faux radio

abp: tv

abp.nick28 Comments

Here’s the Spotify link to the playlist. You’re welcome to recreate it on any platform you choose. Just press play and read along, acting like the voice in your head is the DJ. The times listed are that of the song playing, not the full episode length. I play this with a 5-second cross-fade enabled. Have fun!

Intro

FMF#TrackArtistAlbumYear
1“Theme From T.V.”Shadowy Men On A Shadowy PlanetSavvy Show Stoppers1988

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Hello and welcome to abp’s TV episode! Today I’m all about that boob tube, the silver screen, the couch potato’s companion, that lovely television set. What once was the focal point of many a living room in the post-War USA, has since become completely remote and mobile with the wave of streaming services and TV apps that exist.

01:10 In the early days of television, families would gather around the living room with their microwaved TV dinners and TV trays and ogle at the screen displaying black and white fuzzy imagery of comedy hours, music specials, straightforward news reporting and sports games.

01:40 After the internet gave cable companies a run for their money, they adapted and put their content online. By the year 2020, people could watch live TV on a cellular phone in the middle of nowhere in HD quality. So in honor of the incredibly popular invention, I’ve got a show stacked with TV songs.

02:10 Kicking things off is one of the most well-known, if not the most well-known punk rock songs about TV. Black Flag was on singer number three by the time Henry Rollins joined the band. Their first vocalist, Keith Morris, sang on the band’s debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Keith quit and went on to form the Circle Jerks with Greg Hetson. Hetson played in Redd Kross, which featured Ron Reyes on drums. Ron sang on Black Flag’s 2nd EP, Jealous Again. After Ron left due to violence at the shows, Dez Cadena would join and tour for the year. After Dez quit, the legendary Henry Rollins joined and recorded their 1981 debut LP Damaged. Here’s their ode to television from that album, “TV Party”.

Set 1: The Silver Screen City

2“TV Party”Black FlagDamaged1981
3“TV Love”SimpletonesBeach Blvd Compilation1979
4“TV Set”The CrampsSongs The Lord Taught Us1980
5“TV Luv Song”WavvesLife Sux EP2013
6“T.V. California”CosmonautsCosmonauts2010

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Like all of the bands in this first set, Cosmonauts hail from Southern California. The band dubs themselves “drug punk” and splashes in droney, shoegazey guitars on top of their garage sound. Their debut album was first released as a cassette-only Burger Records exclusive, but has since been repressed. From that debut, we heard “T.V. California”.

00:40 Nathan Williams and Wavves were three LPs in before releasing the EP Life Sux. The EP included 6 songs exclusive to the release and the CD version had two bonus tracks, one of which we just listened to. “TV Luv Song” was released as a digital single as well, but was included on that 2013 EP.

01:10 Things got a bit spooky in the middle of the set with The Cramps dropping in. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach formed the group in the mid-70s and were apart of the CBGB scene in New York. Their debut record Songs The Lord Taught Us paved the way for an entire subgenre coined by Lux himself, psychobilly. Though, Lux thought The Cramps weren’t psychobilly at all.

01:40 Simpletones never put out a proper album as the original incarnations of the band, but did squeak out a couple of EPs in the late 70s on Posh Boy Records. It’s rather unfortunate, too, becuase they had a great sound. The Vandals would cover “I Have A Date” in the 90s and labels in Germany and Italy have compiled all of their tracks on an import LP with that very same title. We heard “TV Love” from the Beach Blvd compilation.

02:10 2015 curiously spawned a handful of great TV songs. Starting things off for the next set is the Philly, PA group Remember Sports. Bringing a pop-punky vibe mixed with what comes off as a Southern twangy crooner vocal style gives this band a uniquely bright sound. Great harmonies, great tune. Here’s Remember Sports, FKA Sports, with “Reality TV” from All Of Something.

Intermission

7“T.V. Song”Blue Man GroupAudio1999

Set 2: Total Victory

8“Reality TV”Remember SportsAll Of Something2015
9“TV”Colleen GreenI Want To Grow Up2015
10“T.V. Wedding”PillPill EP2015
11“TV”Summer CannibalsShow Us Your Mind2015
12“TV”Negative ScannerNose Picker2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Yesssss, that was so good. 2018 saw the release of Negative Scanner’s sophomore LP Nose Picker and further advancement of their assault on the state of punk rock. Lead singer Rebecca Valeriano-Flores and the band mash together motorik and monotone in a succinct mix of power. The Chicago band released their debut self titled album in 2015 on Trouble In Mind Records.

