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: GoBlue!

Team 147, Game 1: Michigan v. Western Michigan
The Specials, "(Dawning of a) New Era" from The Specials (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Skammentary: Have I mentioned how much I hate night games? Because I really hate night games.

I do not know Coach Whittingham & I have no reason to believe that The Specials are to his personal taste in music. Nevertheless, "(Dawning of a) New Era" struck me as an appropriate choice: Not only does Coach Whittingham have no previous ties to the University of Michigan, but he is personally friendly with Urban Meyer, whom Whittingham succeeeded as head coach at Utah. We remind ourselves that Bo Schembechler not only coached under Woody Hayes, but coached under Hayes at an Ohio State University. Whittingham coached under Meyer at Utah, years before Meyer was hired by the hated Buckeyes. Let us hope & cheer that 2026 more closely resembles 1969 (8-3, B1G 6-1), Bo's first season, than 2008 (3-9, B1G 2-6), Rich Rod's first season, the last time a genuinely new era dawned.

Go Blue!

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 Bodysnatchers, "Let's Do Rock Steady" from the Let's Do Rock Steady single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I've learned, or been reminded, that the "Rude Boy" figure is propery known as Walt Jabsco. Walt was designed primarily by Jerry Dammers of The Specials as a logo for Dammers's label, 2 Tone Records, based on a photograph of Peter Tosh of the Wailers.

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

Madness, "Madness" from One Step Beyond… (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: An up tempo cover of "Madness" by Prince Buster; Madness named themselves after "Madness." They also covered the Prince Buster song, "One Step Beyond," after which their debut album is named.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Prince Buster, "Madness" (live) from King of Blue Beat (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: King of Blue Beat is a 2001 re-issue of the 1967 live album Prince Buster on Tour, released by Blue Beat Records.

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

Desmond Dekker, "Jamaican Ska" from the King of Ska compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I'm not certain I'd ever heard of Desmond Dekker until listening to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' 2007 compilation album, Medium Rare, including the track "Don't Worry Desmond Dekker," whch mentions the protagonist still having Dekker's records, which presumably belong to his erstwhile paramour.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The English Beat, "Ranking Full Stop" from I Just Can't Stop It (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The girl in the graphic above, the "Beat Girl," originated with The English Beat. I do not know the origin of her companion, the ubiquitous Rude Boy.

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

The Specials, "A Message to You, Rudy" from The Specials (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: After I was introduced to ska-punk (third wave, U.S.A.) during the Summer of Ska (1997), it took me a few years to learn to appreciate roots ska (first wave, Jamaica) & 2-Tone (second wave, U.K.). I'm so glad I did.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

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