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Madness March 2025 - The Trojan War Round 1 Part 1
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Madness March is upon us with another 32 song bracket to crown a winner! This time its to determine the greatest Ska standard of all time! In Round 1 Part 1 Joey, Celine and Rob eliminate 8 songs of classic Jamaican Ska to advance to Round 2 making some tough, enraging and probably wrong calls.
Spotify Playlist
Madness March predictions are closed! Follow the bracket here
Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey
Engineer: Joey
Editor: Cutman
Theme Song by Keelan and Joey
Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International
Special Thanks: Mega Michi and Adam the Ska Mailman
Recommended
Transcript
Welcome to Classic Sky's Unique Music Blend
00:00:00
Speaker
In the spring of 2025 came Classic Sky to Edmonton. Checkered Pass took the music from the genre and put it to the pod, and came up with this bracket and called it Hep, hipp hep Hep, Hep, The Trojan War!
00:00:15
Speaker
two, three, four!
00:00:31
Speaker
What the fuck you doing with yourself? What the fuck you doing with your life these days? What the fuck you doing with yourself?
00:00:54
Speaker
Beautiful.
Introduction to 'Checkered Past' Podcast
00:00:55
Speaker
What up, Checkerheads? Welcome to Checkered Past, this podcast with Slyn and Rob. The show where a simmer down, down, down to Mephisto's Cafe and a big 666-DOGGOD explore the history and impact of a different band each episode. Hope to bring in new fans along the way.
00:01:13
Speaker
I'm Rob Marley, and this is my sister and co-host, Slyment Dodd. um i have no idea just ska stuff just a bunch of ska stuff took old-timey ska songs and then like put like modern ska stuff on top of it yeah just like stack the ska on the ska uh and this is our co-host with the most toast joey cliff joey cliff that's fun yeah i did it i said it before yeah oh okay i y k y k for your intro hmm if you know you know yes guess makes more sense written down than said out loud so in all honesty before we get into the meat and potatoes of this episode how often do you see like an acronym um displayed by somebody all honest and and you have to google it to figure out what it is i feel like that one flows really well
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah, I got that one. I would say a new one pops up that I got to look for the meaning of once every three months. think I engage with youth culture enough and hear speak enough. I do a lot of Gen Z haircuts. A lot of time can... What's the word? Context, like the context clues. Forensic analysis. Yeah, totally.
00:02:35
Speaker
Cultural forensics. What's the word? No, no, that's fine. I like it. not sure what it is, but I like forensics. We want to talk about old school ska music. Yeah.
Exploring the March Madness Ska Bracket
00:02:45
Speaker
This is Madness March. All month long, we we're doing a March Madness style bracket to pit 32 classic Jamaican ska songs in head-to-head battle to determine once and for all the greatest ska standard of all time.
00:02:56
Speaker
Thanks for everyone who voted their predictions. If you want to follow along, the bracket is at challenge.com slash the Trojan War. the The matchups are based on nothing.
00:03:06
Speaker
and Not really. It's kind of random. ah Here's how it's going to work. Today is round one, part one. And next week we will have round one, part two with just the crew. We'll bring in guests for weeks three to five, all the way through to the finals, eliminating half the tracks each week until an ultimate winner is crowned.
00:03:23
Speaker
And in the event of a tie, we'll go to the discord to break it with the loyal checker heads. But what is Jamaican sky? You may ask. I can't believe it took us three years to talk about it Speaking of tie. don't know when you, when you dress. they wore ties. They wore ties.
00:03:37
Speaker
yeah Man, I'm slow on updates. I don't know. I think I'm being weird. I was with you. Joey got it That's two against one.
Origins and Evolution of Jamaican Ska
00:03:47
Speaker
ah It was formed in Jamaica in the late 1950s by combining the local sounds of Mento and Calypso with the R&B and Jump Blues imported by American soldiers in the aftermath of World War II.
00:03:56
Speaker
Thanks to DJs and sound system operators such as Prince, Buster, Cox and Dodd, and Duke Reed, the style was brought to the forefront by hiring local musicians to create a style that was definitively Jamaican, which coincided with the liberation of the country from the English in the early 60s.
00:04:09
Speaker
This culminated in the release of Millie Small's My Boy Lollipop in 1964 that exploded internationally becoming Jamaica's first commercially successful song. Studios on Orange Street, such as Studio One and Treasure, became hotspots for local bands to record.
00:04:23
Speaker
With slower soul music becoming more popular in the U.S., the ska sound slowed to create Rocksteady in the late 60s before slowing further to the more African-forward reggae by the nineteen seventy s Many Jamaicans began immigrating to the UK in the 60s, including the legendary Duke Reed, who founded Trojan Records and imported numerous Jamaican releases that exploded in popularity, creating the crossover hits that we are talking about today.
00:04:45
Speaker
Hence why we're calling this the Trojan War. Yeah. All right. So this is what we do every time when we start this off. Joey, what are you looking for in a classic Jamaican ska song? Oh, man. I forget that we do this every time. And then I have to think of something every time. um Gotta have groove.
00:05:05
Speaker
Gotta have groove. Okay, groove. Groove is in the heart. Groove is in the heart. I'm going to we gotta write it all down. Groove is in the heart. um
00:05:18
Speaker
It's tough because like. and ah but I've been listening to the songs this time. Yeah. And I'm trying to sort of narrow it down as opposed to usually I just jump right into it.
00:05:29
Speaker
But like, there's like four or five kind of song. Yep. You know what I mean? And so it's really hard for me to be like, I like the ones that have the harmonies because then we'll get the one where it's versus, and it'll be a harmony song versus something else where I like the other thing in the song. Right.
00:05:44
Speaker
And I'll be like, bah, but I said I like the harmonies and then I'll get, trapped by my own you know like it's headstrong now you guys are um oh man okay group is in the heart i i need um i want piano on there okay okay piano i think i want like piano keyboard only no i like when there's a keyboard but like A lot of the real classic songs have, like, piano.
