MovieChat Forums > Bandslam (2009) Discussion > Ska is not like Reggae but they made it ...

Ska is not like Reggae but they made it their own!!!!!

posted 15 years ago by cjjr82
4 replies | jump to latest

I am currently watching the movie and 25 minutes in I wanted to shoot the writers of this movie. This, I must tell you, is coming from a huge huge fan of ska and reggae music. To any other writers out there, when you are making a movie, do some f-ing research!

Scene: Sa5m & Will are sitting against lockers and The Aggrolites (a reggae band) are playing.

1. Will moves a headphone to Sa5m's ear and says "It's Ska". (IT'S NOT SKA, IT'S REGGAE! I am completely surprised that The Aggrolites let this happen as they are very big on letting everyone know that they play reggae and not ska.)

2. Sa5m says "I like it. It's like reggae but they made it their own." NOOOOOOO Reggae is like Ska and they made it their own. Ska came first!

I wanted to see this movie just because of the inclusion of Ska & Reggae in the movie and 25 minutes in I am disappointed by *beep* researching.

[–] Ruben-26 15 years ago

Hmm, I liked this movie but another skrew-up like that statement about the CBGB's being the root of punk-music is plain unprofessional.

But I never thought about that and changed Reggae & Ska in iTunes in Ska & Reggae. ;-)

But about the Aggrolites, on http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=73:212 they explain that reggae evolved out of ska indeed, but allmusic also states that the Aggrolites is a mixture of ska & reggae. I agree with your 'irritation' about the mix-up between ska & reggae but why bother about the Aggrolites? :-) I saw them last year on the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool and they sounded very ska-isch to me.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
- Voltaire (1694-1778)

[–] jgater1981 14 years ago

Yeah, that line about ska making it their own killed it for me too. Otherwise, I actually enjoyed the movie. I was surprised that a recent movie would include ska at all. I wish it would have done better. It'd be nice to see another ska revival. It made my high school years immensely more enjoyable.

Oh, Indeed!

[–] gotyougood 14 years ago

agree with all of the above in this thread and am happy for its existence.

[–] Gowienczyk 12 years ago

You are criticizing two characters, one of which is a adeptly-learned music enthusiast and the other who doesn't know much about genre history. I've met people who have said similar idioms and it makes sense for the characterization. To criticize the film for making realistic characters who have holes in logic or degrees of ignorance is ridiculous.

What you get out of it is:

1) Will doesn't know his genre classifications completely on the level and mixes up ska and reggae.

2) Sa5m doesn't know much about music and assumes it sounds like reggae but has differences she can't deduce so she comes to a conclusion of it sounding like reggae and making a note of it.

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This is a film, not a documentary. Characters are not perfect, realize this and move on.