No, not THAT kind of skank! I'm talking about skanks - fans of on of the most insanely underrated genres in the history of music: ska... and just about every sub-genre that falls under it.
Tell me, does YOUR favorite genre have a logo?
What's ska, you ask? Well, it's only of Jamaica's greatest contributions to music as we know it today. Sadly, the genre, including all its various sub-genres, isn't exactly well-known to everyone, ESPECIALLY to mainstream audiences, in spite of a small handful of major hits in the 80's and 90's. There are only a handful of people I've met (my dad, my uncle, my cousin, and a friend of my dad's) who actually know what the word "ska" means without me having to introduce them to the genre itself. My three best friends in high-school (I'm talking about you, Lucas, Renzo, and Nina) now listen to the stuff - well, most of the time - because of me (you're welcome, guys).
Simply put, "ska" can be defined as a more (much more, actually) upbeat and energetic version of reggae (ska actually pre-dates reggae by several years) and has a lot (as in, a LOT) of brass instruments, walking basslines, and the occasional guitar distortion. No Doubt, for example, is a ska band (back in the 90's, they were THE ska band). Sublime is a ska band. The Offspring have some ska songs under their name. Smash Mouth's earlier hits (like "All Star") were ska ("Astro Lounge" just so happens to be one of my favorite ska albums). Ever played "Tony Hawk: Pro-Skater" on the N64? If you have, chances are you've heard the song "Superman" by Goldfinger. That's a ska song, and one of the best ever.
This game is just about as old as I am...
Even the 80's hit "Our House" is a ska song.
I could go on and on about this, but that's probably best for another entry.
I've been listening to ska for two years and it's been a staple in my music library ever since. My love for the genre started with a band called Reel Big Fish, which I discovered through Zebrahead (who also have a good number of ska songs of their own). Eventually, my love for the genre grew exponentially and I began to delve deeper into ska and its many other sub-genres (such as third-wave ska, two-tone, ska-punk, ska-core, etc.).
Believe it or not, the dude with the sideburns and the Hawaiian shirt is the only original member still in the band.
However, as much as I love ska and all its trumpet-filled, sarcastic, dance-inducing glory, it's really difficult to be a ska fan (or a skank) in the Philippines, where the genre is virtually unheard of. Sure, the local music scene has some reggae here and there, as well as some interesting jazz-fusion acts, but not a lot of local artists (if there are any at all) are substantially ska. There IS a small ska festival normally held in December, but, as far as I know, it hasn't been held since 2012, and none of the acts that headlined the event were local at all (they were Korean - which would be nice if I could understand the lyrics to their songs at all).
It's honestly kind of sad, and a bit disheartening, to say the least. It's sad that such a great genre has such a small active following in this country. To my knowledge, none of my favorite ska acts (like Reel Big Fish, the Suburban Legends, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake) don't have Manila or the Philippines in their list of tour dates.
I sort of hope something nice happens to the Philippine ska music scene in the next couple of years (or in the coming months, preferably), although that might be just wishful thinking.
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