25 songs about surfing

Surfing is another extreme sport popularized in Southern California. Surf-inspired music has always been present in punk rock and its derivatives. Here's a sample of some of the better surf themed songs:


1-The Crowd: Suzy is a surf rocker

Song about surfing from one of the first hardcore punk bands from Huntington Beach, CA. They influenced other O.C. bands such as TSOL, Adolescents and Social Distortion. Fast and catchy rock n roll punk. This song appears in the seminal Posh Boy compilation "Beach Boulevard".






2-Agression: Locals Only

Best song about surfing by a hardcore punk band. A scream for surfing localism. "This beach is for locals only, Take your silly and get it off of our streets" says the classic chorus. Agression was involved in the skate-punk scene known as Nardcore. From their classic "Don't Be Mistaken" on Mystic Records.




3-Millencolin: In a room

Swedish punk band from the 90s Epitaph boom. Song about "Surfing in my room". This tune was a constant in surfing and bodyboarding soundtracks during the 90s. From their first ep "Use your nose" on Burning Heart Records.






4-Surf Nazis Must Die: Theme Song

Short-lived German thrashcore outfit. From their sole Ep "Anti-Everything".








5-Flema: Surfiando en el riachuelo

Legendary and prolific Argentine punk rock band led by the late Ricky Espinosa. "Surfing in the river" is the english translation. From their 1998 album "Resaka".







6-Dos Minutos: Aquaman

Argentine punk legends sang about Salvadorian surf punks in this tune from their album "Advertencia" .







7-Airbag: Prefiero La Playa

Andalusian pop-punk band. Song about preferring the beach at all times. From their debut "Mondo Cretino"







8-Beach Boys: Surfin' USA

The most influential american 60s rock n roll band. Their classic tune "Surfin' USA" from their 1963's album of the same name. Surf-inspired music anthem.







9-Nig Heist: Surfbroad

Tongue-in-cheek SST punk band fronted by Black Flag's roadie, Mugger. A former runaway turned CPA. Their members were Black Flag members with wigs.






10-Surf Punks: Locals Only

Mid-80s surf rock group from Malibu, CA. Other song about localism in surfing.








11-The Gears: Let's Go to the Beach

Classic surf-punk band from 80s SoCal. Catchy and edgy rock n roll punk. From the homonymous 1979 single ep.





12-Simpletones: California

1978-1980 pop punk band from O.C., CA. The Vandals covered their hit "I have a date". From their 1979 single "California / I like drugs". Singer Snickers died in the 90s.







13-Ramones: Surf City

From one the last albums of the fathers of punk rock, "Acid Eaters". Great song. It's The Ramones for christ sake.





14-Pearl Jam: Big Wave

One of the better known bands of the Seattle late 80s and early 90s Grunge movement. This track talks about riding big waves and appears in their 2006 s/t album.





15-The Queers: Surf Goddess

80s New Hampshire punk rock legends led by Joe King "Queer". This is one those bands that has been playing for 30 years and plays everything from fast and bratty to poppy and surfy. From their 1995 same name Ep on Lookout Records.






16-Weezer: Surf Wax America

From their hit debut "The Blue Album". L.A. nerd rock n roll that has been on the mainstream ever since.








17-Homegrown: Surfer Girl

90s Cali Punk group. From their second album "Act Your Age". Very poppy stuff.








18-Los Fabulosos Cadillacs: Surfer Calavera

Song about a surfing skull by this classic ska-punk-reggae band from Argentina. From their album "Fabulosos Calavera".







19-Smut Peddlers: Fugitive Surfer

Redondo Beach's own Smut Peddlers deliver this surf-hardcore-punk song in their 2001 "ISM" album.








20-The Surfaris: Surfer Joe

California 60s rock n roll. No revival band, this is the real deal.







21-Legendary Pink Dot: Chain Surfing

80s UK experimental rock. From their "All the King's Horses. Good stuff.