00:06:13
Speaker
That's true, because it's a lot more, like, what do you want to call it? Like, ah not acoustic, but I guess analog. Yeah. Is the kind of old-school ska sound. Yeah, and i I do like the ones that that feature piano.
00:06:24
Speaker
Yeah. ah Which I'm probably going to also regret saying at some point. Yeah.
00:06:32
Speaker
ah i don't even know. Oh, it's so hard. Do want me to come back to you? Yes. Okay. Julie was so excited. yeah So Lynn, what are you looking for? Not all white people.
00:06:42
Speaker
Okay. Which I think won't be too hard for once. Very easy in this. Yeah. Not all white people. You'll only have two groups where that will be a problem. Damn. Okay. Okay. That's kind of nice. Okay, cool, so not all white people.
00:06:54
Speaker
Like, I feel like, I'm trying to find the right words, but like, not necessarily like anti-authority, but so like under an underground. You know what i mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Underground or anti-authority kind of edge to it.
00:07:05
Speaker
So yeah, again, dirt in the fingernails. Yeah, dirt fingernails. little grit always, yeah. Yeah, little grit. A little grit. We'll call grit. And then it's gotta be fucking, it's gotta be catchy. It's gotta be catchy. It's gotta to be catchy.
00:07:18
Speaker
mean, that's, that's easy. Catchy? yeah is that It's not easy. easier said than Easier said than done. Hooks. i I need a hook. That'll be my third thing. I need like a hooky hook.
00:07:30
Speaker
Like a real hooky hook. I'm going to go against what you had just said because I'm actually going to favor the instrumentals. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's fair. I'm also going to say that I definitely, because we're going to have ska, reggae, and rocksteady, I'm going to definitely be in the ska, rocksteady camp.
00:07:46
Speaker
If it gets too
What Makes Ska Songs Appealing?
00:07:47
Speaker
reggae, I think I'm going to probably peace out on that. i kind of like all of it. so I'm not a Marley head either. mean neither.
00:07:57
Speaker
But I do like reggae. Now what's the other one? think i think like um I think I'm going to like the shitty production more. Yeah, like i actually did the earlier kind of stuff. Yeah, I'm going write shitty production. I like that one-take style where it's just really too rough.
00:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's one of the things that I like about early ska. I'm sure I'll enjoy a couple clean-y guys, but yeah, I think the appeal for me... I know there are a few songs with very clean, huge production in this list that I really enjoy, but I guess it comes down to what they come up against.
00:08:34
Speaker
yeah Because i've been I've been listening to the playlist. I assume you put the playlist in order. But also, i I haven't been thinking about the songs as pairings. I've just been listening to them. Right. You know what I So sure who's up against what. Yeah. That's going to make a big difference.
00:08:49
Speaker
I got in a friendly debate recently about skinheads. Yeah. And I was like, two dudes against one. One who was half black, who was like, I don't care about... that he speaks for all black people or half black people, but...
00:09:03
Speaker
um was like not on my same page as like there's other ways to dress right but then one of the guys sent me a meme that was like imagine if like people started dressing like the klu klux klan and they started saying oh but like in in england in the 60s it was actually this thing so that's what i'm referencing and i was like that's really funny I do enjoy that. think that's like a really good metaphor. It's obviously extreme, but like but also not. Not really.
00:09:32
Speaker
I'm trying to be a spooky ghost. Yeah, like, no actually in the England in england like this time, there's actually a really cool underground scene, so like that's what I'm doing. and Like Teddy Boys.
00:09:43
Speaker
Right? they They're fine. no No, I'm just like throwing out a random. Yeah, just just like a random. Yeah, that's what they that's what they did, right? Like the hangout with the bananas and pajamas?
00:09:54
Speaker
Every time. That's good. to um B1 and B2 are a little racist. A little bit. Alright, so this is how it's going to work. We're going to play a song. we're go play two songs against each other. and then we go 3, 2, 1.
00:10:11
Speaker
And then say the same the song that we want to advance together. And majority rules. And then you get mad. um then you get mad Or you get happy. Yeah. So get ready to get mad as we start with the very first track.
00:10:23
Speaker
This is althea and Donna's Uptown Ranking, recorded in 1977 by a couple Jamaican teens. It's an answer track to three-piece suit by Trinity using the rhythm popularized by rocksteady legend Alton Ellis on I'm Still in Love.
00:10:38
Speaker
It hit number one on the UK singles chart, Uptown Top Ranking.
00:10:45
Speaker
We do have a couple songs from like the late 70s. There's a couple. Most of this is mid 60s to mid 70s, but there's a couple later tracks. This is a jam and a half.
00:10:57
Speaker
Revamped with Big D for the song Strictly Rude. Okay, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that bass line is something else. With like the clavinet too?
00:11:09
Speaker
Oh, lady vocals is a big win for me. i wouldn't say it needs it, but like it's definitely like a big plus.
00:11:21
Speaker
Pretty reggae. Yeah. Can I add that to my thing? Lady vocals sometimes? You can. strict Write it down. Write it down.
00:11:32
Speaker
Lady vocals sometimes. This is cool. Right? I do just love... Apparently it was a joke song. That's funny. Yeah.
00:11:43
Speaker
A funny joke. Yeah. Listen to us laughing. yeah
00:11:49
Speaker
A woman? On music? Just like a repeating jam, though. Love that shit. jam though love that shit yeah it's very dub adjacent yeah yeah just smoke a big spliff and fucking listen that shit it's great it's fun it's good song there's gonna be very few like whiffs on this list like there aren't yeah there's gonna be a lot of heavy hitters would we'd have been big in there's one guy that calls it out specifically coming up, uh, in our next match. It just seems so, like, it seems so illegal. It seems so illegal there. you know what I mean? Yeah, it Like, when it was illegal in Canada, it was like, yeah, it's illegal.
