Christian Ska band performs "Jesus is My Friend"

I hardly go out to see bands any more, but I'd pay a lot to attend a Sonseed concert.

♫ Once I tried to run, once I tried to hide, but Jesus found me and touched me deep down inside. ♫

"Jesus is My Friend" by Sonseed (Via Arbroath)

[#1 posted by Rindan , September 5, 2008 10:22 AM]

I miss ska. Damn you ska! Why did you leave! Come back!

Remember when you can listen to music that was wallowing in its own self pity and hatred? Remember there was music about getting drunk, getting into a fight, getting or ass kicked, and still being okay with life? Hedonism, irony, trumpets, and trombones. How can you stay angry when you have a little brass blaring? Oh ska... oh ska. I miss you.

Oh well, I live in Boston, so I guess it is back to indie music. I have gotten pretty good at just standing there blankly at shows. Eh, it beats emo.

As for this song, I'll second "Once I tried to run, once I tried to hide, but Jesus found me and touched me deep down inside." as being the best line.

You know it is bad and that you don't hear enough ska when you are bopping along to Jesus ska.

[#2 posted by BubbleDragon , September 5, 2008 10:54 AM]

*sniff* I miss ska, too. There ARE a scant few bands left. I feel like they didn't get the memo or something, but I'm so freaking glad they didn't.

[#3 posted by Pablo Defendini , September 5, 2008 11:04 AM]

I miss it as well, although I do dust off the Toasters or the Skatalites (who are still touring, and still going strong!) every once in a while. These guys do need a brass section. It's just not ska without a big ol' wall o' horns.

[#4 posted by inkyblue2 , September 5, 2008 11:07 AM]

five iron frenzy, eat your heart out.

[#5 posted by ployntabs , September 5, 2008 11:11 AM]

One of my top five favorite albums is The Specials first record. It might be a perfect album.

[#6 posted by wigglin , September 5, 2008 11:14 AM]

Jesus is like a Mountie, he always gets his man.

I really like this song.

[#7 posted by Jardine , September 5, 2008 11:15 AM]

Once I tried to run, once I tried to hide, but Jesus found me and touched me deep down inside.

That's quite disturbing actually. With what did Jesus touch you deep down inside? Whatever it was, it doesn't sound very comfortable. And if you were running and hiding, it doesn't sound consensual either.

[#8 posted by Takuan , September 5, 2008 11:18 AM]

I shall get the ball rolling then shall I?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK2--2TrJRg

[#9 posted by Wingo , September 5, 2008 11:19 AM]

This is one of the greatest videos I've seen in a long time.

It almost beats the Finnish Disco dancing instructional video.

[#10 posted by philipb , September 5, 2008 11:23 AM]

Steinberg bass - awesomely 80's

[#11 posted by Takuan , September 5, 2008 11:27 AM]

you like the Radiodred Dark Side of the Moon mon?

[#12 posted by snagglepuss , September 5, 2008 11:41 AM]

Over de cliff wit yer bloodclot tour bus den, Mon!

[#13 posted by imipak , September 5, 2008 11:41 AM]

The Lily Allen album was my "Jesus Ska" moment, after deciding I liked it so much I didn't care that the cool people would laugh and point I found myself suddenly remembering that thanks to the marvel of the internet all that fantastic old music I thought was gone forever is once again just a few clicks (and a hits on the old CC, for lo! I am a self-confessed freetard ["..and PRAAD of it!"], and therefore respect copyright.) The Trokan Ska boxsets were a revelation, fantastic value and hearing where all the 2-Tone late 70s/early 80s bands got their inspiration from for the first time.

All together now -- unn-cha! -cha! -cha! -cha!

Random YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2oXzrnti4
(a bit less of a party tune but god, this did sound the way early 80s Britain looked and felt...)

heh, stumbled over this whilst looking for that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SATMtbViuhY

Ah whathehell whilst I'm posting random links, Lily Allen vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORosVxIg8Tg

[#14 posted by Anonymous , September 5, 2008 11:44 AM]

Ska by the loose definition that they are playing the upbeat... they however lack the crucial horns!

