New Beach Boys album - That's Why God Made the Radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGke6pnT1d0&feature=g-vrec

What a bad song/production/title.

With Brian back in the band, this album will easily become their best album since "Beach Boys Love You" even if they are all totally uninspired.

Whether it will be better than Brian's solo albums.... we'll..... we'll get to know soon. Maybe, maybe not....

haven't listened yet, but i assume there's a verse dissing Marconi?

what's a radio

it's paradise when I
lift up my antenna

is a prime Mike Love lyric, I gotta say

With Brian back in the band, this album will easily become their best album since "Beach Boys Love You" even if they are all totally uninspired.

Whether it will be better than Brian's solo albums.... we'll..... we'll get to know soon. Maybe, maybe not....

― The GeirBot (Geir Hongro), Friday, May 4, 2012 5:59 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

brilliant insights, geir.

Well... The first line is obvious.... Beach with Brian cannot possibly be as bad as the crap they have made in the meantime, ever since the end of the 70s.

Beach BOYS with Brian

Also, that said, "That's Why God Made The Radio" doesn't sound bad at all. Surely it is no "Good Vibrations" or "God Only Knows" or "'Til I Die", but it's a fairly nice piece of Beach Boys pop updated for.... well... maybe not for 2012, but at least for post 1980. :)

this is the worst song of all time

the hook is awful. production is definitely stuck in the early 80s... you can hear Brian's harmonic/melodic genius buried in there but it's a a lot to slog through. Oddly, cannot detect the audible presence of Mike Love at all, apart from the lyrics

james limborg stomps this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_OgiupS08

no joke, if you like this song, you'll LOVE that song

if you like this new hot beach boys track, you'll love james limborg, i mean

i always had a soft spot for limborg's tennis song too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GywD1RDs7ps

"Hook" = the chorus? I suppose it's not very much of a "hook," but I don't think it needs one.

xps

refrain, whatever. yeah it is not much of a hook

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQRv6vRm9ZgiecdqgFHkDbT5eHnYN2DmQNFC0xaT5SMNyNmu_1Fwish i had pete sampras' game with andre agassi's style and speed
t-e-n-n-i-s
john mcenroe and jimmy connor (don't feel bad)
you still mean a lot to the game
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQRv6vRm9ZgiecdqgFHkDbT5eHnYN2DmQNFC0xaT5SMNyNmu_1F
i see the united states red white and blue
but all i see now
is
red white and
green
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQRv6vRm9ZgiecdqgFHkDbT5eHnYN2DmQNFC0xaT5SMNyNmu_1F

geir shut the fuck up. your mind is too dreary of a place to share it with us

:: hugs ::

at least the video is awesome

almost as good as this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EeSuuCwaQ4

I'm sure "worst song ever" was leveled at The Beach Boys Love You also.

The lyrics scan like they were written by someone, freshly out of a 30-year-coma, as part of the cognitive therapy routine they've undertaken to compensate for extensive brain damage.

it is a close battle, admittedly

this song could be worse, honestly.

The lyrics scan like they were written by someone, freshly out of a 30-year-coma, as part of the cognitive therapy routine they've undertaken to compensate for extensive brain damage.

― You Don't Throw Oranges On An Escalator (Deric W. Haircare), Friday, May 4, 2012 6:45 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

so "beach boys love you" basically

Or someone's reactionary characterization of Beach Boys Love You, perhaps.

This isn't that bad. I can see this song and video working well at Chuck E. Cheese and similar types of venues.

The lyrics scan like they were written by someone, freshly out of a 30-year-coma, as part of the cognitive therapy routine they've undertaken to compensate for extensive brain damage.

Could there be some possibility this is actually the truth.... Hmmmmmm.... ;)

(Yeah, the lyrics are horrid, but musically, Brian Wilson is still head and shoulders above the rest of the Beach Boys)

God Radio is pretty bland but that Cavalier King Charles Spaniel song is seriously the #1 thing of youtube I will playing from now on. It is probably going to be as bad as my 2008 obsession with Ode to Massachusetts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqvjfWawZcE
FREEDOM
FREEDOM
FREEEDOM

But is there a need for this type of music anymore, Geir? Why wouldn't Brian Wilson want to use his new found lucidity to do something different, even if slightly different, rather than produce what sounds like lullabies for alzheimers patients? If people want to listen to comfort food vintage Beach Boys they could just put on Pet Sounds. Sometimes trying to play it safe is the most dangerous strategy of all. This song is not an advance on Problem Child.

