Punk SKA

Posted on 2002/03/08 11:24:23 (March 2002) by rob.

Half Punk, Half SKA and all bollocks.

Punk SKA is an american phenomenon. No one over here would dare take two great British institutions and mate them in some evil cross breeding experiment. Punk SKA is a mix between Punk (fast tempo, distorted guitars, anarchistic or humourous) and SKA (light, off beat, more melodious). It is aparently the new direction for all alternative music. Unfortunately, it is played by people who aren't very good musicians and are trying desperately to do something different without stopping to think about whether it is a good idea.

Don't misunderstand my roots, most of you know I am a fan of Punk. Carter USM, Green Day, Offspring, NOFX, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and even some Sex Pistols. The energy of Punk with its fast tempos and distorted power chords fills me with joy. As for SKA, I do delight in a touch of Madness and Bad Manners. The lyrics are mostly cleverly written with a point and the demi-reggae timing is wonderfully refreshing. I can appreciate both sides of music as they have something to offer. They have style, talent and the songs have melodies (often discordant) and lyrics with meaning. No doubt Punk SKA is done very well by some band or other but it is the glut of manure which is crossing the pond every week that gets my goat, shaves it, throttles it and sends it off for animal testing.

So, what is wrong with Punk SKA? What is it exactly that I hate? Well, all Punk SKA are written around the following Dr Jeckel forumla:

1. Humourous Intro
Normally spoken, often sung in a comedic manner, the intro is an important part of Punk SKA because it tells the bewildered listener that the song is about to begin. Normally a silly phrase or even counting adorns the beginning of the song. This intro does not have to be connected in any way to the content of the song, it is there to show that the band are fun and crazy lads who just can't stop having a good time, even when recording. Unfortunately, it just sounds forced and ridiculous.

2. Up Beat Crash-Laden SKA Tempo
I normally don't have an issue with punk ska drummers as they are required to drum five times as fast as the usual SKA band and still be slightly off-beat. However, the tempos are all the same, even the DJ at the Fez noted that it was like mixing together House tracks as they all sit perfectly on top of each other in Tempo.

3. Jangly Off-Beat Guitar
One of the many guitarists on Stage will be playing 'The SKA bit' which will no doubt be two short chords played in an off-beat style. This will no doubt change to long open chords for the chorus. After two verses of this though, the two chords will drive you into a fit of apoplexy.

4. Pointless Lyrics
I like songs to mean something or at least point something out. However, a Punk SKA song is likely to be utterly benile. A four year old child could string together more meaningful patterns of words. For example, my ears are often assualted with Sponge's 'Kicking Pidgeons' which is, funnily enough, about kicking pidgeons in a park. Inspired. These lyrics are often sung at the top of the singer's range and without any feeling whatsoever.

5. Distorted Bit
To make it more PUNK, they distort the guitars and the vocalist will shout a bit. Unfortunately, the poor chap who is playing the jangly off beat guitar is still playing the same two minor chords but with a warm, muggy Distort switched on. The vocalist, who is desperately sliding down the teenage slope to puberty squeals much like a pig caught in an electric fence, joins in by repeating some meaningless lyric. This is not punk, this is pants. Billy Joe from 'Green Day' enjoyed a good shout, but he would do so in a tuneful way.

6. Crap Guitar Solo
A guitar solo is supposed to be the showcase of the lead guitarist. There are some fabulous solos out there by some very talented muscians. However, a Punk SKA solo is normally one of the slowest and uninspiring dull experiences you're ever likely to have the misfortune to experience. At least being stuck on a tube train for 10 minutes affords you the luxury of quality adverts or a good book. There is good reason for this dullness: as the drummer is playing a SKA beat at 200 BPM, the guitarist will never keep up without playing in quarter time. That's 50BPM, which is less than 1 per second. Anyone can go up and down the scale at a pace of one note per second. Of course, just as the guitarist is getting into it, the drummer will...

7. Change Time
Because the song is essentially two chords with a single chromatic key, they have to change time to keep it interesting. Also, changing time allows the vocalist to repeat some lyrics, thus saving on the amount of verbal real-estate required to put into the song.

