Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Monday, 16 April 2012
Sublime, "Santeria" from Sublime (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Countdown to Resurrection

Please Stand By | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs. (23 April 2025)
Difference: +/-? lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Starpool, "Try Living in This World" from the Strpl E.P.0001 E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whale)

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

The Abruptors, "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards" from Noticeably Cheerless (Rude Boy Bravo Charlie)

Skammentary: "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards" is my introduction to The Abruptors, SKApril debutants thanks to Bravo Charlie, who played in an honest-to-goodness ska bands in the mid-1990s. The Abruptors are signed to Asian Man records & released their latest album in December 2024.

I didn't solicit any new nominations from Bravo Charlie for this SKApril because I am still working my way through his previous nominations, but I will invite him again once those are exhausted. This is my invitation to everyone reading these words to nominate bands & songs to bask in the SKApril limelight.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 15 April 2011
Johnny Socko, "They Know Us at the Spa" from Full Trucker Effect (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Full Trucker Effect is a concept album, describing itself as "Music from the Major Motion Picture, Full Trucker Effect."

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

The Intercepteurs, "Saw a Girl" from You Are Hear (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Intercepteurs' Bandcamp page describes "Saw a Girl" as "A celebration of the outsider." We here at SKApril can get onboard with that.

"Here comes Barry, with his head held high,
Here comes Barry, leaving yesterday behind…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 14 April 2023
The Planet Smashers, "The 80 Bus" from Attack of the Planet Smashers (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

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

Death of Guitar Pop, "Ska Is the Bollocks" from In Over Our Heads (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Ska Is the Bollocks" is Top Kat & Silky's ironic ode to ska as the path to riches & women. Similar to Nothing for Something's "Ska Kids," from way back in SKApril II.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Red Stripes, "Big Boss Man" from Made in Hong Kong (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Big Boss Man" is in the same thematic vein as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "Hell of a Hat" (third wave, ska-punk), The Special's "A Message to You, Rudy" (second wave, 2-Tone), & Desmond Dekker & The Ace's "007 (Shanty Town)" (first wave, Jamaican). In the word of The Shadow, "Crime does not pay!" & "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Monday, 13 April 2015
Pushover, "Pitiful" from the Mailorder Is Fun! compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord / Holy Week
Daniel Schmit & Mike Hilliker, "Were You There" from Mercy: Songs for Holy Week (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Heal my broken, divided heart, O Lord, so eager to welcome & hail You as did the crowds in Jerusalem & also like them so quick to betray You. My every sin shouts, "Crucify Him!"

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-D (№ 16), Part I
12-13 April 1985: The Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR "Bo" Bobko, Pilot Don Williams, M.S.1 Rhea Seddon, M.S.2/F.E. Dave Griggs, M.S.3 Jeff Hoffman, P.S.1 Charlie Walker, & P.S.2 Senator Jake Garn (Republican, Utah); the septet deployed two satellites, Anik C1 & Syncom IV-3 (Leasat-3); Syncom IV-3 did not activate; the flight was extended two days.

Commentary: S.T.S.-51-D was the fourth flight of the Discovery OV-103. Senator Garn was the first of three sitting members of the United States Congress to fly on the Space Shuttle between 1985-1998.

12 April 1985 was the fourth anniversary of S.T.S.-1 (1981), the first Space Shuttle flight, & the twenty-fourth anniversary of Vostok 1 (1961), the first human space flight.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-D
John Philip Sousa, "Washington Post March" from The March King: John Philip Sousa Conducts His Own Marches and Other Favorites (An Historical Recording) (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' Trivia Night

Project Mercator: Trivia Night @ Saint Matthew
Big D and the Kids Table, "Learning to Listen" from the Plea for Peace compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I have found no better teacher than a trivia question gotten wrong. Like an elephant, I never forget.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Vostok 1

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 64th Anniversary of Vostok 1
Public Service Broadcasting, "Gagarin" from The Race for Space (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Happy Yuri's Night, space cadets! Hyperlinks: Cosmonautics Day, International Day of Human Space Flight, & Yuri's Night.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Vostok 1
№ DCCCX: The Sixtieth Anniversary of Vostok 1

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Thursday, 2 May 2019
Melbourne Ska Orchestra, “Lygon Street Meltdown”" from Melbourne Ska Orchestra (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. In the Year of Our Lord 2019, the Exodus 90 disciplines forbade all music. In obedience, SKApril IX was postponed until Easter. (In subsequent years, the disciplines have been revamped to, "Listen only to music that elevates your heart & mind to God.") 2 May was the twelfth day of that time-shifted SKApril.

