The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV!

The Aquabats!, "No Rewind!" from Finally! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: It's so great that The Aquabats! includeded a ska song on their latest album, 2024's Finally!

"We don't need no rewind,
'Cause right now this is our time,
All them mountains that we gonna climb,
'Cause we don't need no rewind!…"

Fifteen years of SKApril; that's four hundred fifty (450) songs by one hundred thirty-three (133) bands. Thank you for joining me on this joyous journey through ska. Stick around for the SKAfter Party, & SKAugust is just around the corner. Don't stop skanking, rude boys & rude girls!

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Thursday, 30 April 2020
The Skluttz, "Ska Police" from the Confidence Is Key E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. "Ska Police" is about how snobbery, parochialism, & a fetish for purity can make ska divisive, even when it is meant to bring us all together.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Pope O.P. (1504-1572; A.K.A. Antonio Ghislieri, Michele Ghislieri), two hundred twenty-fifth (CCXXV) Bishop of Rome (1566-1572), Bishop of Mondovì (1560-1566); who implemented the reforms of the Council of Trent (1545-1563, the nineteenth [XIX] ecumenical council) & excommunicated the English queen Elizabeth I through the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis (1570); & who organized the Holy League that won the Battle of Lepanto (1571), which he celebrated by instituting the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '20.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXVI

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-B (№ 17), Part I
29 April 1985: Spacelab 3—The Space Shuttle Challenger OV-099 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR Bob Overmyer, Pilot Fred Gregory, M.S.1 Don Lind, M.S.2/F.E. Norman Thagard, M.S.3 Bill Thornton, P.S.1 Lodewijk van den Berg, & P.S.2 Taylor Wang; "blow-by" damage to the Solid Rocket Booster O-rings prompted dire predictions of catastrophe within Morton-Thiokol, the S.R.B. maker.

Commentary: S.T.S.-51-B was the seventh flight of the Challenger OV-099.

The Challenger launched just ten days after Discovery landed at the conclusion of S.T.S.-51-D, presaging a new Space Shuttle cadance for 1985. No, you didn't miss a mission: Spacelab 3 flew before Spacelab 2. Also, as long as we have ordinal chaos, S.T.S.-51-B flew after both S.T.S.-51-C & S.T.S.-51-D.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-B
They Might Be Giants, "Here Comes Science" from Here Comes Science (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 29 April 2022
The Scofflaws, "Rudy's Back" from the United Colors of Ska, Vol. 1 compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"Why do we do it?
Well, it ain't for the dough.
We're ska for life, mon!
O.K., boys, let's go!…"

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, T.O.P. (1347-1380, a.k.a. Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa), stigmatic.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '21 & Wayback Machine '18.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love."
—Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin & Doctor of the Church (1347-1380, feast: 29 April)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Goodwin Club, "Safety First" from Soda + Join the Club: 20th Anniversary Remastered Collectors Edition (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I had never heard of The Goodwin Club until I watched the Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s documentary. They were apparently active from 1993-1995 in the Orange County ska scene, featuring future Aquabats! Chainsaw, the Prince of Karate; the Mysterious Ultra Kyu; & Prince Adam. The Goodwin Club released one E.P., Join the Club, & one full-length album, Soda, before breaking up. Pick It Up! is the gift that keeps on giving!

"It's all fun and games until you lose an eye,
It's all fun and games until you die…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 28 April 2024
Ken Boothe, "Everything I Own" from the Trojan Records: 40 Years, 40 Tracks compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Originally written by Bread, about the songwriter's dead father. Like most listeners, I assumed it was about romantic love, not filial love. Learn something new every day.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Pietasters, "Crawling Back Home" from Awesome Mix Tape № 6 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Pietasters were the most unlikely SKAll-stars of SKApril's first half decade. I've never counted them among my favorite ska bands & for the longest time I only owned a single one of their albums, yet they furnished a song to each of the first seven SKAprils, six of those from that one album, Oolooloo. Even the great Dance Hall Crashers, a band to whom I am much more emotionally attached, were never SKAll-stars, not debuting until the second SKApril (2012)!

From SKAll-stars to SKAffirmative Action, The Pietasters return for the first time in since 2017. There are no unworthy songs in SKApril; we welcome back The Pietasters & congratulate them on crawling back home with "Crawling Back Home."

