Post #515440 by bigbrotiki on Fri, Mar 5, 2010 11:54 PM

On 2010-03-05 18:26, Kailuageoff wrote:
Please don't end the set with Margaritaville, no matter how much you may be tempted.

Haha, would have never dreamed of it, but now that you put the thought in my head, I WILL ..! :D

Actually, the CD does somewhat end on a devolutionary note, as the Surfmen album was clearly a commercial rip off of the genre (though one that came out surprisingly well), and the Don Ho vocal version of Quiet Village represents that very corny and schmaltzy level of Tiki that made the younger generations cringe in disbelief and embarrassment and run for Rock.

If this CD is successful and I get another multi CD gig for the label, I will include a Hapa Haole selection. But about being "intellectually honest": The Book of Tiki already wasn't, it is an idealization of a past that never existed in such a perfect form. I selected what I personally liked (manipulation 1) and showed only the very best examples of it (manipulation 2). That's why it worked.

The Tiki re-appreciation today is often historically incorrect: We KNOW that Tiki Temple patrons more often wore suit and tie to dinner, and NOT crazy colored Aloha shirts with Tikis on them... but where is the visual fun in that?

And about "I like surf music, but being a Hawaiian kid, I don't think of it as island stuff. It is oh so California."
I have always maintained: Tiki IS mainland, Californian-made, and not island stuff. I know Exotica is Island-made, too, but it is MODERN primitive in its sound, while Hapa Haole, as much as it is an lovely soundtrack in a Tiki Lounge, is more Hawaiiana, Pre-Tiki in its style.

But as you pointed out, that IS indeed part of the evolution of the style, so it has its place in there.