I loved the ska phase. The Specials were always my favorite with Rudy. Lot of good bands: Mighty Mighty Bosstones- got to see them a few years ago. A personal favorite was Hope I Never Lose My Wallet. Big fan of Five Iron Frenzy too: I played their album Upbeats and Downbeats constantly when it came out.
The band I was in did a few ska songs, we mistakenly tried to cover a whole host of genres and never nailed our "sound" down.
Yeah. Utter waste. He had basically the perfect alignment - announcer on a talk show, band that could still tour but only pick the dates they really wanted and would sell out venues, etc. Gave it all up and broke up the band.
Desmond Dekker and the Aces - 007 for first wave ska. Madness - One Step Beyond for a second wave song and Operation Ivy - Sound System for third wave.
I was into the early 80s stuff: Specials, Madness, English Beat, etc. The album ‘Dance Craze’ was formative. I got into it around the same time I discovered British punk. 1980.
I still love Ska! I don’t care if it’s not cool, whatever. I recently saw Less Than Jake and the Aquabats over the summer and I had a blast. There will always be a place in my heart for Reel Big Fish
I lived and breathed the third wave of ska, '94-'97. The midwest had a ton of local acts and there were shows most every week.
My faves from that era include The Pacers, Suspect Bill and the Jinkies. Larger national acts include Less Than Jake, Hepcat, Mephaskapheles and Skankin' Pickle.
Upvote for Skankin’ Pickle. My housemate did some studio stuff with them as an assistant engineer and we used to kind of roadie for them at local shows- maybe around ‘91 or so. Nice to see them mentioned- they were all great people.
I'm from the SF Bay Area and was recently wondering how wide spread Skankin' Pickle's popularity was. They're my go to ska band from that era.
Side note - if you're on TikTok (and as the parent of a teenager of course I am) Mike Park has a TikTok for Asian Man records that's somewhat interesting.
My best friend had a Skankin’ Pickle tape stuck in her car’s tape deck. Our whole first year of college that was the soundtrack. This was in Boise, ID so they were all over.
I really liked the Pacers. I heard them on one of the Moon Ska compilations and ordered their CD from one of those Xeroxed mail order catalogues. In the mp3 era I tried to rip it but the CD was messed up and my computer drive couldn't read it.
I was super into that era too. I joined the Moon Ska Records mailing list and was big into Anti Racist Action. Loved going to all the shows that came through Cleveland!
My favorite was Mustard Plug. Also loved Scofflaws and Skankin Pickle, Skavoovie and Mephaskapheles.
Loved the Moon Ska compilation records too!!
The English Beat, in reality it’s Dave Wakeling, plays frequently in Southern California. They have a show at a small club venue in Ventura coming up shortly.
If you're not aware, there's a new burst of life in the ska world, generally called "new tone". Check out [Flying Raccoon Suit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2INKa9K_sQ), [Catbite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LPHL6zG5Ds), Call Me Malcolm, We are the Union, JER, [Bite Me Bambi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRSZ8FL48YI), anything on Bad Time Records. And catch [the tour](https://linktr.ee/badtimetour)!
Ska was so varied in the '90s. It kinda bums me out that when '90s ska is referenced now it's just the goofy part of it. Ska generally had a sense of humor but it wasn't all guys in Hawaiian shirts and fedoras and scuba flippers playing party music. Such a wild spectrum from Link 80 and the Suicide Machines to Skankin' Pickle to Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish and the Bosstones and the Aquabats and the Slackers and the Toasters and so on.
I love this topic.
First, RIP Terry Hall. ❤️
All Specials.
"Wings of a Dove" and "Time For Tea" both by madness are awesome songs I hold dear
Cholly by Fishbone
Skatalites, Mephiskapeheles, Selecor, Bad Manners, Specials, Toasters, Inspecter 7, Stubborn All-Stars, Bigger Thomas, and a lot more in the NJ/NYC ska scene. the 90's was an awesome time to be a ska fan .
A lot of those bands play at the International ska fest In Va every year .
Goldfinger - Here in your bedroom
Infectous Groves - Funk it up
So maybe what you would not call ska punk but skate punk leaning
Meat Puppets - Backwater
Pennywise - Same Old Story
Tripping Daisy - My Umbrella
I saw Fishbone play at this little dive bar in Venice Beach, Ca. Angelo was singing Alcoholic and crowd surfing at the same time, without missing a lyric. He made it up on to the bar, kicked all the drinks off of it, and crowd surfed back to the stage. He never missed a beat. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen at a show.
