Ska Blah Blah

The State of Ska Blah Blah

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts, site update, special episode.

I’ve come to the end of another series of interviews.  Small Talk concluded with just as much punch as it began with- and I am honored to have spoken with each and every artist featured within.

I know the site has been wonky with Safari and Opera, lately- and I think that issue is resolved at the moment.  Please let me know if you are still having trouble viewing SkaBlahBlah.com.  A site overhaul is in the works.  Until then, here’s a complete hunk of links- everything I’ve produced for Ska Blah Blah:

Series One - Conversations on a Revivalist Movement

01.Chris Murray
02.Victor Rice
03.Dave Hillyard
04.Joey Altruda
05.Vic Ruggiero

Series Two - Cut the Chit Chat

01.New Ska
02.Skinhead Reggae
03.Hard Edged Dub
04.Ska Rap
05.Ska Demos
06.Even Newer Ska

Series Three - Small Talk

01 - Victor Axelrod
02 - Green Room Rockers
03 - Babylon Party Machine
04 - The Impalers
05 - The Aggrolites

Special Episodes

00 Field Trip to Ska Weekend ‘07
00 A Look Back at The Skatalites Middle Period

New episodes aren’t in the near future, but the blog side of Ska Blah Blah will continue to bring you lots of Ska Links and Videos.  If you haven’t already, please subscribe with your favorite feed reader.

Thank you all so much for reading the blog and listening to the podcasts, especially those of you who have really contributed by commenting on the various posts.  I encourage everyone to leave a comment or drop me a line with your thoughts on all things Ska.

Thanks,

-JJ Loy

jjloy@skablahblah.com

1 comment.

Ska Blah Blah: Small Talk - Episode 05 - The Aggrolites

Posted on July 17th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts.

Brian Dixon has been a major influence in LA’s Ska and Reggae scene for years now.  He’s been a key player in the Rhythm Doctors and the After Hours project- his latest thing is a little band you might have heard of- called The Aggrolites.

Brian and I discuss The Aggro’s writing process and their belief that everyone can love good Reggae, on this, the last episode of Small Talk.

Get The Aggrolites newest record Reggae Hit LA Link

Watch The Aggrolites Videos on YouTube Link

5 comments.

Ska Blah Blah on KDHX

Posted on July 16th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: news.

Paul Stark over at Ska’s The Limit, St. Louis’ only Ska radio show, has invited me to be a guest selector on this Friday’s episode.  He’s replayed the entire first series of Ska Blah Blah, in the past, and I’m sure we’ll talk a bit about the podcast- however, I’ve got a ton of good music that I want to play and two hours to fit it all in.  This is huge honor as I’ve been a fan of the show for years- and it is, in fact, the longest running ska radio show in existence.

If you happen to be around the internet on Fri 8-10 PM (Central Time) I encourage you to stream KDHX 88.1 live.  An archive stream should stary up for a week or two, if you can’t catch it live.

1 comment.

Ska Blah Blah Mashup Album Label

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

I love vintage Jamaican album art.  Some of my favorite designs are (not-so-coincidentally) from JJ Records.  Last week, John V, and I were discussing these fun 45 labels as well as his obsession with converting all Ska logos into vector based graphics.

John took these scans and whipped up this mash-up style label for me and SBB.  In fact, this is the first bit of fan art made for Ska Blah Blah, and I couldn’t be more impressed!

Here’s the original scan followed by John’s redesign:

More Reggae and Ska album art sites:

Jamaican Label Art

Dance Crasher

Stir It Up (a book of Jamaican Album Art) Amazon Link

1 comment.

Winehouse Does The Ska

Posted on July 7th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

Earlier this year, I followed a link to an underdeveloped MySpace page that boasted some Specials covers by the retro-licous, Amy Winehouse.  These not-so-impressive tracks were obviously demos and weren’t worth repeated listenings- let alone an official release.  That’s why I wasn’t in too big of a hurry to check out what’s been described as her Ska EP, when I read about it here and here.

Man, was I wrong.  Winehouse’s versions of Monkey Man, Hey Little Rich Girl, You’re Wondering Now and Cupid are clean and polished- spic and span.  Cupid is done as an upbeat Reggae tune while the others are arranged a lot like the Specials’ versions, but Winhouse’s vocal flourishes save the tracks from feeling unnecesarry.

But the tracks from iTunes from the Back to Black B-Sides Collection

Or if you want The Ska EP for Free.

3 comments.

More Ska Deprication

Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Link.

The good news is that Ska is still big enough to piss it’s nay-sayers off.  The bad news is that everyone’s laughing at us. Ska Geeks have never been discouraged by our scene’s unpopularity, but rarely are we subjected to such accute scrutiny.

Over at Your Scene Sucks, recent American Ska fashion is being picked apart with sharp accuracy.  The accompanying text goes on to declare that Ska is dead, but we know better.  This is more a condemnation of the 3rd Wave fashion and music.  As a Trad loving, non-uniformed Ska Kid, I neither resemble nor resent this characterization.

the rude boy was never good at any sports, so instead he opted to join the marching band which, incidentally, led to the formation of his own group. the band enjoyed their biggest success at a recent high school battle of the bands, where they showcased their originality by covering the reel big fish cover of a-ha’s “take on me”.

How about you?  Is this your look? Does this burn your britches a little?  Check out some of the other scenes covered at Your Scene Sucks to cheer you up a little.  Everyone looks silly when they play dress up.  Click the image to visit the Rude Boy page at Your Scene Sucks:

Thanks to Lawless over at Dancin Mood for hipping me to this.

Check out more Ska Deprication from Ska Blah Blah:

- Spot Shitty Ska Band Names

- Ska vs. Ska-Punk: The Debate Continues

3 comments.

How to Spot a Shitty Ska Band Name

Posted on July 2nd, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Link.

Fan of the show, and cryptic emailer, John, reminded me of this embarrassingly effective formula for judging a Ska band solely by their name.  Adam Coozer’s list of violations goes a bit far, but his talent for creating phony shitty ska band names is where this link really shines.  It’s as if MAD Magazine was sending up Ska.

Here’s just a few of my favorites, but you should check out the whole post at ReadJunk.  Link

International Pancake House of Rhythm

The Go Go Bots

Jerks Like Us

Obi-Wan Ska-Nobi

The Skinhead Oi 2Tone 10 Year Olds

The Honda Accords

Mento Commercials

Skinhead Kickboxer 7

Spider Nick & the Italians

The Utah Mormon Ska-Crap Ensemble

4 comments.