Lounge Music - Beyond Tiki

A AquaZombie Member Thrillville Joined: Aug 01, 2003 Posts: 461	A AquaZombie Posted posted on Wed, Aug 6, 2003 11:56 AM I don't even know who that babe is and I miss her already! Just thought I'd throw my fez hat into the ring here though I have nothing new to add, really. We're all pretty much on the same wavelength. I LOVE Gleason (and "The Honeymooners" is still one of my all time favorite shows), and I think Lounge music from that era goes smoothly with any exotic cocktail in any tiki bar. Most neo-"tiki" restaurants play Whitney Houston and Boyz 2 Men and Kenny G crap, anyway, so if they throw on some vintage Mel Torme or even Tom Jones instead, though they aren't strictly tiki, I won't bitch. The Conga Lounge in Oakland plays a nice, healthy mix of exotica, surf, pop, lounge and even some rock 'n' roll for your R&R, and along with the tiki-themed film clips on the TV behind the bar, a soothingly nostalgic mood prevails and pervades. Trader Vic's in Emeryville has switched from its "Top 40" adult contempo format to playing more traditional Hawaiian music (I suspect because Otto kicked some ass), which is a welcome improvement. The Tonga Room in SF is of course notorious among hardcore tiki buffs for its charmless, cheesey 80s house band ruining the atmosphere (how hard would it be to get a guy with a ukelele and coupla hula dancers instead - you'd think, along with the faux rain storms, this would seem to be a no-brainer, geez!!). Anyway, I also prefer collecting lounge on LP (I have hundreds) though I also have hundreds of lounge CD reissues as well. I've always preferred Lounge to Swing since I can't dance, and Lounge is drinking music. (amongst other things....) Speaking of which, anyone out there ever hear of Bob Thompson? He was a contemporary of Esquivel's whom I interviewed for Atomic and Outre a while back. Anyway, Dionysus is FINALLY reissuing his landmark 1960 LP "The Sounds of Speed" on CD. Tracks from this have appeared on anthologies only, like Rhino's "Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy" but this is the first Thompson LP to be fully reissued (others, like "Mmmm Nice," have come out in Japan only). Watch for it in the Fall. Whether a tiki bar plays Yma Sumac of Julie London (my favorite female vocalist), either is fine with me. Lounge and Tiki are spiritually connected. It's when you throw Britney Spears or the soundtrack to "Titanic" in with the mix that everything goes to hell.

I don't even know who that babe is and I miss her already!

Just thought I'd throw my fez hat into the ring here though I have nothing new to add, really. We're all pretty much on the same wavelength. I LOVE Gleason (and "The Honeymooners" is still one of my all time favorite shows), and I think Lounge music from that era goes smoothly with any exotic cocktail in any tiki bar. Most neo-"tiki" restaurants play Whitney Houston and Boyz 2 Men and Kenny G crap, anyway, so if they throw on some vintage Mel Torme or even Tom Jones instead, though they aren't strictly tiki, I won't bitch. The Conga Lounge in Oakland plays a nice, healthy mix of exotica, surf, pop, lounge and even some rock 'n' roll for your R&R, and along with the tiki-themed film clips on the TV behind the bar, a soothingly nostalgic mood prevails and pervades. Trader Vic's in Emeryville has switched from its "Top 40" adult contempo format to playing more traditional Hawaiian music (I suspect because Otto kicked some ass), which is a welcome improvement. The Tonga Room in SF is of course notorious among hardcore tiki buffs for its charmless, cheesey 80s house band ruining the atmosphere (how hard would it be to get a guy with a ukelele and coupla hula dancers instead - you'd think, along with the faux rain storms, this would seem to be a no-brainer, geez!!).

Anyway, I also prefer collecting lounge on LP (I have hundreds) though I also have hundreds of lounge CD reissues as well. I've always preferred Lounge to Swing since I can't dance, and Lounge is drinking music. (amongst other things....)

Speaking of which, anyone out there ever hear of Bob Thompson? He was a contemporary of Esquivel's whom I interviewed for Atomic and Outre a while back. Anyway, Dionysus is FINALLY reissuing his landmark 1960 LP "The Sounds of Speed" on CD. Tracks from this have appeared on anthologies only, like Rhino's "Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy" but this is the first Thompson LP to be fully reissued (others, like "Mmmm Nice," have come out in Japan only). Watch for it in the Fall.

Whether a tiki bar plays Yma Sumac of Julie London (my favorite female vocalist), either is fine with me. Lounge and Tiki are spiritually connected. It's when you throw Britney Spears or the soundtrack to "Titanic" in with the mix that everything goes to hell.

Post #46339 by AquaZombie on Wed, Aug 6, 2003 11:56 AM