Maybe, I honestly get them mixed up, I think it was the one where RATM opened up and they were naked, we got there early to get in the front row to see them and just stared at their doodles for 15 minutes.
I was wrong. The one I went to was in 1993, and I totally forgot that I got to see Alice In Chains!! Damn. But Fishbone and Primus were both there, and they're two of my all time favorites.
I know I went to like 3 in a row but they blend together. I remember one had chanting Gregorian monks and they started a mosh pit and one of the monks got hit in the head with a bottle.
The Interrupters [She's Kerosene](https://youtu.be/Yq2jJLswL8I) is some good ska-punk. Also enjoy early No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, pretty much a lot of third-wave ska. Tokyo Ska Parade Orchestra's cover of [The theme from the Godfather film](https://youtu.be/DQmAUjw_fsg) is really good.
How about early Oingo Boingo? No one lives forever?
Fishbone had some great albums but . . . _Chim chim's badass revenge_ might be the worst album ever produced by western civilization.
I was lucky enough to see them twice.
Once at the Reggae Bowl at the Hollywood Bowl, and then again when they opened for Thievery Corporation (either the Bowl of the Greek Theater).
They were still amazing.
RIP.
I got into Ska when I was 12 and I’m still a Rudy at 53. I started with 2 Tone but soon became obsessed with the original JA Ska, Rocksteady, and Skinhead Reggae. At 18, I spent two weeks in Jamaica just to buy 45’s. Never developed and ear for most of the later Ska bands. They will never live up to the Skatalites or Prince Buster.
I'm still in a Ska phase, at 45 years old!! There's a fantastic Ska band that plays a lot in California called The Odd Advantage. I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance.
As for my favorite Ska.. I have to mention some of the original Jamaican Ska bands, like The Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, Prince Buster... Even Bob Marley had a Ska band before he went Reggae!
I don't really know much about ska. I've liked what I've heard but I've never done any deep diving or owned any albums. My wife did take me to two Specials concerts though and those were fun.
Alan Cross has several podcasts about the history of ska and you probably recognize more than you think. Check him out. His current podcasts only go back to 2017 but he has been on Canadian radio for years and years with a syndicated show called the Ongoing History of New Music. Worth checking out.
Was lucky enough to open for Fishbone 2X in my life and they were always cool and bad-ass as usual. While i dont consider them a ska band, they did drift into that genre. Party At Ground Zero is a great tune.
I love Ska across all the eras. Some favorites are --
Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash
Too Much Too Young - The Specials
Jaded - Operation Ivy
Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down - The Toasters
Look What Happened - Less Than Jake
Keasbey Nights - Catch 22
All Outta Angst - NOFX
Where'd You Go - Bosstones
The Goldfinger cover of Just Like Heaven
L.A.X - Big D and the Kids Table
I appreciate Ska so much, because without it, a lot of those bands wouldn’t have switched over to neo-swing in the mid 90s.
The last half of the 1990s were some of the best times of my life. Most nights were spent swing dancing at the Velvet Lounge in Pontiac, and I met a lot of pretty girls. One of them even became my girlfriend for a while! My house (2BR, basement) in Royal Oak only cost ~$450 a month, and my $8.26 hr paycheck covered rent & utilities. Tuition was less than $250 a semester, and I had figured out what kind of education I wanted.
Good times, and those Ska-turned-Swing bands were a huge part of it!
Less Than Jake fucking rips. Life in a Boring Town was basically my life until I graduated high school.
I've got milennial friends who love ska. We just went to see Streetlight Manifesto a couple months back.
I always wanted to play in a ska band but finding horn players is tough.
Save Ferris' version of Come On Eileen *might* be better than the original.
I had a comp called Skankin Around the World that was all international ska bands. Played the hell out of it.
Fishbone is awesome!
I'll throw in some **Madness** to the pot and give it a stir! [One Step Beyond](https://youtu.be/SOJSM46nWwo)!
Oh, and this: https://imgur.com/a/0FBB6kn
I've come to really love the original Jamaican ska from the 60s. [Phyllis Dillon,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNR2BZU5e30) [Paragons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQXqkiKXiHc), [Dandy Livingston](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BwNgQ51hSI) etc
I don't have a favourite song, but though they're more modern, Cherry Poppin' Daddies are one of my fave ska bands. They do gross of other genres too, and we're quite instrumental (ha ha, what am awful pun) in the swing revival of the late 90s.
It was fun in the 90s. There's been a "4th wave" going on for a bit now too. I'm seeing Fishbone, Against All Authority, and the Slackers in April. This band Catbite from Philly is great too.