I realize I'm not saying anything groundbreaking. I just want to know why it matters that the song is "musically" better than other recent Beach Boys stuff when it is equally irrelevant.

Pat Finn

hi, I've read these boards for a while and just created an account. I didn't know if I should introduce myself or just jump into the conversations.

everybody otm. such a horrible, geriatric trudge. the first minute felt like five. the blood turned to butterscotch pudding my veins.

did kind of like that tennis song. "you still mean a lot to the game..."

everybody otm

Except for me. I think it's great. Sounds like a Sunflower-era big hit that never was.

wtf is this, boo

listening to this song is like finding some weird trinket ceramic cat with a fisherman's hat at yr grandma's house

Geir, what do you think of Still Cruising?

More like Still Coasting.

i have a question, which i hope isn't too intrusive or annoying. do you guys find that the beach boys' disappointing, later material affects your enjoyment of the earlier stuff? or to put it a different way, do you find the existence of this song unfortunate or merely uninteresting? personally, i tend to value artists with huge, spotty, but diverse catalogs over those who made maybe one or two masterpieces before fading away, but in the case of the beach boys, their reputation seems to have been severely damaged over the years, as the youthful earnestness of brian wilson's 60s songs is hard to disentangle from the syrupy commercial sweetness of the later, disneyfied stuff. i don't know. is "good vibrations" as enjoyable today as it would be in a world where "problem child" didn't exist?

Somewhere there's an ILX post where I bitch about "Kokomo" turning the liberating youthful freedom beach into a good deal on a time-share, but actually I really am able to completely separate those things. It might, however, help that A) I grew up on Still Cruising and Endless Summer at the very same time, and B) the Beach Boys have so many fairly dramatic excuses to have fallen off so hard that it sort of enhances the earlier stuff in this weird way - - - the tragic decline heightens the beauty of the age of innocence, so in a way the Beach Boys are uniquely suited to benefit from this since so much of their appeal was the innocence and sincerity.

do you guys find that the beach boys' disappointing, later material affects your enjoyment of the earlier stuff?

Not at all. I still rep pretty heavily for the better half of their output even in spite of the existence of "Match Point Of Our Love".

production is definitely stuck in the early 80s

disagree, this is a digital recording. I know this battle's been over for years, but really folks, a lot of your favorite oldie artists would be making much, much better records if production styles hadn't shifted over to the digital domain imo - it changes the whole "culture"/atmosphere of the studio and you get lifeless, heavily comped performances. not that you don't do plenty of comping in analog but usually nothing like the "why does this sound like nobody cared" feel of so much we're-always-tracking-don't-sweat-it stuff now

do you guys find that the beach boys' disappointing, later material affects your enjoyment of the earlier stuff?

not at all. the long decline doesn't tarnish what they accomplished early on. honestly, i think of the beach boys as a band that existed in the 60s, and the stuff that came after as something else.

That fact suggests to me that you really need to do yourself a favor and take a peek into their '70s catalog.

i find it incredibly easy to not acknowledge near any long-time artist's shit years in remembrance of their great. this is pretty much the case w/ near anyone from 60/70s still doing their thing today. i think there's a term for this: you don't think of beach boys now and then as being the same continuation of the same people. b/c of being able to reference their younger selves in youtube, google images (etc etc) you sort of think of them as wholly separate, at least on some level of consciousness

like the fact that the frontman from happy monday's looks like fucking darth vader unmasked still doesn't prevent me from thinking the guy def had a cocky little swagger back in his heyday. and i can still enjoy their music, definitely.

"Oldie artists" make lifeless records now because there's more comping and they're always being tracked so they never sweat it?

I mean, I know I'm just reiterating your argument, but I guess I'm skeptical.

Title of the record keeps getting Paul Simon's "That's Why God Made The Movies" stuck in my head.

That fact suggests to me that you really need to do yourself a favor and take a peek into their '70s catalog.

maybe so! i like sunflower and surf's up, but don't know the stuff after that very well, and what i've heard i haven't liked much.

This thread is full of shit. 80s Beach Boys records are great. I grew up on Still Cruising' and the S/T one, in the days before music crit exposure tried to bend me towards the status quo of Pet Sounds as the peak of human creative endeavour. For my friends and I, swallowing up every cassette we could find on the shelves of Our Price or whatever, Pet Sounds was the worst one!

There is a tracklist on Amazon...

1. Think About The Days
2. That's Why God Made The Radio
3. Isn't It Time
4. Spring Vacation
5. The Private Life Of Bill And Sue
6. Shelter
7. Daybreak Over The Ocean
8. Beaches In Mind
9. Strange World
10. From There To Back Again
11. Pacific Coast Highway
12. Summer's Gone

Spring Vacation?!

