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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: Thunderpants121 on 30 Jul 2007, 14:38

Title: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 30 Jul 2007, 14:38
Ska. It may be on the wayside, but it sure as hell aint dead! If ska is dead, most indie music never even had a heartbeat (although upon first hearing some indie bands, that isn't much of a suprise). There's nothing wrong with liking it, and skanking has to be the highest form of dancing ever created. So this is an indie-oriented forum full of users who listen to bands that no one else has ever heard of. Well, ska is the same way! I can't think of many of my friends that have heard of the Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Suburban Legends, the Planet Smashers, the Forces of Evil, et cetera. So if you do enjoy it, don't be afraid to show it! Ska love!
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Kai on 30 Jul 2007, 14:39
Nope, sorry, I try to function on a day to day level in society.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: amok on 30 Jul 2007, 14:40
I liked Sublime when I was 15 but otherwise I'm pretty much lost here. What bands are ska?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 30 Jul 2007, 14:41
Nope, sorry, I try to function on a day to day level in society.

Some people are so boring!

Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Scandanavian War Machine on 30 Jul 2007, 14:42
i like maybe 30% of songs by The Suicide Machines but other than that ska gets fairly annoying, to me.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Lyrics on 30 Jul 2007, 15:01
I will quite gladly admit that I am a fan of ska.
many bands of the ska genre have received a decent amount of playing time on my iPod.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Hat on 30 Jul 2007, 16:13
I am not going to admit anything in a thread I have this much contempt for.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thrillho on 30 Jul 2007, 16:51
Two-tone counts as ska, right? Cause I listen to the Specials and Madness, and occasionally Reel Big Fish.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Inlander on 30 Jul 2007, 16:53
DESMOND DEKKER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE DESMOND DEKKER, PEOPLE!
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 30 Jul 2007, 17:57
DESMOND DEKKER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE DESMOND DEKKER, PEOPLE!

Friggin' classic!
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: valley_parade on 30 Jul 2007, 18:49
Aquabaaaaaaats!
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: ALoveSupreme on 30 Jul 2007, 19:26
I feel like ska has been making a bit of a comeback lately.  Maybe it's because I just didn't pay any attention to it for the past, like, 7 or 8 years, but lately in this forum alone I've seen numerous ska related threads, and people I know in day to day life seem to be talking about it a little more frequently than I had noticed in the past few years. 

I dunno, I don't mind it, I don't think I listen to it any more now than I ever did.  The old horn player from Mustard Plug recorded my band's album.  Yup.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Johnny C on 30 Jul 2007, 20:33
(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4043/trollca2.jpg)
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 30 Jul 2007, 22:35
I don't listen to ska.  I abhor it, and not because I follow a strict diet of indie canon, either.  It's because the music blows.  It's stupid dance music for alternative motherfuckers to get drunk to, not music to think about about or make you live your life any differently (or at least productively). 

I guess I shouldn't generalize, because I'm sure there are some ska or ska-related songs I think or will think are alright, but the genre in general just seems obsolete to me.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: onewheelwizzard on 30 Jul 2007, 23:10
Ska is silly and makes me think of two things:

(1) 14-17-year-olds who either really just want to be friendly laid-back guys, so they let horn players into their band, or know someone who does this and think that band is cool for doing it.  This demographic seems to fervently hope beyond hope that they are doing something that is meaningful.  They might only just now be beginning to think that maybe drinking or smoking pot is OK, if their older siblings are managing to do it and still be cool (due to the previous point, their first time experimenting is invariably a huge deal and the only thing they talk about whenever they do it again, for at least a year).  They're usually Christian, and simultaneously distance themselves from their faith in order to look cool for older kids, and remain adherents to their youth group in order to feel like they're making a difference for younger kids (this is usually the reason why they've taken so long to think about drugs or drinking, or sex for that matter ... most don't end up approaching these aspects of life until college).

(2) 18-25-year-olds who never outgrew the above portion of their life, and now get drunk/high all the time but still cling to the simplistic ideal of being a friendly, laid-back guy. In between their crises of faith after realizing that church didn't hold all the answers, and their crises of musical self-image after realizing that most of their friends didn't listen to ska anymore, as well as their consistant troubles with school and employment, they often have slightly-to-extremely inflated images of the drama of their own life.  Rarely will they go to a party where less than 20% of the people are high school friends of theirs.  For many this number is 50% or higher.

