Hey this is a little off topic, but I'm pretty sure you can answer this: what would you say is the major distinction between rock steady and first wave/traditional ska?

im tryin to download those songs fenixpunk put up, takin ages.

i listenin to a bit of 'out all night' its ok, fun song.

Rock steady came about in like 67'. Its baisically a slower form of ska with less instrumentation. The reason for this was because in about 67' jamaica was suffering from a massive heat wave and people couldnt dance to ska like they used too so out of the ashes rose rock steady. A real genre capturing album is Byron Lee and The Dragonaires-Rock Steady beat 67' which is the band covering rock steady songs. If your looking for just a prime song example download Rock Steady by Alton Ellis.

Ill adress sub genres and other stuff later. First I have to get enough guts to even try to tackle the complicated world of "third wave".

theyre from the pietasters, a fun band to see live. I got the chance to play a show with them and was so sore the next day from dancing all night. They have a bunch of mp3s on http://www.stevelaplaca.com/pie/sound.htm

maybe from there the downloading wont take so long.

Well I supose its about time for third wave.

OK so after 2-tone records died out and the specials split in 85' the second wave of sak was pretty much done. So popular ska went back underground untill the ska boom of the 90's. This is when most of the bands people consider ska got popular. Bands like Sublime, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Boddtones, and Less than jake became extremely popular and were welcomed back into the mainstream. Most popular third wave draws very heavily off of the late 2-tone and punk stuff. So baiscally thats where we are now, the "third wave". But this is where things kind of get awkward. This is because most "third wave" ska isnt ska at all. All the bands i've listed play a ska punk or sk-core style. So heres a list of things you should know.

Good "3rd wave" bands- The Slackers, Chris Murray, Aggrolites, Westbound train, Eastern Standard Time, Pietasters, The Alentons, King Django

-Ska-core is a term coined by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones to describe there sound and what is now most ska punk bands. Bands like Suicide machines, Link 80, Reel Big Fish, Less than jake, no doubt,catch 22, and most so called "ska: bands today. So most "third wave" ska bands are also considered ska core.

- The reasone I've been putting quotes around the word wave through out this is because I dont nesecarilyybelive in the wave theory. Most people just use it as a way to describe what era of ska there listening to but I've baisically givem up on wave theory because its stupid and ameri-caentric. A VERY interesting read on the subject can be found here. http://www.pickitupska.com/forum/vie...ighlight=waves

-Ska isnt a dying genre. Its become very easy to write it off and say ska is dead because its not on the radio. Theres PLENTY of people who listen to ska the thing is is that there not what most people like to associate with the music. The majority of acctual ska fans are older. Most kids will grow out of there ska phase in a year after they think its not cool and undeground anymore. Ska isnt dead its always had a very large fan base (its the national music of jamica) and always will regarldess of what 13 year old mall punks think it is.

- SKA IS NOT REGGAE! Reggae is a sub-genre of ska not vice versa. Other subgenres of ska include dub, dancehall, rocksteady, ska punk, tarditional ska, 2-tone

- MOst modern ska is based off of either two tone or traditional. For instance The Slackers are a failry modern band who draw there influences not from 2-tone but traidtional ska and reggae like Toots, The skatalite, Tommy McCook, and marley. While bands like The Afterbeat draw very heavilly from two tone.

Well thats all I can think of to whine about for now. if you got any questions fire away.