Greetings, Compadres! Just a quick note to let our Slammin’ Stan devotees that Vandal Drummond and Alfredo Esparza will stray from the podcasting pulpit tomorrow night, but we will return next Thursday night for more interesting tales and analogies!

So— how long has it been since I posted a running playlist? Way overdue? Yeah!

I ran near The Coyote Hills, whose nuclear magnetic magical fields were made illustrious by brilliant folks like Dr. RJS Brown!

It was a quick run with fast tunes:

1. K-39 by The Challengers - I started the shuffle with this tune which -along with Mr. Moto- is my favorite song by The Challengers. An appropriate Southern California salute to Richard Delvy, who was the drummer and Alpha-Cat of this great surf guitar group. Of all the old-school surf instrumental groups and musicians, I enjoy The Challengers and The Shadows above the rest. While The Ventures may reign as the most famous of the old school surf groups, I always felt The Challengers delivered a slightly rawer product while still shining that peppy-pop feel that makes surf guitar so enjoyable.

Richard Delvy passed away on February 6 at the age of 67. Thank you, Mr. Delvy, for The Bel-Airs, thank you for The Challengers, and thank you for making the drums shine every bit as much as the guitars in a surf instrumental group!

2. Fiddlin’ Joe - The Mills Brothers - Yes, I’ve raved about The Mills Brothers before, men whose early vocals both sang the lyrics and mimicked the sounds of instruments. I was elated to find out that one of my brothers in rasslin’, Riki Ataki, the second greatest wrestler to hail from The Isle of Malta, is a total fans of Los Hermanos Mills. Awesome!

3. Santo Antonio, Santo Francisco - Mungo Jerry - Okay, I’ve posted the video to this song several times, but I must do it again. If you haven’t seen this before, watch it now! Yes, it is thoroughly bitchin’, ultra feelgood, and beautifully retro-TV enough that you will elevate to a naturally Astral-Planetic-Opiate realm, if only momentarily, yet obtaining a small bundle of Nirvanic comfort that will warm your soul sometime in the distant future. On top of that, the TV studio is kitschy-kool, and the wacky audience applause is infectious!

4. She’s The One - The Ramones - I love the way The Ramones could pen twisted lyrics in one song, and then hammer home syrupy lyrics that sound genuinely sweet in another song. The Ramones were an act that will never be duplicated.

5. The New Dimensions - Cat On a Hot Foam Board - Sheer adrenaline reminiscent of Miserlou! Another old school surf classic!

Okay. Dr. Lucha! What diabolical plans do you have to thwart my musical euphoria?