Pick It Up! – Ska in the 90’s, as you might guess from the title, focuses on the history, community, and cultural significance of third wave ska from the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. The documentary features plenty of major figures from the ska community including members of notable bands The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big FIsh, No Doubt, and Sublime. The documentary also boasts narration by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong. However, much like third wave ska itself, Pick It Up! suffers from a lack of structure and narrative confusion.
The massive cast of musicians, managers, and producers who make up the expert interviewees for the documentary is both impressive and daunting. For those unfamiliar with the genre, many of the faces and names are thrown at the viewer in rapid succession early on in the film. Which leaves the doc feeling almost passively hostile for those who weren’t into the late 90’s ska scene. And that’s pretty much in direct opposition of what ska stands for. Granted, the doc tends to bring up on-screen badges for each person or band whenever they return to the screen, however, keeping track of them all is no easy task.
The size of the cast also makes it difficult to compare and contrast views on various subjects, since the only time the documentary cuts between disparate viewpoints with clear intention is during the “East vs West” discussion about the differences in east coast and west coast ska.
It doesn’t help that the doc is narrated by Rancid’s marble-mouthed frontman. For all that Armstrong is a compelling narrator who has clear enthusiasm for the subject, his narration is occasionally garbled. Luckily, there is very little narration in Pick It Up!
For all that the documentary attempts to discuss the history and evolution of ska as an art form, the attempts at tracing the music history are short, muddled, and barely informative. All told, the biggest infodump on ska history in the entire documentary lasts for only a few minutes of the opening. That history mostly summarizes the genre by briefly touching on its Jamaican roots as a precursor to rocksteady and reggae, before jumping to the United Kingdom where two-tone fused classic ska with elements of punk rock and new wave. Of course, two-tone became third wave ska in the hands of north american musicians.
The incredibly brief explanation of the genre is fine, except for viewers who have never heard of reggae fusion, two-tone, or would like more information on the obvious callbacks between third wave ska and the earlier forms of the genre.
Certainly part of the history of third wave ska is a definitive lack of proper classification, since the genre moved from the rigidity of two-tone to encompassing “any rock band with a horn section.” But even that definition isn’t quite true, as several major ska bands don’t include brass instruments at all. However, a more grounded history of the genre and its various different waves would not be amiss.
“…hardcore ska fans won’t have any trouble keeping track of the various experts brought in for Pick It Up!…”
Though, hardcore ska fans won’t have any trouble keeping track of the various experts brought in for Pick It Up! And the documentary is clearly intended for fans of the genre considering its choice in casts. The “man-on-the-street” interview portions which are interspersed throughout the film help to reinforce that idea, as they heavily imply that only ska fans will even know what ska is, not to mention who the major bands from the ‘90s were.
While the confused nature of the documentary does mirror the music itself, the effect doesn’t feel intentional. It feels like several casual conversations were cut and pasted together into something resembling a documentary. There’s also no overarching narrative throughout the doc, which can make sitting through all 102 minutes of the film excruciating, even if you have an understanding of the music.
However, if you just want to watch a bunch of bands sit around and chat about the ska scene in the late 90’s and early 00’s, ‘Pick It Up!’ will certainly scratch that itch. But if you aren’t a fan of ska, and you don’t want to hear about how much Sublime hated playing the song ‘Date Rape’ live, well. Probably best to give this one a pass.
