Minimalism as Surf Music

A couple days ago, driving a borrowed car, I turned on the music and heard an amazing surf instrumental of unknown origin. About two minutes long, it was a one-chord song in 4/4 with a simple eight-note ostinato repeated from beginning to end (something like E-E-F#-E-G#-E-A-G#, in eighth notes.) The guitar doubled the bass and a piano played the chord. The form was Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Verse, but the choruses were really just little hiccuplike breaks not much different than the verses. The drums played a basic boom-chick. The lead sax played more than four tones, but not a lot more than that -- it was beginner's-level  honky-tonk with a few blue notes but no surprises. A quick learner could play everything in it except the sax solo with a week of lessons -- the sax player might have to study for a couple of months.

You can listen to surf music because it has a great sound, and that sound is electronic. Surf guitar  (created with jimmied equipment) sounds great with a dirty saxophone, regardless of whether either of the players can play. This is absolute music in its purest form -- the rock-bottom music of the state of nature.  How could anything be more minimal  than this?  It's nothing but "a sound".

But then the people called "minimalists" took a great idea and ruined it.

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Surf music: from 1959

Minimalism: from 1968

Real surf music is instrumental

I am emersonj at gmail dot com.

Original materials copyright John J Emerson

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