In my teen years, I was pretty obsessed with acquiring new music. If you asked me at the time, I don't think I would have guessed that music access would be so different before I turned 50 years old that I wouldn't even care about having CDs anymore. (The laser doesn't even touch the disc! They're gonna last forever!)
As music was a pretty big part of both of our lives, Laura and I had a fairly extensive CD collection that we finally cleared out several years ago. It was time. On at least one occasion, we bought a CD at a show so we could support the artist, only to come across it months later still in its wrap. As a lifelong geek with the spirit of collecting running through my veins (not always a positive thing), I don't need anything extra to feed my tendency to just keep stuff around.
So, with streaming possible for just about any music out there, the only hardcopy music I buy these days is on vinyl. Because...it's fun! I still stream more than I listen to physical media, but picking up the occasional record feels like a good way to give musicians a little extra support and have a sort of "souvenir" of stuff I especially like. And it's a good time to enjoy vinyl...most artists (that I pay attention to, at least) seem to have records on their checklist for major releases these days, often special/limited editions on colorful vinyl. (Again...it's fun!)
Maybe one day I'll decide enough's enough with that, too, and clear the house of vinyl as well. But until then...not sure if I've mentioned this...but it's fun!
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| From the band's Facebook page |
Which brings me to today's song for Geeky SKAturday! The Modbirds are a fairly new band (founded 2023), but they count among their numbers some members of more experienced crews like Los Placebos and Celtic punk rockers The Porters. I'm pretty sure they're German. And the sound of this new(ish) song of theirs, "Spin it to Win it," sits squarely in the heart of my metaphorical ska happy place. Traditional, catchy, soulful...it's a great track. Oh...and it's about the joy of listening to music on vinyl! (THAT's why I rambled about that to start this post...) Spin it to win it, 45 times a minute...I love it!
Listening to this song has reminded me that I have a bit of a history of loving catchy songs about listening to records. The Cornershop hit "Brimful of Asha" (from their album that should be nominated for best title ever, When I Was Born for the 7th Time) is pretty irresistible.
I also remember being somewhat blown away by this little ditty by The Features when I first heard it ca. 2005...
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Now what does this mean for the Agents of SKA? Well, when I first threw together some uniform patches for various divisions of the organization, I had this one for Communications:
I'm an 80s kid, so that cassette image had a fun retro feel for me (plus, cassettes have kind of been making a comeback too). I thought it'd be cool for the organization's messages to be carried on classic physical media, maybe even in musical form. However, considering ska's emergence in the late 1950s and early 60s, I guess it makes a lot more sense for the associated image to look something like this...
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| From Pixabay |
(I should probably update the Comms division patch...)
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