Before my show goes on the air every week, you’ll be told to stay tuned for Ska’s The Limit.  They’ll go on to list all the different types of music you’ll hear on the show like punk, boogie, calypso and of course many ska/reggae sub genres.

But not this week!  I threw out all that other junk and stuck straight to the trunk.  Last night’s episode was pure Ska Jazz- two hours of plucky guitars, walking bass lines and improvised horns.  It’s Jazz on the Ska tip!

As usual, the episode will be available on the KDHX website for the next two weeks.

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Looking back over last night’s playlist, I’m noticing that the show was surprisingly light on the Ska.   There was an extra emphasis on mento/calypso and 80′s ska, but it looks like reggae covers dominated the set.   I’ve never been silent about my love for Mento Music (Jamaica’s answer to Calypso and the forerunner to Ska and Reggae), but I was impressed by the amount of phone calls I got in support of such an old school sound.   St. Louis, I wish you would have told me about your love of Calypso sooner.

If you missed the show, you can stream the archive from KDHX.org for the next two weeks.

Willie Williams – Armageddon Time – 100% Dynamite – Soul Jazz

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The Slackers – New Years Day – Holiday Show 2009 – Whatevski – [The Slackers have now covered U2, this must be the end of days]

Hepcat – Country Time – Scientific – BYO

Small Island Pride – Federation – Calypso Awakening – Smithsonian Folkways – [Small Island Pride is probably my favorite non-Jamaican Calypsonian, here's a passage from the book, The Caribbean Integration Process, that describes the subtle meaning of this very song.]

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Alton Ellis – Can’t Get Used To Losing You – I’m Still In Love – Heartbeat – [You're probably more familiar with The Beat's version of this song]

Ngobo Ngobo – Blank Expression – Daily Talk – Grover

Dr. Ring-Ding – My Sound – Ram Di Dance – Moon Ska – [Here's one of those YouTubes that's not much to look at]

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Boothill Foot Tappers – There’s Melody To Our Madness – Love and Affection Single – White – [Oops!  I picked out the non-ska song to play - nothing wrong with a little bluegrass on the ska show, right?  Right?]

Max Headroom & The Car “Parks” – Rhythm & Blue Beat – Don’t Panic 7″ – White – [This Max Headroom predates the more popular one by at least 5 years.]

Beat Brigade – Armageddon Beat – NY Beat! Hit and Run – Moon Ska – [Not only should you click here to learn more about The First US Ska Comp, you can also get your hands on it!]

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The Selecter – Missing Words (acoustic) – Unplugged for The Rude Boy Generation – Mapps Cafe Records/Ka

David Hillyard and The Rocksteady Seven – Change of Plans – Get Back Up! – Whatevski – [Brand new DHR7 is available for digi download on Whatevski]

Prince Buster – Beggers Are No Choosers – I Feel The Spirit – Fab

Mary Wells & The Steadies – My Guy – Motown Flies Jamaica Vol 2 – Jamaican Airlines – [New Zealand's version of Ska's The Limit, Go Feet Radio did an episode dedicated to JA and Motown sounds]

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Toots and The Maytals – Louie Louie – This Is England OST – Commercial Marketing

The Meters – Mardi Gras Mambo – Fire On The Bayou – Sundazed Music Inc.

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Prince Buster – Day-O – Ska Lip Soul – Blue Beat – [Learn more about this song's long history]

Lord Lebby – Mama Don’t Want No Peas No Rice – Calypsos From Jamaica – Valmark – [My favorite source for info on Mento Music has an entire page dedicated to Lord Lebby]

Val Bennet – Cut Munno – Ska Lip Soul – Blue Beat – [MentoMusic.com also has a little info on this Prince Buster LP that collected Calypso and Ska on one album]

The Wigglers – Linsted Market/Day-O – Calypsos From Jamaica – Valmark

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Mealticket – Super Positive – 13 Apologies – In the Mix

The Skatalites – Ball Of Fire – Ska Authentic – Musicrama/Koch

Fun Boy Three – Our Lips Are Sealed – 3 Mixes Us 12″ – Chrysalis – [Terry Hall got silly looking in the 80's]

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Desmond Dekker – Music Like Dirt – Best Of Desmond Dekker – Trojan

The Clash – Hateful – London Calling – Sony

Da Whole Thing – Banker – Tooth – Internet Release

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One Groovy Coconut – New Wave Crashing – More Like This Than That – Ska Satellite