You better not be hating on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QklGU9L61Ms

Also, that said, "That's Why God Made The Radio" doesn't sound bad at all. Surely it is no "Good Vibrations" or "God Only Knows" or "'Til I Die", but it's a fairly nice piece of Beach Boys pop updated for.... well... maybe not for 2012, but at least for post 1980. :)

― The GeirBot (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 5 May 2012 00:11 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the worst song of all time

― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Saturday, 5 May 2012 00:13 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hahahahaha

this sounds like it was recorded in a little studio in a caravan & they were all in there while a guy sat in the front seat and made the video with flash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LE3dpoTOvA

Christ I love that song.

And it's written (mostly) by John the wolf man Phillips.

i hope "Pacific Coast Highway" is a Sonic Youth/Hole medley

It sounds kinda creepy, but it doesn't sound bad. I listened to it like 10 times the first day it was released.

This literally sounds bad. The question is: how bad?

a) bad
b) really bad
c) sooooo bad
d) OK, if you truly believe that any new Beach Boys is better than no new Beach Boys and besides, it's the Beach Boys!
e) worst song of all time

this is not good

ok, so it's probably not the worst song of all time (although it is (c) sooooooo bad), but it may be the worst song that's ever been discussed on ILX.

no worse than any of Brian's new material over the past 15 years, you guys ever hear his 'Imagination' album? yeesh

Think I vote D)

Genuine love for 'Its paradise when I/Lift up my antennae', mind.

"Oldie artists" make lifeless records now because there's more comping and they're always being tracked so they never sweat it?

I mean, there's more to it than that, but I absolutely think that the newer production style works against people whose training/experience was geared toward performing. The always-tracking infinite-tracks sew-it-up-later style of digital recording is pretty uninterested in performances - it's about getting enough material to make a performance in mix. Brian Wilson's always had a pretty visionary idea of how to fit many different pieces of recorded sound to make one big thing that sounds like a killer, gigantic performance, but the way he got those sounds was by getting good takes. And besides, he's not producing now, as far as I know. I do really think that most oldies types making records would make much better records if they were trying to nail a take instead of just sing through five or six times til the engineer says "I think we've got enough here, let me take an hour to put it together and we'll see what you think," which is how Pro Tools vocal tracking works most of the time.

It's supposed to be produced by Brian.

And the harmonies sound pretty good.

Also, I bet putting digital edition/production tech in the hands of old school perfectionists is a bad idea. It's very Lucas-y, in the sense that I bet some of them only see the limitations of their classic work and believe had they had digital tech back then the recordings would have been much "better."

This feels like a Brian solo record arranged by Bruce Johnston. That is all.

I don't remember any ilx discussion of Brian's last non-covers album, That Lucky Old Sun, which had some nice moments.

personally very excited about the return of the beach boys. one of my favourite bands

This feels like a Brian solo record arranged by Bruce Johnston.

This. A very "Disney Girls" retro nostalgia thing going on.

Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun - not much to go on here.

But is there a need for this type of music anymore, Geir?

Good music is timeless. Good genres are timeless. What was great in the 60s is still great today.

Still curious to hear your opinion on Still Cruisin' in terms of latter-day, Brian-including Beach Boys records.

i think of the beach boys as a band that existed in the 60s, and the stuff that came after as something else.

They exited up to 1971-73, which was roughly when Brian Wilson - for some time anyway - went to nuts he more or less ceased contributing musically to their albums. And Brian Wilson is and will always be the sole musical brain of Beach Boys. Even after he went nuts.

"Still Crusin'" is boringly retro in the wrong 50s rock'n'roll way. Obviously the brainchild of Mike Love.

"In My Car" at least is Brian, right?

But even that one is an uptempo one. Sounding more like Jan & Dean than the fantastic baroque pop and vocal harmonies that culminated on "Pet Sounds".

Wait, so the problem is tempo?

I mean, I'd agree that it's not as good as the slower numbers on that record, especially "Somewhere Near Japan," but I figured that was just a coincidence.

"Somewhere Near Japan" doesn't sound like Beach Boys.

"Still Crusin'" contains nothing sounding even remotely like "Til I Die", "Surfer Girl", "Girls On The Beach", "Don't Worry Baby", "God Only Knows", "Wind Chines" etc.

morbidly curious about "the private life of bill and sue"

Now, Brian Wilson's solo albums don't really either (except for the brilliant re-vamped "Smile"), but they are closer. Particularly the solo debut has its really great moments of pop perfection. And completely devoid of Mike Love surf and girls and beaches 50s rock crap.

