If you have any memory of third wave ska revival, it's thanks to nineties teen movies. Which probably didn't give you much explanation as to what a third wave ska revival was, so, some context. Originating in Jamaica in the late fifties, the second wave of ska was probably the most well known. Second wave ska is 2 Tone, the bands that came out of the Midlands like The Specials and The Beat, with sharp suits, horn sections of a relaxed beat. By the time the third wave hit, the location was America, the horns were still in effect, but the suits had been swapped for cargo shorts and the relaxed beat for the sort of frenetic energy which made them perfect for high school proms. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Goldfinger, and Letters To Cleo all share a distinction other than being part of the third wave ska revival: they all appeared in teen movies. Usually as the performers at proms that inevitably close out teen movies (because its the literal and figurative finale of adolescence). Letters To Cleo even end up playing on the high school roof at the end of 10 Things I Hate About You, which nobody bats an eyelid at. All of which suggests an alternate universe where ska was the most popular musical genre going during the nineties, and that everybody loved them to the point that they were booked to play every high school prom in the country. And principals were fine with them playing on their roofs, too. We can assure you, because we were there. This was very much not the case. Want further proof? IT's been nearly two decades, and we've yet to see a fourth wave of ska on the horizon...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