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Thursday, 27 April 2023
MU330, "Danska" from Press (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Divine Mercy Sunday

Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Daniel Schmit, Mike Hilliker, & Melanie Rea, "Lord, Have Mercy" from Mercy: Songs for Holy Week (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy on me…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Reel Big Fish, "I'd Rather Get It Wrong with You" from Life Sucks… Let's Dance! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I'd rather get it wrong with you than right with anyone else,
I'd rather sing along with you, out of tune, than sing it all by myself,
And you sure drive me crazy, but at least we're on this road together, baby,
And I'd rather get it wrong with you than right with anybody else…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Tuesday, 26 April 2022
The O.C. Supertones, "It's a Good Day to Be from California" from For the Glory (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Song o' Easter Saturday

Saturday within the Octave of Easter
Audrey Assad, "Death, Be Not Proud" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Death, be not proud, though the whole world fear you:
Mighty and dreadful you may seem,
But death, be not proud, your pride has failed you,
For you will not kill Me…

"Death, be not proud,
Death, be not proud,
Death, be not proud,
'Cause even death will die."

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Prince Buster, "Take It Easy" from the Prince Buster: Fabulous—Greatest Hits compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: From Jamaica to France. Prince Buster returns as a SKAffirmative Action selection, having not enjoyed the SKApril limelight since 2017. I admit, when I'm in the mood for roots ska, I tend to listen to Desmond Dekker over Prince Buster, but there are no unworthy songs in SKApril. If "Take It Easy" wasn't up to snuff, it wouldn't be today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D., period.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 25 April 2021
Melbourne Ska Orchestra, "Travellin' Light" from Read All about It! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Song o' Easter Friday

Friday within the Octave of Easter
Daniel Schmit, "O Death, Christ Is Risen Overture" from Mercy: Songs for Holy Week (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Alpheus, "Real Rudy" from Unify (Rude Boy Bravo Charlie)

Skammentary: Bravo Charlie sent me the above photo yesterday, after I had already selected "Real Rudy" as the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for today. That's his erstwhile band, The Assassinators, on the same bill with The Toasters, the Scofflaws, & The Pietasters. For context, this is for Wednesday, 26 October 1994, almost three years before I discovered ska; now that's real Rudy!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

MU330, "Got Caught" from Chumps on Parade (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Stars My Destination: The Soyuz 1 Disaster

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 58th Anniversary of Soyuz 1
Fifty-eight years ago to the day, 24 April 1967, Pilot Vladimir Komarov perished when his Soyuz 1 capsule crashed into the Earth's surface after its parachutes failed to deploy during atmospheric re-entry, the first man to die during a spaceflight.

Three cosmonauts were meant to launch aboard Soyuz 2, equipped with the same flawed parachute-deployment system, & rendezvous in orbit with Komarov aboard Soyuz 1. The Soyuz 2 launch was called off due to thunderstorms near the launch site; otherwise, they would have perished, too. After the tragedy, the Soyuz program was delayed for eighteen months while the parachute system was redesigned, amidst other refinements.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Soyuz 1
The Explorers' Club, № DCCCLXXVII

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: In Memoriam
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Requiescat in pace.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 24 April 2020
The Hippos, "Far Behind" from Heads Are Gonna Roll (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Two consecutive songs by The Toasters followed by two from The Hippos. This chronological model gets worse & worse! All great songs, all worthy of both SKApril & the SKArchives, but I never want to do things this way ever again. SKAugust is the place to go if you want to hear multiple songs by the same band all in a row (& let's be honest, probably Reel Big Fish).

Bonus! Song o' Easter Thursday

Thursday within the Octave of Easter
The Festival Choir & Hosanna Chorus, "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" from the 100 Church Classics compilation (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Requiescat in pace, Papa Franciscus.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXV

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
23 April 1925: The corpse of Floyd Collins was removed from Sand Cave, part of Mammoth Cave; a spelunker during the "Kentucky Cave Wars," Collins became trapped on 30 January; the attempts to rescue him were a national sensation, broadcast on the newfangled radio; Collins perished around 13 February & was finally reached on 16 February; it took a further two months to recover his corpse.

Requiescat in pace.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Monday, 13 May 2019
The Hippos, "Wasting My Life" from Heads Are Gonna Roll (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Song o' Easter Wednesday

Wednesday within the Octave of Easter
Audrey Assad, "Death in His Grave" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

On Friday a thief,"
On Sunday a king,
Laid down in grief,
But woke with the keys
To Hell on that day,
Firstborn of the slain,
The man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Easter Feaster Edition

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs.
Difference: +/-? lbs.