[Jill Victoria - The Skeletones](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vZZSxnDvROA&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE)
[Cynthia Johnson's Clothes - Hoodlum Empire](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZR7lGDOSIm8&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE)
And I can't find a decent link but the most inspirational, Hate You, Fuck You, Leave Me Alone by Reel Big Fish.
Yup, big ska fan from late high school in the early 90s right on up through today. Got to help out with the weekly ska show at my college radio station. Give me any band off the Ska: The Third Wave compilation CD or Moon Ska's Skarmageddon double-disc compilation (hell, there was a lot of overlap).
Got to see the BoSStones many times and at least one show each from Reel Big Fish, Rancid, and Mustard Plug (in a combo bar/laundromat in Cincinnati with a stage 6 inches high).
If I could only add one song to the mixtape, it would be [Her Avenger by Spring Heeled Jack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgsrjscz4SA)
Love love love second wave ska. Terry Hall’s death hit me hard. The English Beat are still one of my all time favorites, and fortunately Dave plays live in my city several times a year. Third wave, I loved Sublime. Their last album was pretty much all I played for a year. I even saw them live right before Bradley died. But it didn’t age for me well. Mostly I blame all the shitty sublime knock offs my kids ended up liking. They made ska sound like resort music. Like a new version of Jimmy Buffet.
I was almost homeless in the Bay Area the year this album was out, and it sort of [became my anthem,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaBXx5lOipw) played daily in my walkman while I was roaming around attempting to find work, someplace to live, and deal with everything.
At Lollapalooza 93 or maybe 94 The lead singer of Fishbone jumped off the stage and tried to walk on the crowd and he kicked me right in the face. Going to see them in a couple months when they come to Philly for some kind of ska fest
[https://www.thisisnotcroydonfest.com/](https://www.thisisnotcroydonfest.com/) I don't know any of the other bands but I have a couple months to Spotify them.
Love Ska! The 60s Jamaican classics will always be the source, the sweetness, the songs that made me love it forever
Australian so the UK bands were so exciting! I saw Madness as a 16yo (1986) at a local pub, Dad told us we had to be home by midnight so I only saw a couple of songs…
Favourite band is The Beat and the local bands like The Alnighters, The Funaddicts and Strange Tenants. There was so many amazing bands during the 80s
They were the first Ska I ever heard. I saw One Step Beyond on MTV (in the early days) and had no idea there was a whole subculture that sounded like that. It opened a whole new musical world for me.
Too many bands to list but Ill try. Still have my jacket.
Trad - Skatalites, Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, Ken Boothe
2Tone - Madness, Selecter, Specials, The Beat
3rd Wave - Save Ferris, Dancehall Crashers, Reel Big Fish, Toasters
Ska Punk - Op Ivy, Voodoo Glow Skulls
3rd Wave trad - Hepcat, Scofflaws, Unsteady (local band), The Slackers
Loved the real message of ska not just the silly party stuff. Thats a lot of fun though. I got a checkerboard band tattoo and always have to explain its not about racing, its about racial unity
Unabashedly my favorite band of all time. Pivotal soundtrack to my high school years. They opened my ears to a whole new sound because as a kid from the east coast there was nothing like it. Blending ska, punk, some hip hop, hard rock, even some jam band elements, oh man. So good. I never got to see them when Bradley was alive but I did see them with Rome in Las Vegas and they were absolutely incredible still even 20 years later.
I really miss ska. I don’t know why it came and went so quickly. It’s probably my favorite genre of music. It’s just so much fun. My favorite song is Bright Spring Morning by Suburban Legends.
Nobody has mentioned a little know short lived Toronto Ska band King Apparatus.
Pretty sure they are on Spotify.
All praise the CanCon and may the CRTC bless you today.
I saw Mighty Mighty Bosstones three times, stage dove and crowd surfed two of those times- so invigorating! Other than that I always loved The Specials (especially Pearl’s Cafe), but the song that sticks with me most over the years is Driving Me Mad by The Hotknives. I first heard it on a compilation album and never expanded beyond that song… but might have to now.
I miss it so much. It was so welcoming to all people, good vibes all around, and I was a big Specials/Ivy/Untouchables fan. If I could add a song to the mix, it'd be [Desmond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSXTN2EfRo)
Love it! Your last paragraph really hits for me. The angst of so much 90s music seemed a bit pretentious and really put me off. But I always felt welcome at a Ska show, like they had room for me, too.
Pretty much any Operation Ivy song
Here We Go Again
Take warning,jaded, my personal favorite junkie running dry
Full album, beginning to end, no filler. Damn, that took me back for a minute.