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

The Rocksteady Conspiracy, "Jerk Chicken" from Rough & Sweet (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Apparently, The Rocksteady Conspiracy is an Austrian band, the second Austrians of this SKApril. SKAustria?

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 11 April 2021
Don Drummond & The Skatalites, "Man in the Street" from the 100 Reggae & Ska Hits compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

They Might Be Giants, "The End of the Tour" from John Henry (Mike Papa Whiting)

Commentary: You know, we'd probably get pretty good at this if we did it more than six or seven times a year.

The Explorers' Club Special: April 1915

Operation AXIOM: The World War
Eight consecutive episodes across March & April 2015 were devoted exclusively to the Great War. The war took a particularly dark turn in April 1915, with the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, the introduction of poison gas on the Western Front, & the arrival of the A.N.Z.A.C.s at Gallipolli.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: April 1915
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXXXVIII: The Defense of Van (The Armenian Genocide, Part I; 19 April-17 May 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXXXIX: "Red Sunday" (The Armenian Genocide, Part II; 24 April 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXL: The Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge (The Second Battle of Ypres, Part I; 22-23 April 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXLI: The Landings at "Anzac Cove" & Cape Hellas (The Gallipolli Campaign, Part II; 25 April 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLVIII: The London Pact (26 April 1915)

Lest we forget.

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

Roka Hueka, "Wrath of Skahn" from ¡Volar! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wrath of Khan plus ska equals "Wrath of Skahn." Punny!

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Operation Ivy, "Sound System" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

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

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "I Wrote It" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I wrote it with a golf pencil I pulled out of my blazer,
A crest sown on the chest read, 'Old Gold Rugby Football Club,'
Worn at one time by a man that at one time went to Yale,
Then he worked a while on Wall Street 'til the market collapsed.

"I was in a barroom that was somewhere on the southern shore of Boston,
The tender of the bar poured me a whiskey on the house,
I have a love for whiskey, I chased it with a beer,
I have a love for Boston and I loved writing it there.

"I wrote it in a notebook somebody let me borrow,
'Don't use all the paper please, and if you could, bring it back to me tomorrow,'
It was a fair request and I was grateful for the loan,
I had to jot a thought down I came up with on my own…

"I wrote, I wrote it for you,
I wrote, I wrote it for you,
I wrote, I wrote it for you,
I wrote, I wrote it for you.

"I wrote it in an hour or so; so, really not much longer,
I put the pencil in the shot glass and I buttoned up my blazer,
I stepped out of the bar into the cold October sun,
I must return the notebook, it's not important what I wrote."

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Tuesday, 9 April 2024
Show-Ska, "Persian Dream" from the Time after Time E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Countdown to Resurrection

Please Stand By | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs. (23 April 2025)
Difference: +/-? lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Jeffries Fan Club, "Healthy Body" from Take Warning: The Songs of Operation Ivy (Mike Papa Whale)

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

The Interrupters featuring Alex Désert & Greg Lee of Hepcat, "Burdens" from In the Wild (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: My first thought about the attribution of "Burdens" was, "But, wait, Alex & Greg were Hepcat. Why not just credit the song as The Interrupters featuring Hepcat?" But, though Messers. Désert & Lee were Hepcat's frontmen, it would not be accurate to say that they alone were Hepcat.