The scale would not lock onto a weight, just fluctuate until deactivating. I replaced the batteries, but this yielded no positive change. The Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in is at a standstill until I can acquire a new scale. *Expletive deleted!*

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Dance Hall Crashers, "Good for Nothing" (live) from The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs of Love (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whale)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Skluttz, "All I Want Is You" from the Confidence Is Key E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Tell her how you feel.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 22 April 2018
The Toasters, "Daddy Cry" from Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Song o' Easter Tuesday

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter
Daniel Schmit, "Christ Is Risen" from Mercy: Songs for Holy Week (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling over death by death,
Come awake, come awake,
Come and rise up from the grave!
Christ is risen from the dead,
We are one with Him again,
Come awake, come awake,
Come and rise up from the grave!

O death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?
O Church, come stand in the Light!
The glory of God has defeated the night!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Club Sandinista!, "Rock'n'roll Weekend" from the Rock'n'roll Weekend single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: As with most Japanese bands (with which yours truly is familiar), Club Sandinista! sing predominantly in Japanese, but with chorus gang vocals in English. They describe their sound as, "Punky ska music."

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 21 April 2017
The Toasters, "I'm Running Right through the World" from Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Song o' Easter Monday

Monday within the Octave of Easter
Beverly Hills All Saints' Church Choir & Brass Ensemble, Craig Phillips, & Thomas Foster, "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" from Easter: Hymns, Carols, & Anthems (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The great festival of the Eastertide continues until Pentecost, its fifty days being longer than the forty-ish days of Lent. In an even more special way, we celebrate the Octave of Easter, a continuation of Resurrection Sunday for eight days, symbolizing the New Creation in the Risen Christ.

"Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia
Who did once upon the Cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Suicide Machines, "New Girl" from Destruction by Definition (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: On the ska-punk spectrum, The Suicide Machines definitely tend toward the punk end, which explains but does not excuse their long absense from SKApril, having only made their debut in SKApril XII (2022).

"New Girl" does not contradict my thesis that romantic love never works out in third-wave ska-punk. I would maintain that the blossoming romance hasn't yet had the chance to turn sour, but that it will.

Just in case you weren't already feeling ancient, Destruction by Definition was released in 1996; actress Giorgia Whigham (above) was born in 1997.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Spring Heeled Jack, "Mass Appeal Madness" from Songs from Suburbia (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Spring Heel Jack's absence was an unrecognized lacuna from SKApril. "Mass Appeal Madness" & last SKApril's "Jolene" ought to be SKArchive songs. Better late than never, though.

I'm very grateful for the many ska bands I've seen live on stage, the fruit of touring, yet I know that I could never tour the way they do. Your humble narrator is far too much of a homebody for a life on the road.

"We've been gone for so long
That it doesn't really matter where we're going to,
There's no looking back.
I know I should be strong,
But my heart isn't in it,
And I don't know my limit,
So all I can do is move on.

"I think we've been gone a long time, but I can't be sure,
If loneliness is a disease, well then I've found a cure,
Every place looks like home, every face looks familiar,
So close but yet so far,
The days blend together…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Easter Sunday, 20 April 2014
Five Iron Frenzy, "Farsighted" from Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"The farsighted see better things…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
Matt Maher, "Because He Lives (Amen)" from Saints and Sinners (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"I was dead in the grave,
I was covered in sin and shame,
I head Mercy call my name,
He rolled the stone away…"

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-D, Part II
14-19 April 1985: Griggs & Hoffman conducted a contingency E.V.A. to attach two improvised tools, the "Flyswatter" & the "Lacross stick," to the Canadarm, but satellite Syncom IV-3 remained inactive; after 110 orbits, the Discovery landed back at K.S.C.'s Shuttle Landing Facility; CDR Bobko applied differential braking to compensate for heavy crosswinds & the Discovery's inboard right-side tire blew.

Commentary: After S.T.S.-51-D, the single runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility was closed until nose-wheel steering could be added to the Orbiters. Until then, Orbiters would land on the wide-open dry lake bed of Edwards A.F.B.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-D
They Might Be Giants, "Severe Tire Damage Theme" from Severe Tire Damage (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.