Punk & Ska (appeared in Issue # 3)

written by Mike Jones

Have you asked yourself why ska and punk are associated with each other? Well,

think about. Punk is supposed to be the total super music. The music that is underground,

not because no one knows about it, but because it supposed to better than MTV and all

that corporate stuff. Ska is either way. However, recently you’ve been able to hear ska in

the back of TV commericals and even on MTV. So if punk is against corporate media, and

ska “sells-out” to corporate media, why are the two grouped together?? Why not punk

and electronica???

Now there’s an idea. Electronica. There’s an underground type of music who

could care less about politics and social garbage, they are in it for the raves, parties, and

the fun. Not the politics, not the capiltalism.

Anyway, ska and punk. Think about it again. Punk bands sometimes end up

covering ska songs. Ska bands sometimes end up covering punk songs. About every rudie

or knows the song Knowledge. But why? Let’s take a look back in time and figure out

where tings went wrong. Cause the two were not always together. This article is basically

a history lesson so brace yourselves. If some penis thinks I messed this up send me some

email: [email protected] and i’ll probably not write back.

So ska was born anywhere between the late 50’s and early 60’s in Jamaica. It was

a movement that had shuffled people off thier feat and got them skanking to the beat. The

“Pioneers” for this movement are credited to the Skatalites. Other contributing artists

were the Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Roland Alphonso, Lee “scratch” Perry

Bob Marely, and tons more. This era is known as the first wave of ska. This was a

Jamaican, and only a Jamaican movement at the time. The kids who were invovled with

this scene were the badest baddasses around town. They were known as Rudies, Rude

Boys, and Rude Girls. Thier life was revovled around guns, weed, money, and dancin.

Well soon in the 70’s, this movement moved along to Britian. Bands like the

Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, The “English” Beat, and Judge Dread picked up this

movement. They started something known as the 2-tone era which has been symbolized

with pre-dominately checkers or the rudie logos, being the Specials’ “Rude Boy” and the

Beat’s “Rude Girl” . Ska had gone from a pre-dominatley black thing, to a white think. It

would be like 80 % of the rappers in America being white. Bands like the Specials

recognized this, and formed the checkers as a symbol of thier political awarness for blacks

and whites. They also formed Two-Tone Records, a place where bands who felt the same

way could join.

As the 70’s progressed punk broke in England as well as America. Ramones,

Talking Heads, Police, Blondie, Sex Pistols, and the Clash were primary players. Wait! the

Clash... they were a very interesting band. Playing a mixture of Punk and ska and reggae.

They made people feel good. This attracted crowds of Rudies and Punks.

Thus concluding, it is of the Clash we shall credit for starting the Punk & Ska

relationship. I think...