Geeky SKAturday: Dr. Woggle & the Radio + more on Haruto Suzuki

Welcome to another Geeky SKAturday, all!  It's crazy how I can blink and suddenly it's been...what, three weeks since I did one of these?  How is it possible that this has been both the fastest AND the slowest year ever to enjoy/endure?  Anyway...today, I want to take a few minutes to fill out the character of Haruto Suzuki, the first Agent of SKA in the creation queue.  But first...some fresh new ska...!

Dr. Woggle & the Radio are a German band that plays beautiful traditional ska.  The song I'm sharing today came out earlier this year, although it isn't their most recent release.  (They seem to be releasing a song or two at a time and including all of the previous tracks from this presumed eventual album with each release.  I kinda like this because it keeps them on my radar, and I dig their tunes.  I know it complicates things for the nice people who attempt to curate new ska releases for the rest of us freeloaders on r/Ska.)  At any rate, even though it's an earlier song, I believe this one deserves attention because it might be my favorite ska/ska-adjacent tune that's been released so far in 2025.  I could listen to "It's True" ad nauseam and it would never get ad nauseam:

 

Here's a live version too...not the best audio and video quality, but it's fun to see them do their thing.  Those beautiful harmonies...!! :)  (And...shamefully omitted when I first published this post...I should note that this song features the amazing guest vocal talent of Jenny Yeboah...!)

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I don't have a lot to say to tie this one to the RPG setting at the heart of these posts (the one where ska musicians and their friends travel through the ages to protect the timestream from greed and destruction).  It's just a great song and was worth posting on its own.  And...y'know...LOVE and all.  I do want to talk about Haruko Suzuki, though.

Last time I wrote about him, I rolled for his stats and decided that he would be of the Three Minute Hero class (the musical stars of the setting).  Today, I'm imagining what he might look like as a full 1st level character (I'm assuming here that the Three Minute Hero is the class that ends up the closest, among the Agents of SKA classes, to the Rudie I wrote about way back when), also throwing in some biographical details along with the info my buddy Jake wrote about him.  Further expansion (and possible correction) of the class(es) I discuss these days is coming soon.  I kind of almost promise!

Haruto Suzuki

I know his bio says he's a pacifist. But this is what happens when you piss him off.

Born: Tokyo, Japan, 1981
Class: Three Minute Hero 1

STR    DEX    CON    INT    WIS    CHA
11(--)  9(--)   9(--)   17(+2) 12(--) 12(--)

HP 4 Move 30 ft. (6 units)
Attack Bonuses (with proficiency) +1

Proficiencies
Skills: Performance, Insight, History, Animal Handling
Talents: Trumpet, Trombone, Voice, HVAC Repair
Languages: Japanese, English, Spanish
Saves: Wisdom, Charisma
Weapons: Simple weapons
Armor: None

Haruto Suzuki was born to blow that horn.  (I'm still workshopping that opening sentence.)  He's always known he was meant to be up on stage, making people move.  Lately he's found out that he's also apparently meant to be a time-traveling sentinel for humanity.  He's a punk, a pacifist, and a handyman for an animal welfare organization in Tokyo.

Today, like most days, Haruto is having natto for breakfast.  He loves the stir of the sauce and the mustard, and he likes that it’s slimy.  He likes slimy things.  Later, he’ll go to the studio to practice his trumpet, but first he’ll hit the 7-11 for cigarettes.  At night, his band Ringo SKARR has a show at Salt Peanuts.  He’s not feeling his best, but he’s gonna give it a go.  Ganbarimasu!

Soundcasting: Haruto can channel the energy and spirit of ska to affect the world in profound and arguably magical ways.  Specific capabilities known as sounds follow the general rules of spellcasting by other classes.  He may cast unlimited Cantrips (level 0 sounds) and has two slots daily for level 1 sounds.  Sounds known:

Cantrips: Ball of Fire, A Message to You Rudy

Level 1: Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down, Moon Hop, Rudie Can't Fail, Skankin' to the Beat

Pick It Up: The upbeats give life!  On his turn, Haruto can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d6 + his Three Minute Hero level + his CON bonus.  This ability can't be used again until after a short or long rest.