8. Repeat the Chorus Lots
The more you repeat the chorus, the less words you write. So repeat it twice between verses, once at the start and four or five times at the end. You get so pissed off with hearing the lyrics, you're ready to do a Van Gogh.

9. No Bass
There won't be a bass and if there is, then chances are he's shit.

In Conclusion:
I would not mind if Punk SKA was done properly. It could be very good and is probably ok to Jam with as the songs are so bloody simple to play. But to stick a band onto a CD playing this mindless two chord romp is ridiculous. Unfortunately, it is being bought up like mad by all these 'kids' for whom 'Korn' is too heavy and 'Linkin Park' is too commercial so it unlikly to die until the fad does. Or until the fans do (pass me my flamethrower, Klaus). Why Brad feels it necessary to play it at the Fez on Monday is beyond me, still they must cater for all tastes and both the girls who dance to it seem to enjoy it very much.

Nice one Rob! Few things in life fill me with joy so much as abusive rants that are backed up with real scientific argument...

Posted by john at 2002/03/08 24:08:38.

i dont really have anything to say to this good effort on the thought though. but i just felt bad that there is only one comment here.as u can cee i hvae verry gud spulling

Posted by kenny at 2002/03/17 23:39:52.

i'M IN A bAD mOOD, AND i LIKE sKA, SO YOU SHUSH YOUR MOUTHS bRITISH pEOPLE

Posted by cHRISTINE at 2002/04/11 11:40:20.

Ah, Christine, you've missed the point. It's Punk SKA that I hate.

Posted by Rob Lang at 2002/04/16 11:19:38.

fair point, lots of it is crap, but we can live in hope that a good band will do it someday. and anything that stops mini-moshers trooping around in linkin-fucking-park hoodies is good enough for me.

Posted by andy at 2002/04/29 13:19:07.

Althought i could show alot of anger towards such an argument, i prefer not to waist my time on such a narrow minded person. You say ska/punk and it's musicians are bad ? you've obviously been listening to the wrong stuff. I dont know where you come from but you really shouldnt give such a sweeping statement on the genre when your punk band examples include offspring and greenday (NOFX are good tho). However unlike you I wont put down the musicians even if i don't like the bands. Next time your in london, pop in to see sum real ska/punk (if you recognise it).

Posted by Randy at 2003/01/20 13:03:36.

kicking pigeons by sponge is the best song ever. it is the bees knees

Posted by scott relton at 2003/03/03 15:28:46.

Well, ur comments do actually have sum relevence,(e.g. Caatch 22, Hoobstank, etc) who suck. However, look @ bands like Mad Caddies who dont sell out, pretty much every song is different etc. They are truly good musicians,up there with NOFX and the mighty Clash. I luv punk, I luv ska. Ska punk is a logical progression. Dont believe all u listen 2 is all the ska punk has to offer.

Posted by _ska_banned_ at 2003/05/02 19:35:50.

mate i dunno who you are and i dont mean to be rude but i feel you are talkin utter shite. the is no way its the direction for 'all' alternative music,as anyine will tell you your talkin out of your arse,and as far as ska/skapunk is concerned its still a mainly underground music culture,which you obviously havent ever even bothered delving into.
only a small majority of songs start with spoken intros,and few are intended as of humourous content,however they come across.
tempos varely largely and dramatically within ska.
these 'jangly off beat guitars' were in fact pioneered by madness and bad manners and bands in that era,who you claim to 'delight in a touch of'.
with all genres of music there are bands who sing about stupid things...ie,NOFX??? and although i dont actually really like them the name is spunge.
again this is a variation that some bands use and others don't.
you've obviously never heard anygood ska bands do guitar solos then as ive seen solos that would leave you reminiscing of a good pantera solo.
skapunk doesnt just use 2 chords and ill think you'll find many bands change the time of the song.
again,bout the repeating chorus your talking bollocks.
some of the best bass players,and most interesting bass lines (unlike punk) are fund in skapunk songs.
also the fucking term is SKA PUNK not punk ska.get your fuckin terms write at least before you go slagging summat off,and please do your research.
unfortunately i have also just wasted 5 minutes of my life correcting you but i guess you've gotta make sacrifices when aiding those less fortunate than yourselves.
have a nice day.

