Journal Entries
3rd Wave Ska
Posted Jun 3, 2001
OK, SO Ska began in Jamaica and the UK in the 1960's( a fine example of the reasons for the export of the music from Jamaica to England exists in the intercut moments in the Song Goodbye to Empire by Maroon Town). 2-Tone ruled the UK, and made small waves in the US, in the earliest moments of the 1980s.
As 2-Tone was ending it's run and the years preceding the 1993 mainstream appearances, three majour pockets of US Ska interest were popping up, one stretching from Boston to NYC to Washington, a Midwest scene and the other in California(though Ska continued to come from the UK with Bands like The Potato 5 and the Loafers).
The East Coast Ska scene had three majour components: The Boston scene with groups like Bim Skala Bim, Mr. Cranky and the (later Mighty Mighty) Bosstones. The sounded tended to be highly influenced, particularly by the hard core sound that eminated from clubs like the Ratskeller. The Bosstones blended the two to make SkaCore, which would make a big splash with the country in the mid-1990s. Boston has always been a hot bed of ska activity, as can be seen on the Mash It Up compilation cds.
New York had the band that for a long time was considered to be the US Ska band: The Toasters and the US Ska Label: Moon Records. While their sound may have been the closest to 2-Tone, they received much praise as being the ones to usher in the new age of Ska(this of course coming in 1989). While there has always been a strong New York scene, including bands like The New York Citizens, the Soul/Ska of the Slackers and Skunkinutti sound of Perfect Thyroid, most of it is derived from the various members of the Toasters and those bands on Moon Ska, including the excellent New York Jazz Ensemble.
Washington D.C. became a hot spot for ska in the earliest days of the 1990s. With the Chequerboard club hosting shows every other week, and shows on campuses such as George Washington University and Georgetown, bands like the Pietasters, the Checkered Cabs, Boy O Boy and the Skunks made a big impact, as well as visits from bands like the Toasters, Bim Skala Bim, the Slackers and Perfect Thyroid. Also helping out the D.C. and environs scene was B.O.B records, whose compilations recorded the sound perfectly, capturing what an up and coming scene would look like.
Midwest Ska had one of the greatest poster bands of all time: Gangster Fun. The fun based sounds of Gangster Fun and Tom Collins and the Cocktail Shakers, Mustard Plug and Skapone made for some of the best fun throughout the US music scene. Many other bands formed, frequently from the rubble of departed bands like Etch-a-sketch and Pickle Betty Brown. This section of the country has several good compilations, including American Skathic, which many consider to be the finest Ska Compilation of the early 1993s.
The California scene was basically kicked off by Fishbone releasing their first album, and The Untouchables becoming a college favourites. Bands using Punk, funk, and soul to layer the ska with popped up throughout Cali, with bands like Skankin' Pickle, Sublime and Buck-O-Nine being some good examples. The first majour US Trad Ska movement had it's most visible example in Let's Go Bowling(though bands like Skavoovie and the Epitones and the Alstonians in Boston may beg to differ), but also bands like Ocean 11, Mobtown and Jump With Joey. One of the reasons that the Southern California scene is so well-known is a radio programme called The Ska Parade. Tazy Phillips and friends started the show and brought in various groups to perform. The first majour radio play of bands like No Doubt, Save Ferris and Sublime came from KUCI.
When Ska hit the forefront with the Bosstones, No Doubt's Tagic Kingdom, Sublime's Date Rape and Reel Big Fish, the Third Wave got itself an expiration date. As the 1990's came to a close, many bands broke up, or more damaging to the movement, lessend the amount of Ska in their sound. While there are still many excellent ska bands out there, the Third Wave story can now be told as we await whatever the 4th Wave will send our way.
Recommended Listening:
Fishbone- Fishbone
The Skunks- Mixed Nuts
Various Artists- American Skathic
Various Artists- Mashin' Up the Nation vol. 1 and 2
Gangster Fun- Time Flies When it's Gangster Fun(very hard to find)
Various Artists- Aces. Two and Fews
Mighty, Mighty Bosstones- SkaCore, the Devil and More
Various Artists- California Skaquake
Various Artists- NME's Rude Awakening(incredibly hard to find, but an amazing document of post 2-Tone English as well as international Ska)
Let's Go Bowling- Music to Bowl By
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Latest reply: Jun 3, 2001
A Brief on BASIC
Posted May 30, 2001
So, BASIC, the Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, was written in the early 1960s by two Dartmouth Profs: T. Kurtz and J. Kemeny. The intent: To have a language that was easy to learn that could be used on the GE225 time-sharing system that Dartmouth was about ready to launch. BASIC may have been the first language written with the intent of being used by non-computer professionals. Many early time-sharing systems used BASIC, both those powered by GE machines and DEC PDP-11 systems.
