Fishbone - "Truth and Soul"

I really love this album. There's not much else to say. Part funk, part ska, part new wave, part punk, part hair metal (yes), and part comedy. Fishbone is awesome, but an acquired taste. I got this on cassette a few years ago from the aforementioned neighbor. It's like a Sublime made of real, live black people! (I hope that didn't sound racist, I'm just not down with whiteboy reggae.) Fishbone are an amazing band and I was lucky enough to see them a few Halloweens ago. If there's a band that you should listen to while dressed as Tank Girl and being the only minor in a crowd of too-friendly drunk old men and University students, Fishbone is probably it. Their shows don't turn out a lot of people, but this album contains their two huge singles "Ma and Pa" and "Freddie's Dead." This is a great starter for a really esoteric, underrated band.

PASSWORD:freddiesdead
87.07MB ZIP file
Click Here to purchase from Amazon.com

TRACK LISTING:
01.Freddie's Dead
02.Ma and Pa
03.Mighty Long Way
04.Pouring Rain
05.Deep Inside
06.Question of Life
07.I Like to Hide Behind My Glasses
08.Bonin' in the Boneyard
09.One Day
10.Subliminal Fascism
11.Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party)
12.In The Name of Swing
13.Ghetto Soundwave
14.Change

V/A - "Skamikaze!"

Much to my chagrin, information on this album isn't terribly available. This is a Japanese ska compilation heavy on beer and distortion. The sound ranges from third wave pop to channeling FEAR's "New York's Alright." It's mostly in English with a couple of exceptions. As a connoisseur of both compilations and foreign ska music, this makes me indescribably happy. Skamikaze is twenty-one tracks of the Japanese teaching us stupid Gaijin that ska's not dead. This is probably the most punk-accessible thing I've posted so far, so enjoy it. Pardon me for the brief description, but it's very simply a kickass foreign ska comp that'll make you want to pick it up, even if you don't speak Japanese. (Sidenote: Don't confuse this with the California band that totally ripped this title off)

PASSWORD:YOSHIMATSU
132MB ZIP file
Click Here to purchase from Amazon.jp

TRACK LISTING:
01."Theme Of Skamikaze" - Zero-Fighters
02."Smash The Reality" - Almighty Bomb Jack
03."Niji-Rainbow" - Joyride
04."Boxer" - Tijuana Brooks
05."Panic" - Good Days Slowly
06."All The Time" - Flag Ship
07."Bob" - Sk@y Mates
08."Beer Song" - Tomato Jelly
09."Action" - Rollings
10."Jump To The Sky" - The Rude Pressures
11."Wa-Kyoku" - Doberman
12."Opening Out" - Adamoste Kings
13."Us" - Cream Cheese Cookie
14."Killer Mayim" - Triple Slott
15."Thu Hu" - Ska-Vibrators
16."Letter" - Yum Yum Orange
17."All You Need Is Ska" - Arts
18."Atalimae" - KSD
19."2nd Roots" - Head Slider
20."Sheep Train" - La Skals
21."Betty" - The Mice Teeth