Since these are basically the two kinds of people I've met in my experience who have been associated with listening to ska, I find it a hard genre to respect fully.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Inlander on 30 Jul 2007, 23:27
It's stupid dance music for alternative motherfuckers to get drunk to, not music to think about about or make you live your life any differently (or at least productively). 

I thought about getting all angry and going into a big rant about how much of the original ska and the ska that came out of the British two-tone movement confronted pressing social issues and painted vivid portraits of contemporary society (references: "Ghost Town" by the Specials and "House of Fun" by Madness), but instead I'm going to direct you to this (http://posokhov.msk.ru/mp3aux/rocksteady/desmond_dekker-israelites/samples/11-DesmondDekker-TheIsraelites-sample.mp3) low-quality MP3 from a Russian website and dare you to hate it.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 31 Jul 2007, 00:07
I'm pretty much just stating my reaction to the ska I've been forced to listen to (I have a friend who was heavy into ska at one point).

I listened to that song you linked to, and I didn't hate it, but I didn't find it particularly engaging, either.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Gridgm on 31 Jul 2007, 01:19
Ska is silly and makes me think of two things:

(1) 14-17-year-olds who either really just want to be friendly laid-back guys, so they let horn players into their band, or know someone who does this and think that band is cool for doing it.  This demographic seems to fervently hope beyond hope that they are doing something that is meaningful.  They might only just now be beginning to think that maybe drinking or smoking pot is OK, if their older siblings are managing to do it and still be cool (due to the previous point, their first time experimenting is invariably a huge deal and the only thing they talk about whenever they do it again, for at least a year).  They're usually Christian, and simultaneously distance themselves from their faith in order to look cool for older kids, and remain adherents to their youth group in order to feel like they're making a difference for younger kids (this is usually the reason why they've taken so long to think about drugs or drinking, or sex for that matter ... most don't end up approaching these aspects of life until college).

(2) 18-25-year-olds who never outgrew the above portion of their life, and now get drunk/high all the time but still cling to the simplistic ideal of being a friendly, laid-back guy. In between their crises of faith after realizing that church didn't hold all the answers, and their crises of musical self-image after realizing that most of their friends didn't listen to ska anymore, as well as their consistant troubles with school and employment, they often have slightly-to-extremely inflated images of the drama of their own life.  Rarely will they go to a party where less than 20% of the people are high school friends of theirs.  For many this number is 50% or higher.

Since these are basically the two kinds of people I've met in my experience who have been associated with listening to ska, I find it a hard genre to respect fully.

and those who aren't christian?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: KharBevNor on 31 Jul 2007, 01:36
BAGGY TROUSERS?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Gridgm on 31 Jul 2007, 01:51
RANDOM STATEMENT?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 31 Jul 2007, 07:00
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/elobue1/comesee-600.jpg)

Gangster fun?  Isn't that just supposed to be like, playing dice and extorting businesses?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: pen on 31 Jul 2007, 07:39
ska is FUN!

favorites of mine are probably donkeypunch, aquabats, less than jake, and the rudiments
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 31 Jul 2007, 07:49
less than jake

I saw them once.  Their lead singer is basically a greasy d-bag.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Baggy on 31 Jul 2007, 07:49
I have no great hate of Ska, but to be quite honest, I would never choose to listen to Ska of my own accord.  I find it to be one of the more obnoxious genres of rock.  No offense to those who like it, if that's your thaaaaang.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: ScrambledGregs on 31 Jul 2007, 07:54
I don't hate ska, but I do think it's an inferior, watered down version of reggae in the same way that modern/mainstream country is an inferior, watered down version of old country/bluegrass.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Inlander on 31 Jul 2007, 07:56
Actually, ska came before reggae.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Cernunnos on 31 Jul 2007, 07:56
The older, the better.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 31 Jul 2007, 07:59
Inlander is right, Gregs.  But you can still hate ska with me.  We are in this together.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 31 Jul 2007, 08:17
Actually, ska came before reggae.

In fact, ska is the reason reggae exists!
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Narr on 31 Jul 2007, 10:59
I like the Aquabats, because it's silly and fun to listen to at times.