22-The Stupids: Wipe Out

80s British skate-punk. Very rare skate music coming from the UK isles. From their 1985 Lp "Peruvian Vacation".






23-D.I.: Hang Ten in East Berlin

Song about surfing and communism from this legenadry O.C. skate-punkers. From their first album "Ancient Artifacts".








24-Toy Dolls: Wipe Out

The classic surf instrumental by this 70s English fun punk rockers. From their 85' "A Far Out Disc".









25-Descendents: Tonyage

The almighty Descendents with a tune that mentions surfing. From their first full length "Milo Goes to College" from 1982.

Skate-related punk (Cont of Previous post)

Although not referencing skate in their songs, some punkrockers in the early days skate while playing for punk rock bands. Here's a couple of them:

Darby Crash (Germs) with a skateboard

















Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat) skateboarding.









Tim Kerr (Big Boys) kicking ass!












D.I. playing in front of a bowl.













Code of Honor: Fight or Die cover art

31 songs about skateboarding!

Skateboarding is an aggressive and creative sport born in Southern California. Hardcore-Punk is a ferocious style of rock n roll created in the same area. Both complement each other since the late 70s and early 80s. Hip Hop music has also crossed in skateboarding's path because of its aggressive origins. Here's a brief look into some of skate's music most representative anthems:


1-Bones Brigade: Thrashin' USA

The first track of their debut "I hate myself when I'm not skateboarding". A song about thrashin' with your skate the entire USA. Bones Brigade epitomizes modern-day skate punk and takes their name from the legendary skateboard crew.





2-JFA: Beach Blanket Bongout


The definitive skate-punk anthem by the inventors of the genre. The clasic line "Surf Punks We're Not, Skateboard We Do" is a standard singalong in their shows since 1981. As a matter of fact, they still skate and surf 30 years later.





3-Gang Green: Terrorize

A song about terrorizing people with your skateboard while cruising through a shopping mall. Gang Green is a classic hardcore punk band from the suburbs of Boston, MA. While other early 80s Boston outfits were talking about boring stuff, GG were talking about skate at 150 mph.





4-Agression: Intense Energy

The best skate punk song ever by a skate punk band. The line "Have you ever seen a skateboarder surfing in a pool, Flying over the coping with a skateboard as his tool" is the essence of skate-punk. They were part of the Nardcore scene in the early 80s.




5-Riot.303: Skate Punx

Hailing from Calgary, Canada, this short-lived band released this pretty self-explanatory song in the first Thrasher Skate Rock compilation in the early 80s. Compilations done by the bible of skateboarding Thrasher Magazine.




6-Black Flag: Wasted

The 2nd song of the b-side of 1978's "Nervous Breakdown" Ep of the most influential Hardcore-Punk band ever. Singing is the first vocalist Mr. Keith Morris, who later fronted the Circle Jerks. Who by the way, do a much faster version of this song but not as great as Flag's 78' gem. "I was surfer, I had a skateboard". Classic!

7-The Faction: Skate and Destroy
The Faction were a punk band formed in 1982 by legendary skateboarder Steve Caballero. This is probably one of the most recognizable tunes in the genre. They come from the northern part of the state of California, San Jose.






8-Teenage Bottlerocket: Skate or Die

Pop-punk group from Wyoming formed in the early 21st century. A track that talks about making skateboarding a threat again. Their guitar player was part of seminal 90s pop-punk band Lillingtons.






9-Diente Perro: Muerte en Patineta

One of the first songs of this Puerto Rican punk outfit. Re-recorded for their latest album "Muertos en la Noche". The translation means "Death in a skateboard". The quintessential skatepunkers from this tiny Caribbean island.





10-The Panty Sniffers: Sexo,Skate y Rock n Roll

Opening track of their first and only full length "Sexo, Skate y Rock n Roll" released in 2005 by Rokirol Records. The song is about sex, skateboarding, punk and surfing in one night. They played between 2001-2011 and also released a Complete Discography CD/Fanzine and a music video. All the members from their several line-ups hailed from Puerto Rico.

