A little advertisement...

That's TSPO's new music video for their new single, which will be released next week actually...a day after the Aggrolites release their new album.

Anyways, if you're bored, check out my podcast...I play a lot of ska and the like, but I do play other music (well, I will, since I've only uploaded one episode, and I've recently finished doing episode 2.

Here's the playlist to my first show:
Giuliano Palma & His Bluebeaters - Skaravan [live] (ITALY)
Gerhana Ska Cinta - Legendary Sir "Clement" Coxone Dodd (MALAYSIA)
Put3ska - My Boy Lollipop (PHILIPPINES)
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Shot in the Dark [live] (JAPAN)
Desorden Público - Tokyo Loco (VENEZUELA)
Firebug - Gimmie Your Love (BRAZIL)
Polemic - Yes You're Right [feat. Dr. Ring Ding] (SLOVAKIA)
Lord Tanamo w/ Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Iron Bar (GERMANY)
Laurel Aitken w/ Court Jester's Crew - Dance Wid' Me, Baby (GERMANY)
Los Granadians - Reggae Clam Clam (SPAIN)
Oi-SKALL Mates - Let's Bald Head (JAPAN)
Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers - Ice Ball (JAPAN)
Kingston Rudieska - Shooting Star (KOREA)
St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review - Too Good To Be True (RUSSIA)
Moon Invaders - Old Friend (BELGIUM)
Viking's Remedy - Step on My Dreams (FRANCE)
The Ratazanas - King Kong (PORTUGAL)
Ska Flames - Mighty Three (JAPAN)

Rock a SHACKA

Dude....!!! So i just ripped listened to CD that I forgot I had...it's Rock a Shacka Vol 2. IT's a bunch of Prince Buster tracks, or Buster produced tracks, previously unreleased, and it was chosen by somebody from the now defunct Japanese ska band, Determinations...(BTW Vol 1 was a live album of them backing up Prince Buster himself).

D00DE!!! this CD is fucking kick ass, especially the instrumental tunes. They're all played by a group called, Buster's All Stars, but we all know it's really the Skatalites under a different name. Some of the instrumentals on here are fucking tiight, and I love the drumming. I'm not even knowledgable enough in the music to even tell you who's drumming...but it certainly doesn't sound like Knibbs in most other Skatalites songs (except NON-STOP, the drumming sounds similar to THAT!!!). On the other hand, I don't even know how to tell Drumbago's drumming apart from Knibbs so...

But whatever, they're fucking SICK SONGS!! Like Seven Duppy, with a sick ass trombone solo!!

Not all the Rock a Shacka's are Jamaican music however...Rock a Shacka vol 3 is a lot of tight old school rock and roll (still in transition from rnB) as well as this smoking Latin track...sang in Spanish...by a Japanese band. And it has a Ventures cover of Duke Ellington's Caravan!! Some sick shit.

Yeah, I don't know why I used so many CAPITAL letters and !!!! today, but seriously, this CD kicks ass.

Isn't this just the coolest ad ever? I wish I had a Lambretta..or Vespa. Scooting around town would be mighty fun.

Review of the Ska Flames album

This is my review for Ska Flames newest album, "REALSTEP" on CDjapan.co.jp.

"The Ska Flames is Japan's oldest ska band, and my second favorite Japanese band, behind Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. While TSPO likes to infuse many styles into their music, Ska Flames is content with playing the music closer to their Jamaican musical forefathers, the Skatalites. Perhaps that's why the Ska Flames hasn't gotten as much attention abroad as Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, which is a big shame.

The release of REALSTEP marks their 20th year of playing and recording, and is their best album yet. The moment you put that CD into your CD Player and the 1st track, "Good Morning" comes on, you know you've got a winner on your hands.

With good production values, tight horns, and a solid rhthym section, REALSTEP is a must have for Ska Flames fans and fans of early Jamaican music alike. "

In other news, I have gotten my grubby little hands on an advanced copy of the Aggrolites upcoming self titled album. It's fucking great! Buy the real copy when it comes out on May 28th, you won't regret it! It's a lot more traditional than Dirty Reggae, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. I'll write a real review for it later.

I know I said I'd do a real post about something relevant, but I don't really feel like it right now, so sorry :)

I say HEYYYYY

Yo, long time no update!

So a few weeks ago, my roommate and I catched a free Aggrolites show for some St. Patricks day celebration at Cal State Long Beach. The retarded thing was that the first band opened up very late, so the Aggrolites could only play fucking 5 songs...2 old songs, 2 new songs, 1 cover. Still, I heard one new song of their upcoming album, so I was happy. The "headlining" band so to speak, was some lame Smiths cover band, so me and my roommate left early.


