Do you know what it means to "skank to the beat"? Have you ever watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High and wondered if Spicoli was a Specials fan because he wore checkered Vans? Do you know there is a difference between Dub, Reggae, Rock Steady, and Ska music? If you don't, that's alright...that's why I'm here. I'm about an un-Jamaican as they come, but ever since I heard The Clash's "Rudie Can't Fail" I've been hooked on that ska beat. Ska gets a bad rep because of its so called "revival" in the mid-90's. After No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom went as Platinum as Gwen Stefani's hair, all kinds of bands cashed in on the ska trend without actually appreciating the original ska masters of the 1960's. So if you dislike Less Than Jake and all those pseudo ska bands that rode the trend train to nowhere, this mix is for you. I love ska, but I've very picky about the ska I get into. I guess you could say I'm a ska snob...but not in a mean way.
If you know anything about ska, you know there were 3 main waves of ska. Although, tracings of ska go back to the 1930's, the first official wave of ska originated Jamaica in the 1960's, and was a fusion of calypso, rhythm and blues, jazz, and swing music. Usually with full horns and slightly slower tempos than second wave ska, which was punk influenced. I don't have too many first-wavers on this mix, just The Skatalites and The Blues Busters.
This list is compiled of mostely 2nd and 3rd wave ska. 2nd wave ska was brought baack in the late 70's/early 80's. The most prominent and well loved ska band from this period was the Specials, hence the reason I featured a song by them and a third-waver's cover of their tune "Little Bitch." Other 2nd wavers on this mix: Maddness, The English Beat, The Selector, and The Clash.
The rest of the tracks are from newer 3rd wave ska bands. This is where the mix got tricky. I could have been tempted to include Sublime and No Doubt into the mix, but I prefer to root for the underdogs. The bands that not many appreciate, but that have just as much talent if not more so than the bands that made it big. Check out the punk influenced Catch 22, the ragtime flavored Mad Caddies, and of course the cool jazz inspired Hepcat. Hepcat is actually a newer ska band, so maybe there will be a 4th wave of ska coming up...I just hope they learned their lesson that you shouldn't make ska music unless you get goosebumps when you hear a good trumpet solo, and you understand that just because you put the word "ska" in the title to your song does mean the kids will "skank" to it the way they could do the funky English Beat (otherwise known to the English as The Beat).
Guns of Navarone by The Skatalites (1st wave)
On the Radio by The Selector (2nd wave)
Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover) by Bim Skala Bim (3rd wave)
Out All Night by Pietasters (3rd wave)
One Step Beyond by Madness (2nd wave)
Monkeys by Mad Caddies (3rd wave)
Shame and Scandal by Blues Busters (1st wave)
Twist and Crawl by The English Beat (2nd wave)
Left Behind by Slow Gherkin (3rd wave)
Concrete Jungle by The Specials (2nd wave)
2 Tone Army by The Toasters (3rd wave)
Rudie Can't Fail by The Clash (2nd wave)
What Goes Around Comes Around by Catch 22 (3rd wave)
Super Rad by The Aquabats (3rd wave)
Little Bitch (Specials cover) by Big D and the Kids Table (3rd wave)
Skankin' to the Beat by Fishbone (2nd wave)
Spy Market by Let's Go Bowling (3rd wave)
Train to Skaville by Hepcat (3rd wave)
Ska Terms (wikipedia excerpts)
1st Wave of Ska: When New Orleans-style R&B fell out of favor by 1960, Jamaican artists began recording their own version of the genre. The ska sound is known for the placement of the accented guitar and piano rhythms on the upbeats. Some believe that the early jazz and rock 'n' roll broadcasts from American radio stations were misinterpreted by an eager Jamaican music audience, hence the off-beat rhythms that almost mimick the breakup of weak radio signals that hit the West Indian shores. Others consider ska not a misinterpretation, but its own response to American music. The upbeat sound of ska coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962, an event commemorated by ska songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March" and the Skatalites' "Freedom Sound".
2nd Wave of Ska: The Two Tone (or 2 Tone) era was named after the label 2 Tone Records, founded by Jerry Dammers, keyboardist of The Specials. The Two Tone sound combined Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock's uncompromising lyrics and aggressive guitar chords. Two Tone recordings are characterized by faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge than original 50's and 60’s ska.
3rd Wave of Ska: By the early 1990s, "third wave" pop-ska bands were appearing throughout the USA and many other countries. An enormous growth of the third wave ska movement occurred after the The Mighty Mighty Bosstones signed with Mercury Records in 1993 (following the hit "Where'd You Go?"), and the release of No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom' in 1995. By the late 1990s, however, mainstream interest in ska had waned almost completely, after having first been supplanted by the swing revival.
Rude Boy: Rude boy, rudie, rudi or rudy is a subculture that developed in the early 1960s in Jamaica. The term rude boy came from Jamaican slang for "cool" or "hip," as the rude boys, in the dancehalls and daily life, always dressed in the latest fashions. The term rude boy may also have something to do with an extremely potent rum-based drink called "Rude to your parents," which was served at sound system parties. It may also be related to "rudeness," a term used in 1950s and 1960s Jamaica to refer to sexual intercourse.
Skank: Skanking is a form of dancing found in the ska, ska-core, hardcore punk, and metalcore scenes, though known in the latter two as 'two-stepping.' It originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, when ska music was first played. British mods and skinheads of the 1960s took these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s/1980s 2 Tone era, and remains popular around the world, wherever the appropriate music is played.
2 Tone: The term 2 Tone was coined by Jerry Dammers of the Specials, and summed up the West Midlands scene at the time. The name had a double meaning: it referred to the black and white outfits worn by ska-loving rude boys and skinheads, and to the solidarity between blacks and whites at a time when racial tensions among the British working class were high.
Good to know Camera Obscura is finally get some good attention in North America. Like most of us, this is one of the bands that Pitchfork brought into my life with their review of the fabulous Underachievers Please Try Harder. It's also great to see that many naysayers are finally abandoning the lazy Belle and Sebastian comparism, which wouldn't exactly be if they were not a Glasgow band.
