Ska & Opinions on Jamila Woods In the late 1950s, Jamaican musicians blended home-grown rhythms with R&B to create ska. The genre’s influence quickly spread across the globe, paving the way for the reggae phenomenon. Jim and Greg explore the history of ska from its island origins to its British revival to its most recent punk incarnation. Plus, a review of the debut album from poet and soul singer Jamila Woods. audio player Download Subscribe via iTunes

Ska Ska is an often misunderstood music genre. Isn’t it the same as reggae? Didn’t it die out in the ‘90s? Jim and Greg dig into ska in a Sound Opinions genre dissection with pioneering ska musician Charley Organaire and Jump Up records founder and ska scholar Chuck Wren. Charley was present at the creation in 1950s Jamaica for what is now known as the 1st Wave of Ska. He tells us where the name came from and how the sound originated by mixing folk music known as mento with American R&B, giving rise to artists like The Skatalites, Prince Buster and Laurel Aiken. Then Chuck leads us through the 2nd Wave, or Two-Tone, movement in the late ‘70s England with bands like The Specials, Madness and The English Beat. And finally the 3rd Wave breaks in the United States in the 1990s with an aggressive strain of punk-infused ska that looked to be reaching the mainstream, only to fade away as quickly as it grew. But Chuck tells us that ska can still be found all over the world.

HEAVN Jamila Woods In the last few years, Chicago poet and soul artist Jamila Woods has made memorable cameos on tracks by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet, and more. Now, she’s breaking out with her debut album HEAVN. Jim loves how Jamila effortlessly blends genres like soul, R&B, and hip hop. He also finds her lyrics to be powerful and effective in painting a picture of her life as a black woman. Jim thinks Woods is elevating the neo soul genre to the next level and gives HEAVN a Buy It. Greg wholeheartedly agrees, and thinks this album is another great release coming from the Chicago hip hop and R&B scene. He greatly respects Jamila’s ability to poetically articulate her struggles against society’s perceptions of black beauty and womanhood. Overall, Greg thinks this is one of the best albums of the year so far, and gives it an enthusiastic Buy It.

Jim For Jim’s Desert Island Jukebox pick this week, he chooses She’s Like Heroin To Me by The Gun Club. Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the other founders of this band played music that did not fit into any genre labels but which might be described as psychobillycowpunkpost-punktribal-psychobilly-blues. Jim reminisces about the very innovative period of indie rock and punk in the ‘80s when The Gun Club came about, and points out how important this particular track is in understanding ‘80s music and expressing popular punk themes like obsession, addiction, and sex.

Featured Songs The Skatalites, Man in the Street, Stretching Out, ROIR, 1987 Theo Beckford, Easy Snappin’, Easy Snappin’/Proof Rum, Worldisc, 1959 Count Owen and His Calypsonians, The Last Watch, Calypsos Down Jamaica Way, Dub Store, 2005 Bunny & Skitter with Buster’s Group, Boss Girl , Chubby/Boss Girl, Buster Wild Bells, 1961 Lord Tanamo , I’m In the Mood for Ska , I’m in the Mood for Ska, Ska Beat, 1965 Toots and the Maytals, Six and Sevan Book of Moses, Never Grow Old, Studio One, 1964 Stranger Cole, Rough & Tough, Rough and Tough, Dutchess, 1963 Charlie Organaire, Royal Charlie , Skatalites and Friends at Randy’s, VP, 1998 The Skatalites, Guns of Navarone , Guns of Navarone, Island, 1965 Laurel Aitken, Adam and Eve , Adam and Eve/Devil Woman, Rio , 1963 Richard Ace, Hang Em High, Hang Em High/Candy Lady, Trojan, 1969 John Holt, On the Beach , On the Beach, Striker Blue, 1971 Dave and Ansel Collins, Monkey Spanner, Double Barrel, Trojan, 1971 Desmond Dekker, King of Ska, King of Kings, Trojan, 1993 The Specials, A Message to You Rudy, The Specials, Two-Tone Records, 1979 The Specials, It’s Up To You , The Specials, Two-Tone Records, 1979 The Specials , You’re Wondering Now , The Specials, Two-Tone Records, 1979 Madness, One Step Beyond, One Step Beyond..., Sire , 1979 English Beat, Mirror in the Bathroom, I Just Can’t Stop It, I.R.S., 1983 The Bodysnatchers, Ruder Than You, Let’s Do Rock Steady/Ruder Than You, Chrysalis, 1980 Operation Ivy , Take Warning , Energy, Lookout, 1989 Rancid, Time Bomb, ...And Out Come the Wolves, Epitaph, 1995 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Impression That I Get, Let’s Face It, Mercury, 1997 Less Than Jake, Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts, Pezcore, Dill , 1995 No Doubt, Spiderwebs, Tragic Kingdom, Interscope, 1995 Gwen Stefani, Hollaback Girl, The Sweet Escape, BMG, 2006 Count Kutu and the Balmers, Baog, Take Me, Jump Up!, 2012 The Slackers, Cooking for Tommy, Redlight, Hellcat, 1997 Jamila Woods, Blk Girl Soldier, HEAVN, Closed, 2016 Jamila Woods, VRY BLK, HEAVN, Closed, 2016 Jamila Woods, Holy, HEAVN, Closed, 2016 Jamila Woods, LSD, HEAVN, Closed, 2016 Jamila Woods, Bubbles, HEAVN, Closed, 2016 The Gun Club, She’s Like Heroin To Me, Fire of Love, Ruby , 1981 Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Can’t Keep Checking My Phone, Multi-Love, Jagjaguwar, 2015 Bruce Springsteen, State Trooper, Nebraska, Columbia, 1982 Tortoise, Cornpone Brunch , Tortoise, Thrill Jockey, 1994 Explosions in the Sky, Your Hand in Mine, The Earth is Not A Cold Dead Place, Bella Union, 2003 DNCE, Cake By The Ocean, SWAAY, Republic, 2015