11-9-11 - "Old Friend" ~ The O.C. Supertones

I find tonight's track to be incredibly evocative.  Every time I hear the opening chords, I'm instantly transported to a beach in SoCal.  Wait, I've never been to California, but I can still imagine what it would be like!  The music just has that vibe of sitting around a bonfire on the beach, in the late (late) Indian summer, after one last perfect day riding the waves, enjoying the company of close friends and playing some surfy, relaxing tunes to wind things down...

 (photo borrowed from laurenmeg)

This one lacks the trademark horns and blistering ska heat of the bulk of the band's work, but it's one of my favorites from their catalog nonetheless.  As I mentioned, the gentle surf guitar and bass rhythm are just swell, the harmonies sublime, and the guitar solo in the bridge is beautiful in its restraint.

"What do I know? Somebody tell me

I've been running from you for so long…"

(photo borrowed from yan_san)

9-28-11 - "O.C. Supertones" ~ The O.C. Supertones

Some days, no matter how important your project is at work, no matter how "disrespectful" it may be considered to those around you, you just gotta crank some ska.  Today was one of those days.  


Ska's prime was a while ago, to be sure; can't say I listen to the genre frequently these days, but if you're in the right mood it's still great.  And yes, when I said "crank", I meant "go one click higher than normal on the computer volume button", so I wasn't really sticking it to the man.  But man, hearing this album (and especially this song) just made me happy.


Give it a try and just try to stay angry or depressed or whatever unpleasant mood you may be in right now.  And if you're already feeling good, this will only expound upon your good feelings.  I promise.


"O.C. Supertones" ~ The Orange County Supertones (grooveshark link)


"Orange County, huh?"

6-7-11 - "Spiderwebs" ~ No Doubt

Going with a fun one from the days of our youth.  Well, my youth... I don't presume to know the age of the reader.  Anyway, it's just a fun ska-ish tune about getting over a dude who keeps calling, or maybe it's about the way technology has permeated our society to the point where "helpful" and "useful" things become a nuisance or even a curse...

"Communication, a telephonic invasion..."

5-7-11 - "Hurricane" ~ Something Corporate

For no particular reason, here's a classic turn-of-the-century punkish/emoish piano rock tune.  It's got some witty wordplay, sweet guitars, and a dirrrty piano breakdown in the bridge.  I like it a lot, and that's all I have to say about that.

"with your baby's breath, breathe symphonies; come on, sweet catastrophe..."

2-7-11 - "Chase The Sun" ~ The O.C. Supertones

Ska is a funny genre.  Some of it is quite good and catchy, and some of it... isn't very good at all.  Can't say I listen to a ton of it lately, but back in high school and college, The Orange County Supertones were one of my favorite bands.  They called it quits several years ago, which was probably for the best, but before that they put out several albums full of horn-infused fun like this one, with a few mellow, introspective ones mixed in for good measure (I'll  feature one or two of those eventually...)


This one's a scorcher, dropping the bass and kick to get it started, and bringing the horns in for the big finish. It brings back lots of memories, from warm up mixes to counseling at a youth camp.  I had a cabin full of 9-year olds yelling the chorus as we traipsed around the camp one summer - loads of fun.  The video is quite amusing as well - don't take it too seriously, the Supertones certainly didn't when they filmed it.  Just a good old-fashioned Western standoff:

"We lived inside the fault lines
beneath the earth's surface,
spendin' all our time
readin' books and writin verses;
the earth started shakin'
from the noise we were makin';
we emerged from the rubble,
OC was taken."