Hoodlum Empire [REPOST]

Humorous ska punk band formed in Northern California in the early 90s. They had one demo tape and one full length cd. This download includes both.

1992 demo tape
1 Charlie and Me
2 Get Drunk at Work
3 Cynthia Johnson's Clothes
4 Hey, Fuck You Guys!
5Surfer Joe
6 Headbolt
7 Milkshakes in Milwaukee

Looooking Gooood (1996)
1 What Does it Take to Get on Your Show Jenny Jones?
2 Buried in Debt
3 I'm in a Snit
4 Hey, Fuck You Guys!
5 Cynthia Johnson's Clothes
6 The Jester's Gestures
7 Charlie & Me
8 The Four-Word Song
9 Trying to be Alone
10 Dead Samaritan
11 Postmodern Romance
12 Cartoon Lagoon
13 Milkshakes in Milwaukee
14 Gang War at Disneyland
15 Get Drunk at Work
16 unknown


"Cynthia Johnson's Clothes"
"Get Drunk at Work"

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My ska picks for 2013

First off - the oldies but goodies.

Selecter's String Theory

 . - Like most good 80s albums (records and tapes in those days) the "first side" was the mediocre side that was intended to sell the record. The good stuff was always on the b-side.
"London's Burning"

Bad Manners released "You're Just Too Good to be True".

Out of all of Dion's songs you could cover, why in the hell would it be that one? That's like covering Ricky Nelson and doing "Garden Party". [*Arthur Kay's "The Last of the One Named Singers" was a tribute to Dion. So was THIS)
.Anyway...this album is a collection of songs previously released by Bad Manners, cover songs, and the rare original. While I appreciate the Jo Jo Zep cover and the Bad Manners cover of the Frank Black and the Catholics' cover of the Specials' "Do Nothing"  I wasn't really impressed with it.
"Shape I'm In"

The best bang for your buck in 2013 had to come from Bigger Thomas' Under a Super Moon EP. 

Read more about it HERE. (One thing that Marco didn't explain is that "The Lake" mentioned in the lyrics is not a lake, but a club called The Lake)  
Two great songs for $2.00. Buy the EP HERE.

Australian ska band the Funaddicts only released one 7" in their existence. They had a couple songs recorded that were supposed to be released as a second single but the band broke up and it never happened. Until 2013 when they released an 8-track EP called "The Turn Out"

. It includes both songs "Mandela" and "What's Going On?" from their only record plus 2 studio songs, 2 studio demos, and 2 live songs.
Buy it HERE
"All Day Till Midnight"

Speaking of Australia, ska legends Strange Tenants released a social commentary called "Who Mines the Riches" dedicate to mineworkers, their families and communities the world over.

The release in 2013 that had me the most thrilled was the Ann Arbor Michigan band S.L.K. (Street Light Knights) with their compilation release simply titled "S.L.K." which is available on Amazon

They previously released 2 singles "Trigger Talk / Loralle" (1982) and "Betrayed / Why Don't You Call" (1984) and one 8-track 12" called "The Dance Disk". All songs from the 12" except for "Television" are on this comp (which includes both songs from the "Trigger Talk" single). Neither song from the "Betrayed" single is on here, but there is a ska cover of the Dave Clark Five's "Bits and Pieces" and five other previously unreleased songs.
"Trigger Talk"
"Bits and Pieces"

 The Trojans - Smash It

"Pussy Riot (Girl Power)"

Bim Skala Bim  - Chet's Last Call

 still sounds like Bim Skala Bim
"Phony"

............................................................................................................................................................

Other stuff I've listened to in 2013:
Skambomambo's [Szczecin, Poland] "Made to Specification"  LP


Saucy Horn [East Los Angeles] - Riddim and Riot

 "The Chase"

Cabstars - Ends in Goodbye
"Too Easy"(they've been playing this one live for a while VIDEO)


Aggressors BC - The Tone of the Times

"What She Gets"

Screw Ups - The Screw Ups EP

"New Song"

JK and the Relays
"Timebomb" from Skannibal Party 12 (their EP was released in 2012 but this song appeared on Skannibal Part 12 which was released in 2013 so I'm allowed to post it. Fuck the system!)

