Subtle Bluntness

I only have two pieces of religious music in my record collection, and both pieces are in the same CD sleeve.  They’re even the same genre, but they could not be farther apart religiously.  One’s a Christian ska band, and the other is the only Satanic ska band in music history (unless there’s something about the Maytalls Toots is keeping to himself).  Amusingly, I bought them both at the same place on the same day (a Hastings that was going out of business).

Mephiskapheles is one of the finest bands I’ve ever heard.  Musically, they are tighter than a duck’s asshole in a wind storm.  This is one of the few bands that I can say, without a doubt, can play the hell out of their instruments.  Normally in a ska band there’s a weak link somewhere, but not in these guys.  As a Christian friend of mine told me once, “I wish these guys weren’t Satanists, because they’re the best (third wave) ska band out there from a musician standpoint.”

As for Five Iron Frenzy, I bought their album solely for “Oh Canada” but it turned out to be a really sweet, catchy nugget of peppy ska goodness mixed with the occasional song vaguely hinting about Jesus.  I think if they hadn’t been religious, they would’ve ended up being like a Less Than Jake type of culty favorite.  As it is, they broke up a few years ago, but have the cutest sax player I’ve ever seen in the form of Leanor “Jeff the Girl” Ortega.  I saw them at the Warped Tour in Hotlanta in 2001 or 2002 and was very impressed.  I like that they don’t overtly preach, either.

I don’t mind mixing religion and music (though I usually think it makes music worse and cheapens religion), just don’t bombard me with prayers from the stage (regardless of who or what you’re praying to).  Still, I had to balance out my ska for Jesus with my skatanism.