The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Detroit Rock City" from the 20th Century Masters—The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones compilation (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Skammentary: A cover of the Kiss song. A voicemail from Gene Simmons of Kiss is heard at the beginning of the track, saying another band has called dibs on covering "Detroit Rock City," but that covering any other Kiss song would be "fine."

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "Sell Out" from Turn the Radio Off (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Turn the Radio Off was released on 13 August 1996, though your humble narrator wouldn't see & hear the music video for "Sell Out" until June or July 1997. This summer, after a hiatus of six years, Reel Big Fish are playing shows again, including the Warped Tour '26 (which isn't what it was, making only a handful of stops, but is beter than nothing). "Sell Out" is both a finale to SKAugust '26 & a peek ahead to SKAugust '27, when, heaven permitting, we'll celebrate three decades since the Summer of Ska!

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Simmer Down" from the Ska-Core, the Devil, and More E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey

Skammentary:

"(Simmer down) But the pain still exists,
(Simmer down) And hey, sure he'll be missed,
(Simmer down) It'll make us stronger,
(Simmer down) And we'll live a lot longer…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Aquabats!, "Ska Robot Army!" from The Return of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary:

"…They're coming to take over,
To terrorize the earth,
They're skanking in their best suits,
Beware of the ska robot army!"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Automatic" from Losing Streak (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I think I think I know it all,
But can I be sure of the things I've grown to know about?
And can I say I know it all
When rules just guide me to blindly follow?…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Sublime, "Santeria" from Sublime (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The sad timeline: Bradley Nowell, age twenty-eight, died of a drug overdose (25 May 1996); Sublime was released (30 July 1996); & "Santeria" was released as a single (7 January 1997). Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Pietasters, "Something Better" from Oolooloo (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Oolooloo might be the album with the highest percentage of songs that have enjoyed the SKApril limelight: six of the album's eleven tracks have been R.B.D.S.O.T.D. during SKApril.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

No Doubt, "Paulina" from No Doubt (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Once upon a time, before pop stardom, No Doubt were part of the SoCal ska scene.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Kinder Words" from Question the Answers (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: This has been the most SKAprilesque SKAugust yet, with The Skatalites being the only band before today to furnish more than one song. I've still got more worthy bands & songs waiting in the wings, but this morning, "Kinder Words" was skanking through my head.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Skankin' Pickle, "Smorgasborgnine" from Sing Along with Skankin' Pickle (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Of Mike Park's (the Asian man behind Asian Man Records) many bands—solo under his own name, The Bruce Lee Band, The Chinkees, Skankin' Pickle—Skankin' Pickle is the one to which I listen least frequently. But it is also the band with the most delicious name; it is a shame that Skankin' Pickle never issued a split with Slow Gherkin, &/or Mustard Plug.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Selecter, "Too Much Pressure" from the Greatest Hits compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Too Much Pressure" is the title track of The Selecter's debut album, Too Much Pressure (1980). But even if it was new to the Greatest Hits comp (1996), it would still be eligible for this year's SKAugust.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

MU330, "Since the Short-Long's Gone" from Chumps on Parade (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Mustard Plug, "Thigh High Nylons (Alternative Take)" from Skapocalypse Now! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Operation Ivy, "Take Warning" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Musically, Operation Ivy weren't on my radar at the Turn of the Millennium. I saw plenty of Op Ivy T-shirts & hoodies at the Warped Tour & other shows, but I paid them no more attention that the Misfits T-sirts & hoodies also present. (I'm still wrapping my mind around that fact that today Gen Alpha wears Nirvana shirts in the same way.) It wasn't until the last five years or so that I've begun listening to these ska-punk pioneers.

"Take Warning" is of a piece with the long ska tradition of advocating for peace & justice.

"Stand by your friends, wrong or right,
Can't call that justice
If it's just a stupid excuse to fight,
Single out, and attack ones who got no defense.
You call that a new way of thinkin',
I call it regression to ignorance…

"Enough is enough is enough!
Why don't you just ease up?

"I saw another beat down last night,
Take warning!
Who's the next to hit the ground tonight?,
Take warning!
Take warning!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Dopeman" from Losing Streak (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Losing Streak (1996) is in, but Hello Rockview (1998) is out. This is by far the most project-oriented SKAugust has ever been; when SKAugust was founded in 2017, there was a vague acknowledgement that it had been twenty years since the Summer of Ska, but there was nothing systematic in how the music was chosen. Marking twenty-five-year milestones (1997-2022, 1998-2023, 1999-2024, 2000-2025) was really just an aesthetic flourish; I'm very much enjoying this SKAugust, but it is astonishing how much of the music that is most emotionally important to me was released in the years 1997 & 1998.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Dance Hall Crashers, "Go" from Lockjaw (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Lockjaw (1995) is eligible for this SKAugust, but Honey, I'm Homely! (1997) is not. Many such cases amongst the ska-punk bands closest to my heart.

"Wanna go with you, but I think I'll stay,
Wanna go with you, but I think I'll stay,
Wanna go with you, but I think I'll stay,
Wanna go with you, but I think I'll stay.

"And you come to me with propositions,
Like you really mean them,
Well, I've heard them before,
So many times before.
What are you afraid of,
Living, loving, hurting, crying?
It's one and all, defend your fate,
Your destiny can be what you make it!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Ska Flames, "Hot Sake" from Ska Fever (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Ska Fever debuted in 1989, most of a decade before my introduction to ska, & over thirty years before The Ska Flames enjoyed the SKApril limelight, in 2022.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Aquabats!, "Aquabat March!" from The Return of The Aquabats! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Aquabats! have been a band for thirty-two years, since 1994, releasing The Return of The Aquabats! in 1995. They haven't always been a ska band, but they've gotten back to writing & recording a few ska songs in the 2020s.

"Please don't kill us, we're just the Aquabats,
We're just trying to have a little fun!
(Ha ha ha ha ha!)
So if you want to fight, we can duke it out,
Just please don't kill me with your gun!

"We're all just peaceful happy Aquabats,
We would never take a life,
(Oh, no, we wouldn't, no, sir!)
We don't want to fight, but if we must,
Please be cool, no guns or knives!"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Scofflaws, "Grazin' in the Grass" from the Joint Ventures in Ska compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Grazin' in the Grass" was written as an instrumental by Philemon Hou for trumpeter Hugh Masekela, for whom the song was a № 1 hit in 1968. Lyrics were added by Harry Elston of the Friends of Distinction, for whom the song was a № 3 hit in 1969. The Joint Ventures of Ska comp debuted in 1996. I was introducted to The Scofflaws in 2021 by Bravo Charlie, an online acquaintance & brother Knight of Columbus who performed in the ska band The Assassinators in the '90s & opened for The Scofflaws. (The Assassinators made their SKApril debut in '21.)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "Join the Club" from Turn the Tadio Off (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: So many of my favorite albums were not released until after 1996, but Turn the Radio Off stands as a notable exception.

"Well, she's so cute, if you know what I mean,
She's the cutest little girl that I've ever seen,
Maybe she'll like me if I play guitar,
Maybe she'll like me if I'm a lead singer,
Yeah, oh yeah,
And there's so many bands, we all look the same!

"Well, I just saw them, up on stage,
And I don't remember how good they played,
'Cause he can't sing,
But I'd pay just to see her face…"