Ska Saturdays

Happy Ska Saturday!

This week, I wanted to do a bit of a dive into why I like ska so much, but I think before that it's important to establish what ska actually is.

Ska is a lot of things to a lot of people. It's a specific rhythm and style, it's a vibe, it's a community, it's a culture, and sometimes, it's just "rock with horns."

There is no objective definition for ska, everyone is going to define and categorize it differently, and include different songs among their ranks.

My personal definition of ska is pretty loose overall. A song can be by a ska band but lacking the ska rhythm and I'll still count it as ska, and the same with the inverse.

While I do think it's important that we acknowledge the history and culture around ska, it's a sound before it's anything else. You could make a ska song completely separate from any of that history or culture and I would still call it ska, but that doesn't mean that I'll like it.

When it comes to the ska I like and the ska I seek out, that history and culture is still very important. I like ska that is anti-racist, I like ska that is queer, I like ska based in radical optimism and community.

Ska at its best is all of these things and more, it's a really powerful sound with a long history of unity beyond borders, and I really love that.

I think that's partially why I'd like to push back against seeing ska as just "rock with horns." That definition really undercuts a lot of the genre's history, and a lot of the genre's potential, but it's also just a really lacking definition that's usually based in ignorance of the sounds that actually make up ska music. You can have no horns at all and still have a wonderful ska song.

Song of the week:

Happy Ska Saturday!

I listen to a lot of ska music, and I spend a lot of time thinking about it. Despite my interest in the genre, I stumbled into it pretty much on my own, so I know very little about the culture and the people behind it. This blog is my attempt to reconcile that a bit.

I plan to talk about ska once a week: short updates on what I’m listening to, digging into the history of the music, and whatever other musings I have about the sounds of ska.

At least at first, it probably won’t be very structured, just me sharing my thoughts. It’s as much (if not more) for me as it is for any reader, but I’m hopeful that people do read. I really really love this music, and I really want to talk about it and, hopefully, help convince people that it’s as good as I think it is.

Song of the Week:

P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude) by Kemuri

Each week, I’ll be including one song I’ve been listening to, or one that I just think fits whatever I’m talking about. For this first week, my choice is one of my absolute favorites to hopefully give anyone reading a taste of what I like in a ska song (or at least a ska punk song).