JOHN’S GUIDE: THIRD-WAVE SKA

RUDIES START YOUR ENGINES!

I would say that I know a little bit about music, but there’s a lot of gaps in my knowledge. This isn’t the definitive guide… It’s just John’s Guide.

Regular readers to John’s Music Blog might recall my relationship with ska. It was the first music I really loved. When I was barely a tween, I would dress up in a full suit and go to shows. I even made an Angelfire page dedicated to the genre. Psycho shit! 

Now it is 25 years later and my interests have not changed in any meaningful way. I still love music. And you know what? I still love ska.

In case you don’t know, ska is represented in waves. John’s History Lesson: the first wave is the Jamaican stuff from the 1960s, the second wave is British stuff from the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the third wave is the American stuff that popped off in the ‘90s. I’m not even going to try to get into fourth-and-fifth wave conjecture.

I have fond memories of going to all ages ska shows in Milwaukee. Mostly in middle school. All of the 1990s American ska stereotypes were true. It could be wacky as fuck. It’s probably not a coincidence that multiple rainbow rockers (Macula Dog, Dan Deacon) have ska pasts. Cedric from At The Drive-In was in a pretty sick ska band called 5 Song Alibi. Being in a ska band is not a bad way to figure out how to write a song.

Here is a somewhat arbitrary list of 11 good tracks that I remember from my youth surfing wave number three.

The Slackers “Watch This”

Back in the day, ska and punk labels used to do cheap sampler CDs: compilations loaded with songs that you could cop for under five bucks. Things like the Asian Man Records Mailorder Is Fun comp and Hellcat’s Give ‘Em The Boot series. The latter is where I found this cut. The Slackers were and I think still are one of the best traditional-leaning third-wave ska bands. I saw them at the Globe in 1999 with Skavoovie and the Epitones. You better believe I suited up for that one.

Blue Meanies “Smash The Magnavox”

There was a whole sub-sub genre of post-Bosstones skacore that I’ll call evil ska. I’m talking Voodoo Glow Skulls, I’m talking the “satanic ska” band Mephiskapheles, I’m talking Thumper, a New England act known as the “most brutal ska band alive.” Of all the evil ska bands, Blue Meanies were perhaps the most arty. For whatever the F that’s worth. In some ways their style almost dovetailed with that whole Chicago Skin Graft no wave scene that was happening in their city around the same time. Weird ass band.

Sublime “Badfish”

Honestly, I didn’t really fuck with Sublime when I was a kid. I don’t know why, maybe they were too “mainstream” or something? Very confusing. Obviously, now I know them as not just a great ska band, but a great rock and roll band.

No Doubt “Total Hate ‘95”

No Doubt were another band that I was maybe “too cool” for when I was tiny. I saw them play on the Tragic Kingdom tour, but I was mostly there to see Weezer, who were touring behind Pinkerton. Obviously now I recognize their greatness. This is an earlier, pre-fame ska cut.

The Invaders “Brewtown Ska”

The timeline of my “ska journey” is blurry. My entire life before playing rap shows is just a mystery to me. But I do remember seeing local Milwaukee ska band The Invaders for the first time in 1998. So check this shit out: they were opening for my drum teacher’s cover band at a theater on the South Side of Milwaukee. Of the few hundred heads in attendance, maybe 50 were there for the ska band. But those kids made a serious impression on my 11-year-old brain. It might’ve been my first IRL taste of true subculture. Anyways: The Invaders were like a parody of ‘90s ska music. Half of their songs had ska in the title and the singer wore a fez for some reason. Great band!

MU330 “Favorite Show”

MU330 were known by some as the “ska Weezer.” They were also one of the better live acts in the game. I remember seeing them when they had the guy from Skankin’ Pickle in the band. He wielded a chainsaw on stage like a maniac. Fire!

The Impossibles “Eight Ball”

The Impossibles were another ska band that got compared to Weezer. Like pretty much everyone on this list, they knew how to write catchy songs. After a point, they turned into a straight power pop band. Is it just me or does the intro to this song sound a bit like “Mystery” by Turnstile? I once saw The Impossibles live and Nada Surf opened.

Reel Big Fish “Sell Out”

Quite possibly the first ska song I ever heard. I remember seeing the music video for “Sell Out” somewhere, maybe even on The Box, the pay-to-play, all-request channel that for some reason you could tune into, scrambled style, on broadcast television. I wasn’t processing things on a high level, but this song did instantly register to me as a break from all of the grunge music that was happening back then. I saw Reel Big Fish at Summerfest in 1997. My first concert. Reel Big Fish. Sort of says it all.

The Adjusters “Our Town”

Aesthetically, The Adjusters were on a different level than most of their contemporaries. They had that mod revolutionary type imagery dialed in pretty solid. They were the ska band that a Stereolab fan might co-sign. You know? This beautiful song is the story of a changing post-NAFTA America. Would like to hear Springsteen cover it.

Big D and the Kids Table “Quiet Room”

Pretty sure Big D and The Kids Table are still going strong. I saw them play in 1999 as part of “ska night” at the Wisconsin State Fair. Maybe one of the better ska punk sets I’ve ever seen. They covered “Sound System” by Operation Ivy, which about half of all ska bands did around that time.

Operation Ivy “Take Warning”

Speaking of Op Ivy, I couldn’t do this list without including them. Even more than Sublime, they are just a great American rock and roll band. Tell me “Bad Town” doesn’t sound like The Minutemen? Operation Ivy transcended ska in a way that few did. I know I’m missing a lot of shit here. Were Fishbone part of the third wave? Somehow they feel like they predated that whole thing. But shout out to Fishbone. And the Bosstones! John’s Music Blog. Like and subscribe.

Postscript: check out DJ George Constanza’s astounding third-wave ska mix.