Any Anarcho-Skankers in the area?

[Parkbench]

I love ska, itt's been a big part of my life for 8 years about now. I love allt ypes of music,, from punk to metal to indie to jam to emo to ska. However, hearing a ska band live is an unparalleled experience for me.

So, any anarchist skankers around here?

How appropriate. I'm listening to Five Finger Discount by Choking Victim right now ;)

[Urban Rubble]

Well, I'm more into tradiational Jamaican ska, but I do like a lot of the ska/punk bands. Leftover Crack/Choking Victim are alright, but they're SO mediocore when it comes to bands like Operation Ivy and Common Rider.

[Parkbench]

oh yeah, i totally agree. Operation Ivy is one of my favorites. I grew up on third wave ska, which I defend fervently (heh), but I love all types, from The Specials to Ye Wiles.

[Urban Rubble]

You should check out some of the old First Wave Jamaican stuff. Try finding some of the Ethiopians old stuff, Max Romeo's old stuff, the Skatalites, OR just download (or buy) the Trojan Ska box set or the Trojan Rude Boy set (the Rude Boy one is actually better than the "Ska" one).

It's weird finding out that about half of the Specials songs were actually old Jamaican tunes.

Also, if you're so into Ska/punk, you should try to find a band called "Squad Five-O". They were a Christian skapunk band, but if you can drown out the lyrics it's some pretty good shit.

[Matthew The Great]

I love all ska music. It has always puzzled me whenever people argue over which wave is the best. Sometimes these debates can get heated and quickly disolve into name calling events. Ska is about unity and fun.

I got a busy summer ahead of me (Streetlight Manifesto on June 12 in Chicago, The Malcontents at least a hanful of times, and The Aquabats hopefully at least twice.)

Even though The Aquabats arent ska they are still one of my favorite bands ever. Can't wait for their new record on June 14.

[Parkbench]

They're semi-ska. Sometimes. I wholeheartedly agree about the waves.

Anyone listen to Ska-P? Spanish Anarchist Atheist Vegan Pothead Ska. Some people don't like them, but their lyrics are incredibly poignant.

[Phalanx]

I'm not too big into my local ska scene. one of the bands (I Voted For Kodos) turned me off from that genre. But i have to say that the Blue Meanies kick ass.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I could never really get into Ska-P, for whatever reason.

I have the same soft spot everyone does for CRS7.

My secret love is Goober Patrol - the "Extended Vacation EP" (easily their most political material, coincidently) is the among most under-rated unheard SKA/punk gems ever.

I also dig Citizen Fish on occasion, and don't mind Usual Suspects (Hey, isn't this "solo" just the music from Tetris?) either.

*Shrug*

[Ian]

"Leftover Crack/Choking Victim are alright, but they're SO mediocore when it comes to bands like Operation Ivy"

CV maybe, but I don't believe there is anyway LöC could be called mediocre when compared to Operation Ivy

[Ian]

Example #1:

I know that things are getting tougher
When you cant get top off from the bottom of the barrel
Wide open road of my future now...
Its looking fucking narrow
All I know is that I dont know nothing
We get told to decide
Just like as if im not gonna change my mind
All I know is that I dont know nothing
Whatcha gonna do with yourself
Boy better make up your mind
Whatcha gonna do with yourself boy
You're running out of time
This time I got it all figured out
All I know is that I dont know nothing...
And thats fine

Example #2:
Stamping out the ancient cultures spread a new disease
sailing on a dollar sign across the seven seas
the banner is white, blue and red
the locust's flight to swarm the dead
a buzzing plague to cage the lost
the spreading web breeds holocost
the third world's in your sweaty hands
you bleed 'em dry and rape their lands
you loan 'em cash to kill their soils
white bureaucrats divide the spoils

Swirling red and blue lights flash upon the housing walls
my back against the lockless doors of countless bathroom stalls
sifting through a puzzled life until the pieces click
wading through america-the hate, the lies, the sick

(I'm) spittin'at the flag you wave
(I'm) pityin'the life the life you gave
the propaganda zombifies
to stuff your head with hateful lies
violence really keeps the peace
all across the middle east
with diligence we scorch the soil
and siphon out their prcious oil

All these patriotic lies oft sicken me to wake
how much shit and disrespect are we supposed to take
while you chant amongst the bleachers "U.S.A. is #1"
we'll cheer the empire crumbling down to rot beneath the sun

We have to be the winning team
democracy's a dying dream
and everything is classified
to keep our terror justified
we have to keep our engines filled
so what if forign blood is spilled
I'm blind to the reality
if the media lies, it's news to me

