Playlouder - Music is the Network

Ska.

It's a dirty word.

You can't utter it around 'Falco' Falkous or even Fat Mike without inviting scorn, ridicule and ostracisation. Be that as it may, the unlikely ingredients of would-be pop star Nick 'Surely a Pseudonym' Harrison's debut single 'Oi Rude Boy' (I know!) make for a surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable few minutes.

What Nick manages, that The Metros don't, and The Ordinary Boys certainly didn't, is to appropriate and abuse the dreaded ska format with a real sense of affection, as opposed to using it as an outlet for obnoxiousness. 

It's bordering on pastiche, certainly - indeed it knowingly has one foot in the past, talking of a chap who longs for a time or place "when everyone dressed the same... when everyone knew your name".

It's great actually, because it gives the music context, and layers of meaning that simply can't be found in the "boys will be boys" or "I had a few too many alst night" bullshit, or indeed the ill-advised ska-punk shenanigans of the (mostly) stateside troupes.

Where does one go from here? A flash in the pan, possibly, but a pop music gem regardless:

Oi Rude Boy