"Lay your burdens down, down, down, down,
Lay your burdens down,
Lay your burdens down, down, down, down,
Lay your burdens down,
If it gets too heavy, yeah, too heavy,
Gonna bring you to the ground,
Lay your burdens down, down, down, down,
Lay your burdens down…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 8 April 2018
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, "Sunny Blues/7 Inch" from Ska Me Forever (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

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

The Hippos, "Lost It" from Heads Are Gonna Roll (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The SKApril "All-Stars" are those bands that have contributed a song to every SKApril, dating back to 2011. The Hippos are the second All-Star band to enjoy this SKApril's limelight, which is a bit of a surprise, as seemingly every year I think, "This is the year The Hippos drop out." The Hippos released only three albums before breaking up, & only two of those (one & a half) were ska-punk albums. Yet here they are again. Huzzah!

"I can't believe a word she says to me,
It brings me closer to insanity,
Why can't she just understand?
The things she says could kill a man.

"I can't believe what she said,
It went straight to my head,
I'm lacking inspiration,
Where's my inspiration? (My inspiration)

"I had it, and I lost it,
Now you got to help me get it back again!
I had it, and I lost it,
Now you got to help me get it back again!…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 7 April 2017
Big D and the Kids Table, "(We All Have to) Burn Something" from How It Goes (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. The title is "(We All Have to) Burn Something" but the lyrics are:

"We all gotta burn something…"

Why not title the song "(We All Got to) Burn Something"? I like the song, I dislike the inconsistency.

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

Maria Blues, "Rude Monkey" from the Birth of the Fourth Wave of Ska compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"You woke up angry today,
You feel like skipping work,
But you guys bills to pay;
So, you'll just go through the day
Feeling like you don't have a say (You do),
Feeling like it shouldn't be this way,
Feeling like you don't have a say (You do),
Why can't you catch a break?…"

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

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

Skammentary: "Madness" is a cover of the song by Prince Buster, & the namesake of the band Madness.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Ich Bin Ein Berliner, "Amish Rake Fight" from In Ska We Trust (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the V Sunday o' Lent

The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Quadragesima)
Brothers Walker, "Lift Your Head Weary Sinner" from the Worship, Vol. 1 E.P. (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Gospel pericope for the Cycle C readings was the Woman Caught in Adultery from Saint John's Gospel. The Gospel pericope for the Cycle A "Scrutiny Readings" was our Blessed Savior's raising of Lazarus, also from Saint John's Gospel.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of the "April 5th Anamoly"
5 April 1975: CDR Vasily Lazarev & Flight Engineer Oleg Makarov lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz 7K-T capsule atop a Soyuz rocket; callsign Ural ("Ural"); the launch aborted when the third-stage engine ignited before separating from the second stage; the duo suffered twenty-one g's during the abort & landed in deep snow in Siberia near the Chinese border.

Commentary: Colonel Lazarev never fully recovered from his injuries & never flew in space again. The Soviets were unusually forthcoming with information—to N.A.S.A., not to the Soviet citizenry—due to the ongoing preparations for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

The twenty-one-minute suborbital flight is also known as Soyuz 18a or Soyuz 18-1, to differentiate it from the successful orbital flight Soyuz 18 later in 1975. The search for images is complicated by Lazarev & Makarov previously flying Soyuz 12 together in 1973.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The "April 5th Anamoly"
Dennis McCarthy, "Out of Control/The Crash" from Star Trek Generations: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 5 April 2013
The Bruce Lee Band, "Running Out of Time" from the Beautiful World E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"Slave to my lifestyle and I don't even know why,
(I hate my job, friend, the passion's over),
Ocean views on holidays,
(I hate my job, friend, I'm slowly dying,
I hate my job, friend, I'm running out of time)…"

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

Brad Pittance and the Pirates, "One Night Stand" from the Love, Lust and Skadust E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"This is ska!

"It's true I need a drink or two
To get the courage up and talk to you,
My clothes aren't special, but they are brand new,
Everybody's dancing and they're watching you.

"I don't mind the music, I don't mind the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I don't mind the singer and I dont mind the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand!

Hey, you! This is ska!

"They kept that groove 'til she looked so fine,
I really want to make her mine,
I take her hand, she looked so good,
I take her home and I think I should.