00:12:27
Speaker
That's nuts. Yeah, it was super illegal because they they were run by a Catholic, uh, party. Hmm. And so they found Rastafarianism to be like devil, like worship. it Damn. Yeah. so it was like a big deal to smoke.
00:12:38
Speaker
That's what was I was kind of thinking. was a big deal be Rasta or to even talk about Africa. like Damn. It was big deal in Jamaica. which is That's crazy. Yeah.
Debating Ska Song Selection
00:12:46
Speaker
I need to like. And the UK is still like weed is still scheduled as a like the same. and whatever It's a narcotic. need to learn more about like the history of Jamaica. I'm sure it's dark and sad.
00:12:55
Speaker
It is super dark and sad. But I'm like, I don't think I know enough about the colonialism. That's why they love party music so much. It's just too dark and sad. yeah They need to lift themselves up.
00:13:06
Speaker
Oh, yeah. All right, let's go to the next one. It is going up against the Upsetter's Return of Django, recorded in 1969, an instrumental track written by band leader, the one and only Lee Scratch Perry, in the band's signature pre-dub style.
00:13:20
Speaker
Its B-side was Dollar in the Teeth, and it peaked at number of five on the UK singles chart. What a hell of a single. Dollar in Teeth and Return of Django? Jesus Christ. All right, let's listen to this one.
00:13:33
Speaker
That's cool. I love Scratch. Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:39
Speaker
to track super behind Just songs. Just kidding. This is so much better than Real Big Fish. I love those like R&B bass lines that they love to use. Like super fun.
00:13:51
Speaker
This is an interesting bracket because like I feel like there's not going to be too many hard flops. No. Not very many. Where it's just like I get mad and it's just flopping.
00:14:02
Speaker
it's It's mostly a preference thing, I find. If I'm voting off a song, it's just because I prefer a different song. But they're not for bad songs. Yeah, exactly. They're like objectively good. It's a this objectively good music. It might be the best bracket that we've ever put together. It's the playlist I've listened to the most just through the playlist, for sure.
00:14:23
Speaker
is this full instrumental? Yep. Not bad at all. Scratch didn't really do a lot of vocals on his songs. Upsetters were pretty instrumental. Like, Super Rape is all instrumental, I'm pretty sure. Three, two, one.
00:14:36
Speaker
Return of Django. Yeah, okay, that was universal. And you know what? my only The only reason was is we're kind of picking the best ska song. Yeah, kind of, right? And this song is way more ska. Like, that reggae jam is fucking sick as hell, but this is just more...
00:14:54
Speaker
And for me too, like I, cause Strictly Rude is my favorite Big D record. And I just have a way more of an attachment to the Big D version of that song that I'm also like a little bit biased.
00:15:05
Speaker
But Uptown Top Rankings is a killer song. Like it's so good. Yeah. But Return of Django is like, like to your point, we're trying to figure out the best like standard in the genre and it's kind of iconic. right Yeah. Hell yeah.
00:15:18
Speaker
This is what inspired um Tarantino's film.
00:15:22
Speaker
Django Unchained that's what you're referring to alright well let's do the thing Celine about the black people this is Judge Dredd's Big Six recorded in 1972 this is all white this is all white Yeah. yeah It's a rather risque song as a pseudo sequel to Prince Buster's Big Five co-written by Jamaican producer Gigi Wranglin and costing less than 10 pounds to record it received no radio play but peaked at number 11 on the UK singles chart no one would play it because he says a lot of dirty words this is Judge Dredd's Big Six I guess that goes anti-authority
00:16:07
Speaker
Get ready
00:16:15
Speaker
The beat is great. Is it? go The beat is awesome. yeah This is a good jam. Judge Dredd, man. Yeah, he's white. oh yeah. yeah yeah oh yeah but Oh, yeah. I try to be careful when I'm saying what he's saying to not fake Jamaican it.
00:16:38
Speaker
He's mostly talking about dicks. Mostly is what he's talking about is dicks. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. He's trying to Prince Buster thing, clearly. i like I understand why you chose this song, but this is like a joke song.
00:16:54
Speaker
As a white person, and it is sounds just so much less cool. Number 11. I picked it because it's his biggest charting song. He toured Jamaica off this thing.
00:17:05
Speaker
and so Did they embrace him? Yeah. They loved him. Jamaicans love Judge Dredd. That's cute. That's kind of funny. Yeah. Because he he's such he's like the clown prince of old school ska.
00:17:16
Speaker
Random white guy in England just like put five bucks together, recorded a crappy single, and then just became ah ah minor legend. A fucking legend. What a joke. man like i That might be the flop.
00:17:32
Speaker
i got in but i I guess going to have to hear the next one, but I might have to agree with you. I gotta say, though, smoking the weed is probably one of the funniest fucking lines I've ever heard. That'd be to sample in something. Later in the song, the way, smoking the weed. Yeah, that'd be fun to like start a song with that you like write about smoking weed. That's cool. just Yeah, that would be good.
00:18:00
Speaker
Alrighty, let's do this. Let's move past Judge Dredd for a second. Okay, it's going up against Ken Booth's Everything I Own, recorded in 1974. It's a rock-steady cover of the Bread Song and peaked at number one on the UK singles chart, Everything I Own by Ken Booth.
00:18:20
Speaker
So, mid-70s, we're going to have some clean production. Listen to little chimes.
00:18:30
Speaker
Bit of a nod to Monkey Man? Yeah.
00:18:36
Speaker
Smooth. Vibra to watch. Oh, yeah. Great singer. He's vibrant. Great singer. Yeah, beautiful voice. Stark contrast vocally to the... Ay-yi-yi.