I prefer five iron frenzy more

[#15 posted by gATO , September 5, 2008 11:51 AM]

That was quite painful to listen to, let alone to watch... but then it became funny. And then, painful again. Oh well...

The guitar solo was kinda sorta awesome, though.

[#16 posted by Anonymous , September 5, 2008 12:09 PM]

sounds like they were "inspired" by The Selecter's "On My Radio." Anyone willing to make a mashup?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCqZW7xHm_Q

[#17 posted by techbear , September 5, 2008 12:14 PM]

Wow. I mean, wow. I so gotta score a backstage pass -- just imagine the scene. WOW.

[#18 posted by catskill , September 5, 2008 12:26 PM]

Lvs Jss = Pthtc Lsr

[#19 posted by Anonymous , September 5, 2008 12:27 PM]

I liked Mephiskapheles better than this!

[#20 posted by figment88 , September 5, 2008 12:31 PM]

If only they had a horn section.

[#21 posted by Enochrewt , September 5, 2008 12:50 PM]

#17: Amen! (heh) No ska bands aren't ska bands without horns.

Ther's still a few bands that tour. MU330 has 5 whole dates this year. At least it's something.

[#22 posted by devophill , September 5, 2008 12:53 PM]

One step away from polka.

[#23 posted by SleighBoy , September 5, 2008 12:55 PM]

pick it up, pick it up!

[#24 posted by Gunnar , September 5, 2008 1:58 PM]

@1 - "Oh well, I live in Boston, so I guess it is back to indie music. I have gotten pretty good at just standing there blankly at shows. Eh, it beats emo."

You live in Boston and can't find good ska. Then you aren't looking.
Have Nots - http://www.myspace.com/havenotsboston
Half the bands on Fork in Hand - http://www.forkinhand.com/site/index.php?page=bands

As for Ska bands without horns:

Chris Murray
Operation Ivy
Stray Bullets
Skylar
Suicide Machines
The Impossibles
Jaya the Cat

All go without horns. Horns are nice, but they're hardly required for good ska.

[#25 posted by Richard XXIII , September 5, 2008 2:08 PM]

Boy, do we owe No Doubt an apology now?
These guys do Ska one worse!

HAH!
For years - and sight unseen - Christian Ska has been my personal watermark for a bad music concept.
I even have tagged some of my extreme noise music creations as Christian Ska.

I still can't think of anything more odious and that video is the proof.

[#26 posted by FarrisGoldstein , September 5, 2008 2:13 PM]

Jesus... A message to you, Jesus.

[#27 posted by Takuan , September 5, 2008 2:13 PM]

don't you dare say anything against Gwen!

[#28 posted by atomx , September 5, 2008 2:21 PM]

Great.

I will now be humming this song for the next 2 days.

And I agree with the ska nostalgia here. I was a big ska fan back in high school and while I did somewhat grow out of it, I still hold a place for it in my heart. Some of my fondest memories were of playing in a ska band with my friends. It's just such fun music to play.

HUP HUP HUP! PICK-IT-UP! PICK-IT-UP!

[#29 posted by Kay the Complainer , September 5, 2008 2:29 PM]

"He taught me how to turn my cheek when people laugh at me"

Probably a good skill for this guy to have.

[#30 posted by Enry Iggins , September 5, 2008 2:30 PM]

More info on Sonseed found! Woohoo!

http://dougsploitation.blogspot.com/2008/08/sonseed-first-fruit-album.html

[#31 posted by Pipenta , September 5, 2008 2:37 PM]

The circa 1972 Osmond outfits, baby blue against the pink background just make it all the more surreal...

[#32 posted by Enry Iggins , September 5, 2008 2:45 PM]

Ooh, there's an interview with the singer! And he likes Russ Meyer films?!! These ain't your parent's born again christians!

http://dougsploitation.blogspot.com/2008/09/dougsploitation-news-exclusive-sal-of.html

[#33 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 5, 2008 2:47 PM]

That video's right up there with the Lawrence Welk Show's version of "One Toke Over the Line," but it's a catchy song.

[#34 posted by Ryganas , September 5, 2008 2:53 PM]

“He is like a mountie, he always gets his man... And he’ll zap you any way he can.”

