3. Punk-101: "The Skank and the Beat (A Ska-Punk Primer)"

[(0:00 - 0:12) Intro: Single guitar plays skank rhythm. Drummer clicks sticks. Professor voice, dry, close.], [poken Word:] "Some of you have been playing the upstrokes. This is a mistake. In ska, the upstrokes are not optional. They are the entire point. Watch. Listen. Skank." [(0:12 - 0:28) Verse 1] Guitar hits the offbeat, *"chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk"* Bass walking circles round the drummer's drunken trunk The horn section's tuning up, they're always running late This is ska-punk 101, please pull up to the gate The trombonist is nursing something from a paper bag The sax player keeps quoting riffs from Madness and The Specials The trumpet's playing exercises, annoying everyone This is what it sounds like when the lesson's just begun [(0:28 - 0:46) Pre-Chorus] Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up now The offbeat is the only rule allowed Pick it up, pick it up, feel the bounce This isn't punk rock, it's a dance [(0:46 - 1:04) Chorus] Upstroke on the offbeat, that's the rule Skank to the left, don't be a fool Horns come in on the chorus, feel the groove This is ska-punk, now learn to move Upstroke, upstroke, feel it in your chest Punk rock body, ska-rock rest The rhythm is the lesson, the song is the test This is ska-punk, now do your best [(1:04 - 1:22) Verse 2] In 1979 the Specials had a plan Take the punk rock anger, add a rhythm from the islands Two-tone records, porkpie hats, the uniform was sharp While punk wore leather jackets, ska-punk learned to play its part Operation Ivy came in '87 Rancid ran with it straight through to '94 and '11 The Bosstones made it jump up, Sublime made it slow Ska-punk kept evolving, but the offbeat's all you need to know [(1:22 - 1:40) Pre-Chorus] Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up now The offbeat is the only rule allowed Pick it up, pick it up, feel the bounce This isn't punk rock, it's a dance [(1:40 - 1:58) Chorus] Upstroke on the offbeat, that's the rule Skank to the left, don't be a fool Horns come in on the chorus, feel the groove This is ska-punk, now learn to move Upstroke, upstroke, feel it in your chest Punk rock body, ska-rock rest The rhythm is the lesson, the song is the test This is ska-punk, now do your best [(1:58 - 2:34) Bridge / Horn Break Instrumental. Bass solo. Drum fills. Horn section melody: 16 bars.] [(2:34 - 2:52) Breakdown: Music drops to drums and vocals only. Drums: rim clicks, hi-hat. Vocal: half-spoken, close], [Professor:] "Now here's where it gets complicated. Some of you will want to stay in the skank forever. It's comfortable. It's bouncy. But punk rock doesn't stay comfortable. So we switch. We always switch. Watch." [(2:52 - 3:10) Punk Section] Now the tempo doubles, the horns have left the room This is just the punk rock, the anger and the doom The skank was just the setup, the sugar for the sting Ska-punk is the hybrid, the offering, the thing That gets you moving, gets you dancing, gets you through the door Then hits you with the hardcore, leaves you wanting more The offbeat never leaves you, it's buried in your brain Ska-punk is the sunshine, punk rock is the rain [(3:10 - 3:28) Final Chorus] Upstroke on the offbeat, that's the rule (that's the rule!) Skank to the left, don't be a fool (don't be a fool!) Horns come in on the chorus, feel the groove (feel it!) This is ska-punk, now learn to move Upstroke, upstroke, feel it in your chest Punk rock body, ska-rock rest The rhythm is the lesson, the song is the test This is ska-punk, now do your best [(3:28 - 3:42) Outro: Band strips away. Horns drop. Distorted guitar drops. Bass simplifies. Drums reduce. Single clean guitar plays skank rhythm, fading], [Final offbeat chord, rings out.], [spoken word:] "Upstroke. Downstroke. Upstroke— That's it. That's the whole thing. Class dismissed."