Arriving back at the hotel just before sunup, the jetlag finally won out over his adrenaline, and Jeff fell into a deep sleep. He awoke to find the sun, not creeping through the blinds, but fully announcing its presence. Slumping out of bed at 1PM, he was already 2 hours overdue to meet Al and Gordo at Kamakura Beach, and hurriedly put himself together. He hated the greasy feeling of sunscreen beneath his clothes, but anything less than SPF 100 would leave him looking like a lobster with a bad perm. He made the Enoden line just in time, and as the doors opened just a few blocks from the beach, he threw on his Goodr shades and took a deep breath. It was a new day. It was time to catch some rays.
Want to hear how we mixed Kamakura Beach? Check out today’s video!
I love the character moment of the spoken word bit in the middle of this one. We’re not a hip hop group, and as such, I don’t know that we could ever get away with dedicated skit tracks on our albums, but this sort of scratches that same itch, builds on the world of Pop City, and provides a change of pace for the song right before the final choruses kick in.
Ben, Kyle, and myself originally tracked the dialog simultaneously with handheld mics, but at the end of the day, it just sounded better to track the dialog individually. Still, the lines and rhythm of the whole thing came from riffing with each other with those handheld mics, and I think that spirit comes through in the final track.
Poppin’ out of the station
To the sight of the sea
A hundred fifty flips and flops
Two blocks away from me
Strollin’ out to the ocean
Smell the salt and the wind
Ready for that rising sun
To paint my pasty skin
I take my trunks by the band
Drop ’em down to the sand
Kamakura Beach in the summer sun
Got a funny feeling I’m the only one
Walking with my shorts off on the beach
Waving while the people pass me by
Never waving back, I don’t know why
As I skinny dip into the sea
So relaxing and peaceful
All the sounds of the bay
The awkward silence of the crowds
Against those crashing waves
Feel the warmth of the sunshine
From my head to my toes
I should have taken this vacation
Oh so long ago
I take my trunks by the band
Drop ’em down to the sand
Kamakura Beach in the summer sun
Got a funny feeling I’m the only one
Walking with my shorts off on the beach
Waving while the people pass me by
Never waving back, I don’t know why
As I skinny dip into the sea
Know I got me a handful of problems
Pick a different day to resolve ’em
Yeah I’m leaving them behind
For the warmth of the sun that I’m feeling
From my head to the soles of my feet and
Even where the sun don’t shine
Kamakura Beach in the summer sun
Got a funny feeling I’m the only one
Walking with my shorts off on the beach
Waving while the people pass me by
Never waving back, I don’t know why
As I skinny dip into the sea
Tell us what you think of the song!