Debonaires - Movin' (Buy your copy HERE)

 "Music in My Soul"

The Kinky Coo Coos - Sweet, Fun, and Ready

"Quick Wink"

Ottly Mercer [San Diego, California] Big Noise

 "Imperial Skank"

Cartoon Violence - Tit for Tat

 "Better"

Bombskare - The Day the Earth Stood Stupid

"Small Man Syndrome"

Common Sense [reggae, funk, blues, and ska from Orange County California] "What's it All About"

65 Mines Street - Fix the Clock

 "Jay"

Melbourne Ska Orchestra - Melbourne Ska Orchestra




Club 99 - Club 99

"Move"

Less Than Jake - See The Light

"Give Me Something to Believe in, inc."

Delegators - All Aboard

"I Didn't Mean to Break Your Heart"

Andy Keys Clark - Adventures in Ska Town single

Rough Kuts - "Dirty Sex at Midnight"

"Hero"

Dave Hillyard Presents California

"Guilty"
Simmertones - Something for the Weekend

 "Sunday Morning Calling"

Stiff Joints - Circus on Repeat

"Bosh Bosh"

I was most impressed with Boss Capone's "Another 15 Dance Floor Crashers"

(as a side note...
Boy George released "This is What I Do"

which had a few ska songs on it:
"My Star"


(There were lots more great ska releases from 2013 (I may edit this post at some point)...a lot of these I found on Bandcamp. The music's out there...find it...)

Bottle to the Baby ~ Rockabilly Ska

Bottle to the Baby were a rockabilly band from Holland. I don't know much about them but I know they released 2 7" EPs in the early 90s and each one had a ska song on it.
They ain't easy to come by and when you do see them, they ain't cheap.

I like a bit of rockabilly every now and then. I was going to post just the ska songs but I figure that some of you might appreciate all of the songs so here you go:

Bottle to the Baby - Can You Fix It EP (1994)
A1 - Can You Fix It?
A2 - Oriental Chick
B1 - She Don't Like Me
B2 - With You I'm Better Off

"She Don't Like Me"

Bottle to the Baby - Mean Woman Ska (1993)
A1 - Mean Woman Ska
A2 - Rockabilly Baby
B1 - Baby, Please
B2 - I'm Out

"Mean Woman Ska"

DOWNLOAD both Bottle to the Baby EPs

There have been several rockabilly bands that have done the one-off ska song. Some are really good - some...not very good.
I didn't plan on doing a rockabilly-ska post so I just threw some songs together. If you can think of any others, please let me know.
Here's a collection of 15 songs - 6 are by The Peacocks but there are others:
Toini and the Tomcats have a couple, Devil Doll, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, The Big 6, and even the HorrorPops did a ska-inspired song

DOWNLOAD Rockabilly-Ska compilation

Z - Legalize Erdbeereis 7" (1980)

This German band released one full length in 1980 called In Berlin. They released two singles and an EP but this is their only ska song. It was their most successful. It might have something to do with this guy:

A - Legalize Erdbeereis
B - Big Blue Cadillac

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Erdbeereis translates to strawberries but it's a metaphor for marijuana. I don't think strawberries were ever illegal in any European country.

Roaring Lion - Sacred 78s [REPOST]

Here's some classic calypso for you. I know this isn't the regular T&W sort of thing but I love this stuff and it isn't available anywhere else on the internet.

Before there was Mighty Sparrow there was Rafael de Leon - better known as Roaring Lion. In the late 70s his music was bastardized with the newly uprising dancehall sound (see Papa Chunks) but his early compositions were superior to anything he did later or anything his contemporaries did in the 50s.

The song Ugly Woman was the inspiration for the 1963 Jimmy Soul classic "If You Wanna be Happy" which, ironically, was the basis for the Skatalites version of the song.


1 Miss Tina
2 Rhumba Dance
3 Concertina
4 Love Thy Neighbor
5 I am Going to Buy a Bungalow
6 Wash Your Hands
7 Suzi Q
8 The Blue Tail Fly
9 Royal Tour
10 Cheek to Cheek
11 Charming Trinidad
12 Weather Man
13 Bananas
14 I ain't Gonna do it no More
15 Bamsee Lambay
16 J'ouvert Barrio
17 Mary Ann
18 It Wouldn't Work
19 Advantage Mossolino
20 Money Money
21 Ugly Woman
22 Ba Boo La La
23 I Can Make More Love Than Romeo
24 Some Girl Something
25 Netty Netty

"Rhumba Dance"

"Weather Man"


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The Applicators - Looking for Me 7" (1982)

UK reggae/rock. As rare as this record is (500 pressed) it's not hard to find a copy. There's not really any information online about it except THIS.
It's a forum where somebody asked if anybody has ever made a record. Someone with the user name Harry Lime responded "One single in 1983 for The Applicators on DTA records, "You are the One". Sold 500, spent the money on beer. We used to give kids cigarettes to go in the record shops and ask for the record, then we used to go in and sell them some and then bugger off!"