11-Teenage Hell: Corriendo Olas de Concreto

Short-lived skatepunk band from Puerto Rico. Short, fast and loud and about riding concrete waves. They were all teen skaters who were into Zero Boys, Agression and Germs.







12-Common Enemy: Skate that Shit

From their 2000 self titled Ep. Late 90s Skatepunk band from Pennsylvania. They are skaters and D.I.Y punkers. They even visited Puerto Rico sometime in 2010.






13-Charles Bronson: Skate for God

90s Power violence pioneers from Chicago, IL. They were skaters, straight edge and sarcastic as hell. This track is from the "Possessed to Skate" compilation LP. They released a 100 + songs discography of their 30 sec or less fastcore tunes. Their drummer Ebro played in Los Crudos, a seminal latin hardcore punk band from Chicago.



14-Suicidal Tendencies: Possesed to Skate

Mid 80s skateboard anthem by Venice Beach skate thrashers. Led by Mike Muir, whose brother was part of the original Dogtown Z Boys.




15-Descendents: Doug rides a skateboard

Demo outtake from the Enjoy sessions of 1986. Not officially released but appears in bootlegs like "Still Hungry", "Milo Gets Bootlegged" or "Rareage". Its the almighty Descendents with a skate punk song. As good as it gets.




16-Flema: Fernando anda en skate

Seminal Argentine punk rock band. They were formed in the late 80s by lead singer Ricky Espinosa, who kill himself a couple of years ago. This song translates as "Fernando rides a skateboard" and is from their sophomore album 1994's "Nunca nos fuimos". Catchy as hell punk rock.




17-Desde el Campo: Tributo a la skate

Hip Hop group from the West Side of the island of Puerto Rico. They are skaters and this tribute to skate track appears in their 2010 mixtape "Sustancia Controlada" (Controlled Substance).




18-Gritando HC: Ande de skate e destrua

Brazilian hardcore punk act. Track from their 2000 album of the same name. Translation from portuguese means "Skate and Destroy". Their original singer died in 2001.






19-Guttermouth: Do the Hustle

Late 80s Huntington Beach, CA punk legends with several controversial and sarcastic punk albums out. This song is from their classic LP "Musical Monkey" and rants about lousy rollerbladers getting in the way of skateboarders.





20-Screeching Weasel: We Skate

13 sec. classic song from Chicago Mid 80s punkers. This song is from their 2nd album "BoogadaBoogadaBoogada". After their first two albums, they became one of the most important (and imitated) pop-punk bands in the world.





21-Suicide Machines: Vans Song

Tribute to Vans skateboarding shoes by this influential hardcore-punk/ska band from Detroit, MI. They formed in 1991 and this song appears in several of their early recordings, most notably in their 1996 studio debut "Destruction by Definition".





22-Adolescents: Skate Babylon

Song about skating from their 2nd album "Brats in Battalions" from 1987. This stuff is good but quite different from their classic Blue Album tunes.







23-Violent Children: Skate Straight

Early-to-Mid 80s Connecticut hardcore band who featured a young Ray Cappo playing drums. He later went to front seminal bands such as Youth of Today, Shelter or BTA1000. Cappo is remembered as one of the most militant straight edge and Krishna people in the United States.

24-Pharrell: When Skateboard Came

Track about skateboarding from N.E.R.D. and Neptunes MC/Producer/Drummer Pharrell Williams. This track is from his first mixtape "In my mind: The Prequel". He skates also, so go figure.



25-Beatnik Termites: Skateboard

90s Pop-punk ala Screeching Weasel with a heavy surf influence. This skateboard song appears in their best known album "Bubblecore".







26-Satanic Surfers: Don't Know what to do

Swedish 90s punk band. From their "Skate to Hell" Ep.









Punk Bands featuring Pro Skaters:



27-Free Beer: Premature Enlistment

Early 80s Northern California punk band featuring skate legend Tommy Guerrero. Alternative Tentacles released their discography "The Only Beer That Matters" as the first of their Skate Punk series.