Then again, as much as I like music, I don't take it very seriously.  I mean, if someone tells me they got some great deep moving thing that benefited their life from a song, more power for them, but I just don't connect to music that way.  I'm usually too busy listening to the song to pay full attention to what the lyrics mean and are saying, even with songs I can sing along to because I actually know all the words.  Awesome riffs, interplays between the various instruments, slight changes in drum beats, that stuff is far more entertaining to me than, say, causing social change through music.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Lines on 31 Jul 2007, 11:28
I know like 3 ska songs. Not really my thing, but two of the ones I know make me smile.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: SusurrusIgnoramus on 31 Jul 2007, 12:04
i don't care what anyone says.  reel big fish still rock my fucking socks off.  and maybe onewheelwizard will think i'm proving his point, but five iron frenzy were AMAZING.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 31 Jul 2007, 15:29
I like the Aquabats, because it's silly and fun to listen to at times.

Then again, as much as I like music, I don't take it very seriously.


Who said you had to take music seriously to enjoy it?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Aimless on 31 Jul 2007, 15:36
I've a few old ska compilations somewhere, and I like 'em lots. It's nice chill fun/funny music!

Wow, it doesn't "make" you "live your life differently"... big deal. You can make YOURSELF live your life differently if that's a priority of yours <3

Cheers.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 31 Jul 2007, 18:43
Who said you had to take music seriously to enjoy it?

Not sure what you mean here.  Usually the music I don't take seriously and enjoy is parody music.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Aimless on 01 Aug 2007, 01:02
Wait, hang on, what does taking music seriously entail?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: cup0gloom on 01 Aug 2007, 03:49
ska.. meh, if it's on in the background in a party or something I guessI won't complain, but I certainly wouldn't go all woohoo if someone handed me a free sublime cd.. well cept for woohoo I can trade this for something I actually want lol
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: ScrambledGregs on 01 Aug 2007, 06:41
When I say ska, I'm thinking of today's ska. Not the ska that reggae descended from.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 01 Aug 2007, 11:34


Not sure what you mean here.  Usually the music I don't take seriously and enjoy is parody music.

Here's what I mean. I've got a couple of friends that absolutely love progressive rock. They'll turn the lights in their room off, turn up the speakers, and start playing Rush, The Flower Kings, etc. They sit there and contemplate the changing time signatures, the changing key signatures, the number of notes in a guitar riff, the integration of the various instrumentation into the overall sound, the significance of the lyrics, and other facets of the songs, each of which seem to last 15 minutes. They take the whole thing very seriously, and don't seem to care much about how the music actually sounds.

I think that's boring! I want to listen to music that will make me happy or elicit some sort of emotion, at the very least. If a song gets your toes tapping, your hands clapping, or just straight up gets you in the mood to dance, I'll take it over some overly-complicated hodge podge of different sounds any day. And even if it isn't the type of music that gets you in the mood to dance around like an idiot, but is more a type of chill out sort of feel, I like it. It doesn't mean I have to take it seriously, think about it, obsess over it, and the like, I just have to enjoy it. Ska is just one of the types of music that does this for me.

Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Khatt on 01 Aug 2007, 12:00
I love ska, I love that it's a fun, exciting genre of music and I appreciate it for that, exactly what it is. I think it's a misconception that music has to be taken so seriously, to only lay down in a completely dark room and listen and focus. Why not have both? I'll find myself laying in my room with Pink Floyd, just relaxing and listening, focusing on the music. Then I'll find myself skanking to the Johnstones. All I'm saying is that it's good to have balance, why not have music for every mood?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 01 Aug 2007, 14:06


Not sure what you mean here.  Usually the music I don't take seriously and enjoy is parody music.
They take the whole thing very seriously, and don't seem to care much about how the music actually sounds.

I think that's boring! I want to listen to music that will make me happy or elicit some sort of emotion, at the very least. If a song gets your toes tapping, your hands clapping, or just straight up gets you in the mood to dance, I'll take it over some overly-complicated hodge podge of different sounds any day.