00:40 I’d like to think that Summer Cannibals’ founder and lead singer Jessica Boudreaux named the band after the 90s Patti Smith song. I mean, it has to be that, right? Regardless, great move. Their 2nd album Show Us Your Mind launched them into national light and scored them a spot at SXSW and CMJ in 2015. “T.V.” closes out that LP and is the only sign of the band letting up after a forceful set of songs.

01:10 Brooklyn band Pill put out there 2015 debut EP on Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts’ Dull Tools label. The EP kicks off with “T.V. Wedding” walking down the aisle into your living room. Pill put out two great LPs and compiled their early recordings on The Dull Tools Tapes, but ultimately disbanded in 2019.

01:40 Colleen Green’s debut release paid homage to the Descendents when she titled it Milo Goes To Compton. She even covered their tune “Good Good Things” on it. Two albums later, we got I Want To Grow Up, possibly another Descendents reference. Colleen also covered blink 182’s Dude Ranch in its entirety in 2019 with just a bass guitar, which was very pleasing to hear. With her single “TV”, Colleen laments about how that silver screen has always been there for her through thick and thin, something I think many people can align with.

02:10 Naked Giants’ debut LP Sluff housed the single “TV”. While the first single off of the album didn’t quite gain traction, their second single “Everybody Thinks They Know (But No One Really Knows)” kicked their popularity up a notch. “TV” may have more depth and make for a more entertaining listen, but “Everybody” definitely has a poppier hook that can reel you in. Here’s that first single, though, “TV”.

Intermission

13“T.V. Dream”La LuzBrainwash – 7″ Single2013

Set 3: Crummy Commercials

14“TV”Naked GiantsSluff2018
15”Television”IDLESJoy As An Act Of Resistance2018
16”TV Adverts”The NervesTV Adverts – 7″ Single1978
17”Television’s Over”The AdvertsTelevision’s Over – 7″ Single1978
18“Television”R.M.F.C.Hive EP2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 R.M.F.C. is the brainchild of Buz Avenue, a young punk-trepeneuer out of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia. The project formed into a full band and added members and influence out of Sydney. With “Television”, Buz lives up to his name with a fuzzy scuzzy buzzy tune mixed with driving, tight drums.

00:40 The Adverts are an aptly named band for today’s theme. Adding to the fun, the lead singer’s name is T.V.! Tim (T.V.) Smith formed the band with Gaye Black in 1976 and they put out two LPs and a few EPs before calling it quits at the end of the decade. “Television’s Over” shows up on their 2nd and final LP Cast Of Thousands.

01:10 The Nerves were a three piece formed in Stafford, England in October of 1977. Not to be confused with the other Nerves, the band that wrote “Hanging On The Telephone” which would later be covered by Blondie. These Nerves put out one 7″ in 1978 featuring the song “TV Adverts” and watched it climb up the UK Alternative charts, but that’d be it for them. Great tune, nonetheless, and it fit in well next to The Adverts.

01:40 Now from Stafford over to Bristol. British band IDLES slapped their own style of rock and roll onto the set with some more motorik beats. With 2018’s Joy As An Act Of Resistance, the band channeled a new style of self-reflection, a positive one. It’s all in the album name. Find joy in life, because it seems that negativity at some point took over partnership power, and that’s just not right. “Television” comes from that joyous album.

02:10 Well now that we’ve had a delectable delve into British rock and roll, let’s take a flight back to California. Together Pangea formed in 2009 and reached new heights with the release of their third LP Badillac. The band would then tour opening for The Replacements during their final reunion tour as well as have bassist Tommy Stinson produce their EP The Phage. From 2019’s EP Non Stop Paranoia, here’s “Hi-Fi Television”.

Intermission

19”TV Troubles”BoxcutterThe Dissolve2011

Set 4: Shitcoms

20”Hi-Fi Television”Together PangeaNon Stop Paranoia EP2019
21”Television Sets Are Going Cheap”Alien Nose JobSuddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud2020
22”TV Life”The SoaksLoser EP2016
23”I Wanna Be On TV”FangWhere The Wild Things Are1984
24“TV Casualty”MisfitsStatic Age1978

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 The Misfits suffered one of the rare instances in the music industry that prevents quality material from being released due to record contract issues. Glenn Danzig founded Blank Records to put out the band’s debut single Cough/Cool. In 1977, Mercury Records wanted to use Blank Records for one of their subdivisions and offered to buy it from Glenn, to which he countered with a request for studio time. They recorded 17 songs, but no one wanted to put the record out. They released the songs in various ways throughout the 80s, but Static Age wouldn’t see daylight as a whole until 1997.