The best (new) song on "Still Cruisin'" is probably "Kokomo". Which speaks volumes about the general quality.

When you say 'solo debut', do you mean the Eugene Landy album he did the vocals for?

Geir, since the Beach Boys formed in the 60s and recorded all their original, genre-defining work in the area of surf, girls and beaches during that decade, surely exploring "50s rock" is a legitimate new creative direction for them?

i just think when you find yourself having a conversation like: well, it's not as horrible as that other horrible thing he did...

that kind of horrible/boring by degrees or inches thing...

kinda sad, no?

i actually found myself defending the beach boys to maria last night. oof, i totally sounded like one of those people. it wasn't pretty.

Being sorta serious here, to the extent that it seems weird that to praise the late 60s/early 70s prog-pop side of the band, you have to tear down this other body of work where they were also pretty much sui generis and basically unmatched in quality. "I Get Around" is an amazing piece of songwriting, harmonies and recording - - doesn't it enhance the band that they have that feather in their caps?

Geir, since the Beach Boys formed in the 60s and recorded all their original, genre-defining work in the area of surf, girls and beaches during that decade, surely exploring "50s rock" is a legitimate new creative direction for them?

In my view, they didn't create much of interest until Brian Wilson started making those beautiful ballads with lots of vocal harmonies and chord/key changes. The more Four Freshmen and less Chuck Berry, the better.

As for "I Get Around", it is probably among the best of their early uptempo songs, although I would say "All Summer Long" is even better with its great vocal harmonies.

No love for "Help Me Rhonda"? I mean, you will find fewer bigger Chuck Berry fans than I on this board, but I think they had a pretty distinctive sound that was at least as synthetic as the Beatles circa 63-64. And a lot more interesting compositionally, lyrically and musically than the Four Freshmen, I have to say, although maybe I'm selling the FF short as I only know a couple of hits.

you really don't need the four freshmen in your life. just listen to the Hi-Lo's or the Four Preps instead. or doo-wop.

or The Fleetwoods. man, i could listen to the fleetwoods all day long.

morbidly curious about "the private life of bill and sue"

Involves some sort of sex slavery, I'd imagine.

I imagine that if this song was about something more palatable to people than why God made the radio that they would be all over it. It's gorgeous.

It's no "Lay Down Burden," that's for sure.

'In My Car' is great

Wow that Flash animation music video is just, almost shockingly banal. And it really doesn't help that the music sounds like I pressed "Doo Wop" on my Casio CTK-100.

this sounds like cdbaby music

Said it was a "lyric video." Maybe there will be another video.

The same video without the lyrics, I'd imagine.

z_s otm, this song is atrocious.

Good music is timeless. Good genres are timeless. What was great in the 60s is still great today.

Hm, I'm not sure I agree with the notion of "timelessness" actually. I think that certain idioms, in any art form, eventually become archaic and stale and cease to be meaningful conduits of artistic expression. Or at least, they become different types of conduits. While I love the paintings of Monet, for instance, I wouldn't be as impressed with someone making equally proficient impressionistic landscapes today. To do that, in 2012, means something different than it did in the 1870s. At worst, it would code as reactionary rather than progressive. I tend to think that their is no such thing as the pure experience of an artwork; cultural baggage inevitably comes to bear on how we view things, even if we try to avoid it. Everything has a context. This is a postmodern cliche, I admit, but I think it's true. Anyway Geir, thanks for responding.

Also, I like the idea many posters have put forward of seeing a radical break between the Beach Boys' early material and their later stuff. I think that makes sense. Something like "Somewhere Near Japan" doesn't have much in common with "God Only Knows."

FWIW, Pat, you will find a lot of love on ILM for Beach Boys from almost any era. If I remember right, the big Beach Boys poll that happened here a while ago ended up rating a TON of stuff from the 70s that I had honestly never even heard before.

Huh, that's really interesting. I'll try to find that poll and explore some of that material. I love the obvious, canonical Beach Boys stuff but my knowledge of their work terminates around Surf's Up. Thanks.

Aside from the odd track and the entirety of the wretched 15 Big Ones, the stuff on the fourth disc of the Good Vibrations is really good. Some of it is among my favorite stuff by them. I'd seek it out if you're curious.

cool. that shouldn't be too hard to track down. thanks.

I played 15BO for the first time in a while the other day and was surprised how much I enjoyed listening to it. But then again, got the same thing from MIU immediately afterwards.