This is what you're proud of when you have your little flag
a sovereign nation brutalizing a wetted paper bag

And all the worlds a cage
we're locked upon the stage

(In a)Capitalist society
we're threatend by autonomy
their labor must belong to us
in cash and greed and god we trust
(it's) just another policy
to cripple their economy
bury them in endless debt
to the world-bank and the I.M.F.
(so)I'm burnin' up the flag you wave
I'm dancin' on your fuckin' grave
you're sellin' devastating death
you're suckin' souls and robin' breath
and your greed's a blasphemy
you're profitin' from misery
where will all this madness end
when the money burns and cities rend

A golden sunset in darkest night
it melts the skin and blinds the sight
a fungal cloud of blackened ash
the rain floods down to spark the rash
into your mind the sickness bores
while underground they lock the doors
you glide into abysmal deep
escape, escape, to sleep

[Matthew The Great]

Operation Ivy was not formed to be a political band like Leftover Crack. And to compare their lyrics is kind of unfair. Operation Ivy was formed 15 years before LOC and Jessie Michaels wrote all their lyrics when he was 18 and 19.

Plus, without Operation Ivy there may not have ever been Leftover Crack.

[Bazza]

I love 60's ska & rocksteady and 2 Tone. I used to play in a ska band for a few years and got to support The Selecter when they had The Specials John Bradbury drumming for them. I don't however like ska/punk, a punk band with a brass section isn't a ska band.

[seraphim]

Originally posted by Urban [email protected] 17 2005, 07:00 PM




You should check out some of the old First Wave Jamaican stuff. Try finding some of the Ethiopians old stuff, Max Romeo's old stuff, the Skatalites, OR just download (or buy) the Trojan Ska box set or the Trojan Rude Boy set (the Rude Boy one is actually better than the "Ska" one).

Trojan records rules and some of the artists they inspired here i.e Madness, The Specials etc. are a thousand times better than any modern ska band the other day a friend of mine tried to tell me that Less Than Jake were the best Ska band ever (to my amusement and disgust).


It's weird finding out that about half of the Specials songs were actually old Jamaican tunes.

Perhaps but that's the way with alot of music now. At the end of the day there are only so many things you can do with combinations of 12 notes. Jamaica has had a huge impact on modern music

[RASH chris]

Originally posted by [email protected] 20 2005, 10:25 AM
I don't however like ska/punk, a punk band with a brass section isn't a ska band.
Fucking A!!! I get so sick of that. I have a ska patch on my flight jacket, and I have a ska t-shirt. And everyday I wear one of them some douchebag is like "sweet dude I love ska!" So I ask em thier favorite band, and they say Reel Big Fish or something. And when you ask em if they've ever heard of 2 tone or if they realise that ska pre-dates reggae they have no clue.

Oh and by the way, I see the redskins link. Yet again, that's fucking awesome, one of my favorite bands. My friends and I listen to them constantly.

[Bazza]

Originally posted by [email protected] 20 2005, 06:32 PM
Oh and by the way, I see the redskins link. Yet again, that's fucking awesome, one of my favorite bands. My friends and I listen to them constantly.
The Redskins were a great band, it's just a shame that they only ever released the one studio album. I met the Redskins bassist Martin Hewes the other month for a few beers. It was good to finally meet up having been a fan of the band since seeing them on The Tube way back in 1984.

I'll be putting out a tribute CD to the Redskins next month see my website at http://www.redstar-recordings.com for more details. I think that Cherry Red Records are looking into reissuing the Redskins album with a load of bonus tracks including "The Crack" which was on the original vinyl pressing but missed off the CD. Also Insurgence Records were looking at putting out a Redskins DVD but I think they've ran into some copyright problems. Insurgence also have a tape of No Swastikas (pre-Redskins) material which I hope will get released sometime.

[Parkbench]

I don't however like ska/punk, a punk band with a brass section isn't a ska band.

I'm sorry, like I said before, I don't believe in this kind of loyalty at all in music. It's kind of funny actually how these die-hard two-tone or "first wave" ska fans shut out the other types just the way the ditzes shut out the two tone. Waht people fail to realise is people evolve. times change. music evolves otherwise it would not be music!

Music goes through changes and this is the face of ska today. It is not bad in my opinion, these bands aren't trying to "pass off" as a Ska band, they having morphed into a new type. There is nothing wrong with Reel Big Fish or Ska-P or any of the modern bands nor is there with Desmon Dekker or The Specials. Yes, everyone has their preference, but to discount modern ska by being stubborn is realy just being objective--which is being conservative, and no one likes a conservative--I'm not just talking about the word, I'm talking about the actual concept, people with absolute, objective morals--theres very few things you can be objective about. Music isn't one of them. It's subjective, like 99.9% of things in life. You don't like modern ska? Fine. But don't act indignant that ska has changed.