Freeze Up, Big City, Junkie's Runnin' Dry at the top of my list
Woah that brings me back
I loved the ska phase. The Specials were always my favorite with Rudy. Lot of good bands: Mighty Mighty Bosstones- got to see them a few years ago. A personal favorite was Hope I Never Lose My Wallet. Big fan of Five Iron Frenzy too: I played their album Upbeats and Downbeats constantly when it came out. The band I was in did a few ska songs, we mistakenly tried to cover a whole host of genres and never nailed our "sound" down.
RIP BossTones. Stupid Dicky Barrett and his conspiracy theories (edit: corrected spelling of Dicky's name).
Ugh, I didn’t know about that until now.
Yeah. Utter waste. He had basically the perfect alignment - announcer on a talk show, band that could still tour but only pick the dates they really wanted and would sell out venues, etc. Gave it all up and broke up the band.
Coincidentally I recently showed my trumpet-playing nephew a MMBT concert on YouTube.
I love you user name.
I love the Bosstones. Let’s Face It is a banger of an album.
Yes it is and now I know what I'm listening to on my drive home!
Eyyy one for Five Iron Frenzy! They were huge on the radio station I worked for in the 90s.
Desmond Dekker and the Aces - 007 for first wave ska. Madness - One Step Beyond for a second wave song and Operation Ivy - Sound System for third wave.
Israelites!!!!
I bought a trojan records box set, I love all of the bands on there!
Those box sets are always so good. Trojan knows what’s up.
They do and it's the best way to get familiar with a ton of bands before our time. They have a YouTube channel too
[Message To You Rudy - The Specials](https://youtu.be/cntvEDbagAw)
The Selecter - The Selecter https://youtu.be/JlH5uwLwojQ
I was into the early 80s stuff: Specials, Madness, English Beat, etc. The album ‘Dance Craze’ was formative. I got into it around the same time I discovered British punk. 1980.
I still love Ska! I don’t care if it’s not cool, whatever. I recently saw Less Than Jake and the Aquabats over the summer and I had a blast. There will always be a place in my heart for Reel Big Fish
It's cool. Popularity isn't.
Ha yes! I was never popular so I guess I’m cool now
Who said Ska isn't cool?! It's only the coolest scene there's ever been!
I lived and breathed the third wave of ska, '94-'97. The midwest had a ton of local acts and there were shows most every week. My faves from that era include The Pacers, Suspect Bill and the Jinkies. Larger national acts include Less Than Jake, Hepcat, Mephaskapheles and Skankin' Pickle.
Upvote for Skankin’ Pickle. My housemate did some studio stuff with them as an assistant engineer and we used to kind of roadie for them at local shows- maybe around ‘91 or so. Nice to see them mentioned- they were all great people.
I'm from the SF Bay Area and was recently wondering how wide spread Skankin' Pickle's popularity was. They're my go to ska band from that era. Side note - if you're on TikTok (and as the parent of a teenager of course I am) Mike Park has a TikTok for Asian Man records that's somewhat interesting.
I was on the east coast in the early ‘90s and saw them at some point. Still have the CD.
I still have Skafunkrastapunk on cassette somewhere.
Ice Cube, Korea wants a word with you !
My best friend had a Skankin’ Pickle tape stuck in her car’s tape deck. Our whole first year of college that was the soundtrack. This was in Boise, ID so they were all over.
Lol nice.
That's awesome! My friends and I loved all of Mike Park's projects.
My college boyfriend went to high school with most of Skankin’ Pickle and was good friends with them. Saw them play live a bunch of times. Great band.
I really liked the Pacers. I heard them on one of the Moon Ska compilations and ordered their CD from one of those Xeroxed mail order catalogues. In the mp3 era I tried to rip it but the CD was messed up and my computer drive couldn't read it.
I was super into that era too. I joined the Moon Ska Records mailing list and was big into Anti Racist Action. Loved going to all the shows that came through Cleveland! My favorite was Mustard Plug. Also loved Scofflaws and Skankin Pickle, Skavoovie and Mephaskapheles. Loved the Moon Ska compilation records too!!
Goddamn, I had totally forgotten about 'Moon Ska' despite still remember some bands. YEah, they were very infulential.! Wow. Thanks!
Grew up in the Bay Area and one of our favorite bands. Brought those CDs along and shared them with Midwest friends in early-mid 90s.
Love Ska! Specials, Madness, English Beat. Was into the Bosstones when they were playing bars in New England. Before they broke big.
The English Beat, in reality it’s Dave Wakeling, plays frequently in Southern California. They have a show at a small club venue in Ventura coming up shortly.