Next time you're at a protest being held down and tazered by a power-hungry cop, relax... That just might be Jesus brandying a Tazer filled with the Holy Sprit.

[#35 posted by Boba Fett Diop , September 5, 2008 3:26 PM]

This is part of my problem with a lot of "Christian Music." It's a feeling I get that many of these "Christians" need to modify existing musical forms to match a particular set of values, without deeply considering the values conveyed by the original genre.

Ska and Rocksteady, for instance already had strong Christian elements (and not necessarily Rastafarian, which only became overtly present in Jamaican music a few years later) when it first emerged. Yes, there was Rudeboy music as well, and songs touching on a number of secular themes, but being Jamaica, a number or artists produced music that was explicitly and apologetically Christian. Furthermore, they were better musicians than the ones in the video above. Examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMWe6XyVdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVEKKJOLRww

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zVN3weAQ_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFfEFd3N8sw

(The last is an especially awesome piece of film)

Not that I have similar problems with "Christian" rock and country music (at least country music produced now that calls itself "Christian"). Can music not be meaningful in a religious way without having to announce itself as such? Does contemporary "Christian" music have to ignore it's antecedents because they might also have produced secular music, or (God forbid) they might be black?

[#36 posted by Boba Fett Diop , September 5, 2008 3:45 PM]

OK, so on further review, it may be parody.

Really effective parody.

Dammit!

I'm a little sensitive about Jamaican music.

[#37 posted by Takuan , September 5, 2008 3:50 PM]

Sonseed, Sonseed, Son....Seed OMG! It's satanic backwards masking code for the abominable crime of Onan! With Jeebus yet! Burn them! Burn them all!

[#38 posted by CD , September 5, 2008 4:03 PM]

Jesus invented Ska.

[#39 posted by gATO , September 5, 2008 4:45 PM]

#29, #27: The Power of the Internets never ceases to amaze me :)

[#40 posted by Lewis Haidt , September 5, 2008 4:52 PM]

Awesome!!!!!!

Now, someone has to find the Chabad version for the start of Elul!

[#41 posted by secretninjanut , September 5, 2008 5:36 PM]

Wow, a Five Iron Frenzy reference on Boing Boing.

[#42 posted by Infinite Jones , September 5, 2008 6:26 PM]

The guitarist is SKANKIN'!

[#43 posted by error404 , September 5, 2008 7:12 PM]

Ever noticed how the prefix "Chritian" pretty much means sugar-free, alcohol free, joyless, going through the souless motions of something?

As a Skinhead, of now nudging 40 years, who's first memory is of as very tiny boy listening to Desmond Dekker, you ge used to seeing Ska die off, and then be the next big thing, then die off once more.

It's a big cycle.

Current recommendations are The Agrrolites.

http://www.myspace.com/theaggrolites

Click on the track TIME TO GET TOUGH... and ramp the sound up.

This stuff is superb.

Proper old Skinhead Reggae.

And before anyone says "SKINHEAD!!" are you a nazi?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqEJK0ZspkQ&feature=related

[#44 posted by Anonymous , September 5, 2008 7:15 PM]

look up five iron frenzy & the oc supertones they are a couple of kick ass christan ska bands that are well respected and really good enjoy!

[#45 posted by Anonymous , September 5, 2008 7:18 PM]

What is the instrument that nobody is playing, that sounds like an electronic version of a jaw harp, and sounds like it is speaking words that I cannot quite make out?

[#46 posted by sswaan , September 5, 2008 7:25 PM]

IMIPAK #13:

How is Lily Allen "Jesus Ska?" Yeah, she's got the happy punk beat and sweet voice of this born-again Canadian ska band, but she's also got ironic lyrics and a very dark sense of humor, not really the stock and trade of the jesus-loving set. Am I missing something?

[#47 posted by certron , September 5, 2008 9:32 PM]

The name of the album, I believe, if I can read it properly from the start of the clip, is "Punch and Judaism", unless the line with "Salvation Army" just above it is also part of the title.

Um... Yeah.

