What is it about Surf Music, anyway?

[Haole Jim]

Okay, fellow Mosriters In The Net...

...so, like 97.23845% of the world is NOT on a surfable, salt-water coast, yet Surf Music has been around for 50 (Yowzah!) count 'em 50 years and continues thriving.

Admittedly, in the course of Surf Music's magnificent reign as a significant melodic form, there have been some metaphorical musical ebb tides and even slack water and a lot of beach-break, however, the melodic form actively survives in simultaneously its pure-beginning form, five decades of development and modern permutations, also continually evolving.

Personally, 'think the enduring Surf Music phenomena is "rather splendid." Unique. Laudable.

NO other sport boasts thousands of pieces of music and groups and such endurance, devotion and evolution, in-the-face-of-not-being-considered "cool" by the vast unwashed hordes of funkadelics, shredders, headbangers, i-Podders and ghetto-blaster toters, before them.

Stretch your mind and musical knowledge; name 22 DEVOTED Tennis songs. Seven Bowling songs. Even 31 Soccer/Football songs. A baker's dozen Golf songs. Basketball's big, rattle off the titles of 19 basketball songs. Even one shot-putting ballad.

However, SO many of us pickers and percussers and even a happy host of blowers and key-ers continue to be drawn to the vast yet somehow familiar holy genre of Surf Music. We soul-deep understand how the beatnik-y "Underwater" and eternally hip "Mr Moto" and timeless "Pipeline" and raucous "Surfing Bird" and mystical "Endless Summer" and unearthly "Unto The Resplendent" and etherial "Paradise Cove" and why the jazzy "Harlem Nocturne" and Middle Eastern "Miserlou" are perfect surf song candidates and happily accept "Flotation Devices For Frequencies Yet To Be Detected" as new Surf Music.

As a pensive, inquiring Chicagoan might address this query in the colloquial vernacular...

..."Wuzzupwiddatshid?"

[MOSRITE NUMBER ONE]

HELLO
You can add in "the Ventures" the movies-- Elvis and Nokie EDwards for making the sound internationaly pleasing and even in Chicago
Andy

[TimR]

I may be starting something here, but I don't think the Ventures consider themselves a "surf" band. They are a guitar driven rock n' roll instrumental band. Their angle was simply play whatever was popular at the time, and put their own slant on it. When surf music became popular in the 60's, they put out an album of it. They just happened to do it very good, and their fans loved it. Most of their music before that, and a lot of it after that had nothing to do with surf. As they saw the rising popularity of their surf stuff, they didn't hesitate to capitalize on it. Nokie even wrote some of the best surf music out there. I doubt that he's ever been near a surf board, though -or any of the other guys for that matter. People just have a need to stereotype everything. If you don't get fit into some pigeonhole somewhere, you end up limiting your success. Example: Danny Gatton -no one could ever figure out what label to put on him, 'cause he played everything, and no one else was in his league. As a result, outside of guitar players like us, most people never heard of him. The Ventures just played what their fans wanted them to play -except maybe for those few years when they went disco ...... People want them to be a surf band, so they are. I don't really think they are, though. --and don't get me wrong, I love surf music. I have hundreds of cd's of bands I consider "surf bands". --And I love the Ventures too........

[Veenture]

Well spoken TimR Labelling the Ventures merely a Surf Band does them injustice. Long Live The Ventures Music and long live Surf music!

[thunderhead]

Agreed TimR, one Surf Album out of 250 Recordings!!! But when they play Surf Music they are one of the best, in my opinion. I love Surf Music for many reasons but first for me is the fact it is Guitar Centered and Guitar Driven Music. I posted this responce to the same question over at Surf Guitar 101 and was actually chided for my answer. It seems with the "Surf Nazi" camp this is not a valid reason. It seems in every genre of Music you have the purist that want everything to their Idea of what it should be or the reasons that define it. I Love a lot of different styles of Music simply because I'm a Guitar Geek and am interested in all things Guitar. Through the Guitar I made a Living for 20+ years, travelled to 20 Countries, met thousands of great people, and found this wonderful Forum with all my Mosrite Brothers and Sisters!!!!

[sleeperNY]

It's just good music.


Jim

[Dennisthe Menace]

What Jim said .

[zarfnober]

The thing about surf music for me, and any instrumental really, is that it makes you use your imagination to interpret the song, because there are no words. The story has to be told with sound, which is probably why instros are so popular in movie soundtracks, they help set the tone of the story. Take Pipeline for instance: if you went to the beach and saw someone surfing, and never heard surf music, then got in your car and heard Pipeline by The Chantays, you'd instantly be back at the beach, catching that wave and know exactly what that song was about. It is one of my favorite recordings ever, just perfect in every way. Or how about Rumble? Archie Bleyers daughter found it in a pile of records and named it, saying it sounded like the "rumble" scene in West Side Story, that simple solo is when the knives come out, know what I mean? Keep in mind, Links working title was Oddball!

And surf music is the true white blues, most old blues guys never tried to catch a wave and most surfers(or white guitar players) never had to pick cotton. Yet both can be joyous, angry or sad, and the best are written and played by experience. even if you couldn't surf, you probably wanted too. Would you rather hear Eric Clapton try to play the real blues, or listen to Dick Dale, who did surf? Which one is more genuine?

"Lyrics are for people that can't write instrumentals, instrumentals don't need lyrics." Unless of course you're talking about Sleepwalk

Rocco

[MOSDAN]

Wow--Great Topic. To me surf music is one of the earliest forms of Rock and Blues and many of the original players like Dick Dale and Nokie can walk all over the modern rock players and they do it without hiding the sound behind distortion. Watch some of the old videos on You Tube and there is just great music on stage without having all the visual effects and sound effects of modern rock bands. Heck, many of those old players just stood on stage and played their hearts out. Not only were the players great but the music also was great. Just watch the feet start tapping from all generations when a surf song is done. Stevie Ray Vaughun even did a version of "Pipeline". Surf Music will be around forever.

[Strat-o-rama]

Many good points brought up here, but frankly, I quit trying to define "Surf Music". I'll always have my personal definition: which is instrumental guitar driven music, that may have big reverb and lots of twang factor. It may be a 1,4,5 progression (despite those who like surf but hate blues, and let's face it, a LOT of classic surf is 1-4-5 pop blues format), or it carries the "exotic" flavor of minor tonalities from Spain and the Middle East. For me Surf Music is Dick Dale, The Astronauts, The Fender IV, NOT The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. Again, by my own personal definition, the crooning bands are doo-wop with guitars, and I think of it as "California Beach Music", not to be confused with the Carolina Beach Music-"Shag"-which is really just classic R&B.
Well, it looks like I just defined surf music, but I base my definition on what DD himself stated: "Surf music captures the moods and power of the ocean." I'll go with that. For me, if that is the intent of your music, then it is surf music. From The Halibuts, Jon and the Knightriders to The Madeira, Slacktone, The Bambi Molesters, The Mermen, Meshuggah Beach Party---modern bands, all different but all surf because of 'intent'.
As for The Ventures, Link Wray or Los Straitjackets. They themselves claim not be surf music, but they do play surf songs. Okay. Then we'll just say they do incredible guitar driven intrumental rock. Again, the only reason it is considered surf by the 'community' is because of twang and playing techniques (glissandos, arpeggiated chords with trem dips, etc), and much of it (The Ventures, Link Wray) was recorded during the 'first wave' of surf music.
And, there are other styles of guitar driven instrumental rock, from Freddie King, Davie Allan, to Jeff Beck and Joe Satriani. I must admit, I enjoy them all.
Anyway, just a few thoughts from another surf music Schmoe.