As a freshman in high school, I got super into a one-hit wonder band from an alternative rock scene that hit its commercial peak a decade prior. I bought all the band's records on iTunes, I followed their goings-on on social media, and I went to a dozen of their shows over the next few years.
(As I type this paragraph, I realize how weird that probably sounds. But there were a dozen other band kids into this music with me at my high school.)
Yes, I'm referring to the Orange County ska band, Reel Big Fish. RBF had a hit with Sell Out, and were the first band I was exposed to from the "Third Wave" of ska that swept American airwaves in the mid-1990's.
Maybe you've never heard of ska before. Maybe you're only familiar with the 90's scene, often remembered as being full of corny, fedora-wearing, Hawaiian-shirt-clad, band geeks skanking the night away.
Or maybe you're more familiar with the 2-Tone English ska bands of the early 1980s.
2-Tone?
Third Wave?
Skank, skanked, skanking?
"Alex, what the hell are you talking about?"
Well, luckily for you, I have answers to all your ska-related questions and more in a 15-part "Ska Appreciation" course that I've modeled after similar courses I took on Jazz and Classical music history in college.
Will these lessons meet the merit of a college course? Certainly not.
But I'm hoping that folks who are looking for some music exploration will enjoy this presentation of a genre I love (and took way too long putting together).
How to use this guide:
Most importantly, each "lesson" will have 3 subsections:
Listen (on Spotify)
Watch (on YouTube)
Read
I would love to believe that my readership is going to consume every one of the resources that I've put together here, but I know I don't exist in that ideal world.
Everyone is going to have different attention spans, interest levels, time commitments, and base knowledge of the subject matter. I hope that what I've curated offers readers the ability to jump around to the areas of ska that interest them most.
Secondly, after "Lesson 1," the course will be mostly chronological. The Spotify playlist is also chronological. Use that to your advantage if you're looking for a specific era of the genre.
I also hope that readers use these 16 lessons to learn something new, find some new artists, and to remember that there's always a political and cultural climate influencing the art. Join the conversation with me on social media and tell me what I've missed!
Finally, for those interested, here's a printable syllabus. (This was the original blog post I was trying to shoot for, but there was just no good way to present this through Wix's blog interface.
Oh, and, very importantly, here is a link to the companion playlist on Spotify.
Or, listen here:
Anyway, let's get started.
Lesson 1: Introduction; what is ska?
Listen:
Nothing to listen to yet, the Spotify playlist begins at lesson 2.
Watch:
You've scrolled down this far, and you may still find yourself asking "what is ska?"
Well, for starters, this is ska:
Reel Big Fish's Sell Out, which hit number 10 on the Billboard US Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1997, is certainly ska. This era began in the late 1980s, gave birth to "ska-punk," is known as the "Third Wave" of ska, and is the commercial peak for genre in the United States.
But this is ska, also:
Operation Ivy was a relatively short-lived band from Berkeley, California. They're often credited with the initial fusion of ska and punk sounds in the mid-1980s. They only recorded 32 songs as a band, but they've left a lasting legacy on punk music.
But go to a different place and time, and this is ska:
Before "ska-punk" was 2-Tone, a British scene from the late 70s and early 80s. Bands like The Specials, The Selecter and Madness hit large commercial and cultural success. Much of the music dealt with complex sociopolitical themes surrounding racial relations and working class existence.
But, keep going back to its origins, this is also ska:
In the late 1950's and 1960's, ska originated in Jamaica as an extension of Afro-Caribbean musical forms, a response to an influx American Rhythm and Blues, and a celebration of the Jamaican independence from England.
Read:
Don't get lost in the technical jargon, non-musician. But this emphasis on the off-beat is the foundation of ska (and rocksteady and reggae). This beat is often emphasized by the guitar, but would also be emphasized by a horn section (particularly in early ska).