[#48 posted by arkizzle , September 5, 2008 11:42 PM]

Swaan, I believe Imipak was comparing the idea of someone getting over their personal-shame and admitting to themselves they actually liked Jesus Ska, to the same experience of someone getting over the shame of liking Lily Allen and openly enjoying her music.. rather than saying Lily Allen's music is *like* Jesus Ska.

[#49 posted by Matt Sanderson , September 6, 2008 12:17 AM]

#41
I think he just meant that Lily Allen's music was embarrassing for most to listen to, like "Jesus ska." Or something like that.

[#50 posted by imipak , September 6, 2008 3:37 AM]

#41, 43, 44: I meant firstly a reminder that oh yes, ska really is jolly good, I should seek out some of the real thing, plus a smidge of really liking the Lily Allen album when it's apparently considered highly uncool (in some circles near me, anyway.) I've generally got a high tolerance for unfashionable music, the next big thing for me (in the mid 80s) was early 70s prog, and that will NEVER come back into fashion... nowadays it's flamenco that I have to keep remembering not to bring up in polite conversation.

[#51 posted by GonzoMultiverse , September 6, 2008 4:29 AM]

Sonseed. Sounds kinda dirty.

[#52 posted by stallout , September 6, 2008 6:36 AM]

#4, #38: Thank you for not mentioning the O.C. Supertones.

[#53 posted by sswaan , September 6, 2008 7:10 AM]

Ah, I see. I'm so uncool, I didn't realize my liking Lily Allen was uncool. (No one I know has even heard of her.) But according to whom? Do those people think They Might Be Giants is uncool too? Probably. Oh, well, it's all relative, anyway. I'm sure the average 13 year old would shun my tastes, but I don't know any teenagers.

Oh, and flamenco--real flamenco--rocks. THAT is a way to keep a beat.

[#54 posted by Anonymous , September 6, 2008 8:28 AM]

The singer's delivery and cadence remind of the oompa loompas' singing.

[#55 posted by Anonymous , September 6, 2008 9:59 AM]

Hey Guys -

I've had the Sonseed video on VHS for over 25 years. A friend of mine finally digitized it for me (praise the lord!) a few weeks ago and I posted it on my blog. From there it's been hijacked and posted on YouTube. I'm glad so many people are enjoying it.

You can visit my blog to find out more about Sonseed and read a new interview with the lead singer.

http://dougsploitation.blogspot.com/

[#56 posted by thestarwheel , September 6, 2008 10:33 AM]

I think it's high time you guys add a category called "ridiculing Christianity" or something like that. That way we can devote our time commenting on how lame Jesus is. It would beneficial for marginalizing and belittling this segment of the population. We could then submit clips of church services and summer camps,and find stories about how dumb Christians are and then we'd really be having a lot of good fun. Hopefully, at some point when we make fun of religion so much, it will be considered awesome and then we can move on to persecuting them and burning them on stakes and feeding them to lions and so forth. Just a thought OK, it might be super cool.

[#57 posted by Sister Y , September 6, 2008 10:41 AM]

#49 You're right that criticizing people is just the first step on a slippery slope toward executing them, but where did the lions come from? We just feed them to Takuan - he likes them barbecued.

[#58 posted by minTphresh , September 6, 2008 11:11 AM]

starwheel@#49, awww, someone is picking on the poor, poor x-tians? oh, the pity! oh, the woe! how can those heretic sumbitches be so ka-ruel! 'cuz i know deep, deep in my heart, that the x-tians would never, NEVER, under any circumstances, mock someone, or even groups of someones, who believe anything different from them! x-tians are so damnably AWESOME, that they would never call for the deaths of innocents merely on the basis of their BELIEFS! oh, the outrage! oh, the cruel injustice of it all!

[#59 posted by minTphresh , September 6, 2008 12:36 PM]

sorry for the double post. antinous, if you get a chance....

[#60 posted by sswaan , September 6, 2008 3:46 PM]

Takuan's a guy?

[#61 posted by minTphresh , September 6, 2008 3:51 PM]

sssssh, that is just a rumour! but the psuedopodia are factual.

[#62 posted by error404 , September 6, 2008 7:15 PM]

Also

TimArmstrong, ex f Operation Ivy and Rancid did an album weith the Ggrolites as the band.

