Song List

Editor’s Note: Meghan turned in this post, about tunes to get you through an earthquake, before the 5.4 quake rocked LA this morning. JamsBio is just that cutting edge!

After reading Douglas’s post, “Tunes to Ride Out a Hurricane,” I decided that it was only right that as one of Biolog’s California residents I devote a list of the best songs to keep the earth shaking long after one of our trademark West Coast quakes is over. So get under a doorway, hold on tight, and enjoy.

“Shake Your Foundation” by AC/DC

This was a tough call because though “Shook Me All Night Long” does fit in with the theme of the list, but it’s the foundation shaking that usually concerns those of us with earthquake insurance.

“I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King”

Of every earthquake I’ve ever been through, I always remember someone singing the chorus to this song. A post-earthquake staple.

“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys

California residents spend every day living with the ever-looming fear of the next big quake. It’s always comforting to turn on the news and hear about all the small quakes that are always happening beneath the ground. All those good vibrations are releasing the pressure and keeping the next big quake at bay.

“Earthquake Song” by Ventilator

Maybe not the most well known song, but I love these guys, and this tune. It was written specifically about the 1994 Northridge earthquake that rocked southern California.

“California Earthquake (Whole Lotta Shakin Going On)” by The Grateful Dead

Two days after the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, San Francisco’s favorite sons, the Dead, were performing at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. They performed this Rodney Crowell tune at the show as a tribute to their Bay Area brothers and sisters on the West Coast dealing with the aftermath. It was later released on the 2004 reissue of “Built to Last.”

“Earthquake Weather” by Beck

Earthquake weather is a strange phenomenon that is hard to explain to people outside California. Earthquakes can truly happen at any time of the year, no matter what the weather or season. The myth surrounding earthquakes is that the only way you can tell a big one is coming is by a strange eerie movie-like quality in the air. Cats and dogs go crazy, people start acting weird, and BOOM, the earth starts to shake.

“Shake It Up” by The Cars

Earthquakes are part of our culture around here and after the 1989 Loma Prieta quake people actually walked around wearing “I survived shaky Tuesday” (as it came to be called). Only in California do we turn our natural disasters into pop-culture events.

“Shake, Rattle, & Roll” by Bill Haley (Big Joe Turner)

Growing up in California (along the San Andreas fault line at that) we learn early that there are three types of earthquakes. Shakers, rattlers, and rollers. Each one with it’s own unique and different feel to it. That’s why this song has always well been well-suited to the feel of a quake.

“The Earthquake Song” by The Little Girls

An obvious choice, and a classic tune from the classic California movie, “Valley Girl.”

“Earthquake” by Graham Central Station

If you truly want to know what an earthquake feels like, put in GCS’s “Earthquake,” turn up the bass, and feel the earth move. California native, Larry Graham, knew how to shake it up when he wrote one of the most incredible bass lines, EVER.

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