I'm really, really fond of the cover of "Just Once In My Life" that's on 15 Big Ones.

this is shit.

in response to tim's enthusiasm, i listened to it a couple more times. while they aren't great, it's not the lyrics that are tripping me up. in fact i appreciate the creepy, angel-zombie earnestness. the harmonies are sweet and the basic melody serviceable, but the whole thing sounds lifeless to me. that's the problem. it's nostalgic, but in this freeze-dried, joyless sort of way that makes me think of an online funeral parlor more than anything else.

i did realize that if this were a beach boys pastiche by someone i'm more in the habit of forgiving (jeff lynne, say), i'd probably have at least a few nice things to say about it. wouldn't make me like the song though.

aw this is totally not even that bad

It's About Time: Beach Boys Poll Results

^^^ results here. somewhere there should be a link to the Spotify playlist, too!

BTW, unless I'm wrong, I don't think I've seen you around here much before, Pat Finn. Welcome aboard!

"that makes me think of an online funeral parlor" is the new "this sounds like a museum," that is amazing

i actually found myself defending the beach boys to maria last night. oof, i totally sounded like one of those people. it wasn't pretty.

― scott seward, Saturday, May 5, 2012 12:06 PM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

don't resist it! you are one of those people!

thanks doctor casino. i started posting yesterday but i have lurked for a while. the beach boys poll looks awesome and its seems like there are a lot of convenient youtube embeds. i remember reading through the jazz poll last summer and feeling thrilled with how many great albums i discovered there. it was like taking a masters course in the history of jazz. really great.

xpost They should have gotten Jeff Lynne to produce this. That would have been a good start.

Honestly, the Beach Boys are one of the few acts I wish would work with someone as theoretically radical yet oddly sympathetic as Brian Eno. It would never happen, of course, but it has more potential than, say, Paul Simon.

Like, think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5RYptkzbjY

Honestly, I'm surprised they've never done a late-career "unplugged" type thing, with "you're there in the room!" production. Something in the Nigel Godrich vein (a la Chaos and Creation, not so much, y'know, Radiohead or Sea Change).

Yeah, I could get with a Beach Boys Party...Again!.

Still Partyian'

Honestly, I'm surprised they've never done a late-career "unplugged" type thing, with "you're there in the room!" production. Something in the Nigel Godrich vein (a la /Chaos and Creation/, not so much, y'know, Radiohead or /Sea Change/).

Just saw the set list from the first show on their tour - forty-two songs.

Out of their mid 60s uptempo stuff, I'd rather rep for "California Girls", "Would't It Be Nice" or "Here Today" than "Help Me Rhonda".

Just saw the set list from the first show on their tour - forty-two songs

Two and a half hours, 42 songs - they're like the Ramones. Of course, the caveat, per the Rolling Stone review:

many of them medley-style

Onstage, Mike Love was a low-key kind of showboat, stepping back and forth with the beat, miming the revving of a motorcycle engine on "Little Honda" and hugging his elbows when he sang "and the northern girls with the way they kiss, they keep their boyfriends warm at night" on "California Girls." Brian seemed placid and stone-faced, sitting at the bench of a large white grand piano. "Ladies and gentlemen, Brian Wilson," Al Jardine said after "This Whole World," at which point the crowd rose to their feet in reverence as he sat, blinking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_581oQjCwnE&feature=channel&list=UL

/This feels like a Brian solo record arranged by Bruce Johnston./

This. A very "Disney Girls" retro nostalgia thing going on.

Even if it falls short of those lofty standards, what with the lyrics and Brian's latter day Ozzie Osbourne tenor, for a group that for all intents and purposes has nothing left to offer, it could be a lot worse. In particular, the chorus has been lodged in cerebral cortex for the last day or so.

I agree, that initial track sounds surprisingly good...

Single is more Beach Boys 85 than 'Goin' On' level of quality (high)

I'd completely overlooked this song until last year, never mind though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obzB_8P1fcs

I'd completely overlooked this song until last year, never mind though:


Yoikes

Plenty of sweet harmonies and Brian Wilson's patented unexpected chord changes; too bad about the banal lyrics and generic production which sounds like something that could be cobbled together with GarageBand given an hour or so. At least they splurged on the video production!

Well at least this is a better way to go out than Summer in Paradise or Stars and Stripes or whatever their last album was

xxxp wow goin' on is great ... now i'll have to finally check out keeping the summer alive.

Speaking of Summer In Paradise, never knew this before: The quasi-rap number "Summer of Love" was originally intended to be a duet, albeit one with Bart Simpson.