Haruto Suzuki, Three Minute Hero

Okay, it's time to get serious about creating some Agents of SKA.  First up is Haruto Suzuki, who came to be thanks to a little randomization and AI decision-making.  He's a trumpet player from Japan.  His band?  Hmm.  I reserve the right to say this is one that he was just in for a few weeks in high school or something, but let's go with Ringo SKARR.

Yep, still faceless.  I mean, he has a face.  Just not an official one yet.

Because I like to come upon RPG specifics that aren't critical to the story at hand via (1) randomness, (2) undeniable destiny, or (3) other people's ideas that I can bring to life (all perhaps pointing more toward laziness than a devotion to principle), I asked my buddy Jake, who lives in Japan, to write a brief background for Haruto.  Jake isn't an RPGer and probably had a bit of a wtf reaction to the request, but he was gracious enough to toss that aside and help me out.  I found out Haruto was born in 1980.  Some more details:

Haruto Suzuki loves natto for breakfast. He loves the stir of the sauce and the mustard, and he likes that it’s slimy. He likes slimy things. Later, he’ll go to the studio to practice his trumpet, but first he’ll hit the 7-11 for cigarettes. At night, he has a show at Salt Peanuts. He’s not feeling his best, but he’s gonna give it a go. Ganbarimasu!

Stats (3d6+1 in order, no rerolls): STR 11  DEX 9  CON 9  INT 17  WIS 12  CHA 12

Class:  Hmm.

Pretty sure I want classes for this game, but I don't think everyone should just be a Rudie.  So, I'm looking at basing them all on classic ska (and related) songs:

Monkey Man - The big bruiser.

Gangster - The clever rogue.

Three Minute Hero - The magical charmer.

Keasbey Knight - The paladin of making the best of life with your friends.  (Thanks for the idea to whoever it was who has/had that as their handle on some forum or platform...!)

Maybe some more.  I'm thinking about a Special Brewmaster/Brewmistress (but probably not).  I also think the negative connotations of the Monkey Man class may require a rename (or scrapping it).  We shall see.

Haruto is a Three Minute Hero.  He's a star!

Geeky SKAturday: Some love for Skapara!

For today's Geeky SKAturday, I wanted to look once again at Haruto Suzuki, the first agent known to be a member of the Agents of SKA (Sentinel Khrononaut All-Stars).  He was created/introduced back in February when I tried to highlight how much of an international phenomenon the ska scene is.  And then in March, Haruto got some stats and became the first representative of one of the SKA classes, the Three Minute Hero.

Born in Tokyo in 1981, Haruto has undoubtedly been greatly influenced by the multigenerational champions of Japanese ska, the Tokyo Ska Paradise Ochestra.

Image from TokyTunes

Formed in 1988, the band (often simply called Skapara) have become legendary over their 35+ year history.  They've played on video games, on tokusatsu, and at the Olympics.  Their sound is rooted in ska but influenced by styles from all over the map, and their musicianship is always top-tier.  It just seemed worthwhile to give them a bit of a shout out this week.

This year, they released a "best of" album, but they also continue to drop new singles.  I don't think this week's song of note is previously released, but I could definitely be wrong about that.  And for some reason, the YouTube video seems be blocked from embedding here...BUT, if you'd like to hear the track "Toi Toi," recorded with actor (and singer) Murotsuyoshi (Tsuyoshi Muro), just click here for it...

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I think the track does a pretty good job showing off their technical prowess and skill across genres.  I really wish I could embed it.  And I bet there's a way, and I just don't know it, which bugs me.  The GOOD THING, though, is there's a possibility I like the instrumental version even more (with apologies to Murotsuyoshi), and I CAN embed that one!  I could easily see myself using this in the soundtrack for an Agents of SKA game...

