Ska music

[stpalm]

What do you think of ska music? You people seem pretty hardcore music oriented, so this would be a good place to ask. Do you think it is shallow music barely good for dancing, or truely a deep and musical genre? My vote is for the latter, because you likely haven't heard good ska if you agree with the former. I am interested to hear your thoughts.

[kaitykaity]

1. The only thing I know about ska is that's where

the Beatles started, as a ska band, and they evolved
from there.

Give some examples and I'll go looking for mp3s to see
if I like it.

Hardcore, huh? Thanks I think. I love this forum because
we get to share our love for music that's real music, not
cookie cutter plastic corporate dreck.

So share. Okay?

:hi:

[Feathered Fish]

2. You are thinking skiffle music, not ska

Skiffle is an informal combination of jazz and blues that's played on three or four instruments, usually guitar, bass, drum and/or other common household items for example, jugs. There was a revival of skiffle in England in the late 50's and 60's and this is where the Beatles started.

Ska on the other hand, is that sweet, sweet seed that spawned reggae. It started appearing in the 60's in Jamaica. Now I have a feeling that stpalm will be able to lead you in some good directions for ska, but a good place to start is The Skatallites.

There, I am done :)
:hi:

[kaitykaity]

3. You are right. Well, the SK part was right anyway.

:spank:

Thanks.

:hi:

[lazarus]

4. I love me some ska

I got into it when I lived in the UK back in the '80s, there was a big ska revival at the time.

[Maestro]

5. Did The Mighty Mighty Bosstones break up?

There website is gone now and haven't heard a peep from them going on three years now.

[leftist_rebel1569]

6. Yeah

They did a few years back.

[semillama]

7. I like Ska.

I was pretty into it a few years ago, but sort of diversified from there into more reggae. I really like old Jamaican Ska and early 80s two-tone stuff from britain. There were a few 90s Ska revival bands that I liked, but I pretty much stopped paying attention to new ska bands about 5 years ago. Sort of coincidental with No Doubt hitting the mainstream and called "ska". I think what turned me off a lot with newer ska bands was the use of distorted rhythm guitar - just doesn't sound right.

The Toaster's version of "Wait til the Midnight Hour" has one of the fattest bass lines I've ever heard. I also really like Boyoboy, but I think they changed their name. THat's about it for newer groups off the top of my head.

But get back to early Jamaica, and give me the Skatalites, Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and The Maytals, early Wailers, Desmond Dekker! and the two-tone stuff like Specials, Bad Manners, Selector, and them.

[Donailin]

8. There's so much ska here in the DC area

So many local bands, most of which are still in High School. My son played in a couple of bands and practice was always here because wherever the drums are, there the practice will be. This kids are dead serious and talented and whenever they have shows over a hundred kids show up, so there is a demand for this kind of music, from my observations.Good luck finding any on the MSM radio though (we stopped listening to the radio years ago)

My son got together with some of his freinds and formed a group with two keyboardists and a bass player and the music is called "atmospheric" -- long songs about 20 minutes with crescendos and climaxes that are really interesting, I can imagine the music would be marketable to documentary films of underwater adventure.

And then there's music like this, post beastie boys style, very unserious, lots of fun: http://www.purevolume.com/frenchstewart

[name not needed]

9. World/Inferno Frienship Society

This band is just freaking awesome. It's an eclectic ska band from NYC.

http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=2731803&Mytoken=20050331144540

[dipsydoodle]

10. Wicked music

Used to go to see a Ska band Sunday nights in Camberwell which is south London. The Top Cats with Natty Bo. It was a pub which would be packed with people dancing - the windows would quickly steam up and then run clear as the temperature rose regardless of how cold it was outside. Good mix of blacks and whites and never any aggro. The band still plays and I know that Natty also intermingled Cuban music with ska as well to form what's known a Ska Cubano. When the Skatalites were over here Natty and his wife <at the time - she was a Japanese alto sax player> jumped up on stage to join them .

Yes - find some old stuff and listen to it or buy a cheap compilation.

[SteppingRazor]

11. If by ska you mean the original stuff, or some of the second wave bands...

then I agree. Ska's a lot of fun, and it was really original. And by that, I'm refering to original ska like The Skatalites and second wave folks like The Specials and Madness. A couple of the third wave acts have that same great energy (The Bosstones, for example), but no third wave act can make any sort of claim to originality, which often makes me discard them.

Finally, if you think Sublime and No Doubt is ska, you seriously need an education.