Post #521354 by Hibiscus on Thu, Apr 1, 2010 8:11 AM

This is a subject close to my heart. I always wonder about the breadth of tiki music (rockabilly, surf, burlesque) and the simultaneous 'rules' around it, so when I have my gatherings, I call the music 'tiki and beyond' and leave it at that.

For example, is Louis Armstrong tiki? No. What about his version of "On a Coconut Island"? Yup, works for me.

In the surf arena, are the Ventures or Aqua Velvets tiki? For me, yes. The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean? Not so much. Yet they're both surf, soooo...yeah.

Along with exotica (classic and contemporary) and surf (ditto), I always have old-timey hapa haole and contemporary Hawaiian and Pacific music, as well. Does it have a uke or vibes in it? Are they singing in Hawaiian (or Samoan or Tahitian)? Does it make me feel like I could be on vacation somewhere? 'Cause that's really all I need. It may not always be 'purist' tiki, whatever that even means, but if burlesque and punk (awesome graphic, BTW!) can be tiki, I can't get too fussed about including Te Vaka or the Brothers Cazimero or whatever. For me, it's about escapism. If it works with a mai tai, it's in.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

[ Edited by: Hibiscus 2010-04-01 08:13 ]