Hmm, you guys are fun. For those with an interest in 'popular ethnomusicology', whatever else ska may have become, it seems to have originally been a term used by the guitarists in Jamaican bands for the "up-beat" staccato chording you often hear in those (and many other) forms of music (up-beat being on the second half of the beat, like when your foot goes "up" when you're tapping along...). A guitarist playing this (rather traditional) rhythm was said to be "in the ska," "doing the ska," something like that. Reggae started in the streets of Kingston...DJ's began recording bands in their homes or studios by day, and then rushing out to play the recordings at street parties or clubs at night (often the same night). The revelers were always demanding powerful bass sounds (so they got them, consider the use of the bass drum on the 'back-beat' in some reggae tunes, where you'd normally hear the snare {Hence, we're OT, these folks really went 'BUMP' in the night}) and I suppose the guitarists just did "what comes naturally" and played "in the ska."
As for what we're now calling "ska," I like both your definitions. Maybe it's kinda like this:
$ska=$reggae;
$ska.=$elvis_costello.$the_clash;
$ska.=$tower_of_power_horns;
$ska.=($ska+(2*$ritalin));
Now, off to make sure I'm barking up the right tree...I'll post a link if I can.... 🙂