00:18:52
Speaker
Just wait till he says that in the song. Wait till this guy says smoke in the weed. It's way different. I have a new...
00:19:01
Speaker
Beautiful, beautiful voice. There's a lot of covers on this bracket. Like, I actually, there's a lot that I didn't even realize were covers until I looked
00:19:12
Speaker
into it. Hot damn, that's good. I can't get over his voice. It's, like, really beautiful. Yeah, right?
00:19:24
Speaker
That harmony? Wow. Yeah.
00:19:29
Speaker
yeah Once again. Yeah, all right so that's a real good song. I know I'm voting. Yeah, don't have to think very hard about that one. Versus everything I own. Okay. Three, ta two, one.
00:19:42
Speaker
everything on my own shut up Rob I just did that for fun I secretly was like man how great would it be if Judge Dredd even made it to the end not to the end to at
Judge Dredd's 'Big Six' and Its Controversy
00:19:59
Speaker
least round two like I was like man what if he went up against like a total shit song like that would none of us like and we're just like I guess Judge Dredd so I force a guest to have to listen to that song That would have been pretty funny.
00:20:13
Speaker
All right. I am a little sad that, like, if listeners, if you haven't listened all the way through the big six, go listen to it just so you get to the smoke and the weed line.
00:20:26
Speaker
All right. This next matchup sucks, and it sucks hard. um Okay. Oh, my goodness. Holy shit. this is That sucks. First track is Dandy Livingstone's Rudy A Message To You, recorded in 1967. It's a ska rock steady song admonishing young rude boys for being too violent, featuring the trombone playing of young Rico Rodriguez, peaked at number 10 on the UK singles chart, but not until 1979, 12 years after it was recorded, after the special version was first released.
00:20:55
Speaker
This is Rudy A Message To You.
00:21:01
Speaker
So yes, the trombone player for this song, Rico, yeah plays st trombone for the specials version as well. Oh, wow, that's cool. Speaking of killer vocals. So if that's a 12 years difference, does that mean he was like the old guy in the band in the specials? you Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:21:21
Speaker
And he's Cuban, which is fun. Oh, cool. It's so much cleaner, hey, than the specials. Yeah. Isn't that bass? It's just like... So like boomy and big.
00:21:41
Speaker
It's very similar, but still very different. It's cool. Like, I think their perspective on these words means something different too. Like, Dandy Livingstone is basically like, Nuh-uh, Rudy.
00:21:54
Speaker
Nuh-uh. Don't you do it. No, don't do it, Rudy. Don't that. yeah Yeah. And the specials are like, Rudy... Do it. Do it, Rudy. is yeah Yeah, Rudy. Get it.
00:22:07
Speaker
It matters differently who's singing it, right? It's true.
00:22:12
Speaker
So that's a genre. The Nuh-uh Rudy genre. We're going have a lot of those. Nuh-uh. Like, chill out, Rudy. Don't do that. Don't do that, Rudy. I have a a conspiracy link between one of the songs coming up. Oh. oh Yeah. Based on Rudy.
00:22:28
Speaker
ah Based on Rudy. Yeah. yeah It's all the same person. oh doubt Definitely. thinking about but But a specific link to a specific other song. Yeah. Is he the one that gets married? Maybe. Yeah. misco eva He finally put his ratchet down.
00:22:42
Speaker
right I don't think we have any songs really they talking about. Rudy is a gender neutral name. Really, when you get down to it. So it could be anybody. It's the people's Rudy. A rude person. Yeah, Miss Diva.
00:22:53
Speaker
Rudy. Miss Rudy Diva. She's up to like so much stuff.
00:23:01
Speaker
It's going up against The Guns of Navarone, recorded in 1965, an instrumental cover of the theme song of the movie with the same name, featuring toasts from Roland Alfonso and Scratch Perry.
00:23:13
Speaker
It only peaked number 34 on the UK singles chart and is still the only charting Scatolite song. but Believe it or not. This is not the one and only Scatolites. This is their song, Guns of Navarone.
00:23:33
Speaker
Damn. This is tough. Too classy. Matchup fucking sucks. Yeah. Round one. um This is kind of a cooler song.
00:23:47
Speaker
I mean... It hits my... The, like, rhythm that has been interpolated to so many cool songs from this song, too, is... And the toasting's pretty of control. Yeah.
00:24:10
Speaker
Big shout out to the re-recorded version from Highbop Ska that's also very killer in 97. The original still. Imagine just voice as an instrument.
00:24:24
Speaker
Right? So clean too. And he's doing like a swishy thing too. Like he's not just chicken. He's adding effects.
00:24:37
Speaker
Beatboxing.
00:24:41
Speaker
like a train. But not the train to Scotville. Not the train to Scotville. That's a different train. yeah Hot damn, what a matchup, hey hey? I'm ready. Yeah, I'm locked in, actually.
00:24:51
Speaker
If you're listening to them both. yeah okay Go with the better song, not just the more popular one. Three, two, one. Guns of Navarro. Okay, sweet. use one yeah I knew he was going to do that.
00:25:05
Speaker
It's a good song. i like the trombone in it. But are you true thinking about the special song when you're voting? I said I wanted a hook. It is hooky. It's much catchier. yeah i mean like like but i mean But Guns of Navarone checks all my boxes. yeah like it's It's got the shitty production. It's an instrumental. It's full ska.
00:25:25
Speaker
that's that's everything I don't feel bad about losing that one. People are going to be choked. know mean? i either know I think they'll get it. i think i get it They'll get it. yeah I think some of these, they probably were like tossing it up too. They were like, I don't know what I'm going to vote for.
00:25:41
Speaker
yeah and if you vote wrong early, your whole bracket might be screwed. so Because all the points are at the end. yeah Yeah. So we might have just fucked you over yeah just now.