Earlier this week, I finally received my Ska Flames album. It's their latest album, called "Realstep" and is probably up there with "Damn Good" as my favorite Ska Flames album. I really love Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, but Ska Flames is a very close second. While Skapara likes to mix things up, Ska Flames is pretty dedicated to playing ska like their Jamaican predecessor, and they're arguably one of the best bands in the world that has done so. My favorite songs might just be their first track, "Good Morning" and the song, "Stolen Beat"


Speaking of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, they're releasing a new single next month. I'll be looking forward to that. It's suppose to feature the vocals of a guy from an old Japanese punk band called, The Blue Hearts. I don't really know that band, but I have heard their song, "Linda Linda," since the Slackers covered part of it in their live album, "Slack in Japan."



Since next month is May, it also brings it back to the band I was talking about first. The Aggrolites are finally releasing their second album, after a long anticipation by yours truly. It's suppose to be 19 tracks of dirty reggae goodness, so look out for it. For the full track listing, check out the Epitaph webpage here.

WEll, that's all for now, next time, maybe I'll post something substantial, other than music.

I My Me Mine!

Today, Polysics from Tokyo, Japan played at my school (Cal State Fullerton), and for free to boot! They played an hour set, with a one song encore.

My school books two bands every week to play at our school for free on Wed. and Thurs. The person who books these bands is a bitch, and has no concept of diversity. Week after week after week, we are stuck with the same old generic indie crock bands or shitty pop punk bands that all sound the fucking same. However, my roommate, who works at the same office as the bitch who books bands, sometimes is able to have a say in who gets to play. That means, I can expect at least ONE good band a semester. Last semester, it was The Aggrolites, and this semester it was the Polysics!

The place where the Polysics played today wasn't a big place, but it was big enough for them, and they had a lot of energy. The pub was pretty crowded actually. I couldn't understand a thing they said, but it was a very fun show. I was wearing my Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra tshirt, and the merch chick told me that she loved them (in broken English). The guitarist was pretty funny, there was one point where he said that we were going to his school now. "The school of rock, Polysics style!" I bought a Tshirt, and a poster, and had three of the 4 members sign my poster...(The bassist chick went into hiding). I'm contemplating whether I want to go see them again in two weeks in Hollywood!

Hmm

That my friend, is a picture of a rare vinyl that I just got the other day. The album is "Damn Good" from Ska Flames, and they feature Jamaican legends, Laurel Aitken, Roland Alphonso, and Lester Sterling on the record. It's damn good if I say so myself (okay, I'm sorry for the lame joke.)

So in the 90s, there was this boom of third wave ska bands in the U.S., with groups like No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, and Less Than Jake getting mainstream appeal, and it was the in thing. Side by side with this boom was also the pop-punk boom with bands like Blink 182 and Green Day gaining rising popularity. Now, many are claiming that "Third wave ska has died" and all the fans have gone on to emo. For now, I won't go into why I don't believe in the whole "waves" deal, but I'll have to say that it's wrong. They haven't all gone on to emo, I would garner a lot more of old ska "fans" have moved on to indie rock.

Now, there are many who claim indie music isn't an actual genre, it's a term for unsigned bands. I personally think they should stop bullshitting themselves. Like "Alternative Rock" in the 90s, the term "indie" has morphed into it's own genre. Nobody quite knows how to describe it, but when you hear it, you'll know. It's a whole subculture that's boomed into the U.S., and it's been fused into the "emo" (and I use this term sparsely) subculture. These hipsters populate a lot of the bigger cities...L.A., Hollywood, San Francisco, even San Jose.

A lot of these hipsters read a few books by philosophers, or intelligent people, and suddenly, they think they're shit and intellectual and can discuss issues like politics or religion. We all know they're not discussing though, but rather, repeating what they've read.

Don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this.

What I dislike most about these hipster kids is the musical elitism. These kids think they're the shit because they try to listen to the most ecletic and obscure of these indie groups. They look down on others who they feel aren't up to their hipster pussiness. I'd say a lot more, but right now, I can't really seem to put my thoughts together coherently.

REGGAE FROM THE GHETTO.

Ah, I love this song. I still remember my roommate and I putting on the John Holt version as loud as possible and singing the chorus on top of our lungs. Needless to say, security came, and we got in trouble (sorta, kinda).

Hmm, this issue with the abortion ban in South Dakota is quite troubling to me. I am a fierce opponent of abortion, but I don't believe that we're ready for legislation that out right bans the whole thing. I'd rather there be other ways of discouraging people from abortion, without banning it. To me, freedom of choice begins before sex, not after.

Speaking of women, the feminist club at my school kinda annoys me. It's like, they try too hard to show that they're equal to men. They were putting up posters around the campus about hwo they're challenging males to a feminist arm wrestle. Lame.

