Music Fads: Part One

We all go through a point in our lives where it's really cool to like a certain thing. We MUST HAVE what is cool at that point and our lives seemingly depend on it. Pokemon, Ninja Turtles, Beanie Babies, and Hammer Pants were all things that were just too cool for school at some point in time.

Unfortunately, we see these same trends happen in music all the time. We call them fads and we are all victim to them. One of the biggest musical fads I have seen go in and out a couple times already is Ska. There are even designated time periods that ska has that clarified when it was popular and who was making it popular. First, Second, Third, and now even Fourth Wave Ska are all testaments of a genre that has continually swept in and out of popularity since its inception into the music scene in the late 60's and early 70's. When I got into it, Ska was in it's full-fledged third wave in the early 2000's when I was in high school and starting college. It seemed like there were endless amounts of punk and/or rock bands that were capitalizing on this music style made popular at the time by bands paving the way like Reel Big Fish & Catch 22.

We all are susceptible to musical growth, but are musical trends just one of those things that is the unfortunate casualty of this growth? Is ska music a genre that we all need to experience and be aware of on our ongoing path to musical enlightenment? I think so. I am very fond of these bands such as Reel Big Fish & Streetlight Manifesto, but I definitely don't identify with it as something that I listen to on a regular basis, and very rarely do I find someone that doesn't share these views. Does it mean that ska isn't cool to listen too? Absolutely not. It just appears that it's a fad that goes in and out of style every few years.

WHY THOUGH?! Why doesn't ska have the staying power to stay a relevant genre for more than a couple of years at a time? I am at a loss for this information.

Reel Big Fish's "Turn The Radio Off...", Catch 22's "Keasby Night's", and Streetlight Manifesto's "Everything Went Numb" are all groundbreaking albums that broke down barriers of what ska can be and do. They all have much of the chemistry needed to be incredibly popular albums, but get lost in the sands of time, as well as the tides and waves that ska falls victim to. Bands like NOFX, and Rancid draw influence from the ska and reggae scene, but do not rely on it to maintain their popularity and follow these same waves of popularity with the inclusion of ska influences in their music and on their respective labels.

In the end, it is just food for thought. I don't have the answer for why this happens; especially with ska. I guess I'm just looking for the answers myself.



1. Streetlight Manifesto- "Everything Went Numb"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XKs8TsY3XI

2. Reel Big Fish- "Beer"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgX4ixCRcQ&noredirect=1