Pop Reviews : Ned’s Atomic Dustbin Leads Healthy Rebellion

Wonder what the Sony brass back in Tokyo would make of the scene at the Palace on Friday: Here was the British band Ned’s Atomic Dustbin--which records for the Sony Music label--leading the crowd in choruses of “kill your television.”

The Sony honchos can rest easy. No one here seemed likely to go home and put a bullet through the tube. For all the spirited aggression and exhortations to get off your bum that Ned’s offers, this was secondhand, corporate-sanctioned rebellion.

Which isn’t such a bad thing. There’s a perpetual need for cathartic release, and Ned’s and some similar new British bands provide a healthy soundtrack for it. Ned’s does it well, though within a very limited sonic scope.

Throughout the 80-minute set, singer John (no last names here) shrugged his shoulders from side to side while guitarist Rat made like the Edge’s punk kid brother, the two--count ‘em, two--bassists Alex and Mat thumped away and--here’s the key--drummer Dan played like a slightly erratic but powerful drum machine.

(Yes, after years of getting used to electronic drums simulating real ones, now we have real drummers simulating electro-beats.)

It sounded like the Clash filtered through Happy Mondays and hip-hop, much the way new wavers a decade ago filtered the Beatles through both Aerosmith and the Damned. It’s hardly big news, but so what?

If every generation didn’t reinvent the wheel--corporate-sanctioned or not--rock ‘n’ roll would have died during the Eisenhower Administration.