WHAT KILLED SKA-PUNK?? 

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Literally was the loner metal head kid that played trombone and then some kids asked me to be in their ska band...best day of my life! 20 years later, we just wrote a new album!

Real OGs remember “STRAIGHT TO YOUR FACE!!!”

Gwen Stefanie is a beast. I had free tickets to a No Doubt show.. so I went and was super impressed. She danced for 2 hours straight and then started doing 1 arm push ups while singing. She can't be human. She really deserves the crown she wears

When Bradley died, something dark swept over and seemed to sweep away the genre with it in my eyes. RIP Brad, Sublime for life 🤍

As a Hispanic who loves ska and ska punk, the genre is live and well in Latin America

im fully behind a video about sublime

Ska died on 9/11, where optimism and joy were extinguished from the American culture.

As a young kid in the 90s Gwen Stefani was god tier when it came punk rockers of the 90s. She was easily one of if not the most recognizable voices of my child hood in music, and even when she left no doubt she continued to pump out huge hits whether you like her music or not. Being in grade 7 when holla back girl came out was something else, thats song was literally everywhere when it came to grade school events and dances. She is a legit pop culture icon

I am surprised you went through this whole video without mentioning Superman by Goldfinger in Tony Hawks Pro Skater. That song being in that game had a MASSIVE influence on my music taste growing up.

Damn, I still listen to RBF, Goldfinger, Sublime, VGS and Less Than Jake.

Reel Big Fish - still a favorite of mine. Aaron is a VERY talented guitar player with great vocal range. They put on great shows, always do a great cover song, don't take them selves to seriously, and just a fun band to listen to. I feel like they are really underrated. Lyrically they have some good stuff as well as some goofy stuff that is still very enjoyable. I'd love to see a resurgence of ska. Thought Streetlight Manifesto would be that way, but I guess they went a bit to punk rock with their record label deal.

How could Fishbone not get an honorable mention? While they're music wasn't focused on ska per se, the ska they did was sick. They are one of those bands that got more props from other bands than with the public, which was sad.

Ska music is the most fun music ever. I can't listen to Ska without smiling

Everything about Ska was fun, such nostalgia. Concerts, festivals, fashion, sound, lyrics, etc.

Sublime left a legacy that I will never forget. Living in the Seattle area we have very long and depressing winters and every spring on the first 60+ degree sunny day you can be sure that 40oz to freedom will be playing in my car cover to cover while I sing along! Sublime got me through my teenage years in the 90’s and I’m still here all these years later because of them! RIP Bradly

Dang, I was hoping you were going to get into Streetlight Manifesto, you mentioned Catch 22. Mr. Kalnoky is a great musician and song writer. I saw them live a couple years ago during their Theives in the night tour. Very energetic show.

I’m surprised you don’t hear people talk about Operation Ivy more. Everyone I know who likes punk loves them and knows all their songs by heart.

Here in the heart of L.A. ska still lives. It's not mainstream these days, like you said, but there's definitely still a big following. There's these organizers, Evokore, that promote and throw big ska bashes every year

I'm a metal head and sublime was such a great band. Ahead of their time.. I really wish you woulda mentioned Choking Victim, they were a huge influence on the kids around me..

After Op Ivy and Rancid I never got into much Ska Punk until I found the Interrupters and they kick ass.

Bradley Nowell's death is one of music's greatest what ifs. That dude was insanely talented. Sublime is timeless.

Streetlight Manifesto in 2013: "am I joke to you?"

I think Gwen's trying to bring a little bit of that Ska back. "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" has some old school vibes.

Less Than Jake is one of the most influential bands in my life along with anything Tim Armstrong has been a part of. Thank you for the great video on this! I was in high school when the boom happened and it's when I fell in love with music. I still listen to a lot of it and it opened so many musical doors for me once I got into that scene. LTJ still making new music and touring ... you're so right, they've aged the best. And I think it's because instead of corny they present as very genuine

I was a huge Ska Punk fan and played in various aka punk bands since the mid 90’s and absolutely love your viewpoints in this video. I think you’re pretty spot on with your 3 reasons why it died. I’ll also add that the swing music craze (which kicked off with the help of Swingers movie and that Gap khakis commercial) helped bring even more fans into the ska punk genre. My band got booked a lot of gigs by people who wanted a swing band but didn’t know the difference haha.