00:25:51
Speaker
Yeah. And we did it on purpose. You. The one listening. one that's mad. You. mother You. new Yeah. we want the but We're fucking you over. Like that episode of The Simpsons when he points the right at the camera. You.
00:26:04
Speaker
You know? ah Yeah. That's the shot Mr. Burns part. Yeah. yeah Classic episode. Classic. All right, next matchup. We got Dave and Ansel Collins' Double Barrel, recorded in 1970. It's a boss reggae song with mostly toasted lyrics written by Winston Riley of the Techniques, toasted by Dave Barker, and features drumming by Sly of Sly and Robbie. It was a banger, hit number one in the UK, and was the second Jamaican song to do so.
00:26:32
Speaker
And we photoshopped some faces onto this is at some point. Early, e we featured the song very early. yeah Techniques episode.
00:26:44
Speaker
So cool. Yeah, his toasting is awesome. Just the Jamaican George Clinton. Oh, yeah. This saw this matchup is also very difficult.
00:26:58
Speaker
Yeah, this is a crazy For me in particular. These two are couple of my favorite songs. Piano Man.
00:27:07
Speaker
It's got the groove. Oh, yeah. this is There's a direct line. It's in my heart. Yeah, there's a direct line between this and like the agri-lights. Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah. That's the skinhead reggae, the boss reggae.
00:27:20
Speaker
It's just like a beat with a fucking nursery rhyme over top of it, basically. Dial That's the line. don't know. Right. Between the song and the agri-lights, I don't know. I don't think they have anything to do with 311, though. Maybe the 420 part.
00:27:37
Speaker
Definitely the 420 part. definitely the four twenty Hot damn. Yeah, hot damn. really love that song. It's very cool. Very chill. It's very chill. Yeah. <unk> very chill du do do do yeah ah But it is going up against Al Capone, recorded in 1964. This is a straight-up ska song, written and toasted by the one and only Prince Buster, and backed by the Baba Brooks Band for the Blue Beat label.
00:28:04
Speaker
Peaked at number 18 in the UK a full three years after its release. Guns don't argue, man. This Prince Buster's Al Capone. Don't argue. No arguments. Hips don't lie and guns don't lie.
00:28:35
Speaker
and of course, if you're listening at home, you know that that beat is ripped for gangsters by the specials. I toast on Black Cat.
00:28:45
Speaker
I toast. I toast. yeah yes i do tell those things I do like several toasts. I do three different toasts.
00:29:01
Speaker
He's got to do it like a swishy train thing too.
00:29:06
Speaker
Arguably the one that invented the pick it up. Chick it up Two instrumentals. Making me want to my toasting game.
00:29:20
Speaker
With lots of toasting. I mean, yeah, you should always want to do that. Okay. Just in general, in life. You should strive to be the best toaster you could be. Set it to one. The brave little.
00:29:31
Speaker
m The bravest of the... So Lynn Paquette, the Brave Little Toaster would be the best like reggae rocksteady name for you. but brave Just the Brave Little Toaster.
00:29:48
Speaker
Pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up. God, where's that t-shirt? yeah That's a t-shirt. Put it on a garm. ah man I am a Brave Little Toaster.
00:30:01
Speaker
Scary out there. I'm so brave to do it. And I'm little. I guess we've got to pick one. so Yeah, I know which one I'm picking. oh Yeah, i think I'm ready. Yeah.
00:30:14
Speaker
Again, there's just one song that checks all my boxes. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Okay. Alright, let's do this. Three, two, one. Al Capone's guns don't argue!
00:30:26
Speaker
I Al Caponed. I also did. Oh wait, guns don't argue. yeah yeah You just did a big thing. I was like, guns, double barrel. I guess it was a gun gun. There's three guns in a row. any gun The guns of Navarone.
00:30:39
Speaker
and Maybe the Rudy had that had a message to him also had a gun. Probably. was one of those guns that just said bam. That was the message. was mayor Or pow. Wow.
00:30:51
Speaker
ah Yeah. Yeah. Like a torch lighter that looked like a little gun. but Like you have a gas station. I love it. All right. Let's take a break. i don't like it. When we get back, we got more Trojan War.
00:31:13
Speaker
Welcome back to Checkered Past. CPSC crew here is working through round one, part one of the Trojan War, the Madness March bracket for this year. And we're on to the next matchup. We have Bob and Marsha's Young, Gifted in Black, recorded in 1970. It's a cover of the Nina Simone song with vocals by Bob Andy and Marsha Griffith, the latter of which would write the electric slide 20 years later.
00:31:36
Speaker
it peaked at number 11 on Yelp. Wow. Peaked at number 11 on the UK singles chart, this is Young Gifted in Black by Bob bump and Marsha.
00:31:48
Speaker
Uh, this song fucks. It's so good.
00:32:02
Speaker
little rock steady groove. Yeah, this song is so good. I get it stuck in my head pretty regularly.
00:32:16
Speaker
Strings? Yeah, we're definitely heading in that like Motown influence.
00:32:26
Speaker
Also kind of gives it like a... like American songbook quality to it a little bit. Yeah, totally. Also, it just makes it seem more like like a huge band. Yeah. You know? yeah i mean, it is.
00:32:39
Speaker
good yeah But it makes it seem even bigger. Yeah.
00:32:55
Speaker
God, that's good. Yeah, that's catchy. Yeah. Quite enjoyed that really like that And they're all white? I'm just kidding. All white band singing about being young, gifted, and black. That's where it's at. Yeah. And that's a fact.
00:33:09
Speaker
It's going up against... Yeah, that's what they say. Can you imagine? Just like all in blackface. just Oh god. oh my good Can you imagine? Just imagine it. or sign of absent closer Close your eyes and get mind palace. Get it out of there. yeah Get that out of the mind palace. Palace closed. It's a forbidden palace. Smaller than you'd expect for a palace.
