The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

[matedog]

I’m not a fan of most third wave ska bands. They have too much of that goofy energy. The Bosstones are an obvious exception. I’ve been to see them like 15 times.

I'm about to get a ton of shit, but ska is like tamales and meatloaf - the best it can be is "very good." There is no such thing as great versions of any of that.

[Guest1]

I’m not a fan of most third wave ska bands. They have too much of that goofy energy. The Bosstones are an obvious exception. I’ve been to see them like 15 times.

I'm about to get a ton of shit, but ska is like tamales and meatloaf - the best it can be is "very good." There is no such thing as great versions of any of that.

You need to try short rib meatloaf sometime then. You’ll cream your pants. Anyhow, the Boss-tones are pretty damn great in my book. I don’t rate the new records very highly but Question the Answers and Let’s Face It are practically flawless tightly written ska records.

[Dr. Medulla]

I’m not a fan of most third wave ska bands. They have too much of that goofy energy. The Bosstones are an obvious exception. I’ve been to see them like 15 times.

I'm about to get a ton of shit, but ska is like tamales and meatloaf - the best it can be is "very good." There is no such thing as great versions of any of that.

Yeah, I'll stand with you on this. I've never developed any kind of skill to truly discern ska. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the form (probably the former, but not definitely).

[gkbill]

I’m not a fan of most third wave ska bands. They have too much of that goofy energy. The Bosstones are an obvious exception. I’ve been to see them like 15 times.

I'm about to get a ton of shit, but ska is like tamales and meatloaf - the best it can be is "very good." There is no such thing as great versions of any of that.

Yeah, I'll stand with you on this. I've never developed any kind of skill to truly discern ska. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the form (probably the former, but not definitely).

Hello,

2nd wave (Two-tone era) was tremendous - great energy, music, and content.

I haven't seen the Mighty Mighty Bosstones yet. I'm hoping to get to their Hometown Throwdown over the holidays as long as things clear up.

Let's Face It is one of the best pop/ska records of any era.

[Kory]

This thread is cursed.

[Flex]

This thread is cursed.

people being too hard on ska?

[Kory]

This thread is cursed.

people being too hard on ska?

I just don't understand.

[Dr. Medulla]

Speaking of ska, its detractors, and defenders: https://music.avclub.com/if-emo-can-be- ... 1846778697

[Flex]

Speaking of ska, its detractors, and defenders: https://music.avclub.com/if-emo-can-be- ... 1846778697

I saw that yesterday, good article on the current ska revival.

but, also, i think it makes a fairly obvious error in the title suggesting emo has been "rehabbed" in any ways. Awful genre.

[Dr. Medulla]

but, also, i think it makes a fairly obvious error in the title suggesting emo has been "rehabbed" in any ways. Awful genre.

I thought about doing a unit on it in my punk seminar—gender is usually framed as female, so emo would have allowed a male focus on gender—but the stuff I read was so off-putting that I couldn't conceive of a productive conversation about it that we couldn't already achieve via Riot Grrrl.

[Flex]

I thought about doing a unit on it in my punk seminar—gender is usually framed as female, so emo would have allowed a male focus on gender—but the stuff I read was so off-putting that I couldn't conceive of a productive conversation about it that we couldn't already achieve via Riot Grrrl.

Have you looked at Queercore? I dunno how much material there is covering the genre, but I'd think there might be some good bits in there for discussion.

There's a documentary about the genre that came out a few years ago that I haven't seen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queercore ... Revolution

[Dr. Medulla]

I thought about doing a unit on it in my punk seminar—gender is usually framed as female, so emo would have allowed a male focus on gender—but the stuff I read was so off-putting that I couldn't conceive of a productive conversation about it that we couldn't already achieve via Riot Grrrl.

Have you looked at Queercore? I dunno how much material there is covering the genre, but I'd think there might be some good bits in there for discussion.

There's a documentary about the genre that came out a few years ago that I haven't seen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queercore ... Revolution

The last day of class, I always ask students for what they'd like to see done differently in future iterations of the course (aside: less reading is always put forward, always rejected), and everyone in the punk class who offered an opinion said queercore or punk and LBGTQ+ in some fashion. So it's something I'll be looking into for next year. If I can't find decent readings, that documentary might do the trick, so thanks! (Another aside: the students' suggestion is a cool measure of how they can push content in areas they're interested in. They're generally much more eager for discussion on gendered identity and respect than instructors suspect. I know that I'm playing a lot of catch-up in that area.)

[Kory]

Speaking of ska, its detractors, and defenders: https://music.avclub.com/if-emo-can-be- ... 1846778697

I saw that yesterday, good article on the current ska revival.

but, also, i think it makes a fairly obvious error in the title suggesting emo has been "rehabbed" in any ways. Awful genre.

I've seen references to many jr. high schoolers that are into MCR and stuff—I don't think it ever went away.

[Flex]

I've seen references to many jr. high schoolers that are into MCR and stuff—I don't think it ever went away.

idiot high schoolers liking terrible music doesn't really refute my point

[Dr. Medulla]

I should have mentioned that, on the first day of class, when I asked people about their interests, the most common answers for what kind of music they liked, when punk was mentioned it was pop punk or emo. Small sample size and all, but, yeah, it's for those just out of high school.