28-Political Crap: Slow Death

First punk band fronted by the Master of Disaster, Duane Peters. He is better known for his later outfit, US Bombs. Song appears in the 1981 "Who Cares" compilation. Great stuff.



29-Skoundrelz: Jimmy Closet

Venice Beach punk band formed by the first truly influential skateboarder Tony Alva. He played bass in this group that also featured ex-members of Suicidal and Wasted Youth. Alva is the original Z Boy from Dogtown that revolutionized skateboarding forever. This song is from Thrasher Skate Rock Vol. 1 compilation.





30-McRad: Greed

Early 80s Philly hardcore punk band featuring pro skater Chuck Treece. This song is from their classic Ep "Dominant Force". Treece is a multi-instrumentalist that has even played in the Bad Brains.








31-Mike V and the Rats: Never Give Up

Mike Vallely is an unorthodox pro skater who wrestles professionally, acts and plays in punk bands. His most famous act was Mike V & The Rats, which sounded like Black Flag Rollins era and Minor Threat. This track is from the self title Ep.

Drive: Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive is the new film of danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. Starring are Ryan Gosling as a movie stunt driver, Carey Mulligan as his love interest, Bryan Cranston as Gosling's boss and Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman as the L.A. crime bosses.

Driver lives a quiet life between his two jobs as a movie stunt driver and a mechanic in a car repair shop. Because of his badass driving skills, sometimes at night, he works as a getaway driver in heists.

In his apartment building lives Irene with his son Benicio, both with whom Driver has began a heartfelt friendship that adds spice to his apparently boring life existence.
When Benicio's dad comes back from jail and needs to do a last roobery in order to pay for a crime debt, Driver helps him but things get out of hand and everything goes downward spiral after this. A bloodshed tour de force that can only be stop by Driver's love for Irene.

The film builds up with an intensity that at the end seems like a whole different movie. The main character who at the beginning speaks in monosyllables and smiles at the end becomes a bad-ass vigilante type, so cold-blooded that scares his love interest away. Gosling's performance is marvelous. He perfectly incarnates an oxymoron (an almost innocent cold blooded slasher).

A movie that combines gore and romance in a non-formulaic way can't go wrong. It is a very entertaining flick which will probably earn Gosling an Oscar nomination. Movie and TV stars like Cranston (Breaking Bad) , Brooks (Weeds) and Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) make a great supporting cast with badass performances as well. Go see it if you are into ironic-type characters, gore or action-packed films. Avoid it, if you are looking for a romantic happy ending type. 4 out of 5 stars.

2011 FYF Fest=DESCENDENTS

DESCENDENTS headlined the 2011 FYF Fest at the L.A. Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles. The SoCal kings of hardcore-punk-pop played for the second time in their hometown after more than a decade. In addition, other great acts such as OFF, Dead Milkmen, Kid Dynamite, Weakerthans, Guided by Voices and Cults played across the four stages named after our four favorite famous painters.

After watching a couple of decent bands such as Tijuana Panthers and Ty Segall in "Michaelangelo" and "Donatello", came one of the most anticipated bands by ourselves, OFF. This kick-ass band features legendary Black Flag and Circle Jerks lead singer, Mr. Keith Morris, and Steven McDonald from Red Kross. Hardcore Punk with an early 80s sound that provoked a couple of fights and broken noses at the ferocious circle pit. Songs like "Fuck People", "Peace in Hermosa" and "Jeffrey Lee Pierce", the latter dedicated to Gun Club's lead singer with whom Keith used to hang out at Chinatown's Hong Kong Cafe in the early 80s.

Then we went to the main stage aka "Leonardo" to see Cults, an indie band, who for my surprise sounded very neat. Catchy vocal harmonies and mellow songs that invited to chill out after OFF's energetic set. During their repertoire, a huge California Republic flag waved as the sunset started to go down.