00:40 Fang sprouted up in the East Bay area around Oakland, California in 1980 and would go through some lineup shifts before putting out their 1982 debut Landshark. Green Day covered “I Wanna Be On TV” in 1995 when recording Insomniac and put the song on the Japanese version of the release and the “Geek Stink Breath” single.

01:10 The Soaks hail from California as well, albeit a full generation or two after Fang. The San Diego group was one of many bands Jordan Clark would play with. Jordan also played bass in Mrs. Magician, Hot Like (A) Robot, and Tape Deck Mountain. From their 2016 EP Loser, that was “TV Life”.

01:40 Alien Nose Job is the moniker of a self-proclaimed bedroom recorder Jake Robertson from Clunes, Australia. Jake plays in the other bands Ausmuteants and School Damage, but sticks to his abode while recording ANJ. “Television Sets” was the first single released from the 2020 LP Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud, which is a perfect album title for a project that seemed to feel a whole lot more punk rock this go around.

02:10 Sticking around down under, Moses Gunn Collective hail from Brisbane. The group put out one fantastic psychedelic rock album in 2015, but only a few years later many of the members formed a new indie dance pop group called Confidence Man. Its amazing how different these two acts sound. Nevertheless, here’s “Colour Television” from the 2015 release Mercy Mountain.

Intermission

25”Television Fission”Man Or Astro-Man?Experiment Zero1996

Set 5: Technicolorvision

26”Colour Television”Moses Gunn CollectiveMercy Mountain2015
27“Colour Television”Eddy Current Suppression RingPrimary Colours2008
28”Colour Television”Dune RatsSexy Beach EP2011
29“Colour TV”Two-Bit SisterRoad Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much1985
30“Color TV”Answering MachineColor TV EP2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Answering Machine comes from NYC and happens to share their name with a Replacements song. Perhaps that’s why lead singer Samantha Campanile and guitarist J.D. Fetcho were asked by Two Minutes To Late Night to participate in their bedroom cover of the ‘Mats’ “Kids Don’t Follow”? Perhaps it’s just ’cause they rock? From their 2018 EP Color TV, that was the title track.

00:40 Two-Bit Sister is an unsigned band out of Margate, Kent, England. The band released their debut EP Radiator in 2020 and claims to be Margate’s number one sneez-core rock duo. Bless you. “Colour TV” comes from that debut.

01:10 Dune Rats are another Brisbane group from the Australian garage rock scene. Their debut EP Sexy Beach featured a lo-fi production sound fit for any literal garage. They’d evolve to a more alternative rock sound in later releases, but “Colour Television” remains a garage favorite.

01:40 The set started with Aussie band Moses Gunn Collective and bled into Melbourne act Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Their sophomore 2008 album Primary Colours garnered an A- rating from the legendary rock critic Robert Christgau. They took a hiatus in 2016 but returned with a new LP in 2019. “Colour Television” comes from Primary Colours.

02:10 Big Boys were apart of the early 80s Austin, Texas hardcore punk scene. Along with local legends The Dicks, Big Boys were pioneers in queer punk with both Big Boys’ singer Biscuit Turner and Dicks singer Gary Floyd being among the first openly gay singers, especially in the genre. Turner could often be seen in a pink tutu and cowboy boots when performing. Let’s let Biscuit charge us up with the Big Boys tune “T.V.”.

Intermission

31”Television in 1.5$ Room Sucks”Delicate Circumstances2019

Set 6: Channel Surfin’

32”T.V.”Big BoysWhere’s My Towel / Industry Standard1981
33”Watching T.V.”The BeetsStay Home2011
34”Dr. TV”The EatGod Punishes The Eat EP1980
35”T.V. Blues”UK SubsAnother Kind Of Blues1979
36”Television”Bad ReligionStranger Than Fiction1994

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Bad Religion bookends the episode with their LA hardcore counterparts Black Flag. The band was seeing a peak in popularity in the mid 90s with the emergence of punk rock in the mainstream. Guitarist and songwriter Brett Gurewitz’s Epitaph Records housed The Offspring and Rancid, two of the biggest punk bands around in 1994. Tim Armstrong from Rancid even stops by to sing a bit on “Television” from 1994’s Stranger Than Fiction.

