In what is a very significant development for a band from NYC's under-the-radar ska/reggae scene, Mad Decent--Diplo's label (Major Lazer, Santogold, Snoop Lion)--is releasing a digital EP and 7" from Queens, NY's very own Frightnrs in August 2015 (and this is in addition to the band's recent "I'd Rather Go Blind" single on Daptone)!
To help promote this release, you can hear/download The Frightnrs' "Admiration" (expertly produced by Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod), as well as a dubby EDM remix of the track by Toddla T and Cadenza, by checking out the Mad Decent Soundcloud page.
"Admiration" was originally released on The Frightnrs' fantastic 12/21/12 digital EP (read The Duff Guide to Ska review of it here). This is what I had to say about the track a while back:
"The unfairly-accused narrator (more fool for a pretty face than anti-hero) of the spaghetti Western cut "Admiration" ("They're gonna punish me for something that I didn't do!") is desperately determined to evade his pursuers, since capture will certainly subject him to vigilante justice: "I didn't know her before today/Now, I'll walk across the sand/and I'll sail across the sea/They've got their nooses ready/hanging underneath a tree/With their horses and their guns/they've got this man on the run/But what I have done remains a mystery to me." The precise and relentless beat of this track conveys the pressured urgency of continually pushing forward to stay free and, more importantly, alive--while a ringing, almost shimmering solo guitar line conveys his loneliness as he plods across a bleak, sun-baked landscape that stretches to the horizon and offers no sanctuary."
The Frightnrs are phenomenally good! Here's hoping that Mad Decent bring The Frightnrs the recognition and fans they deserve!
Self-released
2015
Vinyl 7" single
Available through Jump Up Records
(Review by Steve Shafer)
Eastern Standard Time's terrific new single "The Dragon" b/w "Miles and Miles" was released to co-incide with their recently completed 2015 summer European tour (Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and more; it's criminal that they're bigger over there than they are in the USA)--as well as the band's 20th (!) anniversary.
The A side is a crisp, top-shelf, ska-jazz original instrumental (love the vibraphone!) complete with subtle 50s/60s sci-fi/flying saucer effects mixed in--perhaps they're referring to this space dragon? (Note the abstract, 1950s picture sleeve cover art that wouldn't be out of place on the cover of an Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury collection of short stories or an Eisenhower-era issue of Analog.) "Miles and Miles" is I-Peace Unikue's sweet and soulful entreaty to a special someone to spend their life's journey together:
"Let's take a stroll tonight
Leaving inhibitions and cares behind
You and I
I wanna take the long way with your hand in mine
Baby, I'm in love with you
Every day I want you more and more
Let's discuss what I propose to do
I want to make your dreams come true
Cause every time I see your smile
Forgive me if I stare for awhile
But that's because we'll be together until the end of time
Baby take a walk with me
We could walk for miles and miles and miles and miles..."
Eastern Standard Time write great vintage ska songs that are performed with impeccable musicianship--it doesn't get much better than this!
The amazing ska fans at Reggae, Steady, Ska (lead by The Braces' Joachim Uerschels) have issued The Ska Music Yearbook 2014--an impressive and comprehensive look back at what took place in the ska scene worldwide last year. This 107-page (!) digital yearbook includes an extensive list of ska releases in 2014; a detailed calendar of events and ska festivals; interviews with Derrick Harriott, The Aggrolites, Toulouse Skanking Foundation, Buster Shuffle, Rhoda Dakar, ska author Heather Augustyn, Monty Alexander, The Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Alpha Boys School Radio, Style Scott, Rude Boy George, and The Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra; a feature on the Coventry Music Museum/2 Tone Trail; lots of ska "best of" lists for 2014; and more, all for a little under 3 euros!
The Ska Music Yearbook 2014 is a fantastic resource for the casual ska fan who wants to catch up on what he/she missed in 2014, as well as the ska obsessives amongst us who need to know everything! Support the ska scene--and this labor of love-like coverage of it--by picking up this yearbook now!
Jump Up Records
2015
Limited Edition 7" single on orange vinyl
(Review by Steve Shafer)
Brighton, UK's ferociously good Meow Meows have followed-up their stellar debut album (read The Duff Guide to Ska's review of The Meow Meow's Somehow We Met debut album here) with the equally amazing, Prince Fatty-produced Friends on Benefits three-song vinyl EP.
