BEFORE: AFTER:
2. Abandoning Ska
The Blue Meanies was one of the most unique third wave ska bands, notorious for technical precision as a tool for weirdness. Check out "Smash The Magnavox" if you've never heard a ska horn section shred. When the band had the resources to make its major-label funded album The Post Wave, any hint of ska was gone - along with most of the Blue Meanies' established musical personality. No band needs its growth stunted, but a move this drastic can feel like betrayal to fans. This is particularly true in the case of a band like Blue Meanies who never seemed confined by ska in the first place.
BEFORE: AFTER: 1. Dropping The Horns
Less Than Jake always leaned toward the punk side of ska-punk. Sometimes, the only ska element to the band was its horn section, which is why the band's fans got so bummed when the band's brass was mostly absent from its 2005 record In With The Out Crowd. There is no hard and fast rule that ska bands need horns, but one that has them should probably keep them. Less Than Jake got the hint; guess what instruments featured prominently on the band's next album GNV FLA.
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