Best National Punk/Ska Act

Mighty Mighty Bosstones

You love 'em, we love 'em, my mom loves 'em. And no matter how many times Spin calls 'em meatheads, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones still rule. With Let's Face It (Big Rig/Mercury) outselling critical faves like Radiohead and the Foo Fighters, three singles cruising the radio all over the country, and a mainstream ska craze well into its second year, it's easy to forget how unlikely it seemed that the Bosstones would be big stars back when they left Taang! for Mercury in 1993. What's most remarkable isn't so much that they've gained massive success -- after years of unbelievably hard work, it still boiled down to their being in the right place at the right time -- but that they managed to do so on their own terms. That has included issuing a major-label debut full of independent-label punk-rock covers; setting up their own imprint, Big Rig, to release local rock and the Safe and Sound tribute; taking local bands (including the Amazing Royal Crowns and Dropkick Murphys) on high-profile national tours; and keeping their in-town shows intimate with their annual Christmastime "Hometown Throwdown" week at the Middle East. This summer they'll join the last week of the Warped Tour (which doesn't include the Northampton date) and head to Australia and Europe (Let's Face It has just been released in the UK). And they're at work editing tapes recorded at last year's Throwdown for a live album that's due out in September.

-- Carly Carioli