Pressure Cooker – Originators – Commited – Pressure Cooker

New York Citizens – Rude Girls – The Truth About The NY Citizens – Moon Ska

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Smiley Culture – Cockney Translation – The Fashion Records Story – Ras

Twizzle  and The Hot Rod All-Stars – The Graduate – 7″ Single – Torpedo Records

Vic Ruggiero – Takin Care Of Business – Something In My Blindspot – Moanin’

Key:  Artist – Title – Album -   +=Request *=New
[Notes]

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My recent one-off podcast for Music Is Our Occupation just dropped days ago, and it’s got me in a live ska kind of mood.  So here’s the playlist from last night, chock fulla ska and reggae, and every track recorded live.  If you missed it, you can still listen online for the next two weeks.

The idea was to recreate the tracklist of The Slackers seminal record, Redlight, using only tracks from my extensive live bootleg collection.  The result is called, Redlight Redid.  Please enjoy it.

 

Below, I’ve included links where you can get your hands on many of the live sets that these tracks were selected from- be it from live albums, or fan-recorded tapes.

Matt Wixson – Ska’sThe Lmit Theme -  -

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The Slackers – You Must Be Good – Live in Toledo 2001 – Live Recording
[ From my new podcast for MusicalOccupation.com: JJ Loy presents Redlight Redid ]

The Slackers – Married Girl – Live in Montreuil 2004 – Live Recording

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The King Django Quartet – Does He Love You – From an as of yet untitled, unreleased live album – which is sure to be on Stubborn Records

Deal’s Gone Bad – Movin On – Live at the Bottom Lounge 2008 – Live Recording

AKA Rudie – Oliver’s Army – Live Inna Windows – Ready Room MultiMedia – [Get to know AKA Rudie inna live fashion via Stubborn Record Shop]

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Tim Armstron w/The Aggrolites feat. Lars Frederiksen – Time Bomb (Rancid) – Live at KROQ Weenie Roast 2007 – Live Recording – [This is one of the roughest sounding tracks of the episode, but if you love Rancid and/or The Aggrolites, this free download is a must]

Royal Roost – Unlabled – Live – Live Recording

The Void Union – Fatty Fatty Boom Boom (Westbound Train) – Live at KDHX – KDHX – [Remember?  eh?]

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Dance Hall Crashers – Dance Hall Crashers – The Live Record – Fat Wreck Chords – [DHC at the top of their game, worth every penny]

Arthur Kay & The Originals – George Marshall – Live In Berlin – Step-1

The Drastics – Profit Song (Queen Majesty Riddim) – Live in STL 2008 – Live Recording

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Bim Skala Bim – Wise Up – Live At The Paradise – BIB

Madness – Harder The Come – Madstock! – Live Recording – [Madness has the most devoted fans of any ska band I know of.  If you've never attended Madstock, here's your chance to hear what you're missing.]

Jonathan Archer and Justin Hinds – Medley – Let’s Rock Live – Trojan

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Hepcat – Nigel (live) – No Worries Single – Hellcat

The Pietasters – Night Owl – Strpped Live – Moon

Bad Manner – My Girl Lollipop – Greatest Hits Live – Dojo

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Dave Hillyard and The Rocksteady Seven – Baby – Way Out East – Brixton – [The DHR7 are one of those bands that will most likely never play a town like St. Louis, luckily they've recorded Way Out East to give us a listen]

Rude Boy System – Our Mission – Live Injection – Melodie

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MU 330 – The Punisher/Downtown – Live – Live Recording

The Selecter – On My Radio – Live Injection – Blue Moon

The Toasters – Talk Is Cheap – Live In London – Megalith – [I can't find any of the many live downloads that Megalith used to offer, but fear not The Toasters Live In London is amazing enough]

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The Dead 60′s – You’re Not The Law – The Black Sessions – France Inter – [Get yourself a copy of this entire live set by the late Dead 60's]

Westbound Train – Check Your Time – Live at KDHX – KDHX – [What?  You didn't hear Westbound Train live from KDHX?  Try harder.]

The Scofflaws – Spider On My Bed – Live – Vol 1 – Moon Ska

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Skankin Pickle – Fights – Live – Asian Man

Green Room Rockers – Broke – Live at the Bottom Lounge 2008 – Live Recording

Playlist for Ska’s the Limit on December 06, 2009
Key:  Artist – Title – Album -   +=Request *=New
[Notes]

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