Kingston Rudieska

So from what I gather, the ska scene in Korea is young and new. In fact, I only really know one band, and that's the Witches, and even then they aren't trad ska, they're a ska punk.

While on Soulseek several months ago, a user downloaded a bit from me and messaged me about my collection. We had a conversation going, and then he mentioned that he was in a band called...Kingston Rudieska...apparently Korea's first traditional ska band. They've recently recorded a demo so check them out. Sound quality isn't the best, but they are sounding tight.

And to continue last entry's tangent...

...And that's just Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. If you consider side bands like Tsuyoshi Kawakami and His Moodmakers, then you'd see even more "references" to Jamaican music. Here are a few examples for Tsuyoshi Kawakami and His Moodmakers:

- They cover Double Barrel by Dave and Ansel Collins...no toasting though! :(
- They cover Mojo Rocksteady by Prince Francis
- (These are probably covers of covers but...)they cover "Suavito" which the Calypso band, Undergrounds, also played. Also, they also cover "The Third Man Theme," which was also performed by Granville Williams Orchestra

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment.

So I got the Soul Captives' new EP, "Livin Easy." It's their second EP, and sounds much much better than their first self titled EP. Better produced and more sophisticated. It's been at least a year now (possibly even longer), since I last saw them, but it seems they've diversified their style a lot more. The majority of the tracks are rootsy reggae, which unfortunately I find a bore. It's all very good, just not my thing. The two ska tracks they had were really good though, and I hope they record an album soon.

But man...I seriously cannot wait...IT's almost May, and the new Aggrolites album is just around the corner...I still remember, 3 years ago, I didn't know much about this band, and just made a blind purchase, and I was totally blown away by them. To this day, I still listen to that album regularly

Their live show is even better, at the end of last year, I had seen them about 5 times in the course of 3 months. Despite playing a similar set those 5 times, I was still blown away from their performances. They're just so much fun, especially at a crowded show. The new tracks they've played are even more "Sing-along"-ish than their first album, so it's really fun when seeing them live. I kinda wish they'd record a studio version of "Don't Let Me Down," but they'd probably have to pay a lot of royalty fees.

There was more that I wanted to write, but I've lost the motivation, so that's all for tonite.

EDIT 2/28: And another discovery! In their VHS, "TOKYO SKA -EVERYTIME WE SAY GOOD BYE KAGIRIYUKU HIKARINO NAKADE" they play a song called, "After The Rain" which is anotehr Skatalites cover! And I also forgot about mentioning that they also did a version of One Step Beyond (Madness' version) on their "Speed King" project.

Yeah....... I have a little too much time sometimes.

Ska ME CRAZY!

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is my favorite band, in any genre, in any country. They're just amazing, and it's really weird to think that in Japan, a ska band is an insanely popular, regular chart hitting band. And unlike most of the bands that got on the charts during the "ska boom" in the 90s in the U.S., TSPO know their roots...or at least when it comes to ska. It's just cool to see how they do all these little things that might not mean anything for the average listener, but is pretty nifty for a Jamaican music fan like me.

Here are a couple of things I've found:
- Skatalites covers. They've covered a lot of Skatalites' songs (and I know some songs, like Skaravan, are covers that the Skatalites did themselves, but to simplify things, we'll say it's Skatalites songs). Skaravan, Shot in the Dark, Bongo Tango, You're So Delightful (You Can Depend on Me), Lucky 7, and who knows what other Skatalites tunes they've covered? If you watch their DVD, Ska Evangelist on the Run, they also show a clip of them covering Black Sunday.
- Specials Cover. In their DVD, Down Beat Arena, they cover Nite Klub in one of their encores.
- If you watch their music video for "A Quick Drunkard," in the beginning when Gamo puts on that record, the record has the Justa Records label on it...but the Justa Records label has a striking similarity to the Studio 1 label!
- If you listen to some of the live versions of "Ska Me Crazy," you hear the guy saying, "Don't call me Scarface," which is a phrase made popular by Prince Buster in his song, "Al Capone"
- On that side album they did that was all techno and electronica-ish, "Speed King," if you listen to the third track closely, "Speed King on the Run" you hear them using a sample of the intro of the song "Skinhead Moonstomp" (originally a Derrick Morgan tune) by Symarip. "I want all you skinheads...put your braces together and your boots on your feet..."
- This might be a stretch, this might be because it fits their "big band" image, or it might be another tribute to the Skatalites! In their live shows, sometimes they use musical stands...which, lo and behold, the Skatalites used to do back in the day!

There are probably more, and I probably have too much time on my hand to recognize all this, but it's just interesting to me.

EDIT: See? I just discovered something new today! I was listening to their "Live" album, and they're playing Lucky Seven. At the end of Lucky Seven, they go straight into Prince Buster's "Mr. Prince"! That's tight.

