Tiki Music: Space-Age Bachelor Pad

No music is more central to the Tiki scene, in my opinion, than Space-Age Bachelor Pad music. That’s why I put it at the center of A. Panda’s Galaxy of Sound. This is the theme music for the Mid-Century Modern era in America.

But what is it? Some people may consider this Easy Listening music – the kind of stuff that was blown off of the charts by the British Invasion of the 1960s. I prefer to think of it as the music that supported a lifestyle. The hip, romantic men of the Postwar period, creating sexy moods with furniture, drinks, and music, for the sole purpose of luring the fairer sex to their place for a good time. These were their anthems.

So here are the albums I’ve been listening to that bring the Space-Age Bachelor Pad to life for me. These are all sonically lush recordings, exploring the capabilities of stereo sound, jazzy instrumentals, and quirky vocals.

 

Esquivel: Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music (1994). This music all begins with Juan García Esquivel, the Mexican composer/musician who created the style. This 1994 compilation bears its name for that reason. Esquivel pushed the boundaries of Jazz, Lounge and Instrumental music in the 1950s and 1960s, and popularized the use of stereo sound techniques and wordless vocals. Many of the musicians that followed owe a tremendous debt to this relatively obscure genius. Zu-zu-zu!

 

Getz/Gilberto (1964). Continuing the international nature of this music, Jazz sax great Stan Getz teamed up with Brazillian musicians João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim to introduce a sexy, jazzy music to the American consciousness. The zenith of this music’s popularity came with the tune Girl from Ipanema (sung by João’s wife, Astrud Gilberto), the ubiquitous song still instantly recognizable to this day.

 

Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965). Wow. That album cover. What can I say, but: wow! Herb Albert’s music was equally as sexy, which is why it was in constant rotation in bachelor pads across America during the Mid-Century Modern era. Anybody who remembers watching The Dating Game will instantly recognize the theme song and much of the in-game music from this album.

 

Henry Mancini: Greatest Hits (2000). From The Baby Elephant Walk to The Pink Panther and Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini was the author of some of the most iconic music in movies and television of the Mid-Century. If you were watching TV or listening to a movie soundtrack in your bachelor pad, chances were good you were listening to one of Henry Mancini’s compositions.

 

Combustible Edison: I, Swinger (1994). This was the most important band of the Lounge/Swing/Tiki revival of the mid-1990s. Combustible Edison brought back the sound of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad with this album and their stunning soundtrack to the film Four Rooms, which also featured the music of Esquivel. Have I mentioned how profoundly this movie has influenced me?

 

Pink Panther’s Penthouse Party (2004). This album is an homage to the music created by Henry Mancini, with classics and new tunes performed by current artists like Fat Boy Slim, Dmitri from Paris, and Kinky. My wife Jess bought me this CD because of the SHAG cover art, but the music was a revelation. A bachelor-pad soundtrack for the modern age.

 

The SG Sound: The Pleasure Center (2007). Speaking of the modern age, I got to know Stephen Greaves through one of the Tiki groups on Facebook, where I was introduced to The SG Sound. What an amazing musician! This album would fit right into the mid-20th Century as well as it does in the 21st. Mahalo, Stephen!

 

Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica: The Unforgettable Sounds of Esquivel (2010). Space-Age Bachelor Pad music comes full circle, as Brian O’Neill faithfully and meticulously recreates the music of Esquivel with his 23-piece big band, Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica. This was no small task, as none of this music was ever scored on paper, so Brian had to do it by ear. Mini Skirt is my favorite Esquivel tune and the current ringtone on my iPhone, so I think of Mr. Ho whenever he plays it for my incoming calls. Groovy!

So there you have it: the 5th and final star in A. Panda’s Galaxy of Sound. I’ve enjoyed sharing my Tiki music with you this summer. I suggest you also check out my new podcast, apandatikipod.podcast.com, where I’m featuring the actual music from my mix CDs. You’ll also hear some interviews with legends of the Lounge/Exotica/Tiki scene, along with some cool stories from my Tiki journey. I hope you’ll check it out and tell me what you think. Mahalo!

 

Aloha Spirit Ramblings

What is Aloha Spirit? What is it about Tiki that has captured my attention for the past 10 years? Have my travels during this time frame, to places like New Orleans, Jamaica, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Chicago, Los Angeles, all been cosmically connected somehow? What does the word Mahalo really mean?

Okay, let’s start with an easy one. Mahalo is a Hawai’ian word that has come to mean, simply, “thank you.” I saw evidence of this going back to the original Hawaii Five-0 television series, which I’ve been watching the first season of lately on DVD, where Chin Ho and Kono would toss out mahalo like candy, I guess to make them seem more authentically Hawai’ian. I don’t think they really needed to do that, but I guess the screenwriters weren’t convinced we’d believe it unless they talked the talk. As if “Zulu as Kono” in the opening credits wasn’t convincing enough!

I’ve looked into the etymology of the word mahalo and found a much more meaningful definition. Mahalo literally means “may you be in divine wind,” which to me is the same as saying “may the Holy Spirit be with you.” Hawai’ians say mahalo as a blessing or a one-word prayer, which I think is really powerful. You must be careful not to cheapen the word by using it without truly meaning it as a blessing. Mahalo must be experienced more so than spoken. Easy, right?

So, back to this aloha spirit stuff. What does it mean? To me, it seems simple: aloha spirit is the feeling inside you that is constantly grateful for everything, that keeps you happy when things aren’t so great, that gives you grace during times of stress, that puts a song in your heart and the spring in your step. Hawai’ians have it. Tom Brady has it. I have it, most of the time. Jesus really had it and tried to teach it to all of us: “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). That’s what aloha spirit is all about, Charlie Brown.

So, since we’ve given props to Jesus, let’s give Buddha his due and talk about karma. This one’s a little tougher to explain, since I’m not a Buddhist, nor do I play one on TV, nor have I read or learned much about Buddhism in my few years on Earth. What is karma? I know some people say it’s a cause-and-effect thing, you know, you get what you deserve, he had it coming, blah blah blah. I think it’s more complicated than that.

To me, karma is more a sense than action. It’s a feeling you get that you’ve been someplace before, it’s worlds colliding in some strange mashup of life’s pursuits, it’s coincidences that just seem too good to be true. I don’t believe in fate. I do believe in tempting fate. What I mean by that is we make our own fate. People say they’d rather be lucky than good, but I say be good enough to make your own luck. Karma is an attitude.

I was born in 1965. This was an interesting time in America: Tiki culture was nearing the end of its first good run; space-age bachelor pad music had peaked as well, swept away by the British Invasion and soon enough, the Woodstock era; the Mad Men sensibility of conspicuous consumption would be pushed aside in favor of the minimalist ethos of the Hippie and drug culture. The Baby Boomers of my parents’ generation changed the world, and not for the better, in my opinion. It was my fate to grow up in a world where the Hippies were running the show. It was my karma to revert to the culture from the year of my birth, albeit some 40 years later.

So I believe karma introduced me to Tiki. I’ve seen many signs in my travels that have confirmed this for me. I’ll share some examples in my next few posts. Mahalo!