Word: ska
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...country acts go, the only other performer to pull that off is veteran megaseller Garth Brooks. Last week Rimes continued her winning streak, taking the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and beating out a slate of more heavily favored rockers--including the pop-ska band No Doubt--to win the highly coveted award for Best New Artist. "I was in shock, and still am," she said backstage. But even in that moment of unexpected triumph, Rimes maintained a precocious awareness of her place in country music: "I am one of the only country artists ever nominated [for Best...
With the recent popularity of bands like No Doubt, Sublime and Goldfinger, the ska scene has seen its music, or at least a kind of diluted derivative, vaulted into the radio spotlight. Goldfinger's "Here In My Bedroom" deservedly broke through to the mainstream with its undeniably infectious intro melody and catchy chorus. The song's radio air-play was probably what packed the sold-out show at the Middle East with a predominantly teenage crowd. Yet no matter what the listener's motivation, whether radio or devotion to a particular band, the audience was graced with two extraordinarily energetic...
...inkling about the band's music, it showed how each of their individual talents could blend into a beautiful performance. Once Reel Big Fish hit the first note, there was no stopping the unrelenting in-your-face power of the horns and vocals backed up by a classic ska rhythm and background harmonies...
...crowd was looking for generic power chord fodder in Goldfinger's performance, then its anticipation was satisfied. The band's ska roots were watered down to the point that the ska-based guitar rhythm would pop up every so often, as if it remained a vestigial part of the band by failing to make a musical statement. Consequently, the noisy uniformity of the music washed away the lyrics into inaudible oblivion. Unbelievably, however, the audience continued to eat up the performance as they threw themselves at each other and jumped along to the drum rhythms...
Goldfinger failed to have the never-ending energy and musical potential of Reel Big Fish or the comic fare of the Blue Meanies' cartoon quality tunes. Maybe the band should have remained true to its ska influences or instead trailed down a more creative musical path. Despite the bittersweet performance, Goldfinger certainly knew how to handle a live audience, which is more than what some bands could ever offer...