Jeeeeeeeeesus fuck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBFsJk6PWu0

oh my god, wow, i had never seen that! Frightening on a lot of levels. Everything I've ever sort of disliked about Mike Love kind of crystallized right there.

Hah. Mike Love is the mack daddy.

You got the "daddy" part right, at least. He's like your friend's dad who, like, wore jokey mesh caps and stuff but never made any attempt to be at all friendly when you were at his house.

this is kind of a charming interview on fallon
http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/beach-boys-took-over-fallon-last-night.html

i don't watch or listen to modern day beach boys unless uncle jesse and the rest of the full house cast is involved

the harmonies and melody lines in the chorus are really beautiful

but yeah sounds cheaply recorded and the lyrics are terrible

the bridge is horrible

Kinda cool album cover.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61K4lQ1qzqL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
haha yeah, not the direction i would've expected, but cool!

I can't hear "I Get Around" anymore without thinking of HoverRound, how depressing is that

whoah that sleeve is great!

well except for the logo

such a cynical ploy to get people to think of their fave beach boys album
http://www.vinylsurrender.com/Graphics/AlbumCovers2/The%20Beach%20Boys%20-%2015%20Big%20Ones.jpg

More like four big ones and whatever Mike Love's got packing down there.

I love that 'Summer of Love' is on this thread twice now. Can I see you and raise with an ill-advised rap adventure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz0SnpN_O00

Carl sounds amazing on that "Goin' Out' video above, I'd never heard that track before.

smart girls! love that one.
this is great too -- dylan's cameo is for the ages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqImMGwxKw

whoever played guitar on that song should've been spin's #1 guitarist of all time.

More like four big ones and whatever Mike Love's got packing down there.

― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Tuesday, May 8, 2012 1:39 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol XD

The new album cover is kinda AnCo, the band the BBs merely warmed up music for

More like four big ones and whatever Mike Love's got packing down there.

Yeah, but Mike Love is a big dick.

^^^

beat me to the joke i was thinking up while scrolling down

Not that I have been expecting otherwise, but all of the reviews of the current tour have basically been reviews of "The Beach Boys," rather than this Beach Boys. Surely no one has ever doubted the merits of the group's catalog, but it is weird to read these pieces that neither compare the current tour to the band's umpteenth past tours sans Brian, or note how the return of Brian does or does not change a thing about the group as its been for years. I mean, the current Beach Boys uses Brian's band - does that make a difference? I'm sure they sang Brian songs without him - does it matter that he's there? It's all sort of a disingenuous approach to a group that's been ignored, critically, on the nostalgia circuit for decades.

The new album cover is kinda AnCo, the band the BBs merely warmed up music for

Why don't AnCo and BB do a collab album? It will break the indiesphere.

Brian couldn't even handle the High Llamas, you think he could handle a bunch of weirdos in animal masks?

Just tell him he's reshooting the cover of Pet Sounds.

Switch animal masks for fire helmets.

lol Phil

Yeah, I could get with a Beach Boys Party...Again!

can you imagine how fucking boring a party with these guys would be now?

i'm sure they have very interesting stories to tell about their various grandchildren.

Brian couldn't even handle the High Llamas, you think he could handle a bunch of weirdos in animal masks?

Brian remains the most vocally gifted out of all of these by a country mile, so maybe it just ain't meant to be

goddamn if this hasn't been stuck in my head for practically a week now

honestly what it reminds me of the most is "Good Timin'"

goddamn if this hasn't been stuck in my head for practically a week now

it's memorable (singing it to myself atm), but not catchy enough to stick in my head. not yet anyway...

i kinda can't bring myself to listen to this. the beach boys were never meant to exist in 2012.

They just weren't made for these times.

Yeah, I could get with a Beach Boys Party...Again!

can you imagine how fucking boring a party with these guys would be now?

― akm, Wednesday, May 9, 2012 3:31 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

kind of imagine mike love was always a bummer when he got stoned

Like Love ever got legit stoned. He'd fake inhale and then sit there glaring and judging the rest of the crew.

Mike's drug of choice was apple juice iirc

In the semi-controversial "Mike Love isn't so bad" piece that ran in Mojo sometime back, Mike admitted he "smoked his share of marijuana" in the 60s, but quit once he discovered meditation.

I thought I remembered Mike bragging about having better acid trips than Brian ever did during his famous RnRHoF induction-rant

I just came from the Beach Boys concert at the Beacon theater. I can't speak for Mike Love's drug intake, but as of 2012, the man certainly has his share of psychedelic hand motions.