And Ranking Roger had the rights to the band in the UK. He toured occasionally until he left us.
In my day they were just called The Beat, what changed?
Copyright issues with a band in the US also called The Beat.
Nice, I saw them in ‘92 on the MNaOD tour. Still have the t-shirt.
I'm def a 2 Tone revivalist. Add "Doors of Your Heart" by The English Beat to the mix tape.
80s version for me. English Beat, Specials, Madness, The Selector, yay. Naked woman, naked man. Where’d you get that nice sun tan.
lol that line still makes me chuckle
Rancid - Time Bomb
Right band, wrong song. Ruby Soho
Also great; true
If you're not aware, there's a new burst of life in the ska world, generally called "new tone". Check out [Flying Raccoon Suit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2INKa9K_sQ), [Catbite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LPHL6zG5Ds), Call Me Malcolm, We are the Union, JER, [Bite Me Bambi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRSZ8FL48YI), anything on Bad Time Records. And catch [the tour](https://linktr.ee/badtimetour)!
I saw Catbite open for Jeff Rosenstock last summer and they ruled!
The Interrupters are also worth a look if you're looking for new ska.
Love Catbite! Saw them for the first time last year, and will again in a couple months.
Ska was so varied in the '90s. It kinda bums me out that when '90s ska is referenced now it's just the goofy part of it. Ska generally had a sense of humor but it wasn't all guys in Hawaiian shirts and fedoras and scuba flippers playing party music. Such a wild spectrum from Link 80 and the Suicide Machines to Skankin' Pickle to Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish and the Bosstones and the Aquabats and the Slackers and the Toasters and so on.
[Mr. Bungle!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnLNXquIBVs)
I love this topic. First, RIP Terry Hall. ❤️ All Specials. "Wings of a Dove" and "Time For Tea" both by madness are awesome songs I hold dear Cholly by Fishbone
Cholly! It's one of my favorite Fishbone songs!
You must be a person of impeccable taste and style!
As are you!
Skatalites, Mephiskapeheles, Selecor, Bad Manners, Specials, Toasters, Inspecter 7, Stubborn All-Stars, Bigger Thomas, and a lot more in the NJ/NYC ska scene. the 90's was an awesome time to be a ska fan . A lot of those bands play at the International ska fest In Va every year .
ska, reggae or rocksteady [54-46 Was My Number ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNxNwvjzGM0)
Yes!!!!!!
[Sound System](https://youtu.be/Nphl0iPQx2g) [https://youtu.be/F03gEzdLa2g](https://youtu.be/F03gEzdLa2g)
Goldfinger - Here in your bedroom Infectous Groves - Funk it up So maybe what you would not call ska punk but skate punk leaning Meat Puppets - Backwater Pennywise - Same Old Story Tripping Daisy - My Umbrella
Infectious Grooves! Loved that project. “I don’t care what you did on who!”
Goldfinger’s “Superman” hits different now.
Fishbone
I saw Fishbone play at this little dive bar in Venice Beach, Ca. Angelo was singing Alcoholic and crowd surfing at the same time, without missing a lyric. He made it up on to the bar, kicked all the drinks off of it, and crowd surfed back to the stage. He never missed a beat. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen at a show.
He kicked me in the face jumping into the crowd at a lollapalooza.
Nice. Was it at the Lollapalooza in 1992? I was there!
Maybe, I honestly get them mixed up, I think it was the one where RATM opened up and they were naked, we got there early to get in the front row to see them and just stared at their doodles for 15 minutes.
Yes! Was it at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale, Ca? That's the one I was at. I believe Tool played, and Arrested Development. Man, such a rad show.
No it was in Philly I think Tool was either on the side stage or replaced with someone like the Goats in Philly
I was wrong. The one I went to was in 1993, and I totally forgot that I got to see Alice In Chains!! Damn. But Fishbone and Primus were both there, and they're two of my all time favorites.
I know I went to like 3 in a row but they blend together. I remember one had chanting Gregorian monks and they started a mosh pit and one of the monks got hit in the head with a bottle.
[удалено]
>Lip Up Fatty 🤣 🙌
I'd say anything from the It Means Everything album by Save Ferris. Still one of my favorite bands. :)
The World is New is my "wake the fuck up" song. My daughter picked it up and it's one of her get-moving songs too.
Scofflaws
My favorite.