As time went by, many early Microcomputing systems chose BASIC. The first Basic considered to be a full language implemented on a microprocessor was Li Chen Wang's "Tiny Basic", which appeared in Dr. Dobbs Magazine. At nearly the same time(but certainly after), MicroSoft(as it was called) released their version of BASIC for the 4k Altair. Many machines, including the early Apples and IBM PC, used BASIC as their primary interaction language, for a time being the most widely used language for PCs.
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Latest reply: May 30, 2001
Personal Computer Software Piracy: In The Beginning
Posted May 30, 2001
OK, so the illegal copying and distributing of PC Software goes back to the 1970s and the days of the MITS Altair 8800. You see, a guy named Bill Gates who was a majour geek at Harvard, had started a company with a friend named Paul Allen. As soon as the Altair was introduced in the January 1975 Edition of Popular Electronics, Gates contacted the head of MITS and said that they would like to write BASIC(the Begginers All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) for use on the Altair. Gates had the use of a DEC(Digital Equipment Corp.) PDP-10 on which he wrote BASIC for the Altair's 4k board. He delivered it and it became the standard language with every Altair.
Now the tricky part...
You see, one of the reasons it was so popular was that you could run it through a Teletype and get a copy, or even a few copies to spread around to friends. So, the things that out of hand, with Gates getting fed up with people not paying the piper for the dance. And so, on February 3, 1976, Gates wrote an Open Letter to Hobbyists. In It, he basically(pun only slightly intended) bashed folks for non-payment. This became the first shot in a war that is still waged today.
The following is the actual letter wording, which was the first step down the path to being the World's most hated man
*****
AN OPEN LETTER TO HOBBYISTS
By William Henry Gates III
February 3, 1976
An Open Letter to Hobbyists
To me, the most critical thing in the hobby market right now is the lack of good software courses, books and software itself. Without good software and an owner who understands programming, a hobby computer is wasted. Will quality software be written for the hobby market?
Almost a year ago, Paul Allen and myself, expecting the hobby market to expand, hired Monte Davidoff and developed Altair BASIC. Though the initial work took only two months, the three of us have spent most of the last year documenting, improving and adding features to BASIC. Now we have 4K, 8K, EXTENDED, ROM and DISK BASIC. The value of the computer time we have used exceeds $40,000.
The feedback we have gotten from the hundreds of people who say they are using BASIC has all been positive. Two surprising things are apparent, however, 1) Most of these "users" never bought BASIC (less than 10% of all Altair owners have bought BASIC), and 2) The amount of royalties we have received from sales to hobbyists makes the time spent on Altair BASIC worth less than $2 an hour.
Why is this? As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Hardware must be paid for, but software is something to share. Who cares if the people who worked on it get paid?
Is this fair? One thing you don't do by stealing software is get back at MITS for some problem you may have had. MITS doesn't make money selling software. The royalty paid to us, the manual, the tape and the overhead make it a break-even operation. One thing you do do is prevent good software from being written. Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put 3-man years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and distribute for free? The fact is, no one besides us has invested a lot of money in hobby software. We have written 6800 BASIC, and are writing 8080 APL and 6800 APL, but there is very little incentive to make this software available to hobbyists. Most directly, the thing you do is theft.
What about the guys who re-sell Altair BASIC, aren't they making money on hobby software? Yes, but those who have been reported to us may lose in the end. They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at.
I would appreciate letters from any one who wants to pay up, or has a suggestion or comment. Just write to me at 1180 Alvarado SE, #114, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87108. Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software.
Bill Gates
General Partner, Micro-Soft
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Latest reply: May 30, 2001
Punk Rock Art House Lovers
Posted May 26, 2001
Well then, The 1970s Punk Movement was all about those with safety and anger screaming 3 chord tunes of love and hate. The Art House movement has been around as long as film has. And then, in the intersection of the two lay the Punk Rock Art Housers.
Yes...In full regalia they arrive at theatres showing Merchant-Ivory Films and the like. They go to family restaurants and loudly discuss the merits of Tarrentino and Goddard. The camera work of Metomorphasis and the Dadaist leanings of modern film. And while you can overhear them speak, you can not get over the fact that a man with a bone through his nose is waxing majestic about Italian Children's film.
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Latest reply: May 26, 2001
Johnny Regular
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