00:33:33
Speaker
It's going up against. It's full of Sir Mix-a-Lot lyrics to Baby Got Back. There's no room.
00:33:41
Speaker
Going up against The Techniques Queen Majesty, recorded in 1967. It's a soul and rock steady song by vocal group The Techniques in the Pat Kelly era with production by Duke Reed at Treasure. Despite its status as a standard and being issued in the UK, it failed to chart over there. This is Queen Majesty by The Techniques.
00:34:15
Speaker
They love a falsetto. I'm like getting a sunburn already. So summery.
00:34:27
Speaker
Perfect. That's why you take the high harmony in your band name.
00:34:37
Speaker
It's very high. Very, very high singing. That falsetto is so good. When we did the intro song, that was, I was like, I'm just going to sing. I'm just going to sing up here.
00:34:52
Speaker
And it worked out really well. You got to use your head voice. Yeah. go from the diaphragm on that.
00:35:06
Speaker
Piano. It's all in there. It's got the groove. Has the piano. Has the piano. harmys That one's pretty good for Joey, but the last one's pretty good too.
00:35:18
Speaker
i'm I'm locked in. When we were on the break, we were like, this these matchups aren't maybe aren't as as wild as some of the earlier ones, but I'm having trouble with this one. i'm but I'm locked in. Yeah, I'm locked in too. yeah yeah Joey's the one that's struggling the most Yeah, these songs are also good.
00:35:34
Speaker
um like You love to see it. Just go with your gut. yeah get Start counting. They'll figure it out. yeah Three, two, one. Young, gifted, and black. Young, gifted, and black. yeah Fair.
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah. Like, I can't even be mad. Man, that was a real tough decision. Just to be voted out. Just to be voted out. That's okay, because I was genuinely gonna pick Young Gifton Black.
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah, I did. i think Queen Majesty's okay. It's a little on the reggae side for me. a little a little sluggish. That big falsetto harmony just got me. Yeah. it Gets me. I love love that shit.
00:36:10
Speaker
um I just think when that when I'm looking at vocal stuff, like were talking about Ken Booth's voice, like I think that's the range that I think I prefer a little bit. So yeah that's fine this one might be a little a little squeaky for my tastes.
00:36:23
Speaker
Yeah. For my tastes. Next matchup. It's gone. Anyways. We got, it's gone now. You want your, um, rock steady and reggae and early ska to not be like cheese curds.
00:36:33
Speaker
No. I like my power metal. you'll You like them squeaky? Yeah. Power metal. Yeah, of course. Definitely. Definitely. Higher the better. um The next matchup is starts with Greyhound's Black and White, recorded in 1971. It's a cover of the Pete Seeger standard and became much more famous later when covered by Three Dog Night. In 1971, two bands, the Greyhound and the Maytones, recorded the same song at the same time. The Greyhound one was the winner, peaking at number six on the UK singles chart. This is Black and White by Greyhound.
00:37:12
Speaker
Made up of expats from Jamaica that moved to the UK for a hound.
00:37:19
Speaker
What was their name before they were called Pat.
00:37:25
Speaker
No, they were called Pat before. Yeah, right, right. And now they're expats. So I guess what's their name now? Greyhound. Before they were named Pat. win and they but and Now they're called Greyhound. That's what expat means. It's just people who used to be named Pat.
00:37:40
Speaker
Okay.
00:37:57
Speaker
What is that instrument? Doing that little melody line. i don't even know what that is. That little thing.
00:38:09
Speaker
Definitely a Trojan song. The world is black. The world is white.
00:38:20
Speaker
It turns by night. good vocals obviously yeah yeah the arrangement's wild the arrangement is what carries this yeah yeah
00:38:40
Speaker
yeah so that's that i would get stuck yeah it's cat yeah definitely catchy i feel like that's gonna be in my head now for a long while But it is going up against a pretty pretty big classic here. It's going up against Rivers of Babylon, recorded in 1970. It's a Rastafari track. It's rock steady with lyrics pulled from Psalm 19 and 137 from the Bible. Favorite one. And gained notoriety after being featured on the Harder They Come soundtrack.
00:39:09
Speaker
ah Because of that, the single didn't chart but would explode when covered by Boney M in 1978. This is Rivers of Babylon, the original version.
00:39:24
Speaker
think what like about Rocksteady songs is like the kick drum. Yeah. Boney M liked Russian history and then also Rocksteady. And not being a real band. that Yeah.
00:39:36
Speaker
That was their favorite. Favorite part was being a fake band.
00:39:47
Speaker
Very prominent. Yeah.
00:40:00
Speaker
Nary a cymbal. Just nothing. Just just a tambo and a kick drum and ah the side lot of a snare drum. Hit a tom.
00:40:15
Speaker
a to one and he hit one little symbol somewhere like a ride or something. Yeah, that's a jam and a half. That's a jam and a half, yeah. That's a jam and a half, but then in my little head. well did so Yeah.
00:40:32
Speaker
That's what makes this tough. Yeah, you know what? I'm actually struggling with this one a little bit. i Yeah, okay i okay. I'm good to vote. I'm good. okay um Yeah, I got it. Joey, how are you feeling? Just count.
00:40:44
Speaker
Three, two, one. Black and white. I was good. Like, originally I went into this being like, I'm going pick Rivers of Babylon because it's a classic. But then I started talking about check. Yeah. And then you made a very compelling argument about checkers.
00:40:59
Speaker
The lyrics to Black and White are pretty cheesy. Yeah. They're not good. They're not good. Yeah. um Which was, that's the reason why that song kind of irks me a little bit.
00:41:10
Speaker
It's like first duction first draft. ogue First draft a little bit. Yeah. Lyrics. Yeah. where is it But then the Rivers of Babylon lyrics are just lyrics from the Bible. Yeah, just pull quotes.
