Honestly, I think that less people will read part 2 than part 1. But I think that readers would ultimately find part 2 much more interesting.
If you know a few ska songs, they're going to be from bands in this blog post.
Hell, you might not even know that the ska songs you know are "Third Wave" ska songs.
This is part 2 of a collection of resources I've put together that covers the history of ska music. The second part here will focus on the Third Wave of ska and the emergence of "ska-punk." This is the era when bands like Sublime and No Doubt emerge from the scene and transcend the genre.
(For the purposes of this blog post, I'm going to be using the terms "Third Wave ska" and "ska-punk" interchangeably.)
This blog post will cover roughly the mid-1980's to present.
"Music 101: Ska Appreciation (part 1 of 2)" focused on the genesis of the genre in Jamaica (1950s) through the end of the 2-Tone era (around the early-1980s).
Just as in part 1, readers will find resources they can listen to, watch, and read. The goal was to create a brief, yet comprehensive, survey of a genre that I've held dear since I was a kid.
And for those interested, here's a link to the printable syllabus I wrote. This was the original idea for a blog post.
Here's a link to the companion playlist to this guide. (Give it a follow, if nothing else to boost my sense of self-worth).
Alternately, listen to the playlist within this window here:
Lesson 8: Early Bands of the Third Wave
Operation Ivy, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Fishbone, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Toasters, and more
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 54-70 ("Sound System" by Operation Ivy to "2-Tone Army" by The Toasters)
Watch:
Operation Ivy, though a short lived band, is often credited as the connecting ligament between punk and ska. Their sound, out of Berkeley, California, was immensely influential to the 90's ska that was commercialized and popularized in the States over the next decade. Though this show probably looks a little different than say, The Aquabats.
Read:
Operation Ivy recorded just 32 songs in the two years the band existed. Yet their impact on rock music in the 90's is far-reaching. Their story and their impact was a lot more interesting than I would have guessed.
This was my favorite band I discovered as a result of this research. This band has certainly been my music obsession of the month. They're a Los Angeles band, formed back in 1979. They were close friends of Red Hot Chili Peppers and were on an international tour with the Beastie Boys. Give these guys a listen for me.
Lesson 9: Third Wave mainstream success
Sublime, No Doubt, Less Than Jake, Rancid, Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 71-87 ("Date Rape" by Sublime to "Here In Your Bedroom" by Goldfinger.
This section of the playlist has some of the highest commercial success and recognizability of the entire 8 hours of music. Sublime and No Doubt are certainly the largest bands to come out of this scene. Reel Big Fish and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones might be considered one-hit wonders by some, though they've had 20+ years of recording and touring apiece.
Watch:
The subgenre becomes a legitimate commercial and cultural force in the mid-90's, and a lot of these bands have big-budget music videos. The bands could be heard on KROQ and seen on MTV. For those reasons, I decided to go pretty heavy on music videos for Lesson 9. Enjoy.
Read:
Lesson 10: More bands from the Third Wave
Big D and the Kids Table, Streetlight Manifesto, Hepcat, The Aquabats, Mustard Plug, Skankin' Pickle, and more
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 88-113 ("Shining On" by Big D and the Kids Table to "Under the Sea" by Suburban Legends)
These bands' tracks are in no particular order for Lesson 10. I just threw in some of my personal favorites and some that were explicitly mentioned in ska histories posted around the web.
Admittedly I went really heavy on the Streetlight Manifesto here. They're a relatively small band with no real mainstream relevance, but they're one of my all time favorites. They were my first concert ever as a 10th grader. My brother even has a tattoo for this band.
Watch:
I feel like this video is a really nice summary of the height of the third wave. This is a probably-unauthorized segment of a really great documentary about ska in the 1990's. If you wanna see a "legit" version, support them on the website, I guess. But man, it's really well done. If you're familiar with the scene, you're going to see a lot of familiar faces with interviews from dozens of ska musicians of the Third Wave Scene.
This movie does a great job at getting to some of the more nuanced aspects of ska culture, its place in music history, and addressing some of the "corniness" associated with the scene.
Lesson 11: Christian Ska subgenre; the Swing Revival
Five Iron Frenzy, The Insyderz, OC Supertones, The W's
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 114-126 ("A Flowery Song" by Five Iron Frenzy to "Americano" by Brian Setzer Orchestra)
This is probably an optional lesson.
