Ska (third-wave) was the first genre I ever fanboyed over. So while Five Iron Frenzy may no longer be my favorite band, I've definitely got a soft spot for the genre.
Some crazy crap: La Tarrancha
, a ska-folk band from Spain.
Yeah, the first band I was ever really seriously interested in was Madness, and I got into the Specials pretty soon after that. The 2 Tone bands did a lot of covers, which is also how I started listening to Prince Buster. Problem with Jamaican ska, though, is that their recordings were always very raw sounding; the horns never sounded great.
My feelings on third wave ska are mixed. I generally enjoy it, but I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan.
Surely Op Ivy and the Bosstones did skacore years ago?
edited 20th Apr '11 8:20:04 AM by TheGloomer
They did; I should've worded that more clearly. What I was trying to get at is that I think if ska comes into the commercial limelight again, skacore will be what is featured. Metal/harder music is getting more and more popular nowadays and if ska gets its day again it'll be in a hardcore vein.
They're cool.
I want to start one so bad. They just look so fun to be in
Ska bands are really goofy most of the time.
edited 21st Apr '11 7:43:23 PM by slashedtire
Nothing to see here. Move along.It's approaching 20 years since the peak of the third wave. I'd say we're about due for a fourth wave. But, considering the 1st wave was centered in Jamaica, and the 2nd was centered in the UK, and the 3rd was centered in the US, then the 4th wave ought to pop up someplace else.
I'd guess somewhere in South America. I hear they've already got a pretty active ska scene.
How about Scott Klopfenstein leaving Reel Big Fish? They've got the saxophone player from Goldfinger in to take over his parts, but the on-stage banter between him and Aaron Barrett was such a big part of the show I'm not sure he can be adequately replaced.
Does anyone like the British stuff? It was the first contact I had with ska music; Madness was my first "favourite band".
To everyone who hasn't already heard it, I highly recommend The Rebel Soul Sound System
by The Dingees. It's a fusion album, not straight ska by a long shot, but the funky horns on "Smoke Signals" and "Still on the Move" are face-crushingly awesome. And it's completely free!
Gold Finger, Less Then Jake, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and those are just the mainstream ones I like. MORE TRUMPETS!!
Untitled Power Rangers StoryI was greatly pleased to find the album that featured the Skatalites backing Laurel Aitken (Long Hot Summer I think). It's really something else. The percussion in the Skatalites stuff always sounds pretty cool; their drummer got a really snappy kind of sound, and I imagine he must have tightened the heads on his toms even more than Stewart Copeland.
I see I've mentioned Runforyerlife twice in this thread. I really ought to link to them so you can hear what I'm talking about.
So I just learned this week that Five Iron Frenzy is reuniting to play some shows next year and release a new album in 2013. Not sure how I feel about the news, to be honest.
On the one hand, I really respected them back in 2003 for quitting while they were ahead; opting to end their career on a high note rather than running themselves into the ground. So I'm ever so slightly worried that this will be, like so many other bands' comeback attemps, lackluster.
On the other hand, they think it's gonna be their best album ever, so who am I to argue? The one song they're already written is pretty good.

I looked and didn't see any threads about this wonderful genre.
It was pretty easy to get into 3rd-wave because I'm a band geek; adding horns to punk and all of its offshoots was pretty interesting to me.
Skacore is great too, and I think it might be the so called "4th wave" of ska and the one that will bring attention back to the genre in a couple of years.
Some good ska imo:
- Big D & The Kids Table
- Operation Ivy
- The Best of the Worst
- The Flaming Tsunamis
- Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- The Toasters
and my current favoriteThoughts?
Nothing to see here. Move along.