00:41:21
Speaker
I mean, honestly, you're getting couple, like like, we're not getting tight lyrics on this. Next matchup, it starts with Simmerdown, recorded 1963.
00:41:34
Speaker
Nuh-uh, Rudy, written by Bob Marley and featuring vocals by Bunny Whaler and Peter Tosh with the Scatolites as the backing band, and production by Cox and Dodd of Studio One, number one in Jamaica, never charted in the UK.
00:41:47
Speaker
ah But yeah, this is ah this is Bob Marley and the old Whalers, Simmer Down. some reason, Diddy Kong Racing keeps, like, a core Diddy Kong Racing memory he keeps like, no, no, no, when you're going the wrong way. Every time you say that, I hear, no, no.
00:42:05
Speaker
You know what I'm saying. I do know what you're saying. Who says that? It's just, it's just the game. Let's just say TipTup. I think it is. Yeah. Why didn't he get a game? Conker got a game, but TipTup doesn't get a game. That's the clock, right? No, TipTup's the turtle.
00:42:21
Speaker
Isn't there like a clock guy? I think that's maybe who's it. Maybe. I don't know. Corrections and omissions. Please write a time. There's that elephant.
00:42:35
Speaker
hes like that No, this song's great. Yeah. It's great to hear Bob Marley and the Wailers just be so ska. Yeah. Yeah, this is actually good. I said I'm not a Marley head, but this is an objectively very good song. Back when they were basically the Jackson 5. Like, yeah they're so Jackson 5-y.
00:42:53
Speaker
One really big singer and everybody else is just doing harmonies. Yeah. It's a really good song, man. Simmerdown is, as far as classic ska songs are concerned. I want to dance to it. yeah yeah that No, no, no.
00:43:07
Speaker
But yeah, Skydilights and the... Nuh-uh, Rudy. Nuh-uh. Is that what the kind lyrical content is? Simmerdown, Rudy. yeah take Chill out. Nuh-uh. Come down.
00:43:18
Speaker
Simmerdown. Simmerdown. It's going up against Skinhead Moonstomp, recorded in 1970 in the UK. It's a overt skinhead reggae reworking of Derek Morgan's Moonhop and a celebration of early 70s skinhead culture.
00:43:34
Speaker
Failed to chart, but was reissued later after being covered by the specials and hit number 54 on the UK singles chart. This Simmerip with Skinhead Moonstomp. I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet.
00:43:48
Speaker
your breasts together and yeah This boss reggae. Boss. This is as boss. Boss. boss boss and the boss' bosses boss is like that boss baby if that boss baby became music.
00:44:04
Speaker
Get ready. Picks scrape? That's punk rock, right? So let's start getting happy now. Ready? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:44:16
Speaker
The template for every Agri-Light song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Skinhead Moonstomp is like the track that you go back to trying to make Skinhead reggae. It's like a Hub City Stomper song.
00:44:29
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like this is like...
00:44:36
Speaker
its like a hub city stompers song yeah i feel like this is like
00:44:41
Speaker
You know what I mean? Like, this is like... That last one, you were, like, having fun dancing at a sock hop to reggae music. This one, you're, like, at a cool reggae show. Yeah. You know what I mean?
00:44:56
Speaker
Um... Somebody's smoking the weed at this show. If the last song is Nuh-uh, Rudy, this one's, like, Yuh-huh, Rudy. Yeah. Yuh-huh. You should root harder, mit Rudy.
00:45:10
Speaker
yeah um Yeah. I mean, ever whenever reggae night would happen at the Black Dog, I'd always request Skinhead Moonstomp because he always had it as a seven inch and I was like, ah yeah. Please God play that song. yeah I love it.
00:45:23
Speaker
God loves it. He loves that song. She loves that song. Alanis Morissette. Yeah, of course. Does that movie hold up? I don't know. I don't maybe want to know. I'm a little scared to go back and watch it. Like any yeah Kevin Smith movie, honestly. What does hold up is 15 bucks, little man. Now put that shit in my hand. If that money doesn't show you, owe me, owe me, owe.
00:45:47
Speaker
Jungle Love. yeah and so on so forth there more I'm ready. um yeah so my My favorite line from a Kevin Smith movie sorry is no i You're allowed to also digress. When he's like... you to smoke duh so that one no the the The whalers are in the the wiers are in the playoffs how often is that going to happen
00:46:13
Speaker
from all rats that is yeah funny It is funny knowing because that team doesn't exist anymore. Yeah, that's why it's really funny. yeah um Anyway, I know how I'm voting.
00:46:23
Speaker
Also the smoking monkey thing for the cartoons. Yeah, me too. Three, two, one. Skinhead Moonstomp. Whoa!
00:46:34
Speaker
Skinhead Moonstomp beats Simmerdown? Yeah, it happened. ah Even with my skinhead. I just think it's a better song. It's a jam. It is a jam, but Simmerdown is like a ska song.
00:46:46
Speaker
It is, but this one's like cooler. They can all be ska songs. I mean, it's based on my criteria. They're probably always going to be. Ooh, that one's going to spicy. You think? Yeah, that one's going to be spicy. That's the first spicy one.
00:47:03
Speaker
um Let the record show I was on the right side answer. But if I was going to listen to one of those songs again, i would definitely listen Skinhead Moonstone. Yeah, me too. I'm not going to choose to listen to Simmer Down, honestly, ever. It's fine to like hear, and it's good, but I'm never going to seek it out to listen to it.
00:47:18
Speaker
It's not cool enough. It's not cool. I guess it's not cool because it's not a Rudy. It's too mainstream-y. Simmerdown is like I'm dancing at a reggae sock hop and Skinhead Moonstomp is like I'm drinking a I'm with all yeah underground people. You're with the degenerates of society. Simmerdown is really clean under 50 It's high likelihood I might get shot.
