fractionofoxygentruly one of the most underrated genres out there. so much underappreciated musicianship that unfortunately gets overshadowed by it's "cool factor", or lack thereof. both first and second waves had this unbridled confidence that came with the understanding of ska as a dance music, a symbol for racial unity; the image created by bands like madness mixes a meaningful intent with humorous personas. as third wave came into the fray in the united states, melding with the 90s punk sounds, some bands came out with orchestrations more bombastic than seen by any of the bands seen before, such as streetlight manifesto and asob, whereas others embodied the corny sound the genre is stereotyped as, such as reel big fish (although turn the radio off is still a defining album). progressing into the modern day, where talk of "4th wave ska" and genre-bending still persist in a subsect of culture, the genre has seemingly failed to meaningfully progress; it feels like there's been a stagnation where new bands don't feel like a continuation of ska, but rather a dilution. instead of approaching ska as a genre worthy of respect, it feels saturated by lyrics attempting to be political and socially conscious but coming off as trite and by music that sounds like overlaying horns onto commercially viable pop punk. this is only really passing judgement at the bands that float to the top, where someone who isn't particularly invested in the world of ska would find them and not take these bands seriously; every generation of ska feels like a caricature of the previous, and it's reached a critical point where the genre has failed to even take itself seriously. ska is in need of a revival of its confidence, a desire to be itself.
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