Best ska band of all time?

This is probably going to sound like me shitting on the Bosstones but it really isn't. They're cool. I have "Let's Face It" and have heard other stuff.

They're certainly one of the top modern U.S. ska bands, but that's mostly from their steadfast refusal to grow at all. Everyone else moved on. They're also a really regional phenomenon. I don't know that anyone cares about them outside of the east coast of the U.S. L.A. had The Untouchables. Oregon had the Crazy 8s. Boston had the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I'm guessing damn near every part of the country had their ska band.

They're a fun band but they're nowhere near the same league as The Specials or The Beat.

 

This isn't traditional ska like the Beat and the Specials and others mentioned here but this one always struck me as a close cousin:

 

I listened to Christian ska in junior high.

I will not be taking questions about this dark period.

 

I guess, growing up in the Northeast, I never even thought about it. I obviously knew they were from Boston, but they came through Philly and Jersey enough that it seemed they were always touring and I assumed they drew the same kind of houses everywhere.

 

Come on ... Five Iron Frenzy is pretty badass regardless.

 

(Looks at lawyer, who nods)

I can confirm FIF was one of the bands I listened to.

The lead singer is now a non-believer, which makes sense now that all the lyrics had nothing to do with God and were clever.

I’ve said too much.

(I’ve written the outline of a script for a coming of age film about growing up in that culture, inspired a little by John Jeremiah Sullivan’s touchstone magazine article “Upon This Rock”, but there would never be a way to get the music cleared given the point of the script. I have this giant part of childhood based on music I no longer like but am fluent in. It’s a very weird place to be.)

 

Not Reese, the lead singer. He's still a pastor in Colorado IIRC. It was the guitarist, Scott Kerr, who left the band, because he wasn't a Christian anymore. The drummer, Andrew Verdecchio, is an atheist but still plays in the band.
I wouldn't say "all the lyrics" Every New Day is still a great non-traditional Praise & Worship song TBH. I think they just were more of a band looking to have fun than a band looking to save souls and whatnot.
I work (well, used to work a lot more) in Christian Rock radio (well, more Hip-Hop now) so I'm still around it, but I just see it as a business model more that what it used to be. Which kinda sucks. But the music, IMO, has much better quality than in the 90s.

 

Very cool! I have a lot of fond memories talking with the people who worked for the locally-owned Christian music radio station back in the 1990’s. Genuinely nice people who clearly weren’t doing it for the money. I have little exposure to the industry now.

(Now I have a song by The W’s in my head ahhhhhhhhhhhh….)

 

LOL. I still hear "You Are The Devil..." by them at Red Wings games when they play New Jersey and a player gets called for a penalty.

I was in high school/college through most of the 90s and was already working in radio, so my station brought in a lot of bands that I got to meet and hang out with before and after shows: MxPx, The Insyderz, Sixpence None the Richer, poor old lu (wearing their shirt right now actually) ... but also worked at the college radio station, so my music tastes are all over the place since I got into underground punk, Euro pop, death metal and more.

Now I'm more in the "Americana" range of music (Needtobreathe, Drive by Truckers, Johnny Cash/Outlaw Country era stuff, Wilco) when I'm not playing hip-hop at the station (LeCrae, Mineo, 21 Pilots, NF, etc).

 

Man, I'm not afraid to admit it, I adore No Doubt's first three mainstream albums. I shall not apologize for this.

 

Gwen Stefani's picker is broken. Otherwise, I love No Doubt.

My Ska picks in no particular order:

The Specials
The Clash
Rip Rig and Panic