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Myth's Guide to Modern Ska

posted: Wed. Jun 25th, 2008 @ 04:52 PM

edited: Wed. Jun 25th, 2008 @ 05:41 PM by myth

I'll admit, I was introduced to ska rather late. In fact, I wasn't even all that into popular music until I was in high school. But as soon as I heard "The Impression that I Get" by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, I was absolutely hooked. I do have rather eclectic musical taste overall, but ska has been a huge part of my listening habits from the get-go and with the 3rd wave's decline in recent years it's gone out of the limelight, yet it still remains a popular form of music with bands both well-known and not simmering in the background, waiting to break out again.

So here we go, some of my favorite ska bands (mostly 3rd wave, 1st and 2nd are going to take a whole nother post) and some commentary:

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Buck-O-Nine

Less Than Jake

Mad Caddies

Five Iron Frenzy (Technically Christian ska, not usually my thing but I love the music. So sad that they're broken up.)

Reel Big Fish (I still enjoy "Turn the Radio Off")

Catch-22 (Keasbey Nights is an absolute classic of the 3rd wave, but that's pretty much the only good album that's technically Catch-22 since Kalnoky left after that.)

Streetlight Manifesto (also Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution) (The band Kalnoky formed when he left Catch-22.)

The Aquabats (If you live in Southern California and you say you've never heard "Super Rad" then I don't believe you.)

The Toasters

Voodoo Glowskulls

Rx Bandits

Mustard Plug

Save Ferris

The Skatalites

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

I think I'll end this with my top 5 MUST HEAR ska album countdown:

5) "Twenty-Eight Teeth" by Buck-O-Nine - Maybe I'm biased towards these guys, coming from San Diego and all, but I love this album.

4) "Duck & Cover" by the Mad Caddies - Less reggae-ish than their first release, Quality Softcore, I think the Mad Caddies really hit their form in Duck & Cover with standouts like "Road Rash", "The Gentleman", "Macho Nachos" and of course "Monkeys."

3) "Hello Rockview" by Less Than Jake - No band does small town angst better than Less Than Jake, and Hello Rockview is hands down the best album they've ever put out. Combines the themes and powerful playing of their earlier work as they transitioned into the more rock oriented version of themselves they are now. "Al's War" always chokes me up.

2) "Let's Face It" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - A lot of fans might point to their earlier, harder, work as the best example of the Bosstones, but I think this album is the quintessential them. "The Impression that I Get" may have made them famous, but the whole reflects their playing ability and themes.

1) "Somewhere in the Between" by Streetlight Manifesto - A complete masterpiece, imo. Every song is awesome, and Kalnoky's style has really perfected itself at this point. He'll have his work cut out for him ever topping this, but if anyone can do it, he can. "Down, Down, Down to Mephisto's Cafe" is one of my all-time favorite songs from any band.