Posted by dan skankerty at 2003/11/20 13:29:09.

try listenin to the rancid/long beach dub all stars split of i wanna riot.and cherry poppin daddies brown derby jump.and ugly stick by voodoo glow skulls.and the gentlemen by mad caddies.and spiders by no doubt.king prawns poison in the air.catch 22s bloomfield avenue.five state drive by less than jake.

Posted by d s at 2003/11/20 13:50:11.

firstly, its ska punk and secondly, its the best fucking genre around!look at quality bands like capdown, kenisia, mds, link 80 and ye wiles. You're talking shit man.

Posted by path at 2004/01/03 20:42:05.

ps greenday fucking suck.Its diluted attempted pop-punk( which should be a crime, by the by) Convert heathens! come to the light!

Posted by path at 2004/01/03 20:45:00.

wot the fuck do u no about punk, hu cares if the ppl that play it arnt good, its gd music, its the only kind of music that young rebeliose arse holes (that u kinda basterds h8) like me, have left. it gives us somthing 2 get drunk 2 it gives stregnth 2 blow up car's 2 fight with cops, it is the music of rebelion, but theres 1 thing, i really dnt care wot u wank stains think, FUCK ALL OFF U!!! o wait ur a punk, o well im gonna go set fire 2 somthin, like my dad

Posted by ur all wankers at 2004/01/10 11:30:19.

punk/ska 15 (00\ Vu51( 1 r34\\y 2nj0y 17 - 50V3d4y u VV1\\ 700

7h3 0n\y Vu51( 7h4t 5u(<5 15

DEATH METAL

e.g ANATA

sleepingcell

Posted by linuxJinkie at 2004/02/19 21:28:06.

you suck, ska punk is great, and its a genius combo of both genres. Give them some credit. Your british, what do you know anyways. Southern California is the central point of the ska punk world, and I don't think you should be saying anything you peice of crap. So unless you live in SoCal, i don't think yyou have a right to bash these great musicians. Stupid twat.

Posted by Ska/punk Listener at 2004/02/22 22:18:14.

Well, u haven't researched it very well, The fact u say theres no bass, the bass practially makes up Punk Ska songs, and also learn to spell Pigeons. And why do we care wot u think!!

Posted by Bowles at 2004/02/29 24:05:27.

Well, u haven't researched it very well, The fact u say theres no bass, the bass practially makes up Punk Ska songs, and also learn to spell Pigeons. And why do we care wot u think!!

Posted by Bowles at 2004/02/29 24:05:32.

Yo man, SKA PUNk sucks, i hate it. But it is personal opinion, all i remember about going to school was little mini moshers trying to get into real good music like Megadeth, korn, perfect cicle, and zepplin by listening to ska punk on their tinny walkmans. good i hate it!
But as it goes listen to what you want not what other people want!!

Posted by Pete at 2004/03/30 21:10:50.

Your gay and must have loads of friends. Ska punk (or punk SKA as its apparently called) is better than you. You try find one ska/punk band without a bass and one ska punk song which only uses 2 chords. And theres quite obviously loads of bands called SpOnge you twat! My factors are soaring about your opinion but if your gonna have a go at something at least get it right you knobber! Good Life!

Posted by Byron at 2004/04/21 20:03:08.

Your gay and must have loads of friends. Ska punk (or punk SKA as its apparently called) is better than you. You try find one ska/punk band without a bass and one ska punk song which only uses 2 chords. And theres quite obviously loads of bands called SpOnge you twat! My factors are soaring about your opinion but if your gonna have a go at something at least get it right you knobber! Good Life!

Posted by Byron at 2004/04/21 20:03:38.

I hate ska and punk rock and you all should cross over to the rap era because punk is no more and rap rules t he universe

Wahwahwah!!!!!!!

Ps: screeching Weasels suck!

