Surf songwriter?

Surf:
Ivan- The melodies are infectious and he really knows how to manipulate his guitar to get the right tone.

Shigeo Naka- Just a lot of fun. Less surf than most but makes up for it with his riffs, which lets face it are awesome. It'd be rock if it weren't reverberated.

Dinko and Dalibor- Umm... European? Actually, I really like how they phrase their melodies. Hawaii Joe anybody?

Non-surf
Dylan- Sprawling narratives. Its more like reading a novel. Not known for his melodies but I thought they were fantastic. Anybody seen Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid? He did the score.

George Harrison- What? No Lennon/McCartney. George is my favorite. He was always prophetic in his music. When he sung there was truth behind his singing in the way his words came out. Give Me Love(Give me Peace On Earth) anybody?

Blake Sennett, Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst, Ryan Adams, Noel Gallagher, Jeff Mangum, and not so much after his latest album James Mercer. These guys are all fairly recent. They have written the most poignant music I have heard in a very long time. Many of them are very poetic yet others go for the sprawling narrative. Its just good music.

I think the apex of the more traditional-ish surf writing is achieved by the likes of Ivan, Wronski, Robi Biloderic, and Dalibor and Dinko. (I don't want to accuse these guys of being traditional if that's something they'd be uncomfortable with. I just think they best exploit the most basic aspects of how pure surf sounds.) In my humble opinion surf should be, before anything else, highly melodic, and these guys hit that nail right on the head. Their writing is diverse enough to effectively complement varying moods, and more complex than most. Best of all, their complexity lends to the distinctiveness of their styles, which really marks a great writer. I can get confused a lot listening to a song I'm not overly familiar with and trying to remember "who plays this one?" I never have that problem with these guys.

bigtikidude
Pollo Del Mar, Insect Surfers and the Mermen,
say what you will about thier style not being surf.
but they all write amzing music, very Image heavy stuff, perfect for
movies of the song topics.

I say they're surf, damnit. Just because the sound and writing are different doesn't mean it's not surf, it's a confirmation that these guys are absolutely fantastic writers and f*cking visionaries. (I'm sorry, I get a little worked up on this subject. ) Since when has "surf" been a static concept? We can't possible want to sound like we did in the '60s forever, can we? In my opinion, Arnson, Ferenc, and Jim Thomas have not only pushed the envelope, but pushed it aside and completely redefined what surf can and should be able to do. Their songs are highly unique and highly distinct--they hardly ever sound alike yet you can still identify each one as their own. Again: mark of a good writer.

Also, Jake mentioned Shigeo Naka, who I think is a really interesting example because I've never considered him an overly fantastic writer (though most definitely a good one). It took me a little while of listening to the Surf Coasters to realize that, though Shigeo has written some really strong melodies (Intruder and a handful in the style of Last Train, Wataridori, and the like) most of the Surf Coasters' songs are essentially just riff rockers. I guess this is more the mark of a good musician, but despite the kinda basic format, Shigeo and Co. were still able to crank out some of the most intense and phenomenal surf ever. I think Shigeo is the one guy best at realizing the complete potential of his own writing and playing style, because he definitely makes the most out of his songs.

Whew, that got gushy. I hope I didn't make anyone uncomfortable with that rant. Also, I'm getting kind of an elitist vibe from my own post, so I hope nobody thinks I'm the type to look down on the rest of surf from my post in "Mermen fan-dom." I think there are good surf writers left and right, but the aforementioned are some of my favorites and who I consider the best examples.

When I think GREAT songwriter I think of Eric Johnson.
The book of Psalms ain't too shabby either

Surf music wise...Slacktone for over the top bring it back newness, and you know I'm gonna say The Volcanos

I've never wrote a song but I have made some up

These lil faces are fun to mess with lol...

(edited the silliness...again, apologies)

Last edited: Dec 05, 2006 22:19:08

Surf: Dave Wronski and Paul Johnson are my top two for this list. Great melodic, memorable stuff.

Non-surf: I like Bill's pick...the guy from Iron and Wine. Surf music tie-in to that one: Iron and Wine did a CD with Calexico whose co-founder was the original drummer in The Insect Surfers...whodda thunk?

More non-surf- John Doe from X...do I need to say more??? Also, Elliot Smith, Ryan Adams, Dave Alvin, Colin Meloy from The Decemberists to name a few...

My apologies for all the smileys!
Silly of me!!!

For surf - Paul Johnson and Eddie Bertrand - D.D. (he did write a few ) Nokie Edwards (he wrote a bunch) Bob Spickard and Brian Carman (they wrote Pipeline) - perhaps the best surf song ever - was it just an accident, or devine intervention?

Rock and roll - First and formost Brian Wilson - his catalog is so huge and amazing - its actually scary. The greatest songwriter ever in my mind.

Burt Bacharach - he's written a ton of great tunes - I'm just discovering how many.

Buddy Holly - hook after hook, his tunes are deceptively simple, but catchy as hell.

Chris

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

The Penetrators Locked & Loaded also has a lot of great songs, each one a different mood and style. That album has a nice soundtrack vibe to it. The awesome cover art also helps convey that.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
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"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Like I said, I knew more would come to mind...

I'd like to "third" Elliot Smith. Pure genius.
I will even venture Connor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) has a compelling writing style - nothing sounds too much the same.

I can't believe I left out Frank Black - an all time fave.

I also want to toss in Blake Schwarzenbach, the frontman for the defunct band Jawbreaker, and now Jets to Brazil - he's been cranking out hits for almost 20 years now, and each album he releases gets better. JTB's "Perfecting Loneliness" is one of the better written albums I've heard in a long time.

And, of course, the combo of Morrissey/Marr.

~B~

Due to the fact that I´m a great Gary Usher fan, he´s for me one of the best songwriter beside:
Lee Hazelwood, Richard Podolor, Jack Nitzsche, Brian Wilson. All of them composed really great surf tunes.

Herbert

Johann Sebastian:

Miles:

Henry:

image

John Lee: