INTRODUCTION
Ska music has always been a truly extraordinary genre. With a unique musical
construct, the genre carries with it a deeply cultural, sociological, and historical livelihood
which, unlike any other style, has adapted and changed through three clearly-defined regional
and stylistic reigns of prominence. The music its self may have changed throughout the three
“waves,” but its meaning, its message, and its themes have transcended its creation and two
revivals with an unmatched adaptiveness to thrive in wildly varying regional and
sociocultural climates. From the native peoples of Jamaica to the colonization of the island,
the African slave trade to the country’s independence, and through two revivals -- one in the
United Kingdom and another later the United States -- the odyssey of ska music celebrates a
truly distinct and rich history.
When ska’s alluring sound first filled my ears at an early age, I couldn’t help but take
note. Its energy was unlike that of any genre I’d ever heard before. This early exposure to
the music I’d come to identify with so strongly came from the movie Baseketball, in which
Reel Big Fish made an appearance and Smashmouth’s cover of “Why Can’t We Be Friends”
was featured. I found gems through Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater as well, a video game which
featured third-wave ska hits “New Girl” by The Suicide Machines and legendary third-wave
standard “Superman” by Goldfinger. I didn’t know it by name, but any time I heard ska from
then on, I sought out the source and began to collect every third-wave source I could find.
Goldfinger, The Suicide Machines, Reel Big Fish, Big D and the Kids Table, Streetlight
Manifesto, Catch 22, The Planet Smashers, Westbound Train, Less Than Jake, Sublime,
Operation Ivy, Deal’s Gone Bad, The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches, The Toasters, and The
Aquabats are only a few of the bands that I began to latch onto when investigating this
mysterious genre.
In high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue music in whatever capacity possible.
Ska became my passion, and I began playing with a ska band in high school from whom I
learned that the genre’s history went much deeper than Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and
Baseketball. I started looking into this extensive history, and my curiosity carried me deeper
and deeper. Throughout college, every project I could possibly assign ska as the subject of I
so did. Since I first decided to pursue music as a major, I knew ska would be the centerpiece
of my aspirations.
In exploration of the genre, my aim is to not only explain its history. I seek to
acknowledge the contexts and importance it carried as a means for expression through its
travels. The study of ska music includes analysis of its defining musical character, but
furthermore, requires investigation of its historical significance. The music isn’t just about a
horn section and an offbeat-driven guitar. It’s the sound of the oppressed and
disenfranchised: the sound of the youth, of unity, rebellion, and of the people. This
exploration of ska music is not just a venture into the “what?” but more importantly, the
“who cares?” as well.