October 2024
In the second edition of his book, In Defense of Ska: Ska Now More Than Ever Edition, Northern California writer Aaron Carnes makes no attempts to hide his affection for what is admittedly an underdog genre of musical tastes; ska. What quickly becomes apparent is Carnes’ depth of knowledge on the topic, along with his flowing storytelling that encompasses musical history, personal tour stories, and ska’s perpetual existence at the fringes of mainstream musical culture, though more often than not as the butt of jokes and a past that musicians tend to shy away from admitting to.
Building upon the first edition of the book released in 2021, In Defense Of Ska is written in a completely approachable series of chapters that alternate between first hand stories of the music scene from Carnes who spent a good chunk of the 1990s touring in a ska band, to deep dives into not only the style of music itself, but different bands, scenes and record labels. By the end of the book, even certain live events venues and concert promoters will be familiar due to Carnes’ threads weaving their way again and again over the years. But the genuine interest and passion about each keeps the stories from becoming drab or monotonous at all.
Bands that feature prominently throughout the pages include Reel Big Fish, The Suicide Machines, Leftöver Crack, Operation Ivy, The Slackers, The Specials, and one group that much of Carnes’ personal narrative tends to return to, Skankin’ Pickle.
If anything, the book might cover too much ground, and while it unearths a lot of surprising connections, it really only dedicates a small bite size chunk to text to the majority of these. With the book bouncing between New York ska bands to major and indie record label politics to the social media habits of certain musicians.
Interestingly, the stories that are given a bit more than the CliffsNotes treatment remain engaging. Things like Propagandhi’s song, “Ska Sucks” and how it went from being written to challenge and annoy racist skinheads who were showing up at the band’s shows to blowing up after Fat Mike of Fat Wreck Chords insisted it be included on the group’s album against the band’s wishes, to a lengthy chapter devoted to the popularity of ska throughout Mexico and tracing live shows from small backyard barbecues to 25,000+ audiences in Mexcio City.
Older readers might relate to stories of touring in the pre internet era where scribbled phone numbers and a pirated phone card often left bands on the road with a 50/50 chance of the show actually happening once you made it to town. And one of the most notable details of the book in my experience was the sheer abundance of bands brought up throughout the pages – many that experienced a window of popularity in the zine era but only released CDs, or sometimes only demo tapes – which now can be pulled up easily on the streaming services.
Carnes’ point throughout the book is that ska, at least in the US, came about from a novelty style of music, and remains, in many people’s opinions, only worthy of an eye roll. Though to dismiss the music and style overlooks the sheer talent, fun, and passion of many musicians and fans who genuinely have continued to love the music. Though maybe nostalgia for the style from an older crowd, and an internet age accessibility that didn’t previous exist amdist a younger crowd, might be bringing an audience back to the music. And if so, this book entertains and covers a lot of ground and might be a descriptive checklist to find those bands that fit your taste.
Purchase In Defense of Ska: Ska Now More Than Ever Edition at:
— Clash Publishing —
— Amazon —
Author Aaron Carnes