00:40 UK Subs were one of the first punk bands and formed in 1976 as the UK Subversives. Vocalist Charlie Harper is supposedly the nephew of Cesar Romero, the actor who played the original Joker in the Batman TV series. The Subs’ debut LP 1979 Another Kind Of Blues was both a play on the new sound of punk rock and the drastically different sound of the album when compared with Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue. “T.V. Blues” comes from that debut.

01:10 The Eat is a band out of Miami, Florida whose 7″ singles and lone LP would haunt punk record collectors for years due to their scarcity and rarity. That’s what happens when great songs get limited to small presses. Luckily Jello Biafra picked up the discography and released it all as a compilation in 2007. From their 1980 sophomore EP, God Punishes The Eat, that was “Dr. TV”

01:40 The Beets were a Queens, New York band in the mid 2010s that put out some great lo-fi garage. Not to be confused with the band from the cartoon Doug, the real Beets put out a few albums including one for Hardly Art in 2011 and one for Captured Tracks that same year. “Watching T.V.” comes from the Captured Tracks one, Stay Home.

02:10 Stay home indeed, folks. That’s where the TV is. Of course, you could go screengaze anywhere else these days, but nothing feels like your own couch. In honor of that rerun machine, that LCD imagesystem, that media mumbler, thank you for stopping by for a celebration of television! I’ll see you next episode, same bat time, same bat channel…

02:15 (music plays and fades out)

Outro

37”Television Snow”Johnny JewelWindswept2017

Check out my List for all of the releases featured!


abp: surfing

abp.nick5 Comments

Here’s the Spotify link to the playlist. You’re welcome to recreate it on any platform you choose. Just press play and read along, acting like the voice in your head is the DJ. The times listed are that of the song playing, not the full episode length. I play this with a 5-second cross-fade enabled. Have fun!

Intro

FMF#TrackArtistAlbumYear
1“Bustin’ Surfboards”The TornadoesBustin’ Surfboards1963

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Hello and welcome to abp’s surfing episode! Today we’re gonna grind some gnarly waves and get sooooooo pitted, dude! International Surfing Day is typically held on the third Saturday of June, right around the summer solstice. Originally brought to mainland America by Hawaiians and Native Polynesians, the sport saw an explosion in popularity in the 1960s Southern California scene.  With help from a plethora of beach movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean’s music, and the beat generation books about heading out West, the sport would become a staple in the area.  

01:10 In honor of the sport and its venue, we’re playing all kinds of surf and beach songs.  We’ll hear songs about the “locals only” mentality, surfing birds, menstruation, a few covers, and some of the most famous surf instrumentals between sets.

01:40 Behind us, we’ve got The Tornadoes doing “Bustin’ Surfboards” from 1962.  The band released one album with this tune included but would never record another.  Quentin Tarantino would later famously use this track in his 1994 cult classic film Pulp Fiction.  

02:10 Kicking off our show is the infamous So-Cal band Surf Punks.  While not making waves in the mainstream, the band definitely had a local following.  The band’s performance of this song live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go was featured in the punk documentary Urgh! A Music War. This right here, is peak 80’s “getting pitted”. So pitted.  Here are Surf Punks with “My Beach”.

Set 1: Locals Only

2“Meet Me At The Beach”Surf PunksMy Beach1980
3“King Of The Beach”WavvesKing Of The Beach2010
4“(I Hate) Surfin’ In HB”D.I.Ancient Artifacts1985
5“Max Can’t Surf”FIDLARFIDLAR2012
6“Surfin’ Bird”The TrashmenSurfin’ Bird1964

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 That was The Trashmen, Minnesota’s most well-known surf/garage group. “Surfin’ Bird” comes from their 1963 album of the same name.  The “bird” combines two other songs to form a medley of sorts; “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “The Bird’s The Word”; both by The Rivingtons. The Trashmen would stop releasing material in 1967 until 2013 when they would unite with Deke Dickerson for a four song EP.  

00:40 FIDLAR begged to be heard in their ode to drummer Max Kuehn. If you hadn’t gathered from the song itself, their red-haired drummer not only lacks the balance to execute, but gets real stoned and tries to make it work. “Max Can’t Surf” comes from their debut eponymous LP.

