The Mighty MIghty Bosstones - Let's Face It

YOURZ

I hadn't listened to Let's Face It in a long time but not because I forgot I had it or had gone off ska.  But when I came to listen to it for this review, at first I couldn't put my finger on why I hadn't.

But then it occurred to me: it's because I prefer British ska to American ska (for the most part anyway - I really don't count Sublime as I think they were much more than just a ska band).  The reasoning is simple: American ska is weightless while British ska isn't. See, told ya it was simple.

Oh, so I can't leave it like that?  Bugger...

American ska (or ska-punk, if you like) is for the most part light and happy sounding despite the lyric content.    The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are a great example of this.  Lyrically, a lot of the tracks on Let's Face It deal with the nasty side of addiction, be it alcohol or drugs.  But you wouldn't know it by the music, which is shiny, brass laden and up tempo and just the sort of music young lads wanna drink a lot of lager to and get skankin'.  This only serves to beat down the lyrics and has me thinking the message is disingenuous.

This isn't to say British ska can't be light and fun because it can.  But the lyrics generally and genuinely match the mood of the music.  Take The Specials or The Beat, for instance, who came together at a time when England was going through some serious shit - Thatcher, conservatism, high unemployment, atrocious racism and crime.  It made for some brilliant, intense and desperate music.  American ska just doesn't have the same emotional content.

Fuck, I didn't mean to turn this into a discourse and I am prepared to be proven completely and utterly wrong.  So, having said all this (yes, Mine, I know - its another long-winded ramble), where do I stand now with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones?  Having worked all this out, finally, can I really get past it?  The answer is yes.  They provided a great highlight at a Warped Festival I went to years ago and I still found myself boppin' along in my chair as I listened and wrote this review.  I'm just going to have to ignore the lyrics.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

MINE

More examples of my husband's ska obsession - which I really didn't realise was as big as it is!  I liked the hit single, The Impression That I Get, but once again I find the relentless sameness of the songs just a little boring.

The most annoying part of all this is the fact I was totally convinced the band were in a great film (Swingers, 1996) - and I had a really great entry all based around that.  Which leaves me a little bereft. (Insert holding music here... think Girl From Ipanema)

OK, so all I've got is a recommendation you see said movie (early Vince Vaughn/ Jon Favreau and totally worth it unlike Couples Retreat, which OMG the tedium...) which actually features a swing band called Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  However, Let's Face It would make a reasonably good driving CD, as long as you had a reasonably good driving companion to chat with as well.  It'd fill in the gaps in conversation, and is chirpy enough to keep the conversation positive, without any of that deep angsty stuff I'm sure Radiohead would provoke.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.bosstonesmusic.com/

In our collection we also have Question The Answers

Sublime - Sublime (Deluxe Edition)

MINE

Another example of the wide, wide distances that exist in this musical marriage.

Sublime are great at what they did, when they did it, but I find nothing in common with a bunch of SoCal surfer/skater/smoker dudes.  I've listened to this CD all the way through, twice, and occasionally I nod or tap in time.  I can't deny the voice of the late Bradley Nowell is beautiful.  The production's great and there aren't many songs that have me reaching for the skip button.

But it's just not my language they're talking.  I'm a child of the so-called second wave of ska (Specials, Madness, etc) and find this reggae/punk/ska hybrid at the same time vaguely familiar and yet unsettling.  Like all those songs I keep hearing in the gym that remake the good and bad songs of my youth, it's not quite what I was expecting - it doesn't quite deliver what I want.  I'm a Two-Tone girl at heart, really.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN (play it while I'm out, hon)

YOURZ

Oh come on...  I honestly though Mine would get why I love this band so much and fall in love with it too.  I mean, it's not a big ask.  Like her, I'm a fan of the second wave of ska as well so I don't understand why she doesn't like it as this has so many damned good ska flavours on it.  I guess there's just no pleasing some people.  And she calls herself a punk.  Hah!  (Okay, I think I've baited her enough.  I do have to sleep next to her and don't fancy waking up with my testicles nailed to the ceiling).  (Mine says: never called myself a punk never ever.  She's a mod She's a mod...) (YourZ sez: I stand corrected; she IS a mod)

Me and Sublime go way back to a time when I was a guitar-playing punk (of a sort) in a band of punks who shall collectively remain nameless (as they are now very respectable sell-outs, the bloody splitters!)  I was introduced to this band via a CD called 40 Ounces To Freedom.  A rambling, somewhat disjointed disc of 20 plus songs, this became the soundtrack for a number of wasted years.  These guys sounded like a cross between NOFX and The Specials, with a little bit of Marley and The Clash thrown in for good measure.  I adored them and wished hard for them to tour the other side of the world so I could see them live.

But the whole thing came crashing down when I heard about the death of Bradley Nowell, from a heroin overdose mere months before the release of this major-label debut.  In a lot of ways, this had a much more profound effect on me than the death of Kurt Cobain some years earlier mainly because I had (and still have) a bigger connection to their music than I ever did to grunge.  And it's telling that this band's style is still a reference point for a lot of newer, lesser bands (yes, Sugar Ray, in your case, much lesser).

I have such an attachment to this album, it's hard for me to pick out favourite tracks as they all pretty much inspire and delight me with every listen.  From the SoCal punk of Paddle Out, the authentic ska of Wrong Way, the cruisy, dubby sound of Caress Me Down, the sheer summery delight of What I Got and the fresh (at the time) hip hop stylings of Doin Time, there's literally something for just about everyone.

RIP Brad, you're still missed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/sublime

In our collection we also have 40 Ounces To Freedom, Robbin' The Hood, Second Hand Smoke and What I Got EP

Sugar Ray - Floored

MINE

Oh, that Sugar Ray.  OK, I remember now.  But I've never listened to this album before and I'm sure everyone who bought Floored because of the hit single Fly would have been scratching their heads as much as I did.  I mean, it's mostly shouty boy music.  Kinda Rage Against the Machine-ish.

It reminds me of the furore raised by No Doubt when Don't Speak was so mega for them.  I remember one work mate saying she threw their album Tragic Kingdom out because none of the other songs "were anywhere near as good and they were all too loud".

On Floored the only other song I recognise is RPM with its catchy refrain "I will let you down".  Their version of Adam and the Ants' Stand and Deliver really didn't ... deliver anything new, and most of the other songs gave me a headache.  So, a whole album for two songs?  My reaction's predictable.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

I mentioned previously I used to write for a music publication, doing reviews, interviews and such.  This album was one of those I received to review.  Again, my dodgy memory being what it is, I don't remember what sort of review I gave it but I do recall being intrigued by the fact they had a DJ in the band (this was the late 90s).  These days, this is nothing unusal.  But then, the combination of rock guitars and scratches was new and kind of exciting.

But this in no way makes Sugar Ray or Floored trend setters.  For the most part, the album merely shows the band's template copies of the different alternative styles being played by better bands in their home state of California at the time.  With scratches. 

Then there's the song Fly.  It stands out because it's so very different from the rest of the songs on the album.  This song is a very obvious ripoff of the sound of another California band, Sublime, who fairly patented this kind of cruisy, dubby, summery sound.  Given this album came out not long after the tragic death of the lead singer of Sublime, Brad Nowell, I can't help but view the song, and Sugar Ray, with cynicism and contempt.

Oh yeah, the less said about 'Stand and Deliver', the better.  As Mine said, it fails to deliver, on any level.  Why this album has remained in the collection is anyone's guess.  Any takers?

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.sugarray.com/