All of Operation Ivy’s music is so good.

Gwen Stefani with No Doubt, he was amazing, a rock star, strong, crazy, kicking, jumping, climbing to the top of the stage and his voice remained the same and powerful, No Doubt helped give status and dignity to ska punk.

I'm happy I got to see Rancid and Reel Big Fish in concert before. I'm a ska punk fan for life.

Streetlight Manifesto had some of the best most epic songs I've ever heard in my life. I miss ska being more popular. The new goldfinger album was dope though.

Travis Barker was actually drumming for the Aquabats. That‘s him with the other guys in the Video.

I played in Save Ferris for 9 months in 2003 when I was a session guitarist in LA….Evan spoke of his hardcore band but I never remembered what they were called….hey, now I know!! I haven’t spoken to any of them in 20 years. It was a fun band to play with though. I knew Charlie from Goldfinger and nearly replaced him when he quit for a while too. (I think they ended up hiring their guitar tech or something) Thanks for the memory lane!! I watch your channel a lot lately. Cheers.

The no doubt section brings smash mouth to mind. Specifically their first album. They never did another “walking on the sun”

Sublime lyrics aside.... Can we take a moment to acknowledge the killer bass lines Eric came up with in songs like Bad Fish & Santeria?

Another famous and influential person originating from Ska: Travis Barker from the Aquabats 🤟🤟

I was in HS in the middle of the 90's, this video is so on point on all of the Ska/Punk scene during those years. It was hard to keep up with the number of bands releasing albums, and in those days the only option to hear any of that music was to "buy" the CD's. Good times, great video.

My first introduction to the concept of Ska and punk being mixed genres was when I got Less Than Jake's "Hello Rockview", and I announced that they were a punk band, and my sister corrected me in front of everyone at the party to tell me that LTJ was Ska. That's when I realized I was a Ska-Punk fan. Still one of my favorite bands and still releasing new material now and then!

*Me waiting for a new Streetlight album* "Wait, ska is dead?"

I think if Streetlight Manifesto came in earlier they would have definitely been up there as far as influential ska bands but since they started in 2002 they don’t get as much credit as I personally think they deserve.

Just saw this video. Old school metal head here - I was made aware of SKA and Oi around the 1980s as well, never paid too much attention to scene until the SKA explosion of the 1990s. You couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing some form of SKA playing. The one band that almost made me delve a bit into the scene was Rancid, and really because one dude in there reminded of me Wattie from Exploited. I completely respect the talent but never got into the sound.

Less Than Jake is still putting out some great music to this day, my favorite ska-punk band for sure! 🤟Great video as well, can't believe I missed watching this for almost 2 years!

Fishbone: Are we a joke to you?!!!!

I see Gwen from the 90s, I click and give my heart to her.

Thanks for mentioning Catch 22. Loved them. Growing up in the NJ you were issued Keasbey Nights. It came in the mail with packets of tide.

You couldn’t have described me better. I graduated high school in ‘98, grew up in central coast CA, played trumpet in the school jazz band, I was a band nerd that grew up in a conservative household. Ska was the only music my parents were ok with. But even apart from that, it was the only music I felt I belonged to. I played in a ska band with 4 other dudes from my school, we played RBF and Skankin Pickle covers at our high school grad party. Everyone danced, even the jocks. It was truly one of the best times of my life, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Long live ska.

How do you leave out Jake Peralta yelling “Ska defines me as a person. I will never turn my back on ska”

I feel like Skatune Network is doing big things for the genre, not just ska punk. I've started following a bunch of new bands because of them. Their passion and love towards the genre is so genuine and refreshing.

My first time seeing No Doubt was around 1986/87. They opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Cal State Long Beach. Ska was always a part of the punk scene in the 80s. Ska influenced many early punk bands and ska began far before punk. The two genres were connected. No Doubt was definitely a ska band in their early years long before they released their first album. I miss all the shows back then. Every weekend in LA there were bands playing. Saw Gwen join Sublime once at The Lab in Costa Mesa. She was hanging out and joined in. Great times. No black in ska/punk? Bad Brains? Hugely influential punk band.

