February Birthdays 
Whimsical Surf Version 2 by the Insanitizers, CD Review by Noel
In the annals of surf music, there’s been, well, surf music. But there’s been quiet surf, heavy surf, hard surf, dark surf, punk surf and even silly surf. Now there can be added whimsical surf. Whimsical surf? What’s that? Probably based on the word, “whimsy”. What’s whimsy? I love the word, “whimsy”. It sounds so… whimsical. That’s no help. Better look it up.
Way back in 1828, Noah Webster defined “whimsey” (That’s how it was spelled back then, and yes, autocorrect keeps trying to correct it.) as “… a capricious notion” or “Men’s follies.” Further, his 1828 dictionary defines “whimsical” as “… freakish; having odd notions; capricious.” I’m not following this down the rabbit-hole; you can look up “capricious” yourself.
In search of a more modern definition, I turned next to The Oxford English Dictionary, which defines “whimsy” (or “whimsey”; take that Bainbridge scholars!) as “playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor…” They define “whimsical” as “…playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way…” and “… acting or behaving in a capricious manner…” Now we’re getting somewhere…
Um, Whimsical Surf Version 2 by the Insanitizers puts me in a very, very good mood. As with their other new release, Wild Surf Version 2, also by the Insanitizers, this CD replaces an earlier version, in this case from March 2010. How good is it? I’m still smiling just thinking about earlier listenings, and I’m playing it again now.
The CD contains seventeen songs, and you’ll find lots of references to familiar pieces of music on it. But this really isn’t a CD with surf versions of other people’s music. What Insanitizers have done is create something old and new, something traditional and contemporary. Tchaikovsky’s in here along with Mozart. To be fair, what you recognize will depend on your musical background, or in some cases with how familiar you are with The Simpsons. You’ll even hear something familiar to anyone who’s watched Alfred Hitchcock’s television program. The song title “Puppetor” is a reference to the original composition, but, if you don’t recognize it, I won’t spoil your fun as you track it down. I’ve probably given away too much already, but there’s a lot on this record to enjoy.
And so it goes. “I know this!” is mixed with “That’s familiar, but what is it?” and “They’re playing tricks on me.” and “That’s new!” and finally, “Just enjoy the music!”, so I did, so I am, and so, I think you will, too. There’s a lot here to enjoy. All of it, actually.
About the recording, it’s very well-done and sounds great. The arrangements and musicianship are first-rate and imaginative. This is a record by a very professional-caliber group of musicians having a lot of fun with the music they’re playing. And they’ve made a record that’s a lot of fun to listen to. It’s not odd, but it is definitely whimsical.
Insanitizers are on MySpace here. http://www.myspace.com/SurfInsanitizers
Insanitizers are on Facebook here. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Insanitizers/108136172543052
Insanitizers on CD Baby here. http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Insanitizers
Squid (Conrad) is in the Insanitizers. http://surfguitar101.com/profile/view/Squid/
—This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
Last edited: Oct 23, 2013 12:14:51
