SKA Music

[gurugowrav]

For a generation of suppressed, restless, working-class youths living in 1960 Jamaica,
ska was a medium through which they could find expression. Since its original
appearance, ska has resurfaced twice, each time presenting itself in a different guise to
a new generation of music aficionados. Overcoming its humble beginnings, it has
become one of the twentieth century’s most enduring and influential styles of music.
Since the early 1940's, Jamaica had adopted and adapted many forms of American
musical styles. The predominantly black inhabitants of Jamaica took a liking to
rhythm and blues music, importing a considerable number of American records that
were showcased at dance halls in the early 1960s. Jamaican musicians took up the
elements of rhythm and blues and combined it with traditional Jamaican mento music.
The result was the first wave of ska.

Musically, ska is a shuffle rhythm similar to mento but with even closer ties to rhythm
and blues, placing the accent on the second and fourth beats, often moving in a 12-bar
blues frame. The after beat, played on the piano or strummed by a rhythm guitar,
came to be characteristic of the form. A horn section, usually consisting of trumpets,
trombones, and saxophones, was a vital element. Classic bands, such as the Wailers
wrote songs written about Trench Town (a ghetto), rude boys (street thugs), romance,
and even religious themes. In 1965, ska began to take a backseat to a newly evolved
type of music, called rock steady, which was more dependent than ska had been on
rhythm provided by the bass guitar and drums.

Ska was later exported by traveling Jamaican artists to Great Britain, where it became
known as "blue beat." By the mid 1970's, early British punk bands were infusing
reggae, a style of music that came from rock steady, into their music. Near the end of
the decade, however, there was a resurgence of the influence of ska because of its
upbeat, danceable rhythm. This faster paced ska came to be known as two tone. One
of the essential messages of two-tone ska was the promotion of racial harmony and of
having fun in the face of subjugation.

The third wave of ska began in America around 1990. Bands influenced by the twotone
ska scene began to use punk and metal music to a greater extent. The
combination, which is much faster than two tone, sounds very different from the
original Jamaican brand of ska.
In its three different waves, ska has given voice to seemingly voiceless, downtrodden
generations. Each time it resurfaces, a new message is taken up, however, the old
messages are never forgotten.

3. Which of the following statements about ska music is supported by information in
the passage?
Rock steady is more dependent than ska on the rhythm provided by the bass guitar
and drums.
Reggae, which counts ska as one of its primary influences, developed only after it was
exported by traveling Jamaican artists to Great Britain
Ska’s appeal over the last half century has been limited to voiceless, downtrodden
generations.
Two-tone is a faster paced form of ska that developed in the late 1970s
Mento music places the accent on the second and fourth beats, often moving in a 12-
bar blues-frame.

SPOILER: OA is D.
Explanation given is: In paragraph four, it says that this faster paced ska came to be known as two tone.

SPOILER: But what is wrong with A? Even A is stated at the end of paragraph 3.

[khopdi_number1]

My first choice was D (kwd: voiceless, downtrodden generations.)