[Music] Ska / Two Tone / Ska Punk

[Deleted]

To all the faces outside my room, I hope you're listening to this type of music!
If you want to trashtalk this extremely awesome music, go trollin elsewhere!

I would love to hear new artists / bands, your thoughts about the genre, maybe some cool history aswell!
If you don't know about this genre I will share some great bands below!



Two Tone Ska


Madness - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZFm...eature=channel

Bad Manners - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eGEZmOj7CY

New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLhiIBuAAo

The Toasters - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zsBJ...eature=related

The Skalatones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgd3R...eature=related

The Specials - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTo7VHFvu6o&ob=av2e

The Selecter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTGem...eature=related

The Beat /The English Beat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTNpaaPHENE

The Untouchables - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWxWYXYXBE



Ska Punk


Less Than Jake - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYIx0sFNDH4

Streetlight Manifesto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo76ijhUqjE

Reel Big Fish - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEKbFMvkLIc&ob=av2n

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eanUe...eature=channel

Catch 22 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffa2ln1DgvE




These are just some of my favourites! Please post more!

Also, i shall edit this post more and more, with bands and facts!

[Bearshield]

I remember listening to some of that in high school hehe. To add to your list, look up the band called Rancid.

[Deleted]

sounds pretty decent, any favourite song?

[Bearshield]

Hmm, maybe Time Bomb and Ruby Soho.

[Nyanmaru]

Though I'm more into dancehall and jamaican ska, there just seems to be no way around "modern" ska.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfy83FMjns - NGOBO NGOBO - Lilly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue-dCrPjgLQ - No Sports - "Stay rude Stay rebel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=459xfrbWGxA - The Busters - Summertime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSuPx2c-M1M - Die Tornados - Ska It Up

[Ayirasi]

I remember a buddy playing the crap out of The Mudsharks wa-a-ay back when. Catchy stuff.

The Mudsharks Myspace

[Deleted]

Less than Jake reminds me of Tony Hawks Underground 2.

This music is cute.

[Deleted]

Though I'm more into dancehall and jamaican ska, there just seems to be no way around "modern" ska.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfy83FMjns - NGOBO NGOBO - Lilly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue-dCrPjgLQ - No Sports - "Stay rude Stay rebel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=459xfrbWGxA - The Busters - Summertime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSuPx2c-M1M - Die Tornados - Ska It Up

Jamaican Ska is always nice, I should update my first post with some bands!

I remember a buddy playing the crap out of The Mudsharks wa-a-ay back when. Catchy stuff.

The Mudsharks Myspace

Thank you! Sounds great!

[Against the Modern World]

Nice thread. Could anyone identify this music, and tell me what it is, please?
http://www.muziboo.com/jaelrin/music...ow-what-it-is/

[jwescott3425]

Impending wall of text and rant-iness.. BRACE yourselves (no pun intended.. initially ^_^)..

First off.. I gotta rant a bit about my disdain for the Toasters. If a band wasn't on Jerry Dammer's 2 Tone record label, then they aren't a 2 Tone ska band. Sure there are bands who play in a similar style as the original 2 Tone ska bands, but by definition they aren't 2 Tone ska. The Toasters.. New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble.. Not 2 Tone. They aren't. The Toasters especially in my opinion ruined the sanctity of the 2 Tone style. They promoted the wear-checkerboard-on-every-piece-of-clothing-ALWAYS fad that makes my eyes absolutely bleed. Sure, the symbolism of black and white unity is cool.. but plastering checkerboards on everything looks, well, dumb. They also wore the most dreadful looking suits. Big, clunky, and black and white. If you go and look at how the Specials or Madness dressed, they wore colors. Imagine that! Sure, the colors were very muted (browns, blue-grays, etc.) but they didn't dress for the colorblind like these other guys did. AND.. I hate Bucket's voice. It's just.. ew. Ew.