We continued across the other side of the park to the isolated "Raphael" stage to see the Weakerthans and Kid Dynamite. After passing the merch booths of Amoeba Music, RevHQ and LA Weekly, we sat down to see Canadian folksy punks The Weakerthans. Good overall set with no major anecdotes.

The highlight of this stage came next with Philly Hardcore Punk legends Kid Dynamite. Old school hardcore anthems interpolated with melodic punk songs that invited to circle pit and stage dive. Almost during their entire set, lead vocalist Jason was singing at the space between the stage and the pit. Their sound sent me back through time to the late 90s hardcore punk scene. At this point: sun, fun and Raybans were gone and a kinda cold night was awaiting us.

After that, headed back to the main stage to prepare for the almighty fucking Descendents which was the main reason we were in this fest (our last one being 2008's Cultura Urbana). We sat down to see Broken Social Scene through the giant screens. Their set was ok and then it was the turn of 80s Ohio indie rockers Guided by Voices.

We took advantage and saw their entire set in the first row. They played some good punk-sounding stuff. Neither great nor bad, but served to see first hand, Bill Stevenson setting up his drum set. The excitement was reaching its highest point.

The clock ticked at 9:40 pm when Milo Aukerman, Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton and Karl Alvarez a.k.a. DESCENDENTS came on stage. They began with the song "Descendents" who excited thousands of screaming fans who were there to see history in the making. Milo put on a Dodgers cap that the crowd threw at him and sang the hymns of every album (the song selection was perfect).

Songs like "Pervert", "I like food", "Silly Girl", I'm not a looser", "Sour Grapes", "Bikeage", "Hope", "Rotting Out", "I'm the One", "Coffee Mug", "I don't wanna grow up", "Suburban Home", "Van", "Clean Sheets", among others completed their 1 hour set.

At the stage you could see Matt Skiba, Fat Mike or Fletcher from Pennywise singing as every other fan who was there. One of the highlights was during "All-O-Gistics" that a couple of young kids (I supposed some of their sons) recited some funny-as-hell postulates made for the occasion. In "Hope", Dr. Milo Aukerman went down to the pit to sang with his fans.

The constant stage diving and singalongs helped the South Bay legends make the best set of live-music I have ever seen. I waited 15 years for this and it was all worth it. It was perfection defined.

As good as it gets, we went back to the tiny isolated stage for the Dead Milkmen performance. They opened with their classic "Tiny Town" and continue with a couple more, such as "Punk Rock Girl". Good set but we were tired as fuck and needed to walk almost 2 miles through downtown to get back to our vehicle. After 12 hours of sun, fun, good music, organic food, attention-whore hipsters, punk rock and DESCENDENTS, I slept with a big smile on my face.

Hardcore Punk Pioneers: Rhino 39

Long Beach's Rhino 39 are definitely one of the first hardcore punk bands ever. They formed in 1976 and released their classic EP "Prolixin Stomp/No Compromise" in 1979. Shortly after, lead singer Dave Dacron died in a car crash.

Some might say is The Middle Class, the Bad Brains or even The Neos from Canada but Rhino 39 were one of the first punks to began playing faster drum beats and guitar rhythms. Enjoy the vid!

A bill from the early 80s

JFA and Angry Samoans presented their punk rock classics at the House of Blues in the Sunset Strip. A bill reminiscent of the early 80s California hardcore punk scene with the addition of newer bands such as Death Punch and The Casualties.

At 7:00 p.m., the doors opened to hundreds of youngsters attire in classic punk bands shirts and spiky hairs. While waiting in line, Metal Mike, lead singer of The Angry Samoans, approached some of the attendees with a punk rock game to give out some free Samoans shirts.

In the background, some well-known punk bands sounded as fans continue to filled up the venue. Around 8:00 pm, local band Death Punch appeared. They looked sort of like The Casualties but sounded like generic punk with emo vocals and breakdowns. Their highlight was the Operation Ivy standard "Knowledge".

