Post #465836 by aquarj on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 1:30 PM

Well the point about context is that there's the context of the Tiki Music forum, the context of the Beyond Tiki forum, and the context of LIFE IN GENERAL. Narrowness in any one of these contexts does not imply narrowness in the others. Mixing these contexts up doesn't help the conversation.

I wouldn't say that cover art is a big part of what makes something tiki music. For example, this beautiful cover by Art Chantry encloses an LP that does not contain tiki music.

However, I LOVE great cover art. And in the best cases, a great cover amplifies the power of great music inside.

Here's a video example - snippet from 1964's Get Yourself a College Girl. Tikis are in it, and I love the music and the scene, but it's NOT tiki music.

I would also say that "authenticity" is not the hallmark of tiki music. In fact to me, the lack of authenticity is part of the essence (and appeal) of exotica. The only time authenticity comes into play (I'm talking about my tastes here, not some kind of doctrine) is when a modern band tries to be authentic to something like a midcentury exotica sound.

But again, I'm only making these comments for the context of Tiki Music forum discussions, which is not to say that people wouldn't like to discuss other music in Beyond. No cutting off limbs is necessary.

-Randy