Friday, April 15, 2016

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril!


The Loose Ties, "Settle the Score" (live) from Live at The Machine Shop (The Last Angry Man)

Skammentary: The Loose Ties—Flint's best band, long torn asunder by the demands of reality, the intertwined threads of education & career—are playing a reunion show tonight at the Flint Local 432. I, their lauded "Super Fan," will not be in attendance, due to a commitment made months before the reunion show was announced. Dratted timing! A week earlier & I would have been completely free to attend. A week later & you would find me in front of the stage ready to skank to exhaustion.

The Loose Ties are SKApril "all-stars," members of that elite cadre of bands to have a song featured in every celebration of SKApril. The timing of today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D. was determined by their reunion show, but their inclusion in SKApril '16 was a foregone conclusion. I settled on "Settle the Score" purely on the song's merits; the fitting nature of the subject matter is just a bonus, to which I say, score! "Settle the Score's" chorus could be a rallying cry for all of SKApril, for being a ska kid (of any age) in these long years after the cresting of Third Wave ska-punk's popularity:
"Hey! You got to keep it together,
Stay true to your cause, always and forever..."

2 comments:

K.Steeze said...

I've long been curious about this band, since you have such a strong connection to them and their music. Do they have a studio album that's worth a listen?

Mike Wilson said...

The Loose Ties have two studio recordings, a self-titled E.P. & the full-length album "Champ of the Week." I do not know if either is available digitally. I bought their music the "old-fashioned" way, on compact disc. One way or another, I'll be happy to get some to you.