Word: ska
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Their rhythms are bouncy, their music is happy and their lyrics are sick and twisted. In their latest album, Why Do They Rock So Hard, Reel Big Fish take the emotionally contradictory world of ska and exploit its inconsistencies for all they're worth...
...true ska fashion, with their upbeat music, the members of Reel Big Fish make Why Do They Rock So Hardfun in spite of its dysfunctional lyrics. The music on the album is not radical for ska--many of the songs sound borderline generic at first, using ska rhythms and instrumentation in predictable ways. But the music is not bland. The melodies are lively and infectious, the band uses short drum, brass, and guitar features to good effect and, musically, the vocals are interesting and well performed. Songs such as "You Don't Know" and "The Set Up [You Need This...
...Earlier on, there seemed to be more of a rock or ska tone to your albums. What changed...
...attention to such a degree that you had this one kind of sound on the radio for several years. And then in the last couple of years it kind of died out and it really opened up a lot of space for other types of music to come through. Ska was something that was happening and that kind of blew up there, for a while...and then swing was kind of the next step. It has more horns, it's dance music...and I think also, it's kind of the antidote to grunge. It's a very different sensibility...
...They'd say, "You guys are great, but what are you? Are you a rock band? Are you a swing band?" So I think over time, partly out of necessity and partly out of taste, we got tired of some the other stuff and started to focus more on ska and swing...