Basically click on any of the crisp black n white items on this YT pae.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tim+armstrong&search_type=&aq=f

[#63 posted by glycolized , September 6, 2008 7:42 PM]

Steinberg bass - awesomely 80's

Heh - he wishes. I think that may be a Kramer "Duke" bass. I'm pretty sure it's not a Steinberger, with the type of tuners those are behind the bridge. The Steinberger tuners are part of the whole bridge assembly.

What a terrible earworm though - I have that tune running through my head now!

[#64 posted by arkizzle , September 6, 2008 8:10 PM]

Wait.. is the guitarist rockin' out in his socks? Nice.

[#65 posted by Tits McGee , September 6, 2008 8:59 PM]

ZOMG JESUS IS A QUEER STALKER WITH A TASER.

[#66 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 8, 2008 1:40 PM]

Sswann @53, let no one call you uncool for liking Lily Allen.

TheStarWheel @56:

I think it's high time you guys add a category called "ridiculing Christianity" or something like that.

Oh, look -- it's one of those commenters who gives Christianity a bad name. Is he durable enough to play with?

That way we can devote our time commenting on how lame Jesus is.

That's hardly the thrust of this discussion; but even if it were, it would do less damage to Jesus' street cred than StarWheel's creebing.

It would beneficial for marginalizing and belittling this segment of the population.

Here's the heart of the matter: StarWheel thinks we're belittling him. Some of us are laughing at a video that's been tagged "Christian," and he's tagged himself "Christian," so therefore, he thinks, we've done him an injustice. He has a grand opinion of himself.

(Mind you, other guys who sound just like him are forever throwing all kinds of nasty lies and slurs at what they call "liberals" and "atheists"; but at the least sign of disrespect for their own shibboleths, they start feeling aggrieved. As far as I can tell, that lot have a more or less perpetual sense of grievance. I figure you can judge their sense of entitlement by how often they complain of affronts to it. It must be nice to live in a world where you not only expect to win all the time, but believe everyone has a duty to make nice to you while you're doing it.)

Onward. Notice that StarWheel assumes that he's speaking on behalf of Christianity. Notice also that he's sure none of us belong to his club. Personally, I think it's not his club, and that Matthew 7:21-23 would be a profitable reminder for him. While he's got the book out, he should also take a look at Matthew 5:9-12 and Luke 6:20-23.

Moving on into major self-pity:

We could then submit clips of church services and summer camps,and find stories about how dumb Christians are and then we'd really be having a lot of good fun.

He can't tell the difference between making fun of a middlin' lame video made by Christians, and saying that all Christians are lame. Granted, some of the commenters do think all Christians are lame; but they're a minority. Most of the commenters can tell we're talking about the video.

Here's another thing that gets me: If you've ever been a regular attendee at mainstream religious services, you have to be aware that this guy has spent a serious amount of time listening to lame musical numbers. The music won't always have been awful -- some of it will have been passably good, even outstanding once in a while; but the lame stuff you have with you always. (Sound aesthetic judgement has never been one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. If it were, there wouldn't be an entire Precious Moments Chapel at the Precious Moments Inspirational Park in Carthage, Illinois.)

Therefore, StarWheel is mad at us for doing the same thing he himself must have done innumerable times: experiencing a sense of irreverent disbelief while watching a religious musical performance. The difference is that he pretended he wasn't having that reaction.

That's it, that's all: he's ticked because we didn't pretend. He's got a big investment in Being a Christian. It's like we're threatening the resale value of his house by painting our own house in funny colors.

Finally, an apotheosis of self-pity:

Hopefully, at some point when we make fun of religion so much, it will be considered awesome and then we can move on to persecuting them and burning them on stakes and feeding them to lions and so forth. Just a thought OK, it might be super cool.

Yep: StarWheel is identifying himself with the Christian Martyrs. He's sitting at home in a comfortable chair in front of his computer, most likely with his beverage of choice within easy reach, feeling that delicious cheap glow of unearned self-righteousness. Our lot's no better than the people who tortured and killed the early Christians, and we're being mean and uppity and disrespectful to him; so he must be like this with Perpetua and Felicity.