I had a compilation CD from a Christian music label that had "A Flowery Song" by Five Iron Frenzy, which remained my favorite track on the album. I got a copy of Supertones Strike Back from an older kid at church.
I chose to include the Christian ska stuff because it was some of the first ska that I was exposed to, though I didn't know that's what it was at the time. In fact, I think that the Christian ska subgenre was the only ska I listened to at the time of its actual release and relevance.
And then I chose to throw in a few of the tracks I remember from that weird 90's swing revival that pop culturists seem to ignore and that I am not all that familiar with. But the revival was mentioned in passing in a couple documentaries on ska, and the two are certainly linked.
Watch:
And while we're on the subject, check out this fucking gem: a Christian swing revival tune! (That I remember having on the same compilation CD that introduced me to Five Iron Frenzy).
Lesson 12: Regional Third Wave scenes
UK, Europe, Australia, Russia, Japan, South America, Mexico
Lesson 12 (along with 2, 3, and 4) had the bands and artists I knew nearly nothing about. I'm not one to seek out non-English music, typically. But this was a really fun exercise.
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 127-142 ("Shiela" by Burial to "Me Estoy Enamorando" by Inspector)
Watch:
I'm well aware that I used this video in Part 1 of this blog post, but skip ahead here to 24 minutes. They document ska all over the world.
I had no idea it was like this. In fact, the most played songs on the playlist are from Mexico and Argentina. I was floored by that fact. Inspector, a ska fusion band from Mexico and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (from Argentina) both have tracks on Spotify with nearly 300 million plays.
Lesson 13: End of the Third Wave
Disneyfication, suburbanization, and growing up
Look, I've seen them live at Disneyland a dozen times, but there's a band called Suburban Legends, and their biggest hits are all Disney covers. It's emblematic of what the scene became.
Third Wave ska gets wacky and dominated by band geeks in the suburbs. This isn't a bad thing. I was a wacky band geek from the suburb and I LOVED this music.
But my mom could tolerate the music, and it was "safe" for the most part. Americans want a little mean streak, an edge, some sex and drugs in their rock and roll.
Watch:
On a side note, subscribe to this guys channel if you're in a music-exploring mood. Good stuff.
Lesson 14: Beyond the Third Wave
Legacy bands, and a niche scene
Listen:
Spotify playlist tracks 143-157 ("You Can't Have All of Me" by Reel Big Fish to "Puke in the Duke" by Buster Shuffle.
I don't keep up with ska much anymore. A quick Google search brought me to the "12 Ska Albums from 2022" down in the Read section of Lesson 14. I hadn't heard of any of them.
The "legacy bands" keep dropping albums and touring. Reel Big Fish dropped an album in 2018. Goldfinger released an album in 2017 with a few million plays. The Bosstones had new albums in 2018 and 2021.
The Interrupters did have a pretty recognizable ska song that hit the radio in 2018. I'm sure I was visibly shocked when I heard it on my local "alt" station.
And the other new artist songs I put on the playlist sound good, upon first listen. There's still more happening for real lovers of the genre to consume, but it's a niche market at best.
Read:
Lesson 15: Legacy of Ska
How is ska remembered today?
Watch:
If you didn't watch all of it in Lesson 10, jump back into this clip from Pick It Up: Ska In The 90's at the 46 minute mark. They talk a lot about the touring culture and legacy of ska, much of it in the words of the artists who lived it.
And for the first time, I get the appeal of these "Teens React" videos on YouTube.
Final Exam:
Like my favorite courses I took as a student, we're going to end this one with a take-home writing assignment as the final.
Written Final Exam:
Choose any of the three eras of ska discussed in this course.
In 500-1000 words, identify the following:
- Two elements of culture or society that set your era into motion.
- The musical elements that set your chosen era apart from the other two.
- Social or political events or environments that influenced the music or fashion of the chosen era.
You may use the course materials (playlists, videos, and articles) to strengthen your arguments, or you may utilize outside sources. Cite at least 3 sources.
Papers should demonstrate articulate arguments with proper grammar and appropriate language.
Email your responses to oversharingalex@gmail.com. No, seriously, if you write a paper, I will absolutely grade it and write you back with feedback and a grade.
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