This could very well turn out to be the best Beach Boys album in 35 years

Best since "Blood on the Tracks!"

Summer in Paradise 4ever

best since Love You. Faint praise i know.

How about That Lucky Old Sun? which I actually liked a lot...

I just came from the Beach Boys concert at the Beacon theater.

so was it any good? I can't bring myself to go really, after seeing the setlist which was 50% uninvolving for me....and the feeling that going would be like going to see wax figures. but i'm kind of curious.

They're playing here the night of the NATO protests/meeting. It's also across the street from one of the "look at me, I'm behind the anchors on the sidewalk!" news stations. Should be a mess.

Seriously? This is 50% uninvolving?

Set 1

Do It Again
Catch a Wave
Don't Back Down
Surfin' Safari
Surfer Girl
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Wendy
Then I Kissed Her
This Whole World
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
You're So Good For Me
Cottenfields
Be True to Your School
Disney Girls
Please Let Me Wonder
Don't Worry Baby
Little Honda
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around

Set 2

Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Forever
Sail On, Sailor
Heroes and Villains
In My Room
All This is That
God Only Knows
That's Why God Made the Radio
California Dreamin'
California Girls
Dance Dance Dance
All Summer Long
Help Me Rhonda
Do You Wanna Dance?
Barbara Ann
Surfin' U.S.A.

Encore

Kokomo
Good Vibrations
Fun Fun Fun

this review is good -- actually made me want to see them!
blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/05/beach_boys_beacon_theater_may_9_review.php

opening with Do It Again is pretty cool, I gotta say

i mean those setlists are great. amazing they're not even doing a few more smile tracks though, considering the press that box got last year.
guess there's some groovy wilson bros. beyond the grave duets happening on "forever" and "god only knows"? heavy.

tbf, "Forever" is sung by a hologram John Stamos.

RIP Uncle Jesse
(get it cuz his band was Jesse and the Rippers, remember full house that show?)

no surf's up, no till i die, not interested. I mean I like all the rest of that but those two songs are the songs I would pay this money to hear. i guess it would be weird for them to do till i die since that could mean, like, 'any second now'

lol nobody in the band can hit those notes on Surf's Up c'mon now

the voice review suggests they've got a lot of help in the harmony dept. from the hired hands.

they're gonna hand the lead on a solo vocal to a backup singer?

yeah, you wouldn't want to hear them croak through Surf's Up anyway.

The BW solo show was one of the highlights of my musical life but also pretty depressing. It was amazing how many people were needed to prop him up. If you closed your eyes, it was almost like a Jeffrey Foskett concert with Brian singing along to the low notes. His personality and history made the concert worthwhile but that's pretty much all that's left.

Saw the Beacon show last night. First thing to say is that John Cowsill is a righteous drummer – all garage-band thump and British revival swing. He powered the set along like it was the Ramones.

Mike Love’s voice has weakened; Brian projected ok, but he battled pitch and diction problems. It's something you notice early on, then sort of forget about, because they totally had enough firepower to sing Beach Boys songs convincingly. Their secret weapon is Al Jardine, who has the strongest voice of the original guys, and who always lands that magic fourth harmony part. So with plenty of help on top from the backup musicians, plus the sort of cognitive pattern recognition from the tone of Mike's and Brian’s voices, and Al’s harmonizing, all reverberating around the theater, what you basically had was the Beach Boys. No one was complaining. A super show really. It's hard to see how the band could have been faking all that enthusiasm. Mike Love dedicated the new one to the memory of NY DJ Pete Fornatale, which was unexpected and really sweet. Also unexpected was "Marcella" -- it seemed to take a few band members by surprise as well. In recent years, thanks to a miraculous combination of free outdoor events, I've had the pleasure of seeing Brian and his reverent backup band, Mike Love's Beach Boys (with John Cowsill!), and even Al Jardine's Endless Summer band (surprisingly good, with a couple of ringers from the Beach Boys' 70s touring crew). This was better than all of those. We had great seats too – basically the last row of the upper balcony, so we could stand up and party.

Yeah, the backup singers took the lead on one or two. One or two out of, like, 44, mind you. That's not unprecedented though. Even back in the day, Blondie Chaplin took the lead on Sail On, Sailor for example.

great review!

Agreed!

Yes. Great review. I was at the show too, and you're OTM about Al Jardine. He gets the Most Valuable Beach Boy award. Of the background singers, I thought the guy who handled Carl's vocals was particularly strong.

