Ska is a very hard genre to gain success. You've only got so many

different styles of up-beats to play, and it's hard to not tread over the

steps of past musicians. It's the same thing with reggae. I wonder how

hard it is for Andrew Tosh to write songs without ripping off his father's

songs? And for that matter, when was the last time you heard a good reggae

new release? There's lots of good reggae and ska out there, but it's all

old stuff. Kind of like the distinction between classic rock and "new"

rock. Most "old folks" who grew up listening to classic rock hate that new

shit, and the kids who do like it only like it because they haven't been

turned on either to their parent's record collection or marijuana yet.

Yet every generation has their Peter Frampton (or whatever reflection of

the generation "that" character may be). Someone's got to keep the kids

buying records, and the kids have been taught that anything that is new,

must be good. Enter Buck O Nine. They're a San Diego rock outfit with a

horn section. The kids like the horn section and they like those new

fangled beats that sound like sped up Bob Marley. They like how members of

the band wear Airwalks and have wallet chains and look like skaters. The

kids can really identify.

And the kids really love the music. They all went out and bought 28

Teeth, the new Buck O Nine CD, because they saw it reviewed in

Transworld. Two seconds after the album has started are the kids pogoing.

It sounds like Billie Joe on vocals but it's not. Then the heavy guitar

chorus breaks in and the kids start moshing. Then they start pogoing

again. Man, this is insane.

"Round Kid" is about as catchy of a song as people write these days.Catchy

like "Smells Like Teen Spirit," was but less grunge and more ska.You're

gonna hear this song on all of the "alternative" stations and see the

video played heavily on MTV until you're blue in the face. I'll bet they

have lots of scenes of people skateboarding down the beach and stuff like

that. It's all there, man.

The next song, "Nineteen" is another catchy one. First all of the nineteen

year- olds identify with it, plus the lyrics say something about after

high school insecurities and how youths can do anything. The kids are

charged now, on the verge of rebellion and riot. Here they come skanking

through the streets, beating down the cops and the old people. When

they're through, there won't be anyone under the age of 25 living in

Southern California. Some of the songs have more rock than ska, and some

have more ska than rock. But all of them are pop songs, with killer hooks

that still draw you in to the song like a Beatles groupie in '65.

"Jennifer's Cold," is one of the ska songs and actually has a pretty nice

horn line compared to the rest of the album. More meaningless lyrics, but

hey, this stuff sure is easy to dance to! Then there's another forgettable

fast rock song about how rumors get around. Again, the kids can identify.

They tell rumors to their classmates in school. Damn, that guy sounds like

Billie Joe. Maybe it's just a thick SoCal accent. Some people actually

talk that way.

"What Happened to my Radio?," is a very funny, ironic song for these guys

to sing. They're talking about how radio sucks these days and there's all

these one-hit bands that suck. Lines like "now alternative rock is the

shit / just who do they think they're fooling. . . they shove it down

you're throat / it's swallowed with an English accent,"just make me laugh.

"Is it the band with the one word name? / I get so confused it all sounds

the same." Couldn't have said it better myself.

You might get some crossover kids from the Epitaph/NOFX scene because one

or two of the songs sound just like the NOFX reggae songs. Not that NOFX

didn't probably borrow those melodies from someone else, it's just that

it's already been done. But that's the thing about that--society

suffers from severe short term memory, and it's allowed to recycle music

and style every 10 years or so. These days they're pretty quick about

cranking out those bands, but they've got themselves some hits with Buck O

Nine. Everything is set up for them to dominate the youth scene. I can't

wait for their Mountain Dew ad.

They have studied well, these Buck O Niner's. They know that the last song

you hear is the one that will be stuck in your head the rest of the day,

so they put a catchy sing-a-long, "Little Pain Inside," as the last track.

Those fuckers, it's even stuck in my head.

Although I've just badmouthed this album for 9 paragraphs, it will have no

effect on the sales of this album. The kids love this kind of shit and they

will make the album go platinum just like that Alanis Morrisette girl.

Maybe they have the same manager, that's just cornering all the markets in

the youth genres. If they do, that person is a genius. Needless to say,

Buck O Nine is not my cup of tea, but I suggest that you see for yourself.

If I listened to every review I'd read, I wouldn't have discovered some

killer albums. So there. I hope Buck O Nine is very successful and becomes

very rich and invests very wisely, because their professional career

probably won't last all that long.