[Urban Rubble]

CV maybe, but I don't believe there is anyway LöC could be called mediocre when compared to Operation Ivy

I disagree totally. I think it comes down to what kind of lyrics you prefer. Bands like LoC (or propagandhi, or anti flag) have more overt political messages. Bands like Op Ivy (or Rise Against, or Against Me) have more subtle lyrics. Now, I love overly political bands (like all the ones I mentioned) but I prefer the lyrics that are more subtle and up to interpretation.

Plus, the Op Ivy lyrics you quoted were not a good example. Try "Freeze Up".


I used to play in a ska band for a few years and got to support The Selecter when they had The Specials John Bradbury drumming for them.

That's awesome! What were you guys called?


I don't however like ska/punk, a punk band with a brass section isn't a ska band.

Well, I agree that most "ska punk" bands lean more to the punk side, but I don't think that makes it bad music necessarily. I don't like bands like the Mighty Might Bosstones or Reel Big Fish, but I LOVE Op Ivy, Citizen Fish, Suicide Machines and Choking Victim.

[Bazza]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21 2005, 02:50 AM
But don't act indignant that ska has changed.
Ska change from rocksteady to reggae to dub and so on. But musically skapunk has nothing at all to do with ska. It's just as bad as the skacid sound of the late 80's.

[RASH chris]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21 2005, 02:50 AM

I don't however like ska/punk, a punk band with a brass section isn't a ska band.

I'm sorry, like I said before, I don't believe in this kind of loyalty at all in music. It's kind of funny actually how these die-hard two-tone or "first wave" ska fans shut out the other types just the way the ditzes shut out the two tone. Waht people fail to realise is people evolve. times change. music evolves otherwise it would not be music!

Music goes through changes and this is the face of ska today. It is not bad in my opinion, these bands aren't trying to "pass off" as a Ska band, they having morphed into a new type. There is nothing wrong with Reel Big Fish or Ska-P or any of the modern bands nor is there with Desmon Dekker or The Specials. Yes, everyone has their preference, but to discount modern ska by being stubborn is realy just being objective--which is being conservative, and no one likes a conservative--I'm not just talking about the word, I'm talking about the actual concept, people with absolute, objective morals--theres very few things you can be objective about. Music isn't one of them. It's subjective, like 99.9% of things in life. You don't like modern ska? Fine. But don't act indignant that ska has changed.
I just don't like skapunk cause it sounds like pop punkers got into a car accident with a marching band. Now, my friends all love LOC/CV etc and I listen to them in the car and stuff. And I don't mind them. But I don't like the poppy third wave stuff. But there are also modern ska bands who are still in touch with thier roots. Like The pietasters, hepcat, ya basta, etc.

Yeah, I saw the tribute CD on insurgence a day or two ago. And I've been to your site once or twice I think. Cause I signed up on the redskins board, but it's not real active (like much of the on-line red skinhead scene).

[Parkbench]

you dont have to be "in touch with your roots" to be good, though. That's conservatism.

There is poppy third wave and there is non-poppy third wave that remains "out of touch" with its roots, for the most part.

Skapunk is as much form of ska as any other. it's just different.

don't get me wrong. i'll skank till i die regardless of waht's being played.

[(R)evolution of the mind]

Although it is a bit cheesy, for some reason I really like listening to Ska-P occasionally. They're the only ska or ska-punk band that I've listened to and liked.. not that I've tried that many, mostly I listen to metal (and not of the cheesy power metal sort).

[Bazza]

Originally posted by Urban [email protected] 21 2005, 02:59 AM
That's awesome! What were you guys called?
The band was called The G Men and were around from 1989 until about 2002. I was in them in the mid 90s. They still have a website at - http://www.geocities.com/theoneandonlygmen

[Parkbench]

just out of curiosity, do you know what they're saying (referring to Ska-P)? If you actually understand the lyrics they hit very close to home.

[(R)evolution of the mind]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2005, 04:00 PM
just out of curiosity, do you know what they're saying (referring to Ska-P)? If you actually understand the lyrics they hit very close to home.
Me? I've tried translating some of them and yeah, they hit close to home. It's just the style that is a bit cheesy/pompous.. but I like it anyway!

[skaful]

in europe, we have some good red ska band, like :

france:
-ya basta
-les travailleurs de la nuit (night workers)

germany
-scrapy
-no respect

spain
-obrint pas
-skalariak


italy
-persiana jones
-banda bassoti
-arpioni

and so more ...