South & Canal Winchester Messenger - March 24th, 2024

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PAGE 6 - SOUTH & CANAL WINCHESTER MESSENGER - March 24, 2024
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Everybody’s heard
about the bird
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This song is either brilliant or an
incredibly annoying sound to bounce off
one’s ear drums.
It’s “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen,
which made it into Billboard’s top 10 in
1963 and is known for the repetitive line
“the bird is the word.”
Though the song arose during the surf
music craze of the early 1960s, I am throwing
this out there for your consideration: I
think it might be the first punk rock
record, pre-dating the raucous punk rock
music era of the late 1970s by more than a
decade.
Arguments can be made that Link
Wray, with his distorted guitar sounds, or
Dick Dale, with his use of volume and
reverb, could claim this mantle of the earliest
punk rock record, or maybe even
Little Richard with his energetic, frenzied
sound. But the music created by these and
others like them is still more polished than
the crazy cacophony of “Surfin’ Bird.”
From a bit of research, I’ve found that
the song is a mash up - by the garage band
The Trashmen, who hailed from Minnesota
- of two rhythm and blues songs written by
The Rivingtons.
Why do I think The Trashmen’s “Surfin’
Bird” is the first punk rock record? Well, it
shares many of punk rock’s characteristics.
It’s loud. It’s short. It’s aggressive. It’s simple.
It has attitude. It means nothing and
everything at the same time. It’s a bit
angry. It’s fun.
Hamilton Township
trustees support project
At the Feb. 14 Hamilton Township
trustee meeting, the trustees approved
sending a letter of support for the Alum
Creek Drive widening project to the
Franklin County Engineer. Trustee
Chairman Chris Hann said the township is
not contributing any money to the project
as the trustees feel that the jurisdictions
Editor’s Notebook
The lyrics are
repetitive to the point
that they get stuck in
your brain. By lyrics,
I mean, well, there
are some words being
sung, but there are
also odd vocal noises
that just seem to fit.
Musically the guitar
and bass churn
and burn the chords
into your being and
the drummer powerfully
propels the song.
Even the band’s
Rick
Palsgrove
name is punk - The Trashmen. It’s kind of
gritty and an almost self-admittance that
what they are doing is trashy.
The song pops in and out of popularity
every so often. Punk rockers The Ramones
and The Cramps did versions of it (and if
you are a fan of the song I recommend you
check out their versions of it).
It’s also appeared in some movies as
well as on television shows, most notably
“Family Guy.”
Songs come and go, but remember, love
it or hate it, “the bird is the word.”
Rick Palsgrove is managing editor of the
Messenger Newspapers.
that benefit from the widening should pay
for the project. He said Hamilton Township
gains no benefits from the widening of
Alum Creek Drive and that the trustees
are happy to submit the letter endorsing it,
but they have no money to help pay for it.
Wagnalls Memorial Library
Wagnalls Memorial Library is located
at 150 E. Columbus St., Lithopolis. For
information call (614) 837-4765 or visit
www.wagnalls.org.
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