The main dish were definitely Arizona's skate-punk pioneers JFA. Dozens of kids circle pitted to classics such as "Out of School", "Jodie Foster's Army", "Beach Blanket Bongout" and "Preppy". Brian Brannon, the lead singer, played some keyboards during their surf tunes that slowed down the atmosphere quite a bit after several skate punk songs. Their mythical guitar player, Don Redondo, sponsored by "Independent trucks" clothing blasted that guitar like it was an early 80s show. Pure surf, skate and hardcore punk.

After the highlight of the show, came one of the true power houses of the L.A. punk scene, The Angry "Motherfuckin" Samoans. Metal Mike, Bill Vockeroth and cia rocked all their hits "Gas Chambers", "Todd Killings", "Light's Out", "Homosexual", "Hot Cars" and "Right Side of my mind" to hundreds of cheering punkers. Mike and Bill switch between drums and vocals as usual. And to add more greatness, they played two covers: "Slave to my dick" (Canadian Subhumans) and "Wasted" (Black Flag). Punk Rock as its finest.

We left after that and did not saw the "headliners", The Casualties. I have seen them in other occasions and didn't want to hear the same song for an entire hour. Anyhow, great punk show with JFA and Angry Samoans sets.

Lewd Conduct in L.A.

The Lewd, a legendary 77' punk outfit from San Francisco (via Seattle), has played at The Redwood Bar & Grill in Downtown Los Angeles. The bill was completed by Old School L.A. punkers RF7 and two relatively new bands called Rough Kids and Neon Maniacs.

Everything was unpredictable for many reasons. Starting with the venue, a tiny restaurant/bar near the LA Times building, who improvised a stage putting out some dinning tables. Continued by the arrival of dozens of punks from the oldest, not-so-new or new scene, as the entire Rhino Records "No Thanks" served as prelude.

Around 10:00 pm, The Rough Kids started blasting their upbeat 77' punk. They probably rip off stage every other band that follow them. Catchy songs, tight drumming and in-your-face guitar rhythm that even included the Simpletones tune "I Like Drugs". Their sound remind me of a cross between The Stitches and The Crowd, so definitely worth checking out.

Neon Manics came up next. Their sound was very lo-fi garage punk with raunchy backing vocals and loud guitars. It was a very energetic set with tons of attitude. They somehow reminded me of The Webelos from Spain with their out of tune vocals. So far, so good.

Then, RF7 entered the stage with original vocalist Felix and guitarrist Nick. SoCal early hardcore punk with heartfelt songs. They played hits such as "Raised on Heroin" and "Fuck Money", in during which the vocalist burned a one dollar bill. Their set was one of the highlights of the show.

Past midnight, The Lewd appeared featuring vocalist J. Satz Baret and guitarrist Blobbo. Satz, who looked very old and fucked-up, babbled the songs while the band played sloppier versions of their classics "Climate of Fear", "Trash Can Baby", "Mobile Home", "(Go To Hell In) Hollywood" and "Fight".

For $8 dollars, it was a good show but definitely expected to hear The Lewd classics' better performed. Anyway is punk rock, so fuck it.

NOFX pays tribute to 80s hardcore punk

In the vein of great covers' albums such as Slayer's Undisputed attitude, Ratos de Porão's Feijoada acidente? (International), Guns N' Roses' Spaghetti Incident and The Hives' Tarred and Feathered Ep, NOFX has released an 80s hardcore punk cover's album with classic songs from Battalion of Saints, Stretch Marks (Canada), Necros, D.O.A, Agnostic Front, Urban Waste, Rebel Truth, Sin 34 and Social Unrest. This 9-song ep is only on vynil.

Also, NYHC outfit H2O will release a punk covers album called "Don't Forget Your Roots" with songs from Ramones, Dag Nasty, Madball, Rancid, Circle Jerks, Descendents, Cro-Mags, Bad Brains, The Clash, Government Issue, Verbal Assault, Gorilla Biscuits, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 7 Seconds, Embrace, Social Distortion, Sick of it All and Warzone.

Get NOFX's Hardcore covers Ep and be on the look for H2O's release this fall.