"I quite like the music, I quite like the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I quite like the singer and I quite like the band,
But I'm only here for a one night stand!

"Everybody's bustin' out their moves,
Everybody's gettin' into the groove!

"But something went wrong as I said hi,
She's gone off dancing with another guy,
He's looking smart in his boots and braces,
Looks like I was never really at the races.

"I like the music, I like the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I like the singer and I like the band,
I was only here for a one night stand!

This is the sound of ska!

"So I start staring at my phone,
Looks like I'll be going home alone,
I get to talking to a guy at the bar,
'You just can't beat some reggae and ska!'…

"I love the music, I like the band,
I was here for a one night stand,
I like the singer and I love the band,
I was only here for a one night stand!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Saturday, 4 April 2020
MU330, "Rocket Fuel" from MU330 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"That kid is rocket fuel (please please),
That kid is rocket fuel (go to sleep),
That kid is rocket fuel (please please),
That kid, he's rocket fuel!…"

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

The Raymond Scott Quintette, "Powerhouse" from the Microphone Music compilation (Mike Papa Wreckfish)

Commentary: The normal weekly routine for running the Fish Fry is: Make coleslaw & prep potatos on Thursday afternoon, put out signage on Thursday evening to catch the Friday morning commuters, hold the fry on Friday, fetch the fish for the next Friday's fry on Saturday. Last Sunday (30 March), the entire Holy Redeemer campus lost electrical power due to a severe windstorm; power was not restored until Wednesday (3 April); power went out again for a while on Thursday. Due to the need to clean the building after the power outage, coleslaw & baked potato prep was moved from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning. No one was able to access the parish hall to check on the temperature of the thawing fish in the locked cooler (the building is accessed through electronic keycards, which obviously do not work absent electricity); so, I had to procure a whole new stock of fish, which began thawing at the fishmonger's market, because there was no point in acquiring new stock if I had no place to store it. With power finally restored & the hall cleaned, I picked up & put in the cooler the already thawing replacement fish (my Saturday job); then, I helped make the coleslaw & prep the potatoes (my Thursday job); then, the usual Friday Fish Fry. What a cartoonishly frenetic day!

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

RX Bandits, "Lost" from Halfway Between Here & There (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"…I'm not afraid anymore.

"There is a way for us all,
There is a way for my future,
Nothing left for me at all,
Nothing left, I can't find it,
I don't see any more,
How can I be so stupid?
Well, I don't know anymore,
Drop me now 'cause I'm so damn lost!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 3 April 2011
Less Than Jake, "Danny Says" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Your humble narrator was nineteen when Hello Rockview was released.

"He's only nineteen,
Burnt out on the scene,
Yeah, he's only nineteen…"

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

Less Than Jake, "Done and Dusted" from the Greetings & Salutations from Less Than Jake compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"My vital signs are thick and grayed,
Must be why I'm still awake…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Saturday, 2 April 2022
M.C. Lars featuring The M.C. Bat Commander & Suburban Legends, "This Gigantic Robot Kills" from the This Gigantic Robot Kills single (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Ska bands namechecked in "This Gigantic Robot Kills:" Gwen Stefani (of No Doubt), Goldfinger, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Aquabats!, Save Ferris, Sublime, & The O.C. Supertones.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Countdown to Resurrection

Please Stand By | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs. (23 April 2025)
Difference: +/-? lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Operation Ivy, "Healthy Body" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Mike Papa Whale)

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

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

Skammentary: It might be too early for hot sake here in sacred Michigan, but Japan is thirteen hours ahead of us; so, it is already 8:37 P.M. there (2037 hours). A fine time for an adult beverage.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Reel Big Fish, "Don't Stop Skankin'" from Candy Coated Fury (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

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

Tobeadded, "Ska Sucks" from the Ska Sucks single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Tobeadded, stylized as tobeadded or tba, are a small Austrian ska band, apparently active from 2010-2018. At least, nothing's been added to their YouTube page in seven years. There is a charming D.I.Y. quality to "Ska Sucks."

"You say, ska sucks in every way,
And I say, I think it is quite O.K.…"

Welcome to SKApril!