01:10 In our first run-in with Rikk Agnew during today’s episode, we heard D.I. playing a cut from their debut album. D.I. spawned from the Adolescents, but mostly just rearranged the players. Casey Foyer, the Adolescents drummer became D.I.’s singer, with Rikk on guitar. Rikk joined Christian Death in 1982 and released an album along with kicking out his own solo effort. We’ll hear more from that later. In our “locals only” set, we heard “(I Hate) Surfin’ In H.B.” That’s Huntington Beach to all you non-locals.

01:40 Kings of the beach Wavves played us one of their theme songs from the album of the same name. Although the production value is quite different, the song structure between “King Of The Beach” and Surf Punks’ “Meet Me At The Beach” is pretty close.  Close enough that I could picture Wavves covering Surf Punks, could you?

02:10 Some So-Cal alternative rock is headed your way now with Weezer doing “Surf Wax America” from their self-titled 1994 LP. Not to be confused with their self-titled 2001 LP, their self-titled 2008 LP, their self-titled 2016 LP, or either of their self-titled 2019 LPs. Of course, even though they’re all self-titled, they’re all a different color. So that helps. Here’s Rivers Cuomo singing about riding a surf board to work.

Intermission

7“Pipeline”The ChantaysPipeline1963

Set 2: Wavy Gravy

8“Surf Wax America”WeezerWeezer1994
9“Tidal Wave”Thee Oh SeesTidal Wave / Heart Sweats – 7″ Single2009
10“Catch A Wave”TriptidesPsychic Summer2011
11“Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)”The PixiesHere Comes Your Man – 12″ Single1989
12“Charlie Don’t Surf”The ClashSandinista!1980

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 That was Joe Strummer and The Clash doing “Charlie Don’t Surf” from their 1980 triple LP Sandanista!. The Sandinistas were a political party named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s.  The album would find mild success compared to the follow-up Combat Rock, which launched the band into international fame.  

00:40 Boston band Pixies took plenty of cues from The Clash’s punk rock views.  Black Francis notoriously put out a classified ad seeking a female bass player who liked both Peter, Paul And Mary and Hüsker Dü.  Kim Deal was the only one to answer and showed up without a bass guitar as she had not known how to play.  With the release of the single “Here Comes Your Man” in 1989, the band reworked another track from Doolittle; “Wave Of Mutilation”.  They slowed the song down and gave it a bit of a surf feel, hence the title of the version we played, “Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)”.  

01:10 Los Angeles’ psych-surfers Triptides chimed in with a cut from their debut release. Psychic Summer was one of the self-released cassette tapes the band had put out in the early days. The album saw a re-release in 2019 transferring the tape to wax and streaming services. Triptides gave us “Catch A Wave”, not to be confused with the Beach Boys classic.

01:40 Thee Oh Sees dropped a deep cut into our set with “Tidal Wave”. The track comes from the Tidal Wave / Heart Sweats 7″ single released in 2009. If you ever watched the TV series Breaking Bad, you may have recognized this tune. During the episode Salud, (spoiler alert) when Gus presents Don Eladio Vuente with a bottle of rare tequila, they all drink it, get poisoned, and the “heroes” escape. Almost. Either way, cool track for the scene.

02:10 Alright, let’s get into some plagiarism!  The Beach Boys ripped off Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” so blatantly that Chuck Berry now shares songwriting credits with them.  Granted, the melodies are basic and easily identifiable, it is still quite similar.  This happened so much in the early days of rock and roll, that I’m truly surprised there aren’t more cases. I’m happy there aren’t, just surprised. Anyway, from 1958’s One Dozen Berrys, here’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”.

Intermission

13“Wave”Wun Two & CoryaYoWaves2015

Set 3: He Stole My Board!

14“Sweet Little Sixteen”Chuck BerryOne Dozen Berrys1958
15”Surfin’ USA”The Beach BoysSurfin’ USA1963
16”Surf City”Jan & DeanSurf City & Other Swingin’ Cities1963
17”Crimson Wave”TacocatNVM2014
18“Let’s Go Surfing”The DrumsThe Drums2010

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15  The Drums‘ first single “Let’s Go Surfing” was first released on their debut EP Summertime.  The song would get a slot on their debut album a year later and would make it onto a Volkswagen commercial.  That whistling, it’ll get you every time.  Frontman Jonny Pierce cites the Beach Boys as one of his many influences, along with reverb.