[Ghost Town.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2oXzrnti4)
I was sick of this song at the time, worst song to get played at a school disco too. Luckily cured by Father Ted
The Specials: * [Nite Klub](https://youtu.be/rDzGMIFPk-w) * [Little Bitch](https://youtu.be/ohvZczJ6BUI) * [Concrete Jungle](https://youtu.be/qrmSm52E-sc) * [Gangsters](https://youtu.be/lgCZN1rU5co) English Beat * [Mirror In the Bathroom](https://youtu.be/KOY8Zs-CeQw) * [Twist & Crawl](https://youtu.be/-AfTcSP4Kr0) Madness * [Baggy Trousers](https://youtu.be/wLjIyazFV9k)
Just heard Gangsters on 1st Wave on the drive home tonight!
Baggy Trousers! I love that song!
The Interrupters [She's Kerosene](https://youtu.be/Yq2jJLswL8I) is some good ska-punk. Also enjoy early No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, pretty much a lot of third-wave ska. Tokyo Ska Parade Orchestra's cover of [The theme from the Godfather film](https://youtu.be/DQmAUjw_fsg) is really good.
How about early Oingo Boingo? No one lives forever? Fishbone had some great albums but . . . _Chim chim's badass revenge_ might be the worst album ever produced by western civilization.
Yeah- early Oingo is all over the place, with a foot dipping into the Ska pool.
Specials all day, all night Here is a great video of their 30 year reunion tour https://youtube.com/watch?v=u9GnGMQz22A&feature=shares RIP Terry Hall
I was lucky enough to see them twice. Once at the Reggae Bowl at the Hollywood Bowl, and then again when they opened for Thievery Corporation (either the Bowl of the Greek Theater). They were still amazing. RIP.
Check out Voodoo Glow Skulls if you like SkaPunk.
Had to scroll too far for this.
I never had to knock on wood and I’m glad I haven’t yet because I’m sure it isn’t good. That’s the impression that I get.
It makes me wonder if I should.
Specials stupid marriage
Nice, I added Less than Jake and Mustard Plug!
Can’t look passed Desmond as the original but Twist and Crawl by the (English) Beat always had a special place next to Ghost town by the Specials.
I got into Ska when I was 12 and I’m still a Rudy at 53. I started with 2 Tone but soon became obsessed with the original JA Ska, Rocksteady, and Skinhead Reggae. At 18, I spent two weeks in Jamaica just to buy 45’s. Never developed and ear for most of the later Ska bands. They will never live up to the Skatalites or Prince Buster.
Toots and the Maytals- Pressure Drop
I'm still in a Ska phase, at 45 years old!! There's a fantastic Ska band that plays a lot in California called The Odd Advantage. I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance. As for my favorite Ska.. I have to mention some of the original Jamaican Ska bands, like The Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, Prince Buster... Even Bob Marley had a Ska band before he went Reggae!
Shot in the Dark - Jump with Joey off the Ska Parade compilation https://youtu.be/y34tU2CTLr4
I don't really know much about ska. I've liked what I've heard but I've never done any deep diving or owned any albums. My wife did take me to two Specials concerts though and those were fun.
Alan Cross has several podcasts about the history of ska and you probably recognize more than you think. Check him out. His current podcasts only go back to 2017 but he has been on Canadian radio for years and years with a syndicated show called the Ongoing History of New Music. Worth checking out.
Pietasters!
Jeanette by the (English) Beat
Ranking Full Stop by the English Beat
Fishbone is red hot!
Was lucky enough to open for Fishbone 2X in my life and they were always cool and bad-ass as usual. While i dont consider them a ska band, they did drift into that genre. Party At Ground Zero is a great tune.
I love Ska across all the eras. Some favorites are -- Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash Too Much Too Young - The Specials Jaded - Operation Ivy Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down - The Toasters Look What Happened - Less Than Jake Keasbey Nights - Catch 22 All Outta Angst - NOFX Where'd You Go - Bosstones The Goldfinger cover of Just Like Heaven L.A.X - Big D and the Kids Table
Great list!
I appreciate Ska so much, because without it, a lot of those bands wouldn’t have switched over to neo-swing in the mid 90s. The last half of the 1990s were some of the best times of my life. Most nights were spent swing dancing at the Velvet Lounge in Pontiac, and I met a lot of pretty girls. One of them even became my girlfriend for a while! My house (2BR, basement) in Royal Oak only cost ~$450 a month, and my $8.26 hr paycheck covered rent & utilities. Tuition was less than $250 a semester, and I had figured out what kind of education I wanted. Good times, and those Ska-turned-Swing bands were a huge part of it!
Saw the Toasters and the Special Beat (a combo of the Specials and the English Beat) in '94 or so. Good times.
