The Not-Pop Jukebox

There are some who say that ska is dead, that the great bands have all moved to punk or funk or rock and roll. They say that the good groups have turned in their two-tone and quit skankin' in exchange for leather and screaming. Not true.

The pop chart love affair with ska, lamentably brief but real, has ended, yes. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones will likely never chart again. Be honest, Sublime was never a ska band in the first place. But ska is alive and well all over the world, as well it should be.

In case you doubt, let me share with you a little post from The NPJ on G+, where I normally blather on these days (hint, hint). As an added bonus, as all the best ska bands do, they've work the genre into their name. Okay, not all the best ska bands, it's just a little quirk that entertains me, like when Mephiskapheles or The Skatalites do it. And now, Bombskare...

I'm trying out the new embed feature from G+ so apologies if this cross-post doesn't work as intended. I liked this Korean ska band so much that I didn't feel any need to find another awesome song to post tonight!

John Brown's Body is known for mixing other genres into their music, blurring genre lines and broadening what one might consider reggae. To me, that's all to the good. Take, for instance, This Is Drum and Bass. The song is clearly a response to the genre so named but it's also a sparse instrumental with naught but ephemeral vocal flourishes and a smattering of horns. It is, however, undeniably a reggae tune.

The reason I chose to post John Brown's Body today was not just to draw the band to your attention, in case you've missed them, but because I've been listening to "Kings & Queens", their latest album. You can listen to Shine Bright on The NPJ's Google+ Page. In the meantime, tell me if this isn't a great refutation that Drum and Bass can fit only into a simple genre definition.

Let's say you're setting up a fireworks show and you need some great music to serve as a background for coordinating your shots. You want something with a name that makes people think "freedom". What to choose? Happily for you, The Skatalites not only have Freedom Sound, which fits the bill perfectly, but the lyrics are all about celebration.

As an added bonus, you get wondrous horns. Heck, you get The Skatalites! What more could you ask for a Fourth of July song

Renowned reggae singer Jimmy Cliff released a new album in 2012, which I just discovered last week. It came to my attention via a most-unexpected cover of Rancid's Ruby Soho which I heard on the radio. At first, I thought, "How did I now know Rancid was covering Jimmy Cliff?" Then I realized that I knew they weren't. Mind? Blown.

It turns out that "Rebirth" is rooted in punk, having been produced by Tim Armstrong. Cliff not only covers Ruby Soho but Guns of Brixton in which The Clash sang about Cliff's The Harder They Come. That's almost as much fun as Peter Gabriel covering Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.

Beyond all that, Jimmy Cliff's cover of Ruby Soho is solid rocksteady. Have a listen and do check out the whole album. It promises reggae fans and music lovers in general a return of the great Mr. Cliff and it delivers in full.

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I came upon a pair of songs today that have identical beginnings and then veer off in wildly different directions. One was Los Fabulosos Cadillacs with El Matador and the other Paul Simon's The Obvious Child. Now, "Rhythm of the Saints" was released in 1990 and "Vasos Vacíos" in 1993 so I think it's safe to guess that the former influenced the latter rather than the other way around. Given Paul Simon's searching out of global music influences, however, and the fact that Los Fabulosos Cadillacs has been around since 1985, however, I don't know that the two didn't cross-pollinate at some point.

Whether they did or not, have a listen to both songs and let me know which one you like better. Personally, The Obvious Child has long been a favorite of mine but I've enjoyed El Matador a whole lot in the short time I've known about it. Cast your vote and, if you have some insider knowledge, let me know if Paul Simon spent some time in Argentina in the late 80s.

If anyone ever wondered what song drew me to The Aquabats, he or she may be relieved to find the answer here: Super Rad! In the depths of my ska obsession (I write as though I have somehow moved past it), I stumbled over what I like to term geek ska. Really, what's geekier than a bunch of guys in matching spandex shirts pretending they're superheroes?

And so I bring to you The Aquabats in all their self-mocking glory. Rather than just offering the song I've included the video. One of these years I'm going to be brave enough to be an Aquabat for Halloween but, until then, I'll just enjoy watching their wonderful antics and jamming to their music. Next time you're in trouble, you'll know who to call.

