we decided a couple weeks ago that we should buy tickets to see the beach boys at the fourth of july concert here in town. we hemmed and hawed about it for awhile since the tickets were kind of pricey, but we figured it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. and brian wilson is performing with them, which seems almost too good to pass up.
once we got the tickets, b pulled out the old "wouldn't it be nice" autobiography that brian wilson published back in the early 90s. we were just looking at pictures in it mostly, but then i thought maybe i should read some of it before the concert. well, that turned into an intense week of me reading it every chance i got. it was such an engaging and enlightening and entertaining read. i learned so much about brian wilson and the beach boys. i gained a much deeper appreciation for him, specifically, and the beach boys more generally. it was one of the only things i could think about...so brian got to listen to me spout off a bunch of interesting things i learned.
brian decided to order pet sounds on vinyl and the beach boys new album on cd. we have been thoroughly engrossed in pet sounds ever since it arrived. we've listened to it (on average) about 2-3 times per day. it really is a great album. my favorite song (right now) is "i'm waiting for the day" and b's is "don't talk (put your head on my shoulder)". i really love "i'm waiting for the day" and the crazy interweaving of sounds...they're really quite dissonant at times, but all together it's just amazing. the timpani drums in it are really cool. i'd strongly encourage anyone to listen to this album...even if you're not a run-of-the-mill beach boys fan (which i'll admit i'm not--i don't love their surfing songs and car songs). it's a smash as brian wilson would say about great albums.
a week or so ago, brian and i stayed up and listened to pet sounds, then srgt pepper's (which was the beatles response to pet sounds), and then smile (which was brian wilson's response to srgt pepper's--unfortunately, brian wilson fell apart before he could finish smile in 1967. he wasn't able to actually release it until 2004.) it was really a trip to listen to each album back-to-back-to-back. it opened up my eyes to srgt pepper's (and made me listen to it with new ears) and to smile. it's really too bad that brian couldn't release smile when he started it back in the 60s. listening to it now, it's pretty clear that it would have been a smash (and very influential). who knows what it could have inspired the beatles to do next?
brian still rocking.a few final issues before i close his post. first, i'm not a fan of mike love. although i would be curious to hear things from his own mouth, brian sure paints him as a jerk in his autobiography, and i believe him. also, brian wilson was only 24 when he created pet sounds. isn't that amazing? that's so young...which would put him at about 25 when he first started creating smile. i wouldn't want to have lived brian wilson's life (it was way too rough), but wouldn't it be nice to have that much talent?
2 comments:
We saw the Beach Boys with Brian Wilson at Bonnaroo this year! It was a great show. I will have to check out his autobiography.
Oh my! Roland has always been the expert when it comes to the Beach Boys. He says he concedes his position to you, Norma. :) Sounds like a great time.
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