Lesson 2: The Roots of Ska
Genre precursors (mento, calypso, rhythm and blues), Jamaican politics of the 1950s/1960s
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 1-11 ("Linstead Market" by Louise Bennett to "Later For The Gator" by Willis Jackson)
The tracks in this chapter date back 60+ years, before ska existed. Calypso, mento, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and other Jamaican folk music contained elements that would coalesce evolve into ska. These tracks will include instrumentation, lyrical themes, and rhythmic patterns found in the next 7 decades of ska.
Watch:
The 1950's brought and influx of American music into Jamaica. Jump blues, jazz, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and boogie-woogie tracks, like Barbie Gaye's My Boy Lollipop, contained elements of the off-beat guitar that would become foundational to the ska sound.
Read:
Focus on "Etymology" and "Jamaican ska."
Lesson 3: Jamaican Ska
Sound systems, Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, Skatalites, Derrick Morgan
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 12-22 ("One Step Beyond" by Prince Buster to "Don't Call Me Daddy" by Derrick Morgan)
Watch:
This video is from the YouTube channel for one of Jamaica's most important record labels, Studio One.
Read:
Punk rock isn't the only genre with a strong DIY ethos. These sound systems are what Jamaican music is built on.
Lesson 4: International Export
Berne Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, ska covers
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 23-29 ("All My Loving" by Prince Buster to "Blowing In The Wind" by Ernest Ranglin.
All of the songs in this section of the playlist are covers.
Read:
This isn't a super important lesson, and the Berne Convention isn't a super interesting page to read. Long story short, the Berne Convention is an international artistic copyright agreement that Jamaica didn't join until 1994. Which meant that from ska's earliest days, covers of popular American and British music were common.
This tradition continues today, and you'll find ska covers all over this playlist and in the genre.
Lesson 5: Ska Evolves
Evolution into Rocksteady and Reggae
Listen:
Spotify Playlist tracks 30-39 ("Rudy, A Message To You" by Dandy Livingstone to "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff)
I'm no expert. I've never really listened to either rocksteady or reggae. What I've gathered though is that rocksteady is slower than ska, and reggae is slower than rocksteady. Both rocksteady and reggae have had huge commercial and cultural peaks in the past, and may be more popular Jamaican cultural exports than ska.
If you like this sound, I'd definitely recommend checking out out some dedicated playlists for rocksteady and reggae. I'm certainly no expert, and obviously 9 songs to cover two distinct genres doesn't do them justice.
Read:
Lesson 6: The Beginning of 2-Tone
Etymology, UK politics of the 1970s/1980s, sonic differentiation from Jamaican sound
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 40-53 ("Ghost Town" by The Specials to "Smart Boy" by The Akrylykz)
Watch:
This documentary is really good, I'd highly recommend taking a seat and enjoying this one. The first 12 minutes directly talk about 2-Tone. It sets the political and cultural scene that catapults the genre. They got some legends to do great interviews.
The second act dives into the Third Wave scene in the states, but you'll be getting to that soon if you're following these lessons through.
Jump to around 24 minutes, it talks about some international bands and has a conversation about the global impact of ska.
Read:
I was at least familiar with a few bands/songs from this era, and knew the term "2-Tone" was the name given to this era. But I didn't know that the naming it was explicitly about multiracial unity, and that the content of much of the music was highly political.
I know the stigma of the Third Wave's corniness lives on to this day, but I think there's some really interesting depth that often gets overlooked.
Lesson 7: The 2-Tone Legacy
Watch:
I've tried to be super selective about which videos I'm highly recommending, but man, this was the best thing I watched while researching this blog post. Live show footage from some of the biggest bands in the 2-Tone scene.
And although this film came out at the height of 2-Tone's popularity, this movie has been credited as foundational to the Third Wave scene taking off.
Watch. This. Movie.
And then after you watch it, hit me up to start a ska band.
Read:
Midterm exam
Oh, when I said this was modeled after music appreciation courses I took in college, I meant it!
The stakes are low, its a quick 10 questions, all multiple choice.
Thanks for reading part 1.
Part 2 will bring us from the Third Wave to (roughly) present day.
What bands, fashions, and histories did I overlook? What can I add to make this a more comprehensive history of ska music?
Thanks for letting me Overshare.
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