00:40 Prior to The Drums’ surf jam, we heard an ode to menstruation from Seattle’s Tacocat.  The song’s music video would put them into the national spotlight after Katy Perry stole their image and shark costumes for her infamous Super Bowl performance.  The band wasn’t too happy about getting ripped off but also wasn’t interested in a giant legal battle over a dancing shark.  To their credit, to me, it totally looks like she lifted that vibe.  

01:10 From a “Crimson Wave” to the blue waves of Malibu, we heard Jan and Dean and “Surf City”. Jan and Dean are credited with pioneering the vocal harmony sound that The Beach Boys would make famous.  Nearly every other song they wrote was about surfing, all the way to Jan Berry’s car wreck. After spending two months in a coma, Berry would work his way up to walking again and eventually make it to the studio a year later.  They recorded an incredibly psychedelic album in 1967 (Carnival Of Sound) that wouldn’t see the light of day until 2010 when Rhino would release it.

01:40 The Beach Boys’ Chuck Berry ripoff, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”, preceded Jan and Dean. Of course it was a blatant ripoff, it was on purpose. Brian Wilson had the idea of listing all the cool surf spots much like Chuck would list what was happening from city to city in “Sweet Little Sixteen”. So Brian asked his then girlfriend’s brother (who was a surfer) to give him all the hot surfing spots. They put the the list to lyric and the rest is history.  

02:10 Next up, we’re all about the beach. Starting things off is New Zealand’s Scared Of Girls. The Auckland band released a debut EP in 2017 called SUCK and followed it with the “Waihi Beach” single in December of that year. One of the songs from that EP, “Beach Teens”, channels surfing’s most famous guitar riff a la “Miserlou”. See if you can spot it. Here’s Scared Of Girls with “Beach Teens”.

Intermission

19”Wipe Out”The SurfarisWipe Out1963

Set 4: Sand Of The Beach

20”Beach Teens”Scared Of GirlsSUCK2017
21”Beach Rats”The GrowlersHung At Heart2013
22”Beach Sluts”HowlerAmerica Give Up2011
23”Beach Whatever”Surf CurseSad Boys2013
24”Beach Porn”The FrightsDead Beach EP2013

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 The Frights didn’t have intentions to become a full-time band when they played a one-off Christmas show in 2012, but after an audience member approached them in hopes to sign them, they decided to go with it.  Hailing from So-Cal, The Frights incorporate all kinds of genres into their garage rock sound. After the release of the Dead Beach EP in 2013, the band would head to the studio to record their second LP, which was produced by Zac Carper, the frontman of FIDLAR.  

00:40 It only has 6 songs, but the 2013 release from Surf Curse, Sad Boys, is apparently a debut album. Devil’s in the details I suppose. Nevertheless, the duo from Reno slipped into the 20-teens garage revival scene in hip fashion.

01:10 Howler wedged our “beach block” with “Beach Sluts”, the lead track from their debut America Give Up.  After breaking up in 2017, lead singer Jordan Gatesmith formed Wellness. Wellness doesn’t have quite the same garage feel, but puts out great indie “slacker” rock, if you will.  

01:40 SoCal beach goths The Growlers hold the annual Beach Goth festival in Oak Park, CA every year around October.  The band has seen a shift in sound from their early days of surf/psych/garage rock to a more pop-based sound. The Growlers saw some lineup changes in 2020 after allegations came out of sexual misconduct involving them and women within their circle. Whatever happened, I hope they can learn and grow and more importantly, let’s hope the victims or affected parties are listened to and respected.

02:10 The next set blasts off with a rocket…to Russia. The Ramones’ 3rd LP Rocket To Russia was released just 18 months after their debut hit the shelves. “Rockaway Beach”, from that LP, would become the band’s highest performing single ever; proof once again that Billboard charts are not an indicator for great music, just popular music. “Rockaway Beach” is a fantastic track, but The Ramones’ best? Up to you. Rocket To Russia also featured The Ramones covering The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird”. Alright, take it away Dee Dee…1! 2! 3! 4!

Intermission

25”Surf Bat”45 GraveSleep In Safety1983

Set 5: Barrel Rolls

26”Rockaway Beach”The RamonesRocket To Russia1977
27“Surfers Are Back”The BarracudasDrop Out With The Barracudas1980
28”Nude Beach”Peach Kelli PopPeach Kelli Pop III2015
29”Surfin’ Away”Vivian GirlsSurf’s Up EP2008
30”Suzy Is A Surf Rocker”The CrowdBeach Blvd Compilation1979

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 The Crowd hail from Hunting Beach, or “H.B.” as D.I. stated. When Posh Boy Records put out the famous Beach Blvd compilation in 1979, they included five tracks from The Crowd, five from Simpletones, and five from Rik L Rik. The rare cassette version, though, would include the debut Redd Kross EP featuring Greg Hetson. “Suzy Is A Surf Rocker” comes from that comp.