Second little note, Streetlight doesn't really affiliate themselves with any genre and are closer to punk than anything. Having a horn section in your band doesn't automatically make you a ska band -- it's HOW the music is played that defines the genre. Tomas doesn't do the standard guitar skank, he plays very intricate 16th note strum patterns more characteristic of the American punk revival. Pete generally plays a walking bassline, but in double time. A very standard ska bass plays quarter notes, he plays 8th notes. Chris' drumming has no snare emphasis on 2 and 4.. I could go on as to how they are NOT a ska band. I love them to death nonetheless. They are absolutely a thrill to see live

Now, for those of you interested in listening to ska, or are interested in learning more of the genre, I have one thing to say; Listen to EVERYTHING. I find that you appreciate the genre much more if you listen to just about every derivative of 20th century West Indian music, and even the roots of that. Listen to original ska. Listen to rocksteady. Listen to skinhead reggae. Listen to roots reggae. Listen to 2 tone. Listen to dub reggae. Listen to dancehall reggae. Listen to new wave. Listen to third wave American skapunk. Hell, listen to R&B (1950's R&B, mind you. None of this Usher garbage) punk, soul and gospel. You don't have to LIKE all of those genres, but I feel that listening to them really help you appreciate how amazing the genre is.

So.. Here is a list of suggested listening

Ska (The late 1950s - the late 60's) Ska music was the Jamaican's take on American R&B and jazz that incorporated their indigenous music, calypso and mento. Noteable figures and bands in the genre are: Studio One, Leslie Kong, The Wailers, Prince Buster

The Wailers - Simmer Down (The album cover is of Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh from left to right respectively.)
Bob Marley - One Cup of Coffee
Desmond Dekker - The Israelites
Prince Buster - Enjoy Yourself
Byron Lee & the Dragonaires - Jamaican Ska

Skinhead Reggae (1967 - 1971) Skinhead reggae is the very first form of reggae. It came into vogue after Jamaica's independence from the British Empire. After their independence, many Jamaicans immigrated to the British isles and brought their music with them. They were playing a slower form of ska music with more soulful lyrical content and vocal inflections. This early form of reggae spawned it's own subculture called the skinheads. The skinheads were working class kids of all elasticities (yes.. there were and still are black skinheads) in the urban areas of the UK. They emulated Jamaican fashion and listened to their music and tried to absorb as much of their culture as possible. The predominantly black reggae musicians of the time began writing music for this subculture and it would be the precursor to one of the most recognizable genres in the world today. Noteable figures and bands in the genre are: Trojan Records, Toots and the Maytals, Symparip, The Harry J All Stars

Symarip - Skinhead Moonstomp
Toots and the Maytals - 54-46 Was My Number
Harry J All Stars - Liquidator
The Hot Rod All Stars - Skinheads Don't Fear
Al Barry & The Cimarons - Morning Sun

Root Reggae (1971 - 1984) The Roots period is the most widely known form of Western Indian music. This is the time where reggae became a highly religious music for the Rastafarian movement. Roots reggae is known for it's laid back but not slow tempo, it's highly religious lyrics about Haile Selassie, Jah, Babylon, etc, and it's prodigal son; Bob Marley. Bob Marley would single handedly lift up a genre which was shown considerable disdain by every day Jamaicans (a large amount of the population found the Rastafarians to be heretics and called them 'mountain men' due to their untidy appearance) and would make the music and their homeland of Jamaica a household name. Noteable figures and bands in the genre are: Tuff Gong Records, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru

Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved
Peter Tosh - Legalize It
Black Uhuru - General Penitentiary/Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Junior Reid - Know Myself
Johnny Osbourne - Right, Right Time
Sugar Minott - Good Thing Going

2 Tone ska (1978 - 1983) 2 Tone ska was almost entirely the brainchild of Conventry based keyboardist (and total nutjob ^_^) Jerry Dammers. He had been furiously trying to mix reggae and punk, the two most popular genres of subculture music in the UK at the time, together with no success. He eventually had an epiphany and melded the faster paced ska with punk music to create the first iteration of skapunk music. The band that he would create, the Specials, would briefly globally turn pop culture worldwide on it's head. They would open for the Police and, to Sting's admission, out play them and would tire out the audience before the Police would come out. Mick Jagger fought furiously to get the rights to be their producer and ultimately lose that fight to Elvis Costello. The 2 Tone movement coincides with the skinhead revival, which would eventually become marred with racism. The 2 Tone bands openly criticized the racists skinheads, who oddly enough were still listening to 2 Tone which made racial it's main message. Poor management, constant touring and interband tensions would eventually lead to the Specials demise in 1981, three years after their first single's release. Other bands on the 2 Tone record label would also greatly impact pop music and would lay down the path for the new wave bands after them. Noteable figures and bands in the genre are: 2 Tone Records, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat/The English Beat, Madness

The Specials - Too Much, Too Young
The Selecter - Three Minute Hero
The Beat/The English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom
Madness - Our House


Dancehall reggae (1980 - now) Dancehall reggae is what evolved out of the roots period, and would heavily influence and shape American hiphop. Dancehall reggae had a faster pace than roots reggae and, from a music theory standpoint, was a very simple music. The music generally stays on one chord, while the toaster (DJ) toasts (rapping in Jamaican creole) on top of the instrumental tracks. MIDI and synthesizers were used frequently, too. The biggest name of dancehall reggae is that of it's pioneer, Sugar Minott.

