ska

ol weasel was fortuitous indeed
when his parents chose the mid 60's
to cut the umbilical
and release him upon the planet

it meant that i was present thru
what might have been
the most seminal divergences and 
marriages of music
of the century

my dad was a big music fan
we would listen to 
patsy cline slim whitman elvis 
lotta johnny cash hank williams 
herb Alpert buddy holly et al
he had eclectic tastes

on road trips it was non stop
cassettes all the way
cranked
while dad chain smoked up front
driving
us kids would rock out in
the back seat
with our air guitars and drums
between fights

anyhoohow
i was just in time
for punk
the reggae explosion
new wave and ska

at the same time 
bands like led zep queen the eagles etc
were on the radio
very little music content on tv
maybe less than an hour a week

because the mainstream music
was on the radio
it meant one had to explore other genres
yourself

one of my favourite styles of music
was ska

it started well early in the uk 60s
in brixton and the black enclaves of london
but by the late seventies had evolved into
its own genre
with its own dances and fashions
it was themed black and white
like the make up of the bands
which were mostly racially mixed 

its dance
skanking
seems to have evolved into something else
i think we have the americans to thank
for that

the fashion also was black and white
big shouldered suits with stovepipe trou
buttoned up collars and black tie
snappy

lets listen to some ska