1) Concrete Jungle – The Specials
I chose this song to lead off the mix because I like the "Blitzkrieg Bop" (Ramones) tease by the crowd and band at the beginning.
2) Rudy a Message to You – Dandy Livingstone
This is from a two-disc mixing of old Trojan ska tunes by DJ Spooky. There's not much change from the originals, other than he cleaned up the sound and emphasized the bass a bit.
3) Step Right Up – The Pietasters
This is the band I learned to drink beer to and the band I learned to dance to. They play Roanoke sometimes and are worth seeing.
4) Nice Nice – The Kingstonians
Also from the DJ Spooky thing.
5) Carry Go Bring Come – Justin Hinds and the Dominoes
Love the pairing of the horn melody and beat in the first few bars.
6) Judge Dread – Prince Buster All Stars
I really like "judge" songs in the ska & rocksteady genre. Probably my favorite was the bits done by the Specials in "Stupid Marriage" but I only have that on vinyl and not on CD.
7) Jumpin’ Beans – The Beans
Not much to say, other than this is a sort of complement to the Pietasters song.
8) Hey Leroy – Honey Boy Martin
This one cracks me up: "Call your mamie!"
9) Too Much Pressure – The Selecter
It's only in the past year or two that I started to look at second-wave ska beyond the Specials and the English Beat. The Selecter is a really good, underrated band and I had a tough time picking whether to go with this song, their version of "Carry Go Bring Come" or another one or two of their tunes.
10) Bankshot – Operation Ivy
Some of these guys went on to form Rancid. I like this instrumental b/c it's peppy and short.
11) Asshole Dub – Minor Threat
This early 80s Washington DC band is known for its hardcore punk (which is aweome) but this is a really good dub song, especially for a band not used to playing that style. The original punk version, by DC punks Government Issue (GI), is a great song and worth seeking out too.
--Mason
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