For the first 2 or 3 songs, I had the predictable "God, they're so old" reaction, but after 10 minutes that went away. Then it was just one immortal song after another. Surprisingly, the song that sounded the most tired was Good Vibrations. Overall, the more complex Pet Sounds and Smile songs didn't come off as well as the raveups. Help Me Rhonda was especially great. Something about seeing Mike Love do the "get her out of my heart" part in person is particularly rewarding.

no surf's up, no till i die

did they ever play these songs live?

The enthusiasm here is actually making me look forward to seeing them in a week. When I saw Brian and his band do "Pet Sounds" with an orchestra, it was a big bummer, not least when they did this rote greatest hits set in addition to the robotic main set. But I love this band, so I'm psyched.

Beacon soundcheck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YUK1VNIPew

no surf's up, no till i die

did they ever play these songs live?

that's a good question. I kinda doubt they ever did Surf's Up much but I dunno

i just noticed brian's live at the roxy theater album contains till i die.

I saw Brian on the Smile tour, obv did "Surf's Up" there. Not sure if the BBs ever played it live, maybe around '71-'72.

Re: new album likely to be their best since Love You, meant by the whole band; I like Lucky Old Sun too. 2004 Smile likely to be the best since 1977, albeit a new recording of old music. All of Brian's solo albums had some worthwhile moments, probably all better than anything from the BBs MIU onward.

How did David Marks sound?

This website is far from complete but does list Surf's Up as having been played at various times in the early 70s, often without Brian.

Yeah, Carl sang it a lot when they were touring Surf's Up (the album) in 1972. He obviously nails it. The Mike N Bruce roadshow have also played 'Til I Die, apparently!

Also super stoked at the fact they're playing All This Is That, I love that song.

Or 1971, even
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4y4nU41HsM

holy crap yeah they've been doing til i die occasionally over the past decade

The guy on the mixing board on that live Surf's Up getting just about everything wrong

I saw Brian on the Smile tour, obv did "Surf's Up" there.

with Brian singing the lead...? I can't imagine he can hit those high parts. you can tell it was at the top of his range even back in '67.

that '71 live version is pretty interesting (Carl totally on the ball there) altho yeah the mix is terrible. the sprightly percussion is an odd touch.

with Brian singing the lead...?
if you listen to live recordings of wilson recently, i think he has at least one or two dudes from his band swooping in when there's a particularly high note. i don't know if brian drops out entirely, but he's got someone doubling him.

i guess it would be weird for them to do till i die since that could mean, like, 'any second now'

― akm, Thursday, 10 May 2012 22:54 (Yesterday) Permalink

lol

How did David Marks sound?

he got some good surf guitar licks in there to pump up the energy level. wasn't much of a vocal presence.

>> I saw Brian on the Smile tour, obv did "Surf's Up" there.

> with Brian singing the lead...? I can't imagine he can hit those high parts. you can tell it was at the top of his range even back in '67.

IIRC, he sang it just as on the 2004 studio recording, with Brian singing lower harmony with someone else on the lead on the high parts on the first section, though he sang lead on most of the song.

The Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston had some heated words for President Obama while signing autographs for fans in New York on May 10th, according to TMZ.

"Obama? Unless you're interested in never having any money," said Johnston in a video clip when asked about the President. Johnston reportedly called Obama "an asshole" and suggested the president was a Socialist, but the exact quotes are hard to decipher from the clip.

Johnston was also unhappy with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, asking fans, "And who's the Republican asshole? Our guy isn't any good."

He finished with a barb towards a fan expressing support for Obama. "Wait until Obama doesn't have to try anymore," said Johnston. "You're fucked."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Ji6EsgLOQ

And this is newsworthy why? I mean, I love the Beach Boys, but is it really a surprise that these dudes are your typical SoCal Republicans? Mike Love we knew about, and Bruce Johnston was always an asshole anyway.

Bruce Johnston used to come into a video store I worked at and was always the sweetest guy, really earnest and full of anecdotes. That video is not a good look. :/

The sixtysomething guy who wrote Disney Girls is a conservative. Shocker.

Disney Girls is still fantastic though.

Tears In The Morning, Deirdre, that instrumental off 20/20.... all good.

I'll give him "Disney Girls" and "Tears In The Morning". Sounds like it's a good thing he concentrated on music and didn't go into politics.

And, yes, "Deirdre" too.

Then there's this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfaDMbvTvK4

bitter rich old socal white guy is a Republican...stop the presses!

Now if Brian had said that I might be a little more disturbed...

And of course he wrote the song that made Barry Manilow sing about writing songs that make the whole world sing.

"Wait until Obama doