January might be the most difficult month of the entire year. Where I live in Ohio, sunset is 5:22 PM. This means that the majority of my time outside of work is spent in the dark. And for some reason the sun only peeks out from behind the gray clouds 15 minutes every other day from November through April. The temperature vacillates between being colder than Antarctica (it’s true, look it up) to a balmy spring day. But the snow, ice, rain, and constant melting and refreezing make everything outside a muddy mess.

Besides all of this, there is an intense emotional and physical letdown from the holidays. And with little to look forward to in the month, the BLAH’s of this time of year can quickly turn into seasonal depression. Clinically called seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D., get it?), this type of depression affects around 3% of the population and has a greater effect on people already experiencing mood disorders like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

One of the ways I help treat my seasonal (and regular) depression is through music. And maybe I’m just weird, but I like to pair my music with the seasons. Summer is a great time for the My Morning Jacket, Dehd, and Jack Johnson. While in the Fall, it just feels right to listen to The Decemberists and Death Cab for Cutie.

Winter, though, is a tough season to nail down. Listening to an artist whose music reflects the bleakness of the season can function as a double-edged sword. Depending on the music choice, I either feel cathartic or even more sad. There aren’t many days between January and March where I’m likely to listen to Elliot Smith or Mount Eerie, even though they are incredible musicians.

That being said, I wondered what it would be like to listen almost exclusively this month to a genre of music that almost always elicits joy. That’s right, I’m talking about SKA!

Ska, that misunderstood, often maligned genre that started in Jamaica in the 1960’s, traveled to England in the 80’s, and then later the United States, is associated with upstrokes, horns, and flamboyant Hawaiian shirts on goofy white dudes has a lot more to offer the world than is often given credit for. Now, I’m not a Ska historian. And the purpose of these articles isn’t to defend the genre. If that’s something you’re interested in, please read Aaron Carnes excellent book In Defense of Ska and/or listen to the fantastic podcast.

Instead, I’m going to share my journey through Ska-Nuary and see if listening to this genre that gives so much hope and joy to a fairly unique sect of the music listening community could DEFEAT SEASONAL DEPRESSION or at least be a good intervention for the BLAH’s of January. You are invited to join along! Every week (maybe more often) I will post my progress as well as the bands/albums I’m listening to, which hopefully gives any newbies to Ska some good entry points to this rich, diverse, and long historied genre. Let’s pick it up, pick it up, pick it up and get going!

What I’m Listening to This Week

Flying Raccoon Suit

Flying Raccoon Suit released one heckuva an album in 2021 on Afterglow. I came across them after the fact when checking out a “Best Ska Albums Of The Year” List, which I bet you didn’t know existed until now. Their style combines alternative and indie rock with more traditional punk/ska for a refreshing entry into 4th wave ska. The dueling male/female vocal harmonies replete with singalong choruses make for a bright listen. Seriously, I played this on a night run, 50 degrees out with so much drizzle my headlamp made everything look foggy, and the experience was more than pleasant. I also listened to them with my children, and my 4 1/2 year old gave them the highest compliment she could muster, saying she liked it because the singer “Sounds like Mirabel” (from Encanto). Definitely check this band out.

JER

Jeremy Hunter is single-handedly bringing Ska music to the masses by creating incredibly arranged Ska covers of pop, emo, Christmas songs, and more under the name Skatune Network (more on them later). They released an album of original music as JER this year. Bothered/Unbothered topped a lot of year end lists, and for good reason. Musically, the ensemble is incredibly skillful punk/ska in the best tradition of 90’s third wave. But lyrically, Hunter tackles a lot important and difficult topics such as race and gender/sexuality along with vulnerable storytelling that proves Ska lyrics can be more than just about girls and goofing off (a lot more as we will discover).

Joystick!

Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “I just can’t get into Ska, it isn’t heavy enough.” Then my friend, let me introduce you to ska-core. Joystick! another band I found in 2021, mixes punk ska with hardcore speed, breakdowns, and even screaming, for heavy, technical, and fun album. Seriously, listen to “GGGhost” and tell me you couldn’t see a pit opening up to that song. I Can’t Take It Anymore is another great newer entry into the Ska-universe and definitely makes a case for hardcore being heavy AND fun.