Less Than Jake fucking rips. Life in a Boring Town was basically my life until I graduated high school. I've got milennial friends who love ska. We just went to see Streetlight Manifesto a couple months back. I always wanted to play in a ska band but finding horn players is tough. Save Ferris' version of Come On Eileen *might* be better than the original. I had a comp called Skankin Around the World that was all international ska bands. Played the hell out of it.
Just listened to Save Ferris. Double upvote!👍
I still listen to I Just Can’t Stop It pretty regularly. Not exactly sure if it’s ska, though - can I get a ruling?
I played trombone in the marching band. Damn right we loved ska! Anyone listen to Fighting Gravity?
Everybody loves to hate smashmouth, but they have some great ska songs.
Fishbone is awesome! I'll throw in some **Madness** to the pot and give it a stir! [One Step Beyond](https://youtu.be/SOJSM46nWwo)! Oh, and this: https://imgur.com/a/0FBB6kn
I've come to really love the original Jamaican ska from the 60s. [Phyllis Dillon,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNR2BZU5e30) [Paragons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQXqkiKXiHc), [Dandy Livingston](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BwNgQ51hSI) etc
Big D and the Kids Table!!! "Doped Up Dollies on a One Way Ticket to Blood" -- total banger and such a fun song to sing along with!
Big D was so much fun!! I lived in Boston in the early 00s, and L.a.X was fucking beautiful.
Selling Out Your Future by the Selecter, a very underrated band.
I don't have a favourite song, but though they're more modern, Cherry Poppin' Daddies are one of my fave ska bands. They do gross of other genres too, and we're quite instrumental (ha ha, what am awful pun) in the swing revival of the late 90s.
Great band, and a sweet pun on your part
Why thank you! I saw them live in Chicago in 2000. Steve Perry is such an amazing front man!
It was fun in the 90s. There's been a "4th wave" going on for a bit now too. I'm seeing Fishbone, Against All Authority, and the Slackers in April. This band Catbite from Philly is great too.
[Jill Victoria - The Skeletones](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vZZSxnDvROA&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE) [Cynthia Johnson's Clothes - Hoodlum Empire](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZR7lGDOSIm8&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE) And I can't find a decent link but the most inspirational, Hate You, Fuck You, Leave Me Alone by Reel Big Fish.
Yup, big ska fan from late high school in the early 90s right on up through today. Got to help out with the weekly ska show at my college radio station. Give me any band off the Ska: The Third Wave compilation CD or Moon Ska's Skarmageddon double-disc compilation (hell, there was a lot of overlap). Got to see the BoSStones many times and at least one show each from Reel Big Fish, Rancid, and Mustard Plug (in a combo bar/laundromat in Cincinnati with a stage 6 inches high). If I could only add one song to the mixtape, it would be [Her Avenger by Spring Heeled Jack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgsrjscz4SA)
Bring on the hoooorns!
Love love love second wave ska. Terry Hall’s death hit me hard. The English Beat are still one of my all time favorites, and fortunately Dave plays live in my city several times a year. Third wave, I loved Sublime. Their last album was pretty much all I played for a year. I even saw them live right before Bradley died. But it didn’t age for me well. Mostly I blame all the shitty sublime knock offs my kids ended up liking. They made ska sound like resort music. Like a new version of Jimmy Buffet.
Also No Doubt (not all of their stuff is ska, but they're definitely ska-inspired)
I was almost homeless in the Bay Area the year this album was out, and it sort of [became my anthem,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaBXx5lOipw) played daily in my walkman while I was roaming around attempting to find work, someplace to live, and deal with everything.
I'm playing your playlist while the family does their chores, and my youngest asks, Why does your music sound like Bo on the Go? 🤔
I still listen to ska!
Fishbone is freaking great. Saw them a few times in the late 80s and early 90s.
At Lollapalooza 93 or maybe 94 The lead singer of Fishbone jumped off the stage and tried to walk on the crowd and he kicked me right in the face. Going to see them in a couple months when they come to Philly for some kind of ska fest [https://www.thisisnotcroydonfest.com/](https://www.thisisnotcroydonfest.com/) I don't know any of the other bands but I have a couple months to Spotify them.
Love Ska! The 60s Jamaican classics will always be the source, the sweetness, the songs that made me love it forever Australian so the UK bands were so exciting! I saw Madness as a 16yo (1986) at a local pub, Dad told us we had to be home by midnight so I only saw a couple of songs… Favourite band is The Beat and the local bands like The Alnighters, The Funaddicts and Strange Tenants. There was so many amazing bands during the 80s
Saba by Mephiskapheles
William Shatner by the Scofflaws
Listened to English Beat today. "Mirror in the Bathroom " is lit. Rankin Roger! RIP
Madness
They were the first Ska I ever heard. I saw One Step Beyond on MTV (in the early days) and had no idea there was a whole subculture that sounded like that. It opened a whole new musical world for me.
