The Planet Smashers – Things You Do
Whatever way you feel about ska, you have to hand it to this humble genre created, in large part, by overexcited, and generally happy punks. It’s survived the test of time, it continues to be made, and when delivered in the right circumstances, it still gets people to dance.
Ska’s appeal is, essentially, that it provides Jamaican reggae music played with the aggression of punk-rock and that it’s centred around topics that a city dweller would instantly understand and accept as their own.
But The Planet Smashers, just as the genre that they represent, more than anything, provide a quick, educational look at how music genres evolve and thrive if enough people love them.
1990s ska-punk band The Planet Smashers is still at it and just as able to create songs that make being pissed off sound like a party. “Things You Do” feels like music designed for a Summer cookout. It’s got prep, spirit and gives you a hint of how every music genre will evolve, or, unless it is cared for, die trying to survive.
Carry The 9 – Empty Walls
Professional athletes are nearly never alone except for the critical moments where they have to be off their feet and resting. All of the other times, if their career is worth anything, they are surrounded by folks bigging them up.
It’s not just advice that this personnel provides. It’s not only wisdom meant to serve them once they have retired from the professional tour. Most of the time, what makes an athlete great is simply a “You are fantastic!” mantra repeated every once in a while.
Regular folks don’t have that unless they can figure out how to program a bot to call them once an hour and whisper a similar encouragement. Most regular people need bands like Carry The 9 to remind them that if things are going to be great, at least they might be ok in the end.
That’s why Carry The 9’s “Empty Walls” echoes teenage promises about making the very best of whatever is to come our way. It’s a philosophy not learned from books, but from records, punk-rock ones to be more precise. Carry The 9 honours the sound of classic skate-punk and its message with this single.