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So...for Haruto Suzuki, I really think I'd like to put together a custom action figure that will let him cross over from my SKA adventures to my POA (People of Adventure)...er, adventures.  I've never ordered from them before (and I think their website could probably be a little easier to navigate), but I'm thinking of grabbing a custom combo from Marauder "Gun-Runners."  This head and body combo looks pretty perfect for Haruto as a Rude Boy.  I can give him a few guns.  And instruments.  And if I can find a 1:18 porkpie hat somewhere, even better!

link

link

Marauder even has some pretty solid G.I. Joe cred after dipping into the Red Shadows faction for their own figures.  I'll definitely post here if I get Haruto put together and skanking...!

Geeky SKAturday: Oi-SKALL Mates and Les Testarudes

Today I continue exploring the best new ska and ska-adjacent music of 2025 and ways of connecting what I find to an RPG setting in which ska bands are time-traveling protectors of multiversal order.  If this is your first time joining me, welcome(!) and I hope you won't click away upon rereading that last sentence.

I have two songs I want to listen to today!  The first is "Terra de Secà" by Les Testarudes, an all-female trad band from Spain (specifically Catalonia).  They followed this one up with an EP (La Prèvia) with this plus five more songs that hit just as hard...

And the second is "Truly Madly Deeply" by Oi-SKALL Mates...a cover of the Savage Garden classic(?) performed by a really tight Japanese ska band that has apparently been around since at least the '90s...

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Now, what shall I pull from this for the adventures of the Agents of SKA?

Low-hanging fruit:  Ska is an international phenomenon.  I need to make sure that the time-traveling guardians are representing the world!

So, let's start creating the first official member of the team.  I like the idea of random generation for this, and since I don't have a d1000 Random International Ska Musician Generator, I'm going to turn to humanity's new overlord-in-waiting: AI.  Hey, ChatGPT...!!

Please give me a random selection from all of the countries that have produced ska bands.

Here's one way to approach it. Ska originated in Jamaica, but over the decades many countries have produced ska bands. For example, notable ska scenes have emerged in:

• Jamaica (the birthplace of ska)
• United Kingdom (home of the 2 Tone movement)
• United States (notably the third wave of ska)
• Canada
• Japan
• Spain
• Italy
• Australia
• Germany
• France
• New Zealand

Using this representative list, a random selection yields:

Japan

Japan has developed a vibrant ska scene with bands that mix traditional ska rhythms with local influences.

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Alright, cool, I like it.  It might be giving the US a little more credit than we deserve for the third wave, but...eh, who is there to argue with?  And, I didn't even prompt it to pick a country I was already focusing on!

Now, for a bit about the character...

Please randomly select female, male, or nonbinary, then give me a full name for someone of that gender at random from among the common names of Japan.

Haruto Suzuki

"Haruto" has been one of the most popular given names for boys in Japan in recent years, and "Suzuki" is one of the most common surnames.

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And then two more prompts to find out more about Haruto's musicality:

List all of the instruments (including vocals) commonly found on ska recordings.

+

Now, please choose one of those instruments (including vocals) at random.

And with that, I learn that Haruto plays...

The trumpet!

(Not sure why I shouted that.)

Okay, thanks for playing along, all!  Now I've got to figure out exactly how characters will be made for this game and give Haruto some stats.  Hopefully next Skaturday...!?  Have a great week out there in the world!

Geeky SKAturday: "The Shadow of Your Smile" by Larry McDonald and friends

Larry McDonald is a well-known and highly accomplished percussionist in the Jamaican music scene.  I've seen him sit in with the Slackers (one of my favorite ska bands) more than once, as well as performing with the modern iteration of the Jamaican ska band that really defined the genre, the Skatalites.  Hailing from Jamaica, McDonald has played with many of the greats that have defined the sound of the island nation where he was born (not to mention blues legend Taj Mahal) and should definitely be considered among their ranks himself (he is a member of the Jamaica Music Museum's Hall of Fame).  And...as he was born in 1937...I'll just say that I hope I can be as active and creative as he is when I'm in my 80s.  (If you're interested, you can go here for a great article about his journey.)