Y'all have been missing ska, lately. I know, you didn't want to say anything, but I could tell you wanted some great, fresh, skank-worthy ska for your Friday night. Thus I've brought you more from The Pinstripes. The Wokkabout is my nomination for best song off their album "I", though I still love Might Be Her Fool. I've been jamming to this one all day. Enjoy!

Get your skank on, darlings, and have a jam to the utterly well-named ska-awesome that is Suburban Legends. In their most suburban of songs, High Fives celebrates looking "totally bitchin'" and acting like superior asses in high school.

Now, it just so happens that They Might Be Giants has their very own, kid-based song called High Five which features that same game that jerks play on other kids in high school. For all it's doofy lyrics, it's still got some great horns and a pile of disco sensibility that you don't expect from the duo. Nor, if you've not kept up with them, do you expect a kids' chorus, but you get that, too.

So enjoy a pair of High Fives from me. C'mon, guys, don't leave me hangin'.

If you're a fan of rocksteady, third wave ska you're likely familiar with The Slackers. If you've not heard them then I've got a treat for you: a terrific, horn-infused skank-fest of the first order. Peculiar is a bit of an earworm for me but it tells a great little story.

If you like Peculiar or ska, try Fried Chicken and their cover of We Can Work It Out. You should also have a listen to Feed My Girl, which is a lot more first-wave than the punkier Peculiar. Share your favorites, my darlings, whether from The Slackers or just ska in general.

Many, many moons ago one of my first posts on The NPJ was The Bumblebee Tuna Song as re-imagined by Mephiskapheles. In part, I chose it because my family enjoys the song so much that I wanted to share it with everyone. When I started this blog I finally had a way to do that, in an admittedly limited way.

As the only thing included in that post was a cheesy anime compilation video that didn't even show you the band, I thought I'd give you a nice, clean album version. As I close in on 1,000 posts here I'm looking back to see what I did badly at the beginning and trying to give you nicer things. Take this lovely jingle, piled with horns and goofy guys singing like girls, and enjoy.

Let's have some full-on, third-wave ska for this over-the-hump Wednesday. I recently found myself in possession of the latest album from Cincinnati-based The Pinstripes and have been jamming to the horns and the backbeat ever since. Might Be Her Fool is the first track on "I" and well worth the prime spot. You can pick up the whole thing from Bandcamp via the player below (and their EP, as well). If you're still undecided, click over and have a listen to The Wokkabout. That ought to clinch their ska-flavored goodness for you. It certainly did for me.

Many, many months ago (about three and a half years' worth) I posted a little history of the song I Fought the Law with nary an embedded player to be seen. Then I wrote a little article about it, including videos, lyrics, and more and forgot all about it.

But it seems high time I gave you all a way to actually enjoy the song right here on The NPJ. For a song coming up on its sixtieth birthday I Fought the Law is still remarkably fresh-sounding to my ears. It's certainly been updated and re-imagined enough times over the passing decades.

Thus I've added for your listening pleasure everyone from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Jr, to The Pogues and The Grateful Dead. Naturally, I've included the Bobby Fuller Four version that is so well-known and The Clash who, for me, recorded the iconic cover thereof. In all you'll find fifteen versions of the song here, though no Green Day and no Bruce Springsteen, thank you very much.

Don't miss the 80s rockabilly goodness of the Stray Cats or the barely-understandable version from Mano Negra. The Beatsteaks recorded an oddly affecting cover of the song, very gritty and a little downbeat. And Die Toten Hosen, not quite a German Clash cover band but close, naturally recorded a great version, as well. Let me know which one you like best!

Was (not Was) came out with the wonderfully defiant Dad I'm in Jail long ago and it's long been a family favorite. I never shared it with you because it's so darned short, clocking in at a mere minute twenty-six.

Then I had the brilliant idea of looking for other songs about being in jail. Voila! Despite my expectation of finding half a dozen punk songs about getting arrested, most of these are country, bluegrass, or blues.

So here you'll find a steaming pile of great "I'm in jail" songs, including a cautionary tale about drunk driving called Christmas in Jail and a mashup of Lil' Wayne with RJD2 titled Too Bad I'm in Jail from the ever-talented Mashup-Germany. Of course I've included George Thorogood's 99 Days in Jail which is an extension (and cover) of Magic Sam's 21 Days in Jail.

I did find a ska-punk song by Waste Basket called All of My Friends Are in Jail, which was a lot more what I expected. And, naturally, I've started with Was (not Was) and their Dad I'm in Jail.Be careful listening to this collection: some of the genre changes may give you whiplash. At least if you end up in jail tonight you'll have a song or two to sing while you're waiting to make bail.

