“Hey, Bill. What’s the word?” “Thunderbird, sir.” “There you go.”

broderic on September 13, 2010

Monday Morning Musings [part IV: A New Hope]I'm writing this instead of doing some work and it's only about a quarter after 9. I don't look forward to work at all. I can't wait until Friday.As I was taking a shower, I thought that I would like to listen to some ska on the ride in. Should I pull one of my CDs in the CD cubby in the living room or listen to the Trojan box set that's been in the Mini since I bought it 2 summers ago. Of course, once changed, I completely forgot about the CD. I still remembered that I wanted to listen to ska, so it was the Trojan box set once again.As I listened, I wondered what I like about ska. The rhythm? Yes to the skanking guitars on the upbeat. The energy to the songs? Yes, I needed to bop around in the seat. The horn section! That was it! Music needs more horns and saxophones and trombones. Bring those back.Now, is there a band today that has a horn section? And was the 80s the epitome of alternative musical instruments? Plenty of bands made use of the saxophone: INXS, Bruce Springsteen, (fill this in for me, please). Horn sections make the band more fun. See James Brown.Bring back the horns to music.

Guns Don’t Argue

broderic on January 22, 2010

Yes, it’s ska again. I love it.

If you can find some more ska, please post it in the comments or over on your blog.

Too Much Pressure Drop

broderic on February 4, 2009

Everyday we get riled up. Mostly about the little things. Makes us stressed. Why exactly do we do it? It is living. So we turn to something fun. And that is SKA! Listen. Then get up and dance. And feel the riddims. It’s infectious. It’s sweet. It is living.

Adventures From My Netflix Queue: This is England

broderic on February 1, 2008

Toots and the Maytals’s 54-46 Was My Number opens the film, This is England, playing over news reel footage of the turmoil and strife of Britain in the 80s during Maggie Thatcher’s reign. And that song hooked me.

The film is a semi-autobiographical story from the writer and director, Shane Meadows. It’s about a young english lad, Shaun, growing up without a father who had just died in the Falkland War. His father is replaced by a band of skinheads who become a surrogate family for him. They make him a skinhead. They are not the kind of skinheads that we are used to today. Woody, the leader, is compassionate. He takes Shaun under his wing, shows him respect, shows others respect, and preaches unity for all in his clan. Of course this is broken up.

Combo, just released from the pen, shows up preaching National Front ideology. Quickly the movie devolves to showing the nazi punk skinheads. Shaun must choose between Combo or Woody, hate or compassion. He sides with Combo, but soon realizes the mistake. Yet, Combo, for all his hate has a side that realizes what he misses the most and why it has made him susceptible to National Front rhetoric. It goes back to the father figure. He missed out on it, and it makes him a bleak, void needing something to fill it up.

So was Shaun. Woody tried to guide him away from Combo’s ways, but he had to find out for himself what depths Combo would sink to. That means being caught up in a horrendous beat down of an immigrant fellow skinhead/rude boy, Milky, who had expressed the truth to both Shaun and Combo of the good of a father figure.

While not expressly awesome as a film, I found that I liked it. The soundtrack I want to get. Including that Toots song it had some other ska that’s fun to hear. The young actor playing Shaun, Thomas Turgoose, gives a decent performance in a first role. But it is Joseph Gilgun as Woody as the kind hearted skinhead and Stephen Graham’s, frightening but sad, Combo, that makes it.

An early scene in the film has Shaun playing on the beach. Of course, as a coming of age movie, I thought that the film should end with him on the beach, looking into the camera a la Antoine Doniel. Damned if it didn’t end up like that.

One thing, I couldn’t find the English subtitles on the disc. Their English accents are tough to make out. I think I have to see this again to fully understand what they’re saying.

4 of 5 stars