(86 years young here, from a 2023 Slackers show...)

When we saw him with the Skatalites, I found out there's another aspect of McDonald's musical pursuits: He sings!  And he's great at it.  Earlier this year, McDonald released a ska version of the song "The Shadow of Your Smile," taking the vocal lead himself.  Marching forward with the virtuosic backing of guitarist Natty Frenchy and saxophonist Zem Audu, the tune even has a cool video with some scenic shots around the city.  Check it out below!

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Now, to make this SKAturday truly Geeky, let me talk a little bit about how this applies to the Agents of SKA, the time-traveling, ska-sharing protectors of the ever-branching multiverse.  I figure there needs to be at least one "elder statesman" among the SKA crew, so I think I'll make one as a little tribute to Mr. McDonald. So, let's go with...Don Lawrence...he's been at this for a while and has unparalleled wisdom not just from the time he's spent living, but all of the times he's experienced as a SKA agent.

With McDonald's history of setting a rhythmic foundation for his musical colleagues, I could imagine Don Lawrence's character class might be some sort of support role.  However, Mr. McDonald's killer vocals have made me go in a different direction...at heart, Don Lawrence (like Haruto Suzuki) is a star and probably needs to have the Three Minute Hero class.

And...it looks like I haven't even shared the details of the Three Minute Hero class on the blog yet.  It's about time for me to start logging the classes I've been thinking about for my little Monstrous Heartbreaker and its compatible games and minigames...so that'll be a post for this week...!

Geeky SKAturday: Ska Tune Network and the wonder of Sonic fandom

A wonderful, geeky SKAturday, all!

A couple weeks back, RPG blogosphere neighbor and all-around great dude Pun from Halls of the Nephilim sent me a link to the YouTube channel Ska Tune Network's cover of Weezer's "Say it Ain't So."  (Oh wow, do I put too many links on here?  They lose their weight at some point.  I'll ponder that later...)

Anyway, this was a reason to smile for a bunch of reasons, but it was also a reminder that I've hardly mentioned the creations of the Network on this blog, even though they fit the themes I explore here pretty perfectly.  The immensely talented Jer has built up quite a following on the channel largely by creating ska covers of...well, all kinds of stuff.  And most of them, as far as I can tell, are one-person efforts (they're really good about giving others credit when they're part of the creative process).

I did post Jer's rendition of the Pokémon Red and Blue theme more than four years ago, but I thought it'd be good to revisit the Ska Tune Network today to cover the Geeky SKAturday 2025 plan of introducing new ska released this year and talk about a growing RPG setting of time-traveling, multiverse-protecting ska bands.  (And yeah...I do know that the last Geeky SKAturday was an "internet song," and maybe it'd be cooler if I focused on "serious" new music in the scene, but...it's 2025, that's the way music goes these days.  And from what the Agents of SKA tell me about the music industry of the future, it's only gonna get worse...)

It just so happens that a week ago, Jer released a version of "Dr. Wily's Castle" from Mega Man 2...pretty freaking cool...and so, looking back through the channel's videos, I realized they dropped a perfect Geeky SKAturday song in January.  Here is "Green Hill Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog:

For the sake of completeness...or, at the very least, for the sake of all of our memories, here's a playthrough of the Green Hill Zone...

I think Jer absolutely nailed it.

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Since there are so many things about the world of Sonic that fit the Agents of SKA so well -- fighting the man, a multiverse, and a general "anything-goes" approach to storytelling, for example -- it seemed perfectly reasonable to me that one of Sonic's rebellious anthropomorphic animal colleagues would also join with the Agents of SKA at times.  And in looking up a way to quickly create such a character for the team, I found out that Sonic fandom actually has a big focus on OCs (original characters), which I think is pretty rad.