I've been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend, and what could Star Wars make me think of more than Taj Motel Trio? But I posted Vader long ago and it's the holiday season, after all.

So I offer you, today, a fabulous ska take on my favorite traditional Christmas Carol. (Geez, I've got a link for everything today!) Taj Motel Trio has abbreviated the title to Angels but it's really a driving, horn-filled version of Angels We Have Heard on High.

So if you've a penchant for unusual holiday music (I'm restraining myself from linking that one), have a listen to Angels and pick up their album "Pretzels and Beer for Santa". If you want more to try before you buy, check out God Rest which was my Christmas Day song last year.

This post started out about a pair of very different songs that I have, both titled Shotgun. The first remains a family favorite: Southern Culture on the Skids's tribute to traditional wedding plans. "You cannot buy true love but you can shoot its ass."

The second is that old soul favorite, Jr Walker & the All Stars as adopted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. But when I went to get the two I found a pile of songs with just that one word title: Shotgun. Several are the same Motown jam, including a great instrumental version from Richard Elliot that for some reason reminds me of the old Tonight Show. Then there's a Limp Bizkit thing, for which I don't particularly care, a pile of 70s guitar and organ from Vanilla Fudge, a taste of ska from Less Than Jake, and the weirdest thing I've ever heard from Duran Duran.

I rounded out the list with a cover from Gov't Mule by the guy who inducted the song into said Hall of Fame, some creepy thing from Pete and the Pirates, and a classic from Lightning Hopkins about how he's going to take a shotgun after his woman because she's been fooling around with too many men. Yikes! To recover from those I finished with Bachman Turner Overdrive about riding shotgun. I suspect that one is mislabeled, as it cuts out abruptly at 54 seconds and several other BTO songs called Shotgun Rider appear on their list, but I can't be held responsible for other people's mistakes, can I? I can't except the Junior Walker ones I culled that were mistagged as Wilson Pickett and Booker T & the MGs, that is.

I've been wallowing in horns today, many of them blown by James "Trombone Shorty" Andrews. Suburbia takes a ska-flavored turn, quite different from the sound of his latest album," For True". There are also a lot of great guitar grinds in it. It's an instrumental but it's fun and bouncy and just right to keep your mood up as you contemplate yet another Monday morning staring you in the face. Tomorrow? Halloween funk!

In the search for a song to say, "Hello!" to my new template I ran into the downfall of all music snobs: no commercial radio means you miss the occasional great music that everyone at whom you look down your snooty nose already heard. And so I come ten years late to the party that is The Cat Empire. Seriously, I rely on you people to tell me about a band that combines ska, salsa, and straight-forward rock into something wildly wonderful.

Of course, I really only have myself to blame, though how I missed Strong Coffee in my fascination with songs with the topic I may never understand. But I intended to write about my new template. I have one. It's colorful and I finally got my jukebox. I'll be tweaking it further, naturally (particularly as it's eaten my post tags) but I'd love some feedback whether you love or hate it. Have a look while The Cat Empire says Hello.

Anthrax's Got the Time is one of those songs I absorbed as some point in my misspent youth trolling with skaters and and metalheads without realizing it had burrowed in there except when someone mentions ticking, at which times it leaps out full-blown. When I got the second volume of "Skandalous: I've Gotcha Covered" and found Perfect Thyroid's cover I never even bothered to look for the original. I love their take on it.

But you know that couldn't stand forever, so naturally I have both. And, as a special treat for you all tonight, I offer both of them to you, as well. Metal? Ska? Now you don't have to choose!

Unexpected covers make my day. In the interest of making yours, I'm sharing The Suicide Machines and their cover of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, something you would not expect a ska-punk band to tackle. They've even got the strings, though I'd think they were not live in the studio with the band.

Now, a lot of bands do unexpected cover songs. But this particular song seems like an "out there" pick. Martina McBride and kd lang both recorded versions of the song, both of whom fall under the sorts of folks who wouldn't surprise you with it (particularly the latter who recorded a twang-filled treatment in 1987 rather than the lush sound she usually achieves nowadays but has a lot of fun with it, live). In my world, that's half the fun of looking up who else recorded a song. Have you got any other suggestions?