Posted by tony at 2004/04/27 16:32:44.

haha! this is all so true! what about the amusing "one, two, fuck you" intros? and "lets go" ...hehe...brill. well done mate, this is priceless. i dont see how anyone can feel an emotional link to any of that crap. i can see how itd make u dance when youre drunk, but so does steps.

Posted by tommah at 2004/08/11 13:12:55.

Holy crap. It's people like you that piss me off. Punk ska is different than what you are used to, so you dont like it. you say that if punk ska were done "right" youd like it. Right to you woud probably mean just like every other stupid song out there about how love suck or sex. Have you actually listened to green day's lyrics? a lot of them are pointless. They have a song about masterbation. (dont get me wrong, i LOVE greenday, and Longveiw is my favorite song by them, but come on, they have some pretty pointless songs.) u are probably just going to look at my comment and think, who the h3ll is this? and you probably dont care what i think, But im listening to ska right now and it F'n ROXS! so dont diss ska if you dont even like it enough to know what it is.

Posted by Taylor at 2005/03/07 05:55:20.

listen to The Gentlmen by Mad Caddies. Its great.

Posted by Taylor at 2005/03/07 05:59:13.

The Clash had their roots in Reggae and Ska and yet are acknowledged as one of the greatest Punk bands of all time. And that's real punk so not Greenday, NoFx- Im a stupid American with too more wealth and a couple of pimples

Posted by The Clash at 2005/03/11 11:29:02.

good afglhggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg;flg,shl/n/

Posted by daniel at 2005/03/30 21:04:36.

What the hell are you on about! Ska punk is a perfect blend of the two genras punk and ska in my opinon it is also better than both of them. You should try listning to some Mad caddies, capdown, sponge, sublime or streetlight manifesto before you slag off Ska punk

The formula that you say all ska punk songs are written is is a bag of bulshit and you clearley know nothing about it i suggest you go jump off a tall cliff

Posted by Jez at 2005/03/31 24:25:41.

What the hell are you on about! Ska punk is a perfect blend of the two genras punk and ska in my opinon it is also better than both of them. You should try listning to some Mad caddies, capdown, sponge, sublime or streetlight manifesto before you slag off Ska punk

The formula that you say all ska punk songs are written is is a bag of bulshit and you clearley know nothing about it i suggest you go jump off a tall cliff

Posted by Jez at 2005/03/31 24:25:57.

is reel big fish punk ska. and what wave of ska are you talking about. I think its 3rd but im not sure. All i know is all ska kicks assssssssssssssssssss

Posted by Alex at 2005/04/04 08:10:23.

i just read this "article" and im sure that it isnt even checked up on........
but either way i have call u a dipshit.... but i just read comments and they did that for me. and along with the glowskulls there are lots of great other skunk bands like SUBLIME for instance. u dont deserve to live in a country where free speach is amended due to the fact u are a total idiot. and as far as that little twit sayin shit about catch 22 best be referrin to post 2001 catch 22 after the good members of the bands went on to create the musical bliss that is streetlight manifesto and b.o.t.a.r. and as for there not being a bass player in skunk bands.... skunk bass is the sickest bass stylie one could learn. identical to ska jazz or reggae bass. i believe the term matt freeman of rancid/op ivy(another amazing skunk band) was "never the same bass lane twice. and if u r implying that there is more exciting bass lines in punk rock...... show me.

Posted by pdiz at 2005/10/14 06:41:01.

ok nice article, very funny

firstly, you say you like punk, but say "and even some sex pistols". hmmm

second, its SKA-PUNK

and thirdly, to the guy who said link 80 and capdown were ska-punk, its sca core :)

Posted by Todd at 2005/11/29 10:30:46.

i would just like to say i've heard it been called Skunk... and its just an opinon but i think it sounds better than punk ska,ska punk or whatev.... but thats not the point, the point is "suck my left one" and i think that your prejudice towards good music ... i mean GREENDAY, are you seriously trying to say that Greenday is good music?Although you are entitled to your opinion i would be loads happier if you weren't an arrogant single minded asshole
<3

Please look Underground before you judge the entire culture (you spiteful good music nazi).... thank you

Posted by Cause baby, I'm an anarchist and your a spineless liberal at 2005/12/09 12:02:10.