I'm not even sure how many variations of "Sonic character creator" software there are out there, but I think I'm just hitting the surface with the few I looked at.

First, here are shots of, and links to, some of the ones that stood out to me (I have no affiliation with any of them, in case that needs to be said):

Picrew Sonic Maker

Doll Divine Sonic Character Designer

Doll Divine Male Furry Dollmaker (it definitely works)

And here's the anthropomorphic cat who now joins Haruto Suzuki in the Agents of SKA...Beat the Hepcat!  The name is a little tribute to the band Hepcat, one of the absolute finest of America's third wave crop, and the images below were made using two of the tools above (and some amateur coloring work on one).  Beat has options this way...he doesn't have to be restricted by clothing.  (Making these also made me realize how much Felix the Cat looks like a Sonic character, which I'm not sure I love, but what are ya gonna do?)

Anyway, here's Beat!

In case you're wondering about the bandages...he got into a tussle saving the multiverse...

Now he knows to wear these stylish 2 tone gloves...

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Geeky SKAturday: A Kick in the Bits have an anthem for 2025 (and...every year before it, I suppose...)

It is Geeky SKAturday!  Welcome!

Today's song comes from the Leicester, UK, band A Kick in the Bits, who released the EP Don't Break It last month.  This MIGHT be their first album (I'm not sure), but either way it has become an early contender for favorite ska-ish record of the year here at Monstrous Matters.  (So, y'know, me.)

The album is eight tracks and about a half an hour, and the tune that really caught my attention upon first listen is this one, "No Surrender."  It's really more punk-reggae than ska (a lot of their songs wouldn't sound out of place on a Clash album), and it could truly be an anthem for 2025 America:

You can find A Kick in the Bits on Bandcamp, Facebook, and maybe live near you.  They are definitely worth a listen!

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Now, I'll get down to the really good stuff...connecting this to an RPG campaign in which ska bands are time-traveling protectors of multiversal order.  The key to today's song: Politics.  Ska has always been a genre expressing cultural awareness.  You can listen to songs coming out of Jamaica in the '60s and hear both the optimism that accompanied independence from Great Britain AND both adoration and warnings directed toward the original Rude Boys who often found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

In the late '70s, when ska was revived in the UK alongside the punk movement, its political nature was sealed.  It won't all be serious music -- and some of the greats, like Bad Manners, had little serious about them at all -- but the political undercurrent solidified by the 2 Tone scene has had a lasting impression on the music.

And there are going to be folks who disagree with this (I believe them to be wrong), but I'd also argue that the political leanings of ska have almost universally been to the left.  Some of the easiest evidence?  Well, here's the (English) Beat performing in 1982:

I realized that I wasn't sure if that specific tendency was found in A Kick in the Bits' songs...maybe they're more just general, "the system sucks, we have to fight back to make things better"...?  (Which is already pretty broadly left wing, btw.)  But then I realized they have a song called "Tory Bastards"... ;)

So with that said, I am not going to shy away from having the shenanigans of the Agents of SKA tip into political territory.  Well...okay, I might shy away a little.  I'm not looking to make a political game/setting here.  But the main beliefs expressed within the genre are sentiments I can usually get behind, and they may just show up in the game.

In my next post (hopefully before next weekend!), I think I'll actually start detailing our first agent, Japanese trumpeter Haruto Suzuki.  He is thus far faceless, but some small pieces of his life are starting to emerge.  I have a feeling we'll see that he's a bit political himself...

Geeky SKAturday: "Ride This Wave" by MAYSON's PARTY

Happy weekend everyone!  Thanks for joining me on this Geeky SKAturday (or whenever you're reading), as I play around with new ska, time travel, and saving the multiverse.