00:40 Before The Crowd we heard a Ramone from New York City singing about surfing. No, it wasn’t those Ramones. Cassie Ramone formed Vivian Girls in 2007 with Kickball Katy and Frankie Rose. After releasing their self-titled debut LP in 2008, the band pushed out a few singles not included on the album. One of those singles, “Surfin’ Away” would get a 1000 copy press and not be included on future albums.

01:10 Allie Hanlon started Peach Kelli Pop in 2009 as a solo project. The band’s name comes from a song title on Redd Kross’s 2nd official album, 1987’s Neurotica. That album is said to have been inspired by Saturday morning cartoons and breakfast cereal, e.g. “Frosted Flakes”. Allie’s inspirations include the anime cartoon Sailor Moon. I think I’m seeing a connection now. That was “Nude Beach” from PKP’s 3rd self-titled album.

01:40 London garage/surf revival band The Barracudas dropped in with a b-side from their 1980 His Last Summer 7″ single. “Surfers Are Back” originally showed up as the b-side, but was actually put on the US version of The Barracudas debut LP Drop Out With The Barracudas in lieu of “Campus Tramp”.

02:10 Popping off our final set is the 1960s Australian group The Delltones. Originally forming as a doo-wop group, the band shifted to surf rock after the US rock n’ roll sub-genre fad spread across the Pacific Ocean. Their cult classic “Hangin’ Five” from 1963 would launch them to national stardom and would also make waves in America.  Oh, by the way, it was also featured in Aussie actor Mel Gibson’s first movie Summer City. Here’s The Delltones with half the wave power of hanging ten.

Intermission

31”Power Surf”Jerry Cole And His SpacemenSurf Age1963

Set 6: Everybody’s Goin’ Surfin’

32”Hangin’ Five”The DelltonesSurf ‘N Stomp1964
33”Surfside”Rikk AgnewAll By Myself1982
34”Surf Combat”Naked RaygunThrob Throb1984
35”Surfin’ Cow”The Dead MilkmenBucky Fellini1987
36”Surfin’”The OrlonsEverybody’s Goin’ Surfin’1962

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 “Surfin’ is the only life/The only way for me/Now surf”. Simple as that. That was the Philadelphia R&B group The Orlons doing a Beach Boys cover from the 1962 surf rock compilation Everybody’s Goin’ Surfin’. The Orlons are perhaps best known for launching the Watusi dance craze with their single “The Wah Watusi” in 1962. Ahh the 60s dance fad craze. Mashed Potatoes, Watusis, Twists, what a time to be alive and be a dancer!

00:40 Keeping things in Philly, we turn to The Dead Milkmen next. They were part of the obscure bands that got lumped in with hardcore punk during the early 80s scene. The Milkmen didn’t have loud, fast songs filled with aggression, but rather with filled their sound with sarcasm and clean guitars. “Surfin’ Cow” from their 1987 LP Bucky Fellini graced the final set.

01:10 I’ve seen surfers on Lake Michigan in thermal suits and ice cold water. I’m still not sure what the draw is though. Chicago 80s punk path-pavers Naked Raygun were perhaps the most prominent early punk band of that scene. With “Surf Combat” off of Throb Throb, the band takes shots at the glitz and glamour of the 80s. “Muscle Beach is now Pork Chop Hill” is such a fantastic, metaphoric line.

01:40 In our final Rikk Agnew run-in for the day we heard a track from his 1982 solo debut All By Myself. Rikk and Casy Royer spent some time in Social Distortion in the band’s early days before splitting off and forming the Adolescents. It’s amazing how connected that So-Cal punk rock scene was. Everyone was in everyone else’s band at some point. Rikk’s tune “Surfside” accompanied The Orlon’s R&B jam.

02:10 And that, surfers, is the end of the swells. The tide is low. The crests are flat. It’s time to go home and wipe the sand off your feet. Thank you very much for stopping by and riding some waves with me today. I look forward to seeing you here again next time!

02:15 (music plays and fades out)

Outro

37”Spudnik (Surf Rider)”The VenturesSurfing1963

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