A - You are the One
AA - Looking for Me

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Digital Dinosaurs - Don't Call Us 7" (1981)

This is a strange piece of ska history.
This is no band. The band members are the "the kids from the Bryn Alyn community" from the North Wales .
Bryn Alyn was a home for disadvantaged and handicapped boys and girls.

The songwriter here was a man Arwyn Thomas who was not caught up in all the physical and sexual abuse and forced abortions that shut down the centre in 1997. (see HERE and HERE).

There is more to this story but this blog is only here for rare ska music - not controversy. So here you go...a fairly decent ska record recorded by some people at some point in time.

A - Don't Call Us
B - Orders from the C.O.

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Ska City Rockers

This is sort of a re-post. I have previously posted the Time is Tight 7" and the Forty Miles of Bad Road 7" HERE.
This download includes both of those but it also includes the b-side of the Time is Tight 12". Three songs that were never available on this blog before. This is a re-post deluxe.

Time is Tight 12"
B1 - In the Midnight Hour
B2 - Barefootin'
B3 - I Can't Turn You Loose

"In the Midnight Hour"
 

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[My record is in terrible condition. I am posting the A sides that were previously posted that were taken from the 100% British Ska compilation because those are in much better quality and it took me forever to get an acceptable version of the B-sides.]

The Army [Repost]

These were posted previously on Tone and Wave but the sound quality wasn't great. They have been re-ripped and the sound quality is a bit better.

The Army Shuffle Shuffle 7" (1980)
A - Shuffle Shuffle
B - Trendy

The Army - Kick it Down 7" (1981)
A - Kick it Down
B - Mr. Average

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Bahama Mama - Future Fear 7" (1979)

...by request
Their second single was posted HERE.
This download includes both singles.

A - Future Fear
B - Hurricane

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Skyliters - Tribute to Spree (1976) - California's first ska record

The band The Skyliters formed in 1973. They performed calypso and Belizian music. They released their first (and only?) record in 1976. The A-side was a cover of Lord Kitchner's "Tribute to Spree Simon" which was a very adept rendition, but the impact of this record came from the B-side. This is California's first recorded ska song.

A - Tribute to Spree
B - Bumping Onn Down


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Some members went on to form the band Babylon Warriors

Steve Alaimo did not release New York's first ska record

Steve Alaimo was a diverse musician. In 1961 he was doin' the twist. In 1964 he was...well, he was crying...every day.  But in 1965 he was Doing the Ska! He released the album "Starring Steve Alaimo" which included a ska cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", and a few actual ska covers - Monty Morris' "Sammy Dead", the Blues Busters' "Soon You'll be Gone", and Ken and Keith's (backed by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires) "I Won't Let You Go".
This compilation here is a non-official Tone and Wave collection. It includes all of the ska songs off the album, a couple from singles, and a couple unreleased.

1 Everybody Likes to do the Ska
2 I Won't Let You Go
3 Gotta Lotta Love
4 Stand by Me
5 Be Hold
6 Sammy Dead
7 I Don't Wanna Cry
8 Soon You'll be Gone
9 You're Driving Me Crazy

"Everybody Likes to Do the Ska"
"Stand by Me"

1965 - the year Steve Alaimo brought ska to New York.

But wait...

There was a Soul/Doo-Wop group from Long Island called The Pussycats who had a minor hit with the song "You May be Holding My Baby" which was released (first pressing - white label) in 1963 (a second pressing with a pink label was released in 1964). The B-side was a song called "Come on and Ska" which sounds very similar to the Ska Kings' "Oil in My Lamp", but that was released in 1964.

A - You May be Holding My Baby
B - Come on and Ska



DOWNLOAD Steve Alaimo and the Pussycats



[The next post will be California's first ska record]

BFA - BFA 7" (1984)

Midwestern ska (from Michigan, I think). Four songs - two ska, 1 reggae, 1 dub.

A1 - Poor Boy
A2 - Mr. Big
B1 - Up Your Mind
B2 - Rock the Nation

"Poor Boy"
"Rock the Nation"

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Bileams Åsna - Saab Turbo 7" (1983)

...submitted by Rikard
Bileams Åsna's Wikipedia

A Saab Turbo
B - Lurad

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