World War III is started by cartoons...?

Opinions...are such a touchy subject.


I'm kinda torn on the whole issue with the Danish newspaper printing those cartoons which caused so much offense to Muslims around the world. I've seen those cartoons and they really can be offensive to Muslims.

At the same time, I'm a big proponent of free speech, and unforunately, the freedom of speech also includes the freedom to hate (thru means such as these cartoons, or message boards, or speech related things...not thru action). That does not mean I'm criticizing the protestors around the world protesting the cartoon...because protesting is a form of free speech. Who I'm criticizing, is those who are calling for a "holy" war against the "infidels". It really is vexing to see a lot of people actually wanting to kill others just for some silly cartoons. Is God so insecure that he'd want his followers to kill those who might disrespect him? I don't think so.

Now, switch to the other side. If the newspaper had posted offensive cartoons about something else...maybe something about homosexuals, or minorities, I really wonder if the newspapers would be as stubborn as they are now, constantly saying, "FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS!"? Well, I'm not sure how Europe treats homosexuals and minorities (and if France was any indication, than minorities are treated like shit), so I can't answer that question, but that's some food for thought.

I know that over here, if anything slightly offensive towards anything (especially religion...and more specifically, Christianity), then there'd be a huge uproar, and the pussy newspapers would immediately apologize and probably fire whoever made the offensive content. I mean, people have been fired for less.

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking randomly.

Sometimes, I wonder how R.A.C. (Rock Against Communism) became a white power movement. How can an event that is suppose to oppose a (what I consder) flawed political and ecomonic ideaology suddenly become an event that is wayyyy far right and strongly strongly racist? It doesn't make sense.

I know that Ian Stuart the guy who fronted Skrewdriver, started the whole thing as a response to Rock Against Racism.

Wait a minute, did being against racism have anything to do with being pro-communist? Because I'm certainly not a fan or racism, but I'm not communism's biggest fan either.

Ah, the actions of idiots, it boggles the mind at times.

Some things off my chest...

Hmm, I look totally different from the picture I have up on my blog. That was a pic of me earlier last summer in France, looking like a dirt bag...Well, at least I've cut my hair since then (though some might say I still look like a dirt bag).

So this blog is almost unheard of, till tonite, I didn't even remember it's existence...I guess this might be a blessing in a disguise, but we'll see.

Right now, I'm (suppose to be) studying for a Japanese quiz tomorrow...after 6 months of not taking Japanese, I'm a little screwed, since I forgot the majority of the words, and more importantly, the grammar, so I'm slowly relearning it.

2nd Semester began this week...so far, classes seem to go quicker than last semester's classes, but this week has seemed to go slower than usual...funny how that works.

There are pressures other than the academic portion of college though...my roommate is pushing me to join his fraternity, and while I had thought about joining it last semester, during my long winter break, I thought long and hard about it, and decided that being a frat just isn't my thing, and I seriously do not want to join it. I'm afraid of telling my roommate this, because I don't want to hurt his feelings. But seriously, he's been annoying me, parading around announcing to his fellow frat brothers that I'd be rushing this semester. He tells me that it'll be the most fun I'll ever have in my life, but I seriously doubt that. Just because it was great for him does not mean that it'll be great for me. In fact, based on our personalities, I would definately bet that our experiences would be vastly different. Rushing begins next week, and I'll give it a chance by attending some of the Rush events (mainly for the free food), but honestly I don't think I'll be joining the frat anytime soon.

Also, there is a feud going on between some of my friends that seriously makes me think I'm in highschool, rather than college. It's between a girl and a guy, and these two are not a couple. However, the girl has tendencies to play around with a lot of guys, and this is making her gain a rather infamous reputation. The guy does not want to see her be thought of as a whore, so he has talked to her several times, but she seems to be very dense, and not really get the point. Now the guy has completely cut her off, saying she isn't is girlfriend, nor is she a best friend, so he doesn't want to waste his time trying to tell her how destructive his actions are. Now he's urging me to cut her off as well.

See, I have a couple of problems with this...first of all, I strongly believe in friendship...and I don't really like to see it when friends cut each other off, especially when I feel the girl needs friends the most now. Second of all, just because he cut her off doesn't mean I want to cut her off...but it would be awkward between me and him, or me and her...I really don't want to see her be thought of as a whore, and like I have said, I strongly believe in friendship, and now is the time she needs friends the most.

On the other hand, her and him were closer friends than me and her, and if he couldn't get to her, then how can I expect to get to her?

It seems that I've written quite a bit, so I'll stop for now. Next blog should probably not be so personal.

Whoa whoa whoa...I don't even remember creating this blog, and I am kinda surprised to see this blog is still even active. I have a couple of things to say, so I'll probably post more later, but for now...this is it!