00:47:47
Speaker
fresh Fresh manicure simmer down. Thank you. did that Yeah, see? you Alright, here's the last matchup for round one, part one. This is this isn't i like ah this is a fun matchup. This is going to be good.
00:48:01
Speaker
We got Train to Scaville, recorded in 1967. It's a ska rock steady crossover song propelled by a connection with Studio One. Hit number 40 on the UK. This is The Ethiopians with Train to Scaville.
00:48:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:48:29
Speaker
Two tickets, please. Plus it's like... I guess three. Three. I don't know. Let's leave... Like, I don't know if thiss ohjilly show on this gone. I don't know if this baseline was likely appropriated from something else, but this one also is like a pretty standard rhythm.
00:48:45
Speaker
Yeah. That's multi-purpose. Yeah. It's 54-46, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Yeah. four forty six isn't it hide is
00:49:01
Speaker
And for those keeping track at home, this is also cribbed by Dr. Ringding for my sound.
00:49:09
Speaker
It always gets back to Dr. Ringding. And all roads lead to Judge Dredd and Dr. Ringding, telling you.
00:49:20
Speaker
It is hard to control like how much saliva comes into your mouth when you do the... Yeah, when I do it, I'm like... I'm going to a lot of swat. Gulp.
00:49:32
Speaker
Gulp. You just got to do it rhythmically. Swallow your spit in the rhythm, right? In between. Yeah. It's going up against My Boy Lollipop, recorded 1964. It's a full-blown ska vocal cover of the Barbie Gay Doo-Wop classic. It is the first true breakout hit from Jamaican pop star internationally.
00:49:52
Speaker
Hit number two in the UK and the US, s and the only song that beat it? Was I Get Around by the Beach Boys. Wow. This is. That actually is a good Beach Boys song. The breakout smash that brought Jamaica to the musical forefront. This is Millie Smalls, My Boy Lollipop.
00:50:08
Speaker
I prefer the dragonette. I Get Around. You
00:50:16
Speaker
are as sweet as candy. She was teenager. You're my sugar dandy. This is inappropriate. Oh my. lyric content for her yeah as opposed to uptown ranking or what was that other one the the past the duchy yeah yeah yeah that was also by kids yeah i love when people are like oh past po no because they did change a couple of lyrics to make it like a dutch oven cooking pot instead of weed but also that's stupid yeah
00:50:55
Speaker
It's also, i don't know if it's a cover or it's this one on Spice World when they're on the boat with the girls that won the contest to hang out with them. Oh, oh that's fun. Yeah. This is a smash in the u k I've been singing this to the dogs lately. My dog lollipop? yeah just say My little tiny pups.
00:51:16
Speaker
You know, stuff like that. It changes, but yeah. My lollipops? Yeah, that'd work too. My dog lollipop? They make my heart go giddy up. Oh, my dog lollipop. Yeah. That's appropriate.
00:51:28
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Now that we've listened to them both back to back, I know what I'm voting. Okay. yeah Joey, where are you at? Give me the numbs. Give me the numbs. Do not fuck with me. Yeah, ready. Don't fuck with me. Yeah, I'm ready. I'm going to go with my heart. One.
00:51:42
Speaker
um My Boy Lollipop. Oh! Animously. I love Train to Scottville. Yeah, that's our fucks. It was really cool. But God damn My Boy Lollipop. Holy fuck, that's a good song. Yeah, yeah. ah you know that I think somebody on Twitter or whatever said that they find that song irritating. That's fair. I get it. I can see why someone finds it irritating, but not me.
00:52:02
Speaker
Yeah. It does... it does have some of similar vocal quality to the hippopotamus for Christmas song. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I can totally see... Yeah, I can totally see... But also, I challenge you, we had a lot of fucking males singing hi. yeah. think some people... and and genderless and way get triggered by like feminine voices and just find them annoying in general and some people are like i'm not saying the person that said that but i do find that like i've heard that a lot about like women podcasters oh yeah i live all the time they're like they're just so annoying and i'm like it's just women talking and you fucking can't handle it because it triggers your issues bro gender genderless bro Gendered bro. It's usually a big yeah yeah male bro.
00:52:50
Speaker
Alright, the matchups for round two. Sometimes women hate women the most. Anyways. Is Return of Django versus Everything I Own. yeah Guns of Navarone versus Al Capone. Holy fuck. whoa okay Young Gifted in Black versus Black and White. who I don't know why that's funny. And then The Skinhead Moonstomp versus My Boy Lollipop. Round two is shaping up to be something My Boy Lollipop wins. I think people would be pissed. But it's good. But it's like ah one of the first songs. of the first Scott songs. It's like big, right?
00:53:23
Speaker
So... It would make sense. It wouldn't be so crazy. Would it? Would It wouldn't be so crazy. feeling Thanks for listening to Checkered Pass. Hit us up on Instagram, Twitter, Blue Sky, YouTube, and TikTok at CheckeredPassPod or send us an email CheckeredPassPod at gmail.com. To support the pod and get bonus content including a full-length and unedited video of this episode, sign up for the Checkerhead Patreon.
00:53:43
Speaker
at patreon.com slash checkered past.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
00:53:45
Speaker
We also have merch available at checkered past.ca. This episode is edited by Cutman and engineered by Joey. That's me. And special thanks to Chris Reeves, Megamichi, and Adam the Ska Mailman for making this podcast happen.
00:53:57
Speaker
Thanks also to Keelan for all his work on the podcast episode, including putting together the Trojan War theme song that also featured Joey. Yeah, we did it together this time. It was really fun. And you can follow along the bracket at challenge.com slash the Trojan War.
00:54:11
Speaker
Next week, the CPSC crew is back for round one, part two. and Until next time, I'm Rob. Slim. And Joey. In the immortal words of Prince Buster, don't call me Scarface.
00:54:33
Speaker
Smoking the weed.