Getting into Ska

[Jackson]

what should i listen to for starters i love ska just started to get into it i have some larger bands but i want some smaller bands too any suggestions?

[Skibz McCullock]

lalabooobs said:

dude are you serious? just because the aggrolites dont wanna be in the same genre as the embarrassing pop punk bands with horns doesnt mean they arent, at the very least, related to the ska genre as a whole.

http://skaspot.ning.com/forum/topics/getting-into-ska#
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What? I don't understand the "embarrassing pop punk" connection....in fact, I have no idea what you're talking about at all.

The Aggrolites ARE entirely dedicated to Jamaican music, and they tend to play with a lot of ska bands, but they don't play ska music. They've said a number of times in interviews that they don't like being called a "ska band" (I don't have the links with me, but if you really want me to, I can look for them), which is entirely reasonable, as they AREN'T. Even though they lean more towards traditional Jamaican sounds, it's as inaccurate to call them ska as it would be calling Rocket from the Crypt a ska band. It's that blurring of a genre's guidelines that can only lead to ruin.

[Jonah]

Ska Compilations are good, but you have to remember don't judge completely based off those. I have listened to a few comp. and completely hated certain songs and judged that band, but once I got ahold of some of their CD's I found that I actually enjoyed their music and just didn't like that song. Oh and GOOGLE man! That is your friend. It will take a while, but you will eventually figure out what you like. Myspace is a good place to find bands too...look for shows around your area, go to them, talk to people.

[Zack]

last.fm is a good website to check out. (www.last.fm) if you type in a band and go to their page you can look on the side for a tab 'similar artists' and it will give a list of about 100 similar artists. If you go ahead and make an account and log your music playing in it will give you recommended artists to your taste to check out as well. it's a very handy website for finding new bands.

[Klaus Vanderson]

It's elitism that leads to ruin. In my opinion Reggae is just a subform of Ska music. Most Ska bands, even Ska/Punk have Reggae elements. Then take a look at bands like The Slackers and tell me what kind of music they are? Would it be "leading to ruin" to call The Slackers a ska band? There is just as much rocksteady, reggae, and soul in their music as there is ska.

Skibz McCullock said:

The Aggrolites ARE entirely dedicated to Jamaican music, and they tend to play with a lot of ska bands, but they don't play ska music. They've said a number of times in interviews that they don't like being called a "ska band" (I don't have the links with me, but if you really want me to, I can look for them), which is entirely reasonable, as they AREN'T. Even though they lean more towards traditional Jamaican sounds, it's as inaccurate to call them ska as it would be calling Rocket from the Crypt a ska band. It's that blurring of a genre's guidelines that can only lead to ruin.

[Skibz McCullock]

..but...the Slackers actually play ska songs. AND reggae songs. The Aggrolites, based on everything I've heard from them, including all three albums and various B-sides (excluding their work with Tim Armstrong), have NEVER recorded a ska song in the technical sense. Thus, their various statements that they're "not a ska band" are correct.

The Aggrolites exist within the ska spectrum, obviously, and can be, should be and are a major part of the scene, but they are not a "ska band", and the more ska fans are able to easily recognize the musical guidelines of a genre, what ska is and what ska isn't, they have a clearer sense of what they're listening to and are able to establish standards within the scene, and, most crucially, for the musicians, they learn the basics of the music in order to preserve it, to assure that in twenty years from now, "ska" won't have de-evolved into black metal with trumpets.

If this was any other genre, would you be complaining as much? All music--ALL music--needs to follow certain guidelines. It's "restrictive" only in the sense that it keeps musicians actually *playing* the genre they want to play. For instance, any "heavy metal band" can turn the distortion up on their amps, but in order to actually be playing heavy metal music, they need to follow certain guidelines, certain rhythms, certain beats, etc. in order to actually be playing heavy metal, instead of punk or grindcore or screamo or whathaveyou. That's not elitist. That's not "restrictive". It's the genre.

With ska, there seems a complete lack of knowledge and standards over what "ska" really is. If a band has horns (say, Chicago, Rocket from the Crypt, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) or has a strong Jamaican influence (say, The Aggrolites, Matisyahu, Damien Marley), does this make them a "ska band"? Tell me, what differentiates Rocket from the Crypt from The Mighty Mighty BossToneS? They both have horns, they both play punk-like songs...

Now...what differentiates The Aggrolites from The Skatalites?

AH! I caught you! You know what you were about to say: "The Skatalites...play ska".

The offbeat is what literally defines ska as a genre, and what has been the sole defining characteristic of the genre since it's inception. It's this same offbeat that encompasses bands from Hepcat to the Voodoo Glow Skulls, from The Specials to the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Once you lose that syncopated beat, the music ceases to become ska, but rather punk-with-horns, or rocksteady/dancehall. The current ska fanbase is more or less entirely unfamiliar with the structure of their genre, and in some cases the actual ROOTS of their genre...and it's THIS, the lack of a grasp on understanding ska, that WILL lead to the genre's ruin. Tell me, if the entire future of ska lies in the hands of teenagers who are only familiar with Reel Big Fish and the like, how will this turn out in twenty years?

I don't think it's elitist to call a band that doesn't play ska "not a ska band". A bit nitpicky, maybe, but entirely and utterly honest.

[Klaus Vanderson]

...well put

[AlternativeBaby]

i would suggest picking up the Ska Is Dead compilation cd. its got a lot of great bands on it that are popular in the ska scene right now and some older ones too. Mostly third wave stuff.
i have discovered a lot of the bands i like when they played as opening bands at concerts i went to. so go see the bands you already know when they come to town and check out the opening acts.
also you can find some good bands just by searching for ska bands on myspace. you will probably have to sort through some shit but there are definitely some jems out there.

[Klaus Vanderson]

The Vandersons