There's no written rule that says you have to go to the beach on spring break, but it seems to be what a lot of people like to do and what we imagine when we hear the phrase "spring break", along with dancing half(?)-naked, drinking, partying, and other things you don't plan to tell your mom about.
Well, maybe I'm just stuck in 1962, but any time I imagine a beach party, I think of those old videos with the big-haired women in their bikinis dancing and dudes wearing speedos and ray bans sunglasses swinging their hips while some sweet, reverby surf rock plays in the background. I think it's the same thing now but the music's sound has a much heavier focus on the lower end and the dance trend has gone from hip-shaking to ass-shaking.
Surf rock is also just good activity music in general. I like to listen to it when I go skating, when I'm lounging, when I'm driving or if it's just a nice day outside.
It's a very upbeat genre (with some exceptions), which is ironic because it often uses a lot of the same blues concepts that '50s rock 'n' roll was implementing, such as the "12 barre blues" song structure that many of these songs incorporate (including, "Let's Go Trippin'!", the song that got everybody and their mother really hyped about Surf Rock back in the early '60s).
None of that's to say that this is a dead genre. Surf rock may have seen its hay day in the '60s, but there are many contemporary groups out there that continue to keep the surf vibe alive, such as The Tiki Tones or Los Straitjackets (who actually just put out a new album last year!)
The playlist is set up so that the front end is loaded with the danciest, happiest sounding songs, The dark-but-still-grooving songs have their own place in the middle followed by the slower, more atmospheric songs (e.g. "Bustin' Surfboards" by the Tornadoes). Lastly, the playlist ends on a few slow jams with dreamy, vaguely romantic vibes, but not before picking back up for one more groove—and I'm pretty sure most of you already know it!
So whether you're cruising by the beach or you're sitting on your lawn with a six-pack come the 16th of March, here's something you (and possibly your grandparents!) can vibe to.
Surf's up!
Author's personal picks include: the playlist's titular track, "Surf Rider" by the Lively Ones, "Surfin' Rebel" by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones, "Challenger '64" by Los Straitjackets, The Lively Ones' cover of "Let's Go Trippin'!" by Dick Dale, "Gringo" by the Ventures, "Bumble Bee Stomp" by the Tornadoes, and last, but not least, Dick Dale's famous arrangement of the traditional Mediterranean song, "Miserlou"
