10 Good Ska Bands

I present to you today, 10 Good Ska Bands. Before we begin, I've got two caveats to get out there: a) I know that contemporary ska is more or less music for 13 year-olds who aren't tough enough to stick it out in a real pit; b) My taste in ska is leans very much (but not exclusively!) to the older waves, most especially the 2 Tone releases and Jamaican roots ska. Many on the list are "ska-revival" bands, some are "ska-core." I don't care to break it down to far. Them's just good tunes.

Now, on to the list, which is presented in alphabetical order, not order of awesomeness or importance:

• The Blues Busters


• The Bodysnatchers


• Desmond Dekker


• Less Than Jake (new-school, I admit, but classic to my life!)


• Reel Big Fish (same as above, but I love 'em.)


• The Skatalites


• The Slackers


• Special AKA


• The Specials


• The Toasters

Vampire Weekend

With no news updates on their site since October, 2008, I'd not expected to hear anything further from Vampire Weekend to follow up their first full length release. I'm pleased that Spin Magazine has announced information regarding the release of a second full-length album.

Music for Today:

- Broken Social Scene
    myspace
    Home Page
- Tapes 'n Tapes
    myspace
    Home Page
- Deerhunter
    myspace
    Pitchfork review of "Cryptograms"