Ska
Madness Transform Kimmel into “Our House”: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-12T16:33:41+00:00“>May 12, 2021 | 12:33pm ET Time is a walking bass line, and despite some funky digressions along the way, we always seem to wind up back where we started. Perhaps that’s why a certain brand of pre-reggae Jamaican jamming keeps getting re-interpreted for different eras, and why the two-tone legends Madness are once again skascendent. The UK outfit is gearing up for a 2022 tour, and which they’ll preview with a new livestream, “The Get Up”, on May 14th. This busyness is to expected, because, as they demonstrated on Kimmel last night, during the skanaissance, every house is “Our House”. “Our House” came out on the 1982 album The Rise & Fall, ...
Mike Park and Jeff Rosenstock’s Bruce Lee Band Share New Song “BLT”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-06T20:36:49+00:00“>May 6, 2021 | 4:36pm ET Bruce Lee Band are back with the new song “BLT”, short for Bruce Lee Theme. Here, Jeff Rosenstock sings lyrics written by Mike Park, which wouldn’t be that remarkable except that Park’s words are in Korean. Park is no stranger to penning lyrics, having anchored the vocals for Bruce Lee Band since the mid-’90s. In a statement, the words were described as being, “in part, about craving tasty food but not having the money to pay for it, as well as being without power or hope.” In that sense, it fits into the political themes that the band has been exploring for decades. “Part of me was excited to do it because it feels fresh to sing in a di...
Madness Reschedule US Tour for 2022
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-19T20:48:14+00:00“>April 19, 2021 | 4:48pm ET Third time’s the charm? Two-tone royalty Madness have once again announced their first US tour in many years, and to give COVID-19 plenty of time to see itself out, this iteration is scheduled for 2022. Madness first intended to cross the Atlantic in 2020, when they unveiled dates in support of the 40th anniversary of One Step Beyond… The pandemic scuttled those plans, and the tour was optimistically rescheduled for 2021. Unfortunately, the novel coronavirus continues to outstay its welcome. With the worldwide vaccine rollout finally hitting its stride, these purveyors of pop-ska will hit the States starting in spring o...
Less Than Jake on 25 Years of Losing Streak
Kyle Meredith With… Less Than Jake Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Less Than Jake frontman Chris DeMakes sits down with Kyle Meredtih to talk about the band’s new album, Silver Linings, and the need to bring positivity and fun in the current era. The ska-punk legend also discusses being a legacy band, co-founder Vinnie Fiorello leaving in 2018, writing songs about their friends, and having Matt Yonker behind the drum kit. DeMakes also hits on Losing Streak’s 25th anniversary, the band’s upcoming 30th anniversary plans, Chris DeMakes A Podcast, writing jingles for people, and his newly published biography. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredit...
Today’s Ska-Punk Is Serious Fun
A new generation of ska-punk bands has a message for you, Rudy, and it’s all about unity. Embracing the 80s British ska scene’s politically charged idealism while taking musical inspiration from 90s American ska-punk, Bad Time Records is a focal point of the thriving ska-punk scene. The label has released music by We Are the Union, JER, Kill Lincoln, Bad Operation, Catbite, and the recent “Ska against Racism” compilation. According to label owner and Kill Lincoln frontman Mike Sosinski, he explicitly created the label as a ska-punk platform. “Asian Man Records puts out some great stuff, Jump Up Records does great traditional ska, but nobody had drawn a line in the sand for ska-punk. We’ve been making progressive music and preaching these ideas for a long time. Some ideas that maybe got los...
R.I.P. Toots Hibbert, Reggae Pioneer and Frontman of Toots & The Maytals Dies at 77
Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert, founder of the pioneering reggae group Toots & the Maytals, has died at the age of 77. Hibbert had been hospitalized in his native Kingston, Jamaica after contracting COVID-19. He passed away Friday, September 11th, surrounded by family, according to a statement. By incorporating elements of Jamaican ska and rocksteady alongside traditional gospel, soul, R&B, and rock & roll, Hibbert is widely credit as being one of the originators of the reggae genre. In fact, Toots & the Maytals’ 1968 single “Do the Reggay” was the first song to use the word “reggae” and would ultimately give the genre its name. In the early 1960s, Hibbert formed The Maytals alongside fellow vocalists Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias and i...
Toots and the Maytals Singer Toots Hibbert Hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit
Toots Hibbert, leader of Toots and the Maytals, is in the intensive care unit at a Jamaican hospital. Hibbert’s family confirmed his hospitalization in a statement, noting that he is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. Fortunately, they say Hibbert “is making positive progress” and “is showing signs of improvement by the hour.” While reports of Mr. Hibbert being in an intensive care unit at a private facility in the Corporate Area are true, the family would like to assure those concerned that he is making positive progress and is receiving the best possible treatment, while he awaits the results on his COVID-19 test. He is resting and in good spirits, and is showing signs of improvement by the hour. His family has asked everyone to hold him in their prayers, and would like to thank th...
Toots and the Maytals Send Out a “Warning Warning” on New Single: Stream
Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals will return next month with their first proper album in over a decade, Got to Be Tough. After offering fans a peek at the record with the title track, the group is now sharing a new single titled “Warning Warning”. Much like “Got to Be Tough”, this new song continues to showcase leader and founder Frederick “Toots” Hibbert’s enduring commitment to social justice issues. On “Warning Warning”, Toots specifically calls on us to not only recognize the corrupt systems at play in 2020 — such as those upholding racism and white supremacy — but to also remember to stay focused on the fight against them, no matter how long it takes. “I’m giving you a warning/ Don’t take it for granted,” Toots advises on the song. “I want to ask everyone to keep their focus in th...
