Post #22792 by tweedtone on Wed, Feb 12, 2003 1:16 PM

I'm a local yokel down here in Florida - grew up 15 minutes from Tiki Gardens - and I've got a newly crafted CD of the Tiki Gardens LP.

It's a hoot, for sure. Basically, it's a long commerical on vinyl. For me, the hoot-iest part is the several minutes of well-recorded surf-breaking-on-shore (instereo, no less!) All is tranquil and you're drifting off ... and then the still is shattered by the cry of what can only be one of the damned ubiquitous Florida seagulls. Like I imagine New Yorks pigeons are regarded by New Yorkers, they are annoying and noisy pests to us locals but are, now I realize, a deeply ingrained part of my Florida-bred psyche. Gotta admit is pretty funny to go to the beach and see a tourist feeding the seagulls and then within minutes getting receiving a quite return on their charitable investment. Seagulls' stomachs are always full and if they eat something new ... well ... something's gotta make room, y'see. Watch the Canadians run for cover! Teehee.

Tiki Gardens in general holds a special place in my heart because it is SO quintessentially Floridian, namely (and I say this with affection) like most things Floridian, it happened ten years (or so) after the rest of the nation had moved on and it's a delightfully skewed misinterpretation of Polynesian Pop Culture, which in itself was a misinterpretation of the original Oceanic cultures. Like a conundrum within a puzzle within a riddle ...