After looking at Japan's Oi-SKALL Mates last week (in addition to Spain's Les Testarudes), I want to take the time today to listen to another ska squad from the Land of the Rising Sun.  MAYSON's PARTY are a fairly poppy ska-punk outfit who released a punchy album called GO at the end of January.  It's 11 songs in less than 24 minutes, so if it's up your alley, you can hear the whole thing in no time at all.

Image from here

Today's song is the album's seventh track, "Ride This Wave"...or as I should probably be stylizing it to stay consistent with the band, "RIDE THIS WAVE."  Here's the video!  (The exclamation point seemed justified.)

Pretty catchy stuff, no?

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Now...to make this into part of a universe where ska bands are made up of heroic agents keeping our timestream in proper order...let's talk about this song and time travel!  There are...oh, I guess three main reasons I keep thinking ska is the perfect genre to pair with time travel stories...

First, ska is essentially defined by its rhythm.  Across all subgenres, the main unifying detail is the upbeat (or offbeat) repetition on one or more instruments...usually guitar, but any number of other instruments, vocalizations, and nonvocal mouth sounds have been used to keep up that rhythm that makes you wanna...to dive into the stereotype...pick it up pick it up pick it up.  Additionally, some of the very best ska has incredible syncopation that you can really feel.  And I don't mean odd-number-of-beats-in-a-measure, prog/math rock geekery (although some of that is awesome too).  I'm thinking more along the lines of influential Skatalites drummer Lloyd Knibb, who had a way of drumming that never forces you out of the rhythm, but still somehow surprises with the beats he chose to emphasize.

So...yeah, ska is all about timing.

The second reason is that ska musicians have always been aware of and respectful of the history of their genre, perhaps more so than in any other type of music.  This goes all the way back to very early in the ska timeline, when songs were sometimes updated mento or calypso tunes.  And then, during the so-called ska revival of the late '70s and early '80s in the UK, many of most popular songs were just classics with dashes of pop, rock, and punk added in.  Not to mention the fact that many of the genre's Jamaican pioneers gained new waves of fans through this UK revival and the worldwide spread of the beat that followed it.

Finally...and I alluded to it in that last paragraph...ska is known for its waves.  The original Jamaican ska scene was the first wave.  The British 2 Tone movement kicked off what we know as the second wave.  And then...with exact origins probably differing widely depending upon who you ask for the history...the third wave brought an unbelievable variety of sounds into the genre from all around the world.  ChatGPT seems to think the United States was the epicenter, but viewing it that way really wouldn't be fair to all the other nations that have produced incredible ska from the '80s till now.  (I'm guessing ChatGPT may have been swayed by the internet writings of some Americentric ska fans.  Or, maybe ChatGPT just really digs Fishbone, Operation Ivy, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...)

Oh, and now maybe we're in the midst of a fourth wave...?  It seems reasonably likely that at some point in the future, the young bands gaining fans today will be referred to as the fourth wave.  YTBD, but sounds good to me.

Anyway, these waves seem like a pretty perfect metaphor for time travel.  (Obviously I'm pretty heavily influenced by superhero fiction, and -- in the Arrowverse anyway -- Rip Hunter's timeship is known as the Waverider...!)  So...I figure that's what the Agents of SKA are doing when they jump around a timeline...riding the waves of history, with an appreciation for what's come before and an ear for peculiarities of timing.

And today's song...it's "Ride This Wave."  That's where I started this whole thing, isn't it? ;)  Well...I guess at this point, I don't need to go into too much more detail as to why I chose it.  I actually meant to go more into other aspects of the setting today...maybe filling in some details for trumpet player Haruto Suzuki (who I met last week), or talking about character classes, or how Rude Magic might power a time travel vessel like the helm of a Spelljammer.  I think I'll just end with some perfect lyrics from today's song:

Right on time!!

Ride this wave!!

Ride on now!!

Hope to see you next week!