While this overtly political and progressive band with a Specials meets Deltones sound continues its terrifically barbed criticism of Prime Minister David Cameron's conservative policies and their deleterious effect on everyday Britons on the wonderfully catchy title track, astute Americans on this side of the Atlantic with an ounce of empathy in their hearts will recognize the cruelty and shame intentionally inflicted by Republican politicians on people down on their luck who have no other choice but to go through the purposefully humiliating experience of relying on the (meager) benefits of the welfare state.
"Oh take a seat
Wait for your name
Wait for your number, await your fate
'Cause it's a waiting game
Don't show your hand
Don't show your pride
Just tick the boxes, lock your options
As you die inside
That plan you had
Where has it gone?
Lie down, get up, jump down
Stick out your hand, you scrounging scum
Would you smile if I gave you a hand?
A little something that would make you a man
Friends on benefits, you're selling this
Hear my nemesis, reaping all the benefits
Run a mile, gotta make new plans
Force a smile, gotta shake some hands
Friends with benefits
I'm getting it, check my blemishes
Keeping all the benefits"
And in these days of extraordinary economic inequality, with everything rigged to benefit only those at the top and its dearth of decent non-fast food/Walmart type jobs, those fortunate to find employment oftentimes are stuck in drone-like, dead end positions that deny people their hopes for their lives...
"And here I am
Chained to a desk
Pushing my pen around
How did my life become grotesque?
Ignore the hurt, squash down my dreams
Drown out the stats and facts, and tear them down with angry screams
What about all my plans, where've they gone?
Wake up, shut up, don't moan
Be grateful you've a job at all"
I'd be remiss if I also didn't point out the cheeky double-entendre at play here--friends with/on benefits--and the implication that a little physical companionship might just help keep the unemployed friend feeling human enough and give them the psychological strength to face another day on the dole!
The menacingly dark and haunting "London Road" may refer to the 2006 Ipswich serial killings of five sex workers (who earned their money along London Road) committed by forklift operator Steve Wright (who also lived on London Road). It takes a very sympathetic view of the sex workers' plight (and the circumstances and addictions that led them down this path)--during the bridge of the song, one of the women laments, "Hello? I'm lost, can you help me? I'm lost on London Road..." The final lyrics of the song urge the women to get away from the very real perils of that red light district (as well as that "life") before it's too late.
On "Tits and Hatred," the conservative tabloids come under The Meow Meows' spot-on and withering fire for preying on the very worst instincts in humanity to turn a profit (and serving a hateful, bigoted agenda)--with no concern of how this affects the people or the policies of the nation. (Implicit in this criticism is how the tabloids have abandoned their basic mission of accurately informing the public of events in the world around them and, in a system of checks and balances, serving as a watchdog/source of reliable information on governmental activities, so that the citizens of a nation can be fully informed, in order to effectively participate in the political process.)
"We're all going to hell
And you're welcome for the ride
My handcart's almost full
Because it's filled with national pride
So tell me the story
It better be gory
Or sex is implied
Some of my best friends are black
And that makes it OK
As long as it's not in my face
Don't mind if you are gay
But behind the curtains
Different versions
Give you away
More salacious allegations
Fear and loathing, immigration
Can we get some degradation
Titillation, desperation
We don't need no education
Add a little provocation
Accusations, defamation
Tits and hatred
Sell the papers
Romanians are swarming
And there's nothing we can do
I read it in the paper
So, it's definitely true
They're coming over here
Taking all our jobs
For minimum wage
And women when you're walking
Be cautious what you wear
It's not the rapist's fault
Because you need to take more care
And what about Page Three?
Oh, they have dignity
You're kidding yourself
More salacious allegations
Fear and loathing, immigration
Can we get some degradation
Titillation, desperation
We don't need no education
Add a little provocation
Accusations, defamation
Tits and hatred
Sell the papers
Tits and hatred"
Brighton's calling--and though the news may be bleak, we all need to hear the message.
