IFIAYAQD: What's that song?

[cyrano]

It's It's Friday, I Ask You a Question Time!

I'm putting together a ska playlist, and there are the usual suspects (Madness, Reel Big Fish, Fishbone, Specials, etc) and I'm checking out a few bands I'm new to as well, like the Slackers. But in addition I know there are some bands that are not known as ska bands that have done some ska, like Elvis's "Watching the Detectives" or Joe Jackson's "Beat Crazy", and possibly even Ricky Martin's "Vida Loca". These are the ones I'm looking for, and I figure the Clash or the Police might be gold mines if I looked through them. But I'm lazy, so instead I come to you, LJHiveMind, and ask "What ska tunes do you know of from non-ska band sources?"



Ska came out of Jamaica in the fifties, a blend of calypso and the jazz and r&b that was hot in the states at the time. It often involves brass instruments, a walking bass (which is a term I can't explain but can tell you when I hear it), and an accent on the upbeat. There are three waves, roughly the fifties, the eighties, and the late nineties.

This is Prince Buster, one of the holy figures of early ska.

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In fact, Madness named themselves after that track.

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No Doubt started out as a third wave band, but Gwen's new style seems to have served them well also.

Comments

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

A walking bass line is one where there is generally one note per beat that moves in a scalar fashion. As with all simple musical constructs, there is a lot of variation and flexibility. Sometimes the scale is a broken chord. Sometimes there are two notes per beat, but a very heavy emphasis is placed on the first one. But to be a walking bass there must be a strong sense of beat and predictability with the pitch. It is most commonly found in jazz, although boogey-woogey, ska, and some baroque music are common habitats.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I love smart people with words. (:
*HUG*