I’m not one to really rank albums as the “album of the year” unless there is something that clearly stands out as heads and shoulders above all the rest for me. Here are a few I felt worth pointing out as well as some other random thoughts. This year had a bit more Ska music that caught my attention. New Ska music has been on the rise for some time now and this year, at least for me personally, I felt the amount of new Ska tunes was greater than it has been in some time. I hope this is a sign of what we can expect in the years to come. Anyway, here are some of my favorites from this past year.
1. The album I listen to the most from 2022
The Linda Lindas – “Growing Up”
Now part of the reason this album gets played a lot in my house is I have young daughter who likes it. That being said, I still find myself listening to this album all alone, all the time. These songs are just so damn catchy and fun to sign along too. You just can’t not bob your head and want to jump around when one of these songs come on. I did a full review of this album when it came out that you can read here to get my full take on why this album is so good.
2. Best new Ska (Ska-Punk) album from 2022
The Interrupters – “In The Wild”
With some mainstream success and three previously released banger albums, one might have expected the band to just rest on their laurels and just put out more of the same. But no, The Interrupters put out what could be considered one of their best albums yet. This album has some songs that are a departure from anything they had done before and it sounds great. I also did a full review of this album so I’m not going to elaborate more here.
3. Best new Ska band I discovered in 2022
Skappository
Even though the band formed at the end of 2020, I didn’t become familiar with them until this last year, and boy, I’m glad I did. They are a straight upbeat five-piece ska punk band that may be hornless but they have a keytar player! Their sound is influenced and sounds like Operation Ivy, The Suicide Machines, The Interrupters, The Specials, and Rancid. I am looking forward to more from them in 2023.
4. Best new Ska Podcast I discovered in 2022
23min of Ska
This is exactly what it sounds, 23 minutes on the dot of Ska music, no talking, no ads, just music. This podcast apparently started like 10 years ago and I don’t know how I didn’t find it sooner. It’s great mix of Ska from all the waves and is put out by RJ Phoenix. Oh, and each episode features a cat on the cover, what more could you want? except another 23 minutes.
5. Best remix song of 2022
Bite Me Bambi – Crazy (Lee “Scratch” Perry Remix)
One of the last remixes the great late Lee “Scratch” Perry did before his passing in August 2021 was this Bite Me Bambi remix of their 2019 track. As a fan of both of these artists I love to see this collaboration come together and the end result was fantastic as only Perry knows how to do.
I’d like to end this with a shout out and thank you to Bad Time Records for putting out so much new Ska music this year, Mikey And His Uke for continuing to put out awesome cover song videos featuring a great collaboration of artists, Jesse Michaels and Tim Armstrong for the mini Op Ivy reunion, NOFX for not breaking up just yet, Taco Bell for Nacho Fries, and TGEFM for allowing me to share my passion for punk and ska music with you!
Likes fine beer and cheap cheese. He has been a DJ, sound mixer for commercials and television, and currently designs motorcycle parts. He also has a habit of creating pastiche style cover songs and changing the chorus to incorporate “Jeff” or “Sorley.” (sigh… it’s true – Jeff)
https://www.instagram.com/rizchex_tgefm