What They're Saying About My Book "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone"
“An essential read…Stephen's eye for detail is incredible and his love for 2 Tone oozes from each page.” — Kevin Flowerdew, Do the Dog Skazine
“Written with a personal touch and with great passion about the bands and releases while giving a lot of emphasis to the lyrics, Stephen’s book is a great guiding hand to navigating your way to some great new music.” — Peter Walsh, 2-Tone.info
“It's some of the finest Madness analysis I've ever read.” —Donald Trull, Stateside Madness
“Steve's own story would make a great book, but instead he's written The Duff Guide to 2 Tone, a 250+ page collection of 2 Tone-related pieces from his blog. There are reviews of original pieces, but the book's real purpose is to show how the 2 Tone sound and—more importantly its ideals—carry on today...Get this book right away!" — Charles Benoit, Reggae Steady Ska
"...Shafer has definitely not forgotten how socially conscious issues were at the root of Ska even from the beginning. He makes certain to thread the political issues that motivated the development of Ska throughout his narrative; painting a picture that took both the oppressive political environments and the often ecstatic musical content into account. And in that, he nails down for me what the enduring pull of Ska was to its many fans. Was there ever a more upbeat dance music that combined its boundless energy with a push for progressive social values and calling truth to power?" —Post-Punk Monk
"...[The Duff Guide to 2 Tone is a] chatty, informative and knowledgeable work, one that you can either sit down and read or use as a reference source..." —Nik Skeat, Scootering Magazine
"During the reading of the book it is dangerous to have a screen open next to you with Discogs. I have found lots of ‘new music’ via the stories in The Duff Guide to 2 Tone which I must have." -- Peter Vrakking, Blue Beat & Ska
In the mail today, I received the first copy of my new paperback book The Duff Guide to 2 Tone --and am thrilled to announce that it is now...
About Your Duff Guide
Steve Shafer/The Duff Guide to Ska For most of the 1990s, I was the promotions, marketing, production guy for Moon Records (RIP). It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Seriously, I miss it badly. During 1999/2000, I ran 7 Wonders of the World Music, the first digital download-only ska label that was too ahead of the curve for its own good (RIP).
I filmed and edited this Toasters video for $2,500, which made its debut on MTV's 120 Minutes. I also put together these compilations for Moon: the first three Skarmageddons; Ska United: A Global Ska Sampler; Skank Down Under; This Are Moon Ska I, II, and III; and Moonshot!
Here's an old interview with Adam Monkey from Read Magazine that covers my days at Moon and 7 Wonders. I also did a somewhat more recent interview with Read Junk.
I've been interviewed about ska music and Moon Records for The New York Times, Heather Augustyn's "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation," Aaron Carnes' "In Defense of Ska," Kenneth Partridge's "Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing," and Marc Wasserman's "Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History" (I also wrote the introductory chapter "1985: The Year American Ska Broke" for Wasserman's book).
And I'm the author of "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone," which can be ordered from Amazon--and is available in the US from Jump Up Records, and in Europe from the 2 Tone Village Shop (Coventry, UK), Champion Sound Records (Hull, UK), Aggroshop (Nijmegen, Netherlands), and Copasetic Mailorder (Hamburg, Germany). Plus, my book was on sale in the museum shop for the "2 Tone: Lives & Legacies" exhibition (May 28 - September 12, 2021), curated by Simon Reynolds, Cory Barrett, Pete Chambers, Jennifer Otter Bickerdike and Daniel Rachel, at the Herbert Art Gallery Museum in Coventry, UK.
I'm now working on my next book, "Calling All the Rude Boys: The Duff Guide to The Toasters, 1981-1992," to be published in 2023.
If you have a ska or reggae release that you'd like me to consider reviewing, please send an e-mail to Steve at duffguidetoska@gmail.com. You should know that I am old school and prefer music in tangible formats (plus I might use your music when I DJ ska events). I'd also appreciate any news or tips you may have about bands.
All reviews and interviews posted on The Duff Guide to Ska are copyrighted and are the sole property of Steve Shafer. Please contact me for permission to reproduce anything on this blog.
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Visit The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel!
Check out The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel for footage of ska bands in action in clubs around NYC, as well as unusual and rare ska videos from the 90s! Bands featured include The Toasters, The Bluebeats, The Forthrights, Across the Aisle, The Caroloregians, The Moon Invaders, The Rudie Crew, Tip the Van, Hey Stranger, Beat Brigade, Bigger Thomas, King Chango, The Scofflaws, UB40, The Hard Times, Jah Love and the Valentinians, The Shifters, Rudies Don't Care, Big Audio Dynamite, Stranger Cole and Patsy with Crazy Baldhead, Queen P of Ocean 11, King Hammond, The Snails, King Django, Doomsday! The Ultimate Tribute to Mephiskapheles Consisting of Former Members of Mephiskapheles, Destroy Babylon, The Frightnrs, The Pandemics, Los Skarroneros, The Bullbuckers, The Scofflaws, The Reggay Lords, The Copacetics, Rude Boy George, Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, The Specials, Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding, The Ladrones, Chris Murray, Radio Riddler, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro, and Mickey Virtue, Barbicide, The Twilights, Bim Skala Bim featuring John Bunkley (Gangster Fun), The Pomps, and more!
