So why is Dance Hall Crashers’ Lockjaw on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Dance Hall Crashers produced some of the most delightful, infectious, and upbeat ska punk and pop punk music I’ve ever heard, and they never sound better than on Lockjaw.
When I think about the band, most typically “Don’t Wanna Behave” starts playing in my brain. Elyse Rogers and Karina Denike leverage their lovely vocals perfectly over highly danceable ska beats that also manage to rock out impressively as well.
“Buried Alive” is precisely what I’m looking for in a catchy ska punk song. It’s up there with the likes of The Suicide Machines, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Voodoo Glow Skulls, or any other ska punk heavyweights you stack them against.
And Rogers/Denike’s best vocal performance is on “Shelley,” the lead track. Perfection, really, with deliciously catchy and cheerful ska punk backing it up.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Dance Hall Crashers’ Lockjaw
I was happily astonished when I learned that a few members of legendary ska punk band Operation Ivy were briefly founding members of Dance Hall Crashers. More specifically, that would be Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, who would go on of course to form Rancid. And Armstrong, for his part, would also put in great work with Transplants and his solo career as well.
Bonus fun fact: “Don’t Wanna Behave” was featured in the 1995 movie, Bio-Dome, starring Weasel-era Pauly Shore, pre-off the rails (kinda) Stephen Baldwin, and ‘90s comedy queen Joey Lauren Adams. Please note that the previous sentence will be The Most ‘90s Thing you will read for some time. Maybe ever?
Personal stuff that has something to do with Dance Hall Crashers’ Lockjaw
Revisiting Lockjaw made me reflect that I feel lucky that I was able to catch some great local ska and ska punk bands during my college and post-college years in New York. Some, like Perfect Thyroid and The Scofflaws (see: Live!, Vol. 1, #918 of best 1,000 albums ever), I saw quite frequently. It’s possible that I’ve seen the Bosstones more than any other “major” band live.
Some stats & info about Dance Hall Crashers – Lockjaw
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Ska Punk, Punk Pop, Third Wave Ska Revival, Alternative Rock, Rock Music, SF Bay Area Bands, Dance Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Lockjaw released? 1995
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #526 out of 1,000
Dance Hall Crashers’ Lockjaw on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Dance Hall Crashers’ Lockjaw that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Why are you listening to all the things they tell you every day? Why are you listening, what happened to your own mind anyway?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.