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Ska and cartoons go together like so much peanuts and pickles, but no cartoon uses ska the way Craig of the Creek does. The music is dynamic, emotive, and layered, which makes sense as soon as you learn that the person composing the show’s sounds is none other than Jeff Rosenstock. On this episode of In Defense of Ska, Rosenstock and show co-creator Ben Levin dive into the magic of Craig of the Creek’s music.
Levin explains why ska-punk is the ideal soundtrack for the show (Adam’s son James even gets to ask some questions!), while Rosenstock talks about writing and performing the soundtrack to the Craig Before the Creek prequel movie. For that soundtrack, he brought in an orchestra; San Jose Taiko drums; and an all-star cast of ska and punk musicians like JER (Skatune Network), Pierce Jordan (Soul Glo), Zack Mykula (PUP), and Chris Farren (Bomb the Music Industry!).
Speaking of BTMI!, Levin discuses a 2007 Brooklyn house show he attended to catch Rosenstock’s old band: “I remember I was standing at the front of the house, just trying to make conversation with one of the dudes who lived there, I was like, “Ah, so you live here?” and he went, “Are you a cop?””
Levin also dives into the bonafides of his ska resume, which includes copious shows at DIY venue Corner Kick, filming a Slackers documentary, inserting ska into many of his cartoons, and designing the art for Rosenstock’s NO DREAM and SKA DREAM album covers. The pair then get into a ska-nerd argument about Rancid’s Life Won’t Wait.
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Listen to Ben Levin and Jeff Rosenstock chat about ska, Craig of the Creek, Rancid, and more above. You can also follow the series wherever you get your podcast, or get early and ad-free episodes by joining the IDOS Patreon. Don’t forget to check out all the Consequence Podcast Network series here.