s a great message, and as someone who is entering that phase of life where you find yourself reflecting on your past as much as planning for your future, I appreciate any piece of art that permits you to be OK with the choices you made in life. In the end, you wouldn’t be who you are if it wasn’t what came before, and “Rush” captures this sentiment with a groovy beat and a memorable track that stands out in the rich history of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
“Rush” would be the high-water mark on the charts for Big Audio Dynamite and its derivations. In addition to topping the MRT chart, “Rush” would also hit #1 on the U.K., Australian, and New Zealand charts, and managed a respectable #32 peak on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1991. The band’s follow-up single, “The Globe,” would also chart fairly high, but subsequent success would be elusive for the band going forward on any charts.
Mick Jones succeeded in being successful across multiple music projects in his long and storied career, and taking a moment to reflect on the good and bad times on that journey turned reminiscence into a long-lasting chart topper that stands the test of time. We won’t see BAD much more other than a couple of quick appearances in “Chart Check,” but they proved they’re worth remembering long after their peak.
Rating: 9/10
Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
Lots of bands in this week’s Chart Check are relatively new to me, even though they have plenty of star power in Europe and other places.
“Satisfied” by Squeeze: U.K. music mainstays Squeeze managed a #3 finish with “Satisfied,” a track that sounds and feels like it’s from 1991. Squeeze is still performing to this day and has been around for nearly 50 years, notching 12 top-40 hits in the U.K. over their amazingly long career. This track was stuck at #3 for five weeks behind BAD and next #1 MRT hit from Psychedelic Furs.
“Chorus” by Erasure: Erasure made their mark in the U.S. with catchy synth-pop dance tracks like “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect,” both of which charted in the top 20 of the Hot 100 in 1988. The duo came back in the early ‘90s with an even synthier, poppier, dancier track called “Chorus,” which peaked at #86 on the Hot 100, and topped out at #4 on the MRT chart behind Big Audio Dynamite II.
“Marble” by The House Of Love: The House of Love managed to make the most of their six-year run on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, notching four hits in the top 10. The third of those hits, “Marble,” peaked at #5 behind “Rush.”
“Caught In My Shadow” by The Wonder Stuff: The Wonder Stuff notched their highest-charting hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart with “Caught In My Shadow,” which peaked at #8 behind Big Audio Dynamite II. Bonus points for notching a top-10 hit with bongo drums as your major percussive instrument.
“Happy” by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin: Ned’s Atomic Dustbin is one of those early alt-rock bands that burned bright for a short time and fizzled, but they clearly had the talent to find a place among the pantheon of great alternative rock acts. Their first U.S. single, “Happy,” managed to make it all the way to #11 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and it would only be the beginning for this group. We’ll see them in the spotlight of this column before too much longer.
The spoken part about rhythm and melody is the late great Peter Sellers.
I love "Just Play Music," but "Rush" is fantastic too. I'm with you on the lyrics as well. And that beat! I can hear it in my head as I type.
As for this week's other tracks, this is a heckuva a week! "Chorus," is one of my faves, as is 'Happy." "Caught In My Shadow" is a timeless classic, IMO.