From: waldo@arizona.edu
Newsgroups: alt.music.ska
Subject: Re: beginner seeks information
Date: 6 Jan 93 22:34:44 GMT
Organization: University of Arizona

In article <97440001@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com>, farland@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Bill McFarland) writes:
> I am a beginning ska listener.  Would someone like to suggest the best 5
> or 6 ska discs to get started with.  I presently know only of the following
> bands:
> 
> Specials
> Bad Manners
> English Beat

Some other "classic" ska bands (or ones I like)

The Skatalites
The Selecter
Fishbone  (some)
Madness   (early)
The Wailers (early see below)
Prince Buster  (very early ska)
The Special AKA (closely associated with The Specials)
The Mighty Mighty Boss Tones  (new ska)
Dave's Big Deluxe  (a goofy local-Tucson mixture of Ska & Punk)
The Toasters 

> Let's Go Bowling (from around here I believe, check them out!)

Yes, I've seen 'em twice.  They're very good, although I hear currently they
have one or two members in jail in Mexico

 
> Truly a beginner.  What is the history of ska?  Which are the most
> famous, or most important groups?  Which are the best known presently
> active groups?            

Well, I'm no expert by any means, so let me quote a bit from one of my
CDs, "Bob Marley and the Wailers:  The Birth of A Legend":


.....Jamaica's young bands and vocal combos began covering the Stateside R&B
hits, but the more adventurous took the nuts and bolts of the sound and melded
them with the energetic jazz conceits-particularly in the ever-present horn
section- and emerged around 1956 with a hybrid concoction christened "ska."
	Ernest Ranglin, the desterous jazz-rooted Jamaican guitarist from
Manchester parish who backed up the Wailers on such ska classics as "Love and
Affection" and "Cry To Me" says the word was coined by musicians "to talk about
the skat! skat! skat! scratchin' guitar strum that goes behind."  What ska
meant structurally was a jazz-tingled amalgam of mento and R&B: a 12 bar blues
shuffle with accents on the second and fourth beats, badgered benignly by an
afterbeat- an impish little lick- on piano or the percussive rythm guitar.

(continuing on my own now)
This music became really really popular in Jamaica, and Bob Marley among
others got their start as ska musicians.  Marley went on to create Reggae
from ska (it's just slowed down and twisted a little)..

Some bands like The Skatalites brought their own flavors to the music as well.
(incidentally, a good compliation of OLD 50's and 60's ska is called "Scandal
Ska"-- supposedly music from the movie Scandal with John Hurt, although most of
the music never was in the movie.  Still, it has a lot of classic stuff on
there, including Bob Marleey's first recording and other good stuff like
"Please Mr. Krushchev" and others)

In the late 1970's, there was a ska-revival in Britain.  Bands such as Madness,
The Specials, English Beat, etc. gave ska a new life..  Speeding it up a bit,
adding a punchier horn section, and re-making some of the old songs, or adding
words to some old ska riffs (ie, "Gangsters" by the specials was origianlly a
lyricless tune called "Al Capone" by Prince Buster)  This re-invention of ska
was called the 2-TONE movement, named after the label that released most of the
band's albums.

Along with 2-TONE came the "Rude Boy"- wearing a suit, tie, porkpie hat,
checkered socks and creepers, this was just another of the social fads, along
with punks and mods, of the time....  In a way, the "rude boy" look has kinda 
associated itself with ska (maybe someone else knows moer about the connection
than I do...)  But anyway, if you see a lot of black and white checkers on
an album, there's a good chance it's a ska album.  In fact, the 2-TONE label
logo has a picture of a rude boy on it.

Ska bands around today include:  Skanking Pickle, Let's Go Bowling, The
Toasters, Special Beat (some members of specials with some from English Beat),
Dave's Big Deluxe (Tucson band), The Mighty Mighty Boss Tones, etc..  I've seen
most of these bands in concert....

The only other thing I can think of to talk about is "Skanking" which is the
traditional way to dance to ska, but I'll save it for later if anyone's
interested...

Like I said, I'm definately NO expert about ska.  The above is my limited
understanding, and I'd invite anyone who knows better to make any corrections,
or fill any holes..

Waldo