Original Soundtrack
Yesterday I got talking to someone about the surf and skate movies of the mid to late nineteen eighties and how they featured the most incredible sound tracks. It is true that when I was a young chap, my musical tastes were heavily influenced by the films that I watched.
As I have mentioned before, the Quiksilver production, The Performers '83-'84 had a massive effect on me, from the moment I saw it I knew I was on to something. The same can be said about its soundtrack too. Each and every track was an absolute treat to my ears and my musical horizons were expanded immediately. Within days I had bought Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues, this was quickly followed up with the purchase of many other Talking Heads albums, as well as the music of the other bands that were on the sound track. Some were easier to find than others, I recall Rose Tattoo being particularly tricky to source! But for the next few years my taste in music was influenced massively by surf and skate movie sound tracks. The ritual would go something like this, I would see the film, and invariably there would be at least one track that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, so I had to get the album of said band. This was a long, long time before the advent of the internet, but thankfully there were record shops that would source albums from here, or sometimes the US or on occasion, Australia. The imports undoubtedly provided the most kudos, from my pals at least, for the perceived rarity, not to mention the fact that they were derived from the other side of the world represented something a whole lot more exciting.
Towards the end of the eighties, something happened with surf movies though, many became elongated adverts, the production was awful and the sound track worse. The Jack McCoy produced Billabong series bucked this trend though, the first of which was Surf in to Summer, and introduced me to the likes of Agent Orange, and TSOL. But on the whole, surf movies had gone way down hill, in my estimation at least. However, this was in stark contrast to what was going on in the world of the skate movie. H Street, Santa Cruz and Powell Peralta produced some of the most iconic films that ever were. Where as surf films had gone down the corporate road, the skate films remained truly authentic and felt a lot more under ground. The bands as featured gave me my next lesson in my musical education and exposed me to new genres to explore.
All in all these films provided me with an alternative way of discovering new music at a time when it was relatively difficult to do so. From a very young age I loved music and would constantly look for new bands, one band would lead to the discovery of another, or sometimes I would strike gold and find a new label, or even an entire genre. A theme that has continued right up to the present time. As my musical tastes evolved I no longer needed to be introduced to new music by way of the surf and skate movie. While I was able to find my own way, I know that this exposure to music provided me with the grounding that shaped my musical experience and began my journey. Many of my favourite bands of all time were first introduced to me in this manner, so I am truly thankful that these films were produced.
As I have mentioned before, the Quiksilver production, The Performers '83-'84 had a massive effect on me, from the moment I saw it I knew I was on to something. The same can be said about its soundtrack too. Each and every track was an absolute treat to my ears and my musical horizons were expanded immediately. Within days I had bought Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues, this was quickly followed up with the purchase of many other Talking Heads albums, as well as the music of the other bands that were on the sound track. Some were easier to find than others, I recall Rose Tattoo being particularly tricky to source! But for the next few years my taste in music was influenced massively by surf and skate movie sound tracks. The ritual would go something like this, I would see the film, and invariably there would be at least one track that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, so I had to get the album of said band. This was a long, long time before the advent of the internet, but thankfully there were record shops that would source albums from here, or sometimes the US or on occasion, Australia. The imports undoubtedly provided the most kudos, from my pals at least, for the perceived rarity, not to mention the fact that they were derived from the other side of the world represented something a whole lot more exciting.
Towards the end of the eighties, something happened with surf movies though, many became elongated adverts, the production was awful and the sound track worse. The Jack McCoy produced Billabong series bucked this trend though, the first of which was Surf in to Summer, and introduced me to the likes of Agent Orange, and TSOL. But on the whole, surf movies had gone way down hill, in my estimation at least. However, this was in stark contrast to what was going on in the world of the skate movie. H Street, Santa Cruz and Powell Peralta produced some of the most iconic films that ever were. Where as surf films had gone down the corporate road, the skate films remained truly authentic and felt a lot more under ground. The bands as featured gave me my next lesson in my musical education and exposed me to new genres to explore.
All in all these films provided me with an alternative way of discovering new music at a time when it was relatively difficult to do so. From a very young age I loved music and would constantly look for new bands, one band would lead to the discovery of another, or sometimes I would strike gold and find a new label, or even an entire genre. A theme that has continued right up to the present time. As my musical tastes evolved I no longer needed to be introduced to new music by way of the surf and skate movie. While I was able to find my own way, I know that this exposure to music provided me with the grounding that shaped my musical experience and began my journey. Many of my favourite bands of all time were first introduced to me in this manner, so I am truly thankful that these films were produced.
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