I jumped at my friend’s suggestion to do a surf-themed show for my eightieth episode.
I love surf. Heck, I’m a sucker for just about anything with jangly, reverberating guitars. Most early surf bands lacked vocalists and snatched cool elements of country and R&B–twangy guitars and grooving rhythm sections. Surf rock purists, in fact, won’t even acknowledge vocal acts like Jan & Dean or The Beach Boys. (And to be fair, were you really a surf band if you didn’t even surf?)
I probably cover too much territory in this show, but I try to showcase some originators and the people they influenced fifty years later. As usual, my choices are less then predictable, with deep album cuts and non-hits. What counts is that I love all the music, and I hope you do, as well.
- “The Switch” – The Ventures (Walk Don’t Run | Dolton | 1960)
- “Honky Tonk” – The Ventures (Walk Don’t Run | Dolton | 1960)
- “The Breeze and I” – Santo and Johnny (Encore | Canadian-American | 1960)
- “Chorek” – John Zorn (Masada Rock | Tzadik | 2005)
- “Hintergrund” – Pluramon (Render Bandits | Mille Plateaux | 1998)
- “Lose My Mind” – Starflyer 59 (The Changing of the Guard | Tooth and Nail | 2010)