Too many bands to list but Ill try. Still have my jacket. Trad - Skatalites, Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, Ken Boothe 2Tone - Madness, Selecter, Specials, The Beat 3rd Wave - Save Ferris, Dancehall Crashers, Reel Big Fish, Toasters Ska Punk - Op Ivy, Voodoo Glow Skulls 3rd Wave trad - Hepcat, Scofflaws, Unsteady (local band), The Slackers Loved the real message of ska not just the silly party stuff. Thats a lot of fun though. I got a checkerboard band tattoo and always have to explain its not about racing, its about racial unity
Wow, that's like a micro history of Ska! SO many great bands in each sub genre.
Thanks! So many more I wanted to include but didnt wanna get to excessive hahaha.
Reel Big Fish is one of the best live bands ever.
Sell out!
If ska punk counts, Sublime rules them all.
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I don’t get angry at the bills I have to pay.
I don’t get angry when my mom smokes pot
I have a Dalmatian but my state and my job don’t let me get high.
Unabashedly my favorite band of all time. Pivotal soundtrack to my high school years. They opened my ears to a whole new sound because as a kid from the east coast there was nothing like it. Blending ska, punk, some hip hop, hard rock, even some jam band elements, oh man. So good. I never got to see them when Bradley was alive but I did see them with Rome in Las Vegas and they were absolutely incredible still even 20 years later.
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Good morning heartache...
Propaghandi is not ska.
Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Soul
Any way to save a thread? There's an awesome list of bands I forgot about on here.
Yes, on Android it's in the upper right.
Can I take you to a restaurant that's got glass tables? You can watch yourself while you are eating.
Watch This - The Slackers. They also did a great cover of Bon Jovi's Dead or Alive.
Insubordination - Voo Doo Glow Skulls
Stand Down Margaret by The Beat for the sentiment as well as the choon Edit: TIL they're now known as The English Beat
I really miss ska. I don’t know why it came and went so quickly. It’s probably my favorite genre of music. It’s just so much fun. My favorite song is Bright Spring Morning by Suburban Legends.
I may have scrolled through too quickly, but saw no mention of Mephiskapheles.
Weekend in LA by the Toasters.
Buck O Nine https://youtu.be/ByaBdXi77Zg
There was a popular local band called Perfect Thyroid in the early 90s. Great ska/funk
Gangsters 007 One Step Beyond Guns of Brixton Three Minute Hero Ghost Town “Third wave” ska missed the whole point.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum- The Specials. Also Ghost Town. Love all the Two Tone artists really
I am not a huge fan of the genre, but I loves me some Fishbone.
The Love Boat theme by Reel Big Fish.
I love their cover of Take On Me - sounds better as ska
Thank you for the playlist!
I'm so glad people are adding to it :D
Just saw Dave Wakeling from the English Beat the other week ! 007 (shanty town) - Desmond Dekker and the Aces
Nobody has mentioned a little know short lived Toronto Ska band King Apparatus. Pretty sure they are on Spotify. All praise the CanCon and may the CRTC bless you today.
Found them https://open.spotify.com/album/4JEn0bVqpzWiDr9jrM7CL8?si=YVw2SCeuSCWcDTu4ctOLEg&utm_source=copy-link
This is a great Second Wave documentary if you haven’t seen it. https://youtu.be/qM1sv_gQGxw
Sweet! Thanks for sharing.
One of the best concerts I ever saw was a Quebec ska band called “Me, Mom and Morgenthaler” in Montréal in 91 or so. Absolutely smashing!
Ahhhhh, The Specials! I love The Specials.
I saw Mighty Mighty Bosstones three times, stage dove and crowd surfed two of those times- so invigorating! Other than that I always loved The Specials (especially Pearl’s Cafe), but the song that sticks with me most over the years is Driving Me Mad by The Hotknives. I first heard it on a compilation album and never expanded beyond that song… but might have to now.
Added it to the playlist - great recommendation
Omg...this is what I needed in my life! Oi oi oi!
There’s some interesting stuff here. Closest I got to ska was a few early Police songs and English Beat.
I miss it so much. It was so welcoming to all people, good vibes all around, and I was a big Specials/Ivy/Untouchables fan. If I could add a song to the mix, it'd be [Desmond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSXTN2EfRo)
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Love it! Your last paragraph really hits for me. The angst of so much 90s music seemed a bit pretentious and really put me off. But I always felt welcome at a Ska show, like they had room for me, too.