I showed StarWheel's comment to my friend Elise, who may have spent more hours of her childhood in church services than I did. She cracked up. "It's one of those guys who likes to wallow in it!" she crowed. "It's like they think the Holy Spirit is a really big pigeon instead of a dove, so as soon as they see a little revilement start to fall, they take off running as fast as they can so they'll be under it when it hits. I want a picture of someone being splattered-on by a pigeon so I can caption it: TEH HOLY SPIRIT, UR DOIN IT WRONG."

[#67 posted by Xopher , September 8, 2008 3:07 PM]

TNH 66: ...an entire Precious Moments Chapel at the Precious Moments Inspirational Park in Carthage, Illinois.

O. My. Gods.

Carthago delenda est.

[#68 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 8, 2008 6:32 PM]

Xopher, I understand their otherwise complete Life of Christ murals omit the Crucifixion. That strikes me as an error. I'm sure it would have been very popular.

When Elise got home and saw how I'd quoted her, she added, "I want to tell them, that's not what we mean by 'starry crown'."

[#69 posted by AGF , September 8, 2008 7:07 PM]

Teresa! LOL!

[#70 posted by AGF , September 8, 2008 7:09 PM]

Oh and my favorite part are those giant glasses the one lady is wearing.

[#71 posted by Takuan , September 8, 2008 7:13 PM]

it's not good luck when the Spirit shits on you?

[#72 posted by Jake0748 , September 8, 2008 7:20 PM]

"We're sorry, this video is no longer available."

Dang, I wanted to see the lady with giant glasses.

[#73 posted by AGF , September 8, 2008 7:53 PM]

some sort of youtube 'scheduled maintenance'

[#74 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 8, 2008 8:13 PM]

(Elise just re-read it. "Whitewashed sepulchre," she said, shaking her head.)

[#75 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 8, 2008 8:33 PM]

Also, Takuan, she sends you her regards.

[#76 posted by Takuan , September 8, 2008 8:43 PM]

greetings and blessings from the Darkest Heart then,likewise.

[#77 posted by heresiarch514 , September 8, 2008 10:54 PM]

♫ Once I tried to run, once I tried to hide, but Jesus found me and touched me deep down inside. ♫

Are we sure that it's not just a really obscure Big Lebowski self-insertion fan-filk?

[#78 posted by alsafi , September 9, 2008 7:02 AM]

I recently noticed, while trapped eating lunch in a venue that was loudly playing Christian pop music (I'm trying to figure out which/how many of the words in that phrase should have scare quotes. Probably all of them), that the lyrics of most of the songs lend themselves handily to being read as BDSM Jesus slash-fic. BDSM self-insertion Jesus slash-fic, if I may be so bold.

[#79 posted by Michael , September 9, 2008 7:19 AM]

One of the most interesting things -- a lot of Christian rock is actually pretty good. As long as it's in a language I don't understand easily, I can stand it.

One of the residents of the low-income tower out our back window has a Thing for playing Spanish-language Christian rock. Loudly. On Sunday. (I always think, "Shouldn't she be in church?" But perhaps she goes to Mass on Saturday.) This wouldn't be so bad (a welcome relief from the other resident with this habit, who only owns one CD and keeps odd hours) but she sings along. Very loudly. And she can't carry a tune in a bucket -- and not in an endearing way, either.

Ugh.

[#80 posted by kip w , September 9, 2008 8:18 AM]

For your enjoyment, here they are -- the Click Kids. A certain awkwardness in the lead singer reminds me of the band the Brady Bunch used to feature, but there's something about these guys that brings me back -- and that makes this album sell for a couple of Gs. We should all be in such demand.

[#81 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , September 9, 2008 8:52 AM]

Alsafi: For that, what you want is Psalm 139.

[#82 posted by Dr Paisley , September 13, 2008 6:31 PM]

If it were, there wouldn't be an entire Precious Moments Chapel at the Precious Moments Inspirational Park in Carthage, Illinois.)

Actually, there isn't one there. It's in Carthage, Missouri. The billboards all along US 71 are hideous to behold.

[#83 posted by jfrancis , October 18, 2008 12:46 AM]

The video is down from youtube

:(