Sugar Minott - Rough Ole Life
Sugar Minott - Herbman Hustling
Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng

Skapunk/Third wave ska (1981 - now) Third wave ska would pick up almost immediately after 2 Tone's demise, but it was present in American music before 1983. The first dedicated third wave bands wouldn't appear until 1983, when the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Fishbone started to play shows in their cities. The movement would get a huge boost by seminal band Operation Ivy, who would influence pissed off suburban youth all around America from 1987-1989. The band would eventually dissolve and reform as Rancid. 1993 saw a huge boom in the formation of skapunk bands, with the two major epicenters being Orange County, CA and Boston, MA. The subgenre would see huge popularity during the middle of the 1990's, but that popularity would wane by the new millenium. Notable figures and bands in the genre are: Fishbone, Sublime, No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Rancid, Operation Ivy, Less Than Jake

Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero
Operation Ivy - Sound System
Sublime - Seed
No Doubt - Sunday Morning (Notice the guy sitting on the bench..? That is Terry Hall, the Specials' lead singer)
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get
Rancid - Up To No Good

Other bands to listen to..
UB40 - UB40 is a reggae band from England. They would become one of the biggest stars in reggae music, coming second place only to Bob Marley. - Red, Red Wine
The Aggrolites - The Aggrolites are a skinhead reggae band based in Los Angeles. They have been growing immensely in popularity over the past few years. - Mr. Misery
Streetlight Manifesto - Streelight Manifesto is a punk band from New Jersey. They tour frequently with ska bands and are slowly gaining critical acclaim. They have an instrumentation similar to that of skapunk bands, but do not actually play ska music and say very openly that no, they're NOT a ska band. This confuses people who don't actually know what ska is but THINK they do.. The guitar player and lead singer, Tomas Kalnoky, is a native from Prague and you can hear his ancestral klesmer music in the music the band makes today. - We Will Fall Together





So yeh.. You ska kids.. OPEN YOUR MINDS! ^_^

[Deleted]

I wont argue with anything but the defenition of 2 Tone. How can Toasters not be 2 Tone? Just because they're not from Jerry Dammers label doesnt block them out of the genre. It's like saying UB40 is not reggae because they're not from Studio One, Upsetter or Tuff Gong which Bob Marley played for.

However, I salute you for that massive wall of text which contained both good and bad!

[jwescott3425]

2 Tone was more of a period in time than a specific genre. Reggae is a genre, 2 Tone was a period in time. Sure, there are many bands who continue to play in that style, but I don't consider them 2 Tone. :/

Another band worth mentioning is Hepcat - go look em up!

[Deleted]

well i suppose you have your right to have an opinion about that, mine is that its a specific genre.. What else would you call that genre? 80's ska?

[jwescott3425]

They are third wave ska.

[Sunshine]

I used to love Catch 22! I've seen them live once or twice too, in the front row... maybe 8-9 years ago? Such great memories Ooh, and Streetlight Manifesto too! Mmm, Jersey pride

Oh, and nobody's mentioned Common Rider -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7tqGZv3KlI

[Melantha]

This thread makes me very, very happy! <3
I'm also a huge fan of Reel Big Fish, and a few other ska bands.
Also, why hasn't anyone mentioned The Aquabats? --> Fashion Zombies!

[Deleted]

This threat makes me very, very happy! <3
I'm also a huge fan of Reel Big Fish, and a few other ska bands.
Also, why hasn't anyone mentioned The Aquabats? --> Fashion Zombies!

Oh good lawd, the cover was epic!

[Melantha]

Oh good lawd, the cover was epic!

You mean their cover on "Take On Me" by A-Ha? Oh my god, that cover was epic indeed!

[jwescott3425]

This thread makes me very, very happy! <3
I'm also a huge fan of Reel Big Fish, and a few other ska bands.
Also, why hasn't anyone mentioned The Aquabats? --> Fashion Zombies!

Fashion Zombies isn't a ska song though.

[Melantha]

Fashion Zombies isn't a ska song though.

Dang, my bad. Again, Aquabats is ska. Just more like ska/punk. xP