Damn! This video was like a trip through my high school years. I've seen so many of these bands. Both big & small. I just saw Voodoo Glow Skulls last December, with Rev Horton Heat & The 5/6/7/8's. VGS were so rad live!

They way you dissed Reel Big Fish was a dagger to my heart. Why Do They Rock So Hard? is one of the best albums ever

The No Doubt cover of The Vandals 'Oi To The World' is a straight up ska cover and is awesome.

Omg the skank dance at the end... brought back high school memories 😅

Ska punk was fun, that’s why it was popular. It’s actually faded into the hardcore punk scene and is still around with bands like Leftover Crack and Against All Authority. But it kinda lost its identity it had in the 90s and is now just part of the hardcore punk sound.

I think generalizing ska-punk as ska doesn’t do the true ska bands of that era justice. The Pietasters, Hepcat, Stubborn Allstars, The Checkered Cabs, The Toasters, Lets Go Bowling, etc. All bands that were a huge part of the scene and some are still kicking around today. Where are the nods to the Rude Boys/Girls and the Skins who were there supporting the scene all along? I get mentioning skinheads isn’t easy but you can’t talk ska without non-racist traditional skinheads coming up.

I think the last point you made is the most important- star power. With Brad Nowell's (Sublime) death in 1996 and then No Doubt's massive shift away from Ska after "Tragic Kingdom" the genre lost their two biggest starts basically the same year. From 97-99 it Ska Punk was able to carry on without them a little bit, but Brad and Gwen were the star powers the genre needed.

Gwen cited in an interview with Australian music TV show 'Rage' that one her biggest influences is the two-tone British ska band 'The Specials'. Just thought that was cool, and relevant to the video. Love your work Finn and the team at PRMBA.

These vids always send me down memory lane! Thanks. Love this series

Sublime, Rancid, and Less Than Jake still make it into the weekly rotation at work🤘

This video is actually from the darkest timeline where Streetlight Manifesto never existed

It made me happier than it should have to hear you talk about voodoo glow skulls, even briefly. Loved them

I was hoping you would mention The Suicide Machines. Painfully underrated and one of my all-time favorite bands. They went from Ska-Punk to Mainstream pop-punk to a more hardcore sound. Their latest album, Revolution Spring, is amazing.

40yr old here and still listening to ska since the 90's

I still get excited when a Streetlight Manifesto, Less than Jake or Goldfinger song comes on

Currently on song two of Less Than Jake’s discography. I love it thank you Fin! This comment brought to you by a burnout in Lake Stevens WA

I think your analysis of why ska died off is really insightful. I realize that's what happened to me. I was really into ska and like, accessible punk rock in high school and early on after I went to college but then I moved out of state and went to a new college and didn't know anyone and had to recreate my social circle and I still went to live music in my college town but there just wasn't any ska going on there. Not to mention that I was young and exploring who I was and what genres of music "defined" me, so I went through a lot of phases exploring music. Then I graduated and got distracted by life and basically forgot about it. It wasn't until after the pandemic last year when we started feeling safer to go out again that I happened to see about a punk show and was like fuck yes this is exactly what I need. And it was not punk at all lol but it was an awesome local ska band, and from there I just dove into the local punk and ska scene that is having a bit of a revival in CT right now and it's been amazing. So now I'm closer to 40 than not and I'm at shows every weekend with all these other old heads like me lmao and the band are all our age too. So ska never died, it just got a job and had kids and got distracted but now we all remembered that life is fucking short and all the bullshit of capitalism and our fucked up society means we need ska and punk to connect with community and express our values.

