In Defense of Ska: The Ska Now More Than Ever Edition

by Aaron Carnes

In a mix of interviews, essays, personal stories, historical snapshots, obscure anecdotes, and think pieces, this second expanded edition dissects, analyzes and celebrates ska in exactly the way fans have been craving for decades.   With the addition of 4 new sections, Aaron adds to the already extensive compendium that was the first edition: The Importance of Christian Ska, After ska died in the ’90s, the music went underground and returned to its roots, The ska roots of Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump, How Katrina created a vibrant ska scene in New Orleans, Aaron expands on the original edition with exciting interviews with Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy who he interviewed on his podcast of the same name.   In Defense of Ska: Ska Now More Than Ever  is the much-needed response to years of ska-mockery. Now the time to take to the streets and fight music snobbery, or at least crank up the ska without being teased ruthlessly has comeThis book will enlist ska-lovers as soldiers in the ska army, and challenge ska-haters’ prejudices to the core. 

Genres: Music

375 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2023

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the definitive book on ska because I am mentioned in it by name

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his book In Defense of Ska, Author Aaron Carnes brings ska out of the shadows to show readers that the genre is much more than a horn-filled, late-1990s fad. Part history, part journalism, and part memoir, the book’s newest edition contains even more stories from those who played and loved ska in the ’90s and beyond. Carnes gives ska musicians and fans a chance to embrace their “checkered pasts” and relive a scene filled with inclusion and joy. (Read the rest of my review at Louder Than War: https://louderthanwar.com/in-defense-...)

[Scott Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's Face It, nobody who dislikes ska is going to read this book and suddenly like it. It almost seems like the author realized this partway through and shifted from "defending" ska to storytelling its rise and fall and random anecdotes about bands he knew and liked. The structure is all over the place. There were errors and typos, and sometimes characters would be introduced by last name only, like "Ebel decided to..." where if you didn't know he meant Brandon Ebel, the founder of Tooth & Nail records, you'd have no idea what he was talking about.

That being said, I loved it and read the whole thing in a week. The additional sections in the expanded addition were the best, and I'd like to see a sequel that does a deeper dive into some of the larger bands that were mysteriously absent from the book.

I also enjoyed learning more about first wave, 2-tone, and the deep anti-racism that ska wouldn't exist without. This book as motivied me to check out a lot of the earlier bands that I didn't like when I was growing up because they weren't punk enough for me, and also diving into what some of the newer bands are doing outside of the ones I already follow.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really long book, and I didn’t always love the organization of it. I am somebody who simply likes ska and wanted to know more, and I think that there was way more than I needed. I’d recommend this book to people who are already serious ska fans, not beginners. I appreciated some of the history and the origin stories and tales about the bands I actually knew, and I’m always interested in how cultures embrace or reject new music, reported in hindsight. I enjoyed listening to many of the songs and bands Carnnes mentioned along the way. I would’ve preferred maybe a 100 page book a bit more!

[Ryan C. Zerfas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what you'd want it to be. A love letter to Ska music with some good first hand stories of being in a ska band peppered in. Slight ding for some disorganized prose, but it was a fun upbeat journey to be on... definitely learned a bunch of new bands and some fun tales of bands I love.

[Elvis Cage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Partially a trip down memory lane, partially a history lesson, and partially introducing an old ska fan to new (or new to me) artists. Carnes love letter to Ska music is a fun read for fans of ska and an informative read for those who may look down on the genre.

[Dan Luffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, definitely gave me a bunch of extra bands to look up! would love to see something similar done for the UK ska scene by someone as passionate as Mr Carnes!