DUDE have u ever herd of rancid

Posted by daid vaughan at 2006/01/03 21:23:37.

Humourous Intro-yeah, every single song by every single ska punk band starts with a humourous intro....:S

Jangly Off-Beat Guitar-huh? jangly? wtf you on man.?.

Pointless Lyrics-your pointless.

Distorted Bit-your funny, where do you get your facts from?

Crap Guitar Solo-i bet your crap

Change Time-who cares

Repeat the Chorus Lots-dumbass

No Bass-haha you should do standup!

your talking absolute bollocks! try listening to some good "skapunk" bands, i wont list any because what i think is good might not be seen as good by others.

Posted by Rich at 2006/01/20 12:39:46.

rock is awesome and you suck!

Posted by harry at 2007/03/27 02:07:46.

Are you all mad.. Does it matter if it's Punk Ska or Ska Punk? Really? No: seeing as it's all bollocks anyway. What you need is a good rogering with a large.. [oh wait, I'm sounding like you muppets!]

Posted by tom at 2007/11/01 16:44:04.

Mort aux cons !!!
(Not aimed at you, Rob. I give you my full support, even if I don't know what you talk about...)

Posted by Sheri at 2007/11/01 19:01:46.

no comment...

Posted by radin@punks ska at 2007/11/03 03:37:58.

ska is awesome, but u are so so so very true

Posted by fred at 2007/11/17 20:28:57.

By their very nature neither "punk" nor "ska" have a definitive sound.There are loads of bands who play either and even more who play a hybrid version of both and none of them sound remotely alike."It's just a feeling"-Bad Manners

Posted by pathogen at 2007/12/20 00:22:39.

Dude, I don't know what you've been listening to but get some good ska-punk in your ears and maybe you'll see some sense! The punk bands you've named have been known to use ska in thier songs. for example The Offsprings "Don't pick it up" and "The Worst hangover ever". You think punk/ska isn't serious enough- Try Capdown mate. Oh and btw, punk ska is barely an "American phenomenon"- seeing as it originated over here in the uk when bands such as the clash and the specials jammed together. Cheer up emofag!

Posted by Alex at 2008/03/11 17:29:19.

man your my hero modern ska is f***ing s**t it pains me to see americans ruining amazing music

Posted by ska star at 2008/03/12 19:02:35.

Ah, ska punk rocks.

but if you think greenday and offspring are good "punk" bands, theres NO way your gonna like ska punk. its the antichrist to your pop-punk!

try some Rancid / Bosstones, you may enjoy!

Posted by w00t at 2008/04/30 21:33:19.

Just to return to this (it seems that 6 years has not diminished it). There is good Punk Ska out there but there is a HUGE and I mean HUGE amount of wank. So wank, in fact, that the bands almost acknowledge it.

I'm not talking about Rancid or the Bosstones. They are the mighty few amongst the torrent of Spunges (sorry for the mis-spelling) and their copy-cat bands who probably started off a reasonable rock band but were engineered to sell more.

Fortunately, Punk Ska as a fad is dead. The long termers are still there, which is fine. They were always there and always will be. They have been replaced with pointlessly retro 'The' bands (an English virus, sorry the World) and with some rather nice crossover Ska Pop (Vampire Weekend).

As you can see from the comments on this thread, the fans split pretty much as the bands do. Some are well reasoned and thoughtful (thankyou for those), others are mindless twats, who probably don't realise that the music they listen to is an embarrassment to an upright bipedal race and are probably writing in Leetspeak to their local police department about the dangers posed by the Large Hadron Collider.

Sadly it's still mostly bollocks, though.

Posted by Rob Lang at 2008/09/10 14:44:21.

the author CLEARLY understands the punk scene, I mean he mentioned GREEN DAY ffs

educate me more oh great music master!

Posted by Chris at 2008/09/18 14:51:27.

Post a comment