Not typically a RU-vid commenter, but since you seem to read the comments, hope you will appreciate a sincere response. As someone who was in ska, punk ,AND hardcore bands in the mid thru late 90s (and DIY show promoter), I think you threaded the relationship of the 90s scene well. This is a thoughtful assessment, including of the legacy of that scene in the US (other ska booms, such as 2tone in the 70s had a much longer-lasting and deeper impact both politically and musically here), but the legacy of ska-punk worldwide is a different thing. It reshaped popular music in a lot of Latin America, especially Mexico, and today ska-influenced bands sell out stadiums from Mexico City to Brazil. Maldita Vecindad is a great example. Many other places had ska-punk booms later than the US did, and so are still in earlier phases of their unfolding like in Indonesia, parts of Scandanavia, Japan (Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is EXCELLENT and also sells out stadiums), etc. Totally unrelated, but since I'm leaving a long comment anyway: I would love to see you do a video on crust punk. Spanning the range from the early Anarcho stuff, to UK82 type bands, to D-Beat, to Tragedy and now groups like SECT. I appreciate your focus on commercial viability and your business-lens, and while that subgenre certainly never got that popular, it was hugely influential culturally and politically in and out of the punk scene. It's responsible for the entire ethic of DIY being associated with punk (and then hardcore), it infused activism into punk in a foundational way (prior to CRASS, punk was oppositional, but not activist, and then when bigger punk groups like The Clash moved in that direction it altered the DNA and trajectory of a lot of the genre). Interestingly, both ska, and crust set me personally on a foundation where I have spent my life building social movements and am a prominent activist, author, run a racial justice nonprofit, and I know other people of my cohort (I'm 37) for whom these genres were an entry point into building your career as a change-maker either in politics or social movements.

SKA-Core got a boom in the early 2000's with Chicano youth in California... especially in OC, IE & LA...

Always loved Voodoo Glow Skulls and the Skeletones, especially being that they were both from my home town of Riverside, and my dad knew folks in the Skeletones. Never knew how big ska punk used to be, good video man.

I'm so glad you mentioned the Dance Hall Crashers! My favorite ska band!!

Awesome that you shouted out Skatune Network, Jer is doing amazing things and might single handedly be turning some heads back into the genre

Tim Armstrong knows his way around a chorus.

Less than Jake def aged the best. Catchy, powerful, and vocals that don't feel dated.

So glad I was born in 1984, it was so fun growing up in the 90’s. OpIvy still holds up to this day. Jesses lyrics are absolutely brilliant

"SAW RED" by Sublime ft. Gwen Stefani is such a classic track rarely gets any love!

Ska shows are some of the most fun I’ve ever been to.

I really enjoyed this, especially how you mentioned bands I listened to that I didn't know made a dent in popular society, e.g. Zao and the label Tooth & Nail.

A "Salute Your Shorts" reference in a review makes any blogger God-Level.

Man I didn’t think you’d ever do a video on ska-punk. I never stopped listening to ska. I love punk and hardcore but the reality is I’m not pissed off all the time and ska kind of makes me feel good. I think what killed it was it became extremely uncool and the people who hate ska in the punk scene really fucking hate it. Thanks for adding your .02.

Fun fact: The lead singer of Mighty Mighty Bosstones is the announcer/band leader for Jimmy Kimmel Live.

I am definitely a ska punk person for life! I get so excited by it still. I loved that you added Skatune Network/JER in this as they have introduced me to so many new ska bands which I listen to daily now along with the 90s and even music like The Specials etc 🏁🏁🏁

Mephiskapheles is another underrated group. They're like the Voodoo Glows Skulls of the east coast.

Ska punk was my intro to "underground" music and eventually ushered me into regular punk, then hardcore, etc. I love ska punk/ska, always will.

Sublime hands down one of the best bands ever based on the incorporation of reggae, dancehall, ska, hip hop, rap, reggae-tronic, punk, rock almost every thing which makes sublime so diverse and well thought out R.I.P Brad it was his birthday 3 days ago

I am completely addicted to ur channel.. love it ! Definitely awesome insight on music 🎼.

As a former suburban high school band nerd in the early 2000s and massive ska punk fan, you hit the nail on the head regarding every part of this vid. So glad I found this channel!

“Why don’t you listen to ska anymore?” My mom after I discovered hardcore.

