Lately, I have been retrospectively examining my relationship with music and how listening primarily to records has affected that experience. The catalyst for this reflection? A playlist I made on Spotify and the resultant discussion I had with a friend. I know, I know, this is a record group and I’m talking about streaming music. I promise that it has a valid place in this discussion.
I would say somewhere around 2009, I finally began to regard Hip-Hop as the amazing musical art form that it should be seen as. My life changed after I heard the Illmatic for the first time.
There are many aspects I love about listening to my records. One such aspect is that it enables me to enjoy and appreciate a full album. More specifically, I wanted to sit down and listen to full studio albums of original music.
Ska is a category misunderstood by many. This is especially true amongst people from my generation (millennials) who grew up when “Third Wave Ska” filled the airwaves.
Today, I am “sitting down” with Ryan Zoidis of the truly monstrous Funk outfit, Lettuce. Ryan is an awesome saxophonist and a really down-to-earth guy, with some amazing taste in music. Definitely look into his picks below if you’re not familiar with them.
Phil Campbell needs no introduction. As the lead guitarist of Motörhead from 1984 until the band’s end in 2015, Phil Campbell has been one of the most influential guitar players in all of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. His influence on the genre and its players over the last 40 years is both undeniable and indelible.
When it comes to Ska, more specifically, the second wave, The Toasters are one of the most important, if not the most important. More so, the third wave simply would not have taken shape in the way that it did if not for the influence of Robert “Bucket” Hingley and his band The Toasters.
