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Guest evenflowDDT

Anyone like surf music?

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Guest evenflowDDT

Hey, any Smarksboard users into surf? I think its some radical music (dude!), but I don't know any artists or really any songs other than the obvious "Wipeout" and "Walk Don't Run" (though I don't even know the artists of those songs).  Any recommendations of good surf bands/CDs/tunes?

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Guest goodhelmet

Try the Surfaris (who did wipeout), early beach boys, dick dale (the pioneer of surf guitar) and the chantays (who recorded the song 'pipeline')

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Guest

I'm not sure where to begin, but it's good to know someone else is interested.

If you like "Walk, Don't Run," pick up an album by the Ventures, who wrote it and performed it.  I'd recommend a CD that came out a couple of years ago with Walk Don't Run Volumes One and Two on the same disc.  Ventures in Space is good too, but you might find it a little cheesy.  I'd check out the Walk, Don't Run albs first.

"Pipeline" is a Chantays song.  The CD I've heard with a compilation of their material is pretty decent.

As for other good stuff, as much as I hate to admit it, the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction is pretty good.  Dick Dale, the Lively Ones, the Revels, the Centurions and the Tornadoes are on it (and maybe Link Wray too, but I don't remember).  All of those bands are among the greatest surf bands ever, and are definintely worth checking out.  Dick Dale you've probably heard; he did "Miserlou," the opening theme to Pulp Fiction.  It's also the theme song for all those ECW interview montages.

I'm a great fan of Eddie and the Showmen also; "Squad Car" is one of the fastest songs I've ever heard.   Really, if you have the dough, your best bet is the awfully-named Cowabunga! box set that Rhino released a few years ago.  The fourth disc is pretty bad (all modern bands), and there's a bit more Beach Boys-type stuff than I'd like (they're okay, but I'd rather have another Dave Myers song than "I Live For the Sun").  If you can't get enough surf, it's a very wise investment.  It can also point you out to the better stuff out there.

You could also check out some single-disc comps.  I don't know much about the basic ones (I've actually heard the Jenny McCarthy one is alright), but there's some really good ones with obscure, sloppy bands on them.  Strummin' Mental, Diggin' Out (may only be on vinyl, but absolutely incredible), and the Surf Creature are the ones that immediately spring to mind.  Surf War is really, really good too.  Locked Into Surf is a good comp of 90s surf.

As far as 90s surf goes, I stay away myself.  Man or Astroman? got a lot better after they quit trying to play surf music per se.  Jackie and the Cedrics, the Phantom Surfers, and Untamed Youth are all worthy pick ups if you see them used, but I think the early stuff is what to get.

And for redbaron, surf is a pretty well-defined genre of music.

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Guest

Thanks for the compliment.  I did a surf/garage/rockabilly show for a couple of semesters on the college station when I was an undergrad, and a punk show for a couple of years before that.  I miss those days, back when I had free time and money to spend on records....

Oh, and I can't believe I forgot the Surfaris.  Duh.

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