I have been summoned, and here comes my dissertation for anyone who’s interested. Let’s do this. But before we do this, thank you for the shout out in the video! 👀✨ So I had no idea how I’d feel about this video, but I think you hit a lot of major points, but I have 3 main criticisms with this! Gonna work backwards and start out with the legacy. Ska has gotten such a bad wrap, people constantly say “there’s no bands doing anything notable now”, meanwhile bad time records has announced 3 LPs in a row and sold out nearly 1000 records and had to do 2nd pressings before the LPs even drop. That’s an accomplishment emo can’t even say they’ve made, yet diy emo is getting praise for sounding like American football and snowing for the 3rd time this decade??? (I fucking LOVE emo btw I’m just saying lol) the new scene of bands like Bad Operation, kill Lincoln, Catbite, are creating their own sound and bringing so much character to the scene, rather than trying to be a reel big fish or goldfinger knock off, and that shits being hella overlooked 2. The 2nd wave of American ska punk bands all came from the punk scene. Bands like reel big fish, goldfinger, the aquabats all were playing music in the late 80s and involved in punk. They all were directly influenced by operation ivy and the 2-tone movement bands, and fishbone. (Fishbone was also a huge influence to no doubt and most Orange County bands. It really sucks how an all black ska band gets no recognition for kickstarting ska but op ivy gets it all) but yeah, those bands def were down with punk and the culture revolving around shows The big kicker for ska really didn’t have much to do with the bands. Honestly the labels marketing it as a joke and fad is what killed it. When you have millions of young folk watching SKAturday on MTV with Carson Daly butchering what ska is about, millions start associating a caricature of the genre with what the genre truly is. And millions got into it and got out of it, but those who got into it through the culture of shows and ya know... how many people get into regular scenes.. they stayed in after the boom just the same. And lastly, it’s really hard to talk about what happened with ska without talking about the 2-tone movement. The entire second wave of ska was built around this idea of racial unity. Solidarity between black Jamaican immigrants and white working class through music. This idea of unity carried its way through the third wave. Noisey did in an incredible documentary on it that’s available on RU-vid, but yeah the spirit of the 2-tone movement was present through the bands and carried its way through to present day. Whether it’s directly in the music, or indirectly with how the bands operate. It’s just important to note that bands like reel big fish or the aquabats didn’t just hear no doubt and randomly form lol it really sucks how there is a history of those kinds of bands carrying the torch from the 2-tone movement, and because record labels and the music industry pushed the genre as a huge joke to be marketable, it just lost its credibility and became over saturated (even with non-ska bands being marketed as ska bands cause they have a trumpet over alternative rock or some shit lol) Anyway, yes pick it up ska in the 90s and the noisey 2-tone movement documentary both go a bit deeper into both of these!

Less Than Jake was my favorite band in high school. Appreciate the shout-out.

Man, Jeff Rosenstock is hella underrated, BTMI and Arrogant Sons of Bitches have stayed true to the edgy ska punk aesthetic moving into the 2010s, and his music both in his powerpop/pop punk and ska-punk realm has been spotless and amazing, like some of the best records of the past decade. They def need some more attention

Ska's dead but im still skanking. I just love going to a show where everyone is happy and having fun. Im in a crap 9 peice ska band and its fucking awesome.

Everything goes numb by streetlight manifesto is my favourite album of all time

The anxiety waiting for the Less Than Jake mention 😩 LTJ is my favourite ska punk band and still play awesome shows.

You need to update this man there still is a huge skacore skapunk scene in Los Angeles. From the 818 down to the 310

Brad was a serious fuckin loss to the music world. A real legend.

The Aquabats will always be special. My son and I loved watching The Aquabats Super Show together and sing the songs all the time.

Mustard Plug’s cover of “the freshmen” is amazing

Great video man. I saw most of these bands at The Barn in Riverside, Ca back in the 90s. Punk and Ska got me through high school.

Tim Armstrong had further mainstream success by writing songs for P!NK, further proving your theory about him being a great songwriter

What about 80's Ska? The English Beat, The Specials, Madness, etc? These 90's bands don't exist without them...

5/24/22 - I can assure you ska and ska-punk is very much alive and well. I've been running ska/reggae, ska/jazz, ska-punk, punk, hardcore and skacore shows for many years now.