Thunderpants, it sounds like you take ska seriously.  Eliciting emotions and stuff.  You genuinely like ska and it does more than cause you to laugh derisively, so you pretty much take it seriously.  And I know what it's like to do like your friends and contemplate song structures and things, and I do care about how the music actually sounds and do take it seriously as art.  I think your friends probably care about how the music actually sounds, too.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Patrick on 01 Aug 2007, 15:38
Mad Caddies.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Liz on 01 Aug 2007, 18:54
I have some ska, and sometimes I listen to it, but I'm not totally obsessed or anything.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: music0mayhem on 02 Aug 2007, 00:11
I'll admit it's not my favorite genre but I do listin to it quite a bit.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Maui on 02 Aug 2007, 00:39
Whee ska!

I dabble in the genre, but the only bands i really follow and buy their cds are reel big fish, the slackers, the aquabats, sublime, catch 22 (although i only own keasbey nights and have heard bad things about them since), and streetlight manifesto.  

Reel Big Fish are awesome but 99% of their songs are basically "i love beer and girls even though they suck."  Which is okay with me, love scott and aaron's harmonies and they are kickass live.

I loathe less than jake.

Tomas Kalnoky's raspy voice is spot on for the music he writes.  Keasbey Nights is perfect for morning drives when i need to wake up.  I like to blare it with the windows down and offend little children.

Ska shows are the best.  Nothing like 200 sweaty people dancing in the circle pit to make for a good time.

I know very few Christians that enjoy ska, so onewheelwizard's comments didnt make sense to me.  My one friend is 20 years old, ska obsessed and hates jesus.  Sooo?

Really it's just fun music.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: The extra letter on 02 Aug 2007, 04:20
I hate to admit it, but I don't think I've heard a ska song in my life.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 02 Aug 2007, 06:43
Well, with ska, you either love it your you hate it. I've met very few people in between. If you want to hear some look up somebody like Reel Big Fish, The Planet Smashers, Suburban Legends, Streetlight Manifesto, etc.


Just a quick question, how long do the pages of these threads get?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 02 Aug 2007, 12:44
Well, you could go look at a thread that is more than one page.  That might answer your question.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: tomselleck69 on 02 Aug 2007, 18:26
if there were a soundtrack for gerbils fucking...


i will join a majority and say that i like madness and the specials a lot, though.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Thunderpants121 on 03 Aug 2007, 04:22
Well, you could go look at a thread that is more than one page.  That might answer your question.


Ahhhh, but that would make sense! And if the world was run in ways that made sense, everything would come crashing down!

Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: brandon_ha on 09 Aug 2007, 22:06
Yay  rude boys! I can't really say I'm a rude boy though, I love ska listen to it everyday and all that but I don't have a car, live in a backwater town and have no friends who listen to the genre, they compare it to emo. So I have been to maybe three live shows and they where closer to screamo.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: teh pwn queen on 10 Aug 2007, 20:38
Well, what I believe is that there's a time and a place for everything, and in the case of ska that place was the mid 90s... America's teenagers needed something to feel good about after the onslaught of depressing (but still totally awesome) grunge of the early 90s.
So there was Save Ferris, Big Reel Fish, etc. etc. And even the early No Doubt (whom I was a HUGE fan of for years) like their Tragic Kingdom album and Trapped in a Box.

But ska is no longer needed, we have other music to enjoy.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 11 Aug 2007, 11:06
Well, what I believe is that there's a time and a place for everything except ska.  Man, that music blows.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Valrus on 11 Aug 2007, 17:14
Twelve-tone counts as ska, right?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: KharBevNor on 13 Aug 2007, 18:03
I'd probably listen to more ska if music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQet75TXMg) like (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOKbhQbvpPA) this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlo7F1Zd-x0) didn't exist.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Ernest on 13 Aug 2007, 19:35
Really?  Ska would be your number one fallback option?
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Anarchy965 on 14 Aug 2007, 01:08
The Toasters. 'nuff said. (OMG NOWAI THEYR SO GOOD!!!1)
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: Luke C on 14 Aug 2007, 02:58
I don't hate ska, but I do think it's an inferior, watered down version of reggae in the same way that modern/mainstream country is an inferior, watered down version of old country/bluegrass.

To me most ska sounds like a watered down version of several genres, blues/reggae/jazz etc.

I'm no huge fan of ska but I'm not going to say "OMG SKA SUCKS" because people I know who listen to it are douchebags.
Title: Re: Admit it, you listen to it!
Post by: KharBevNor on 14 Aug 2007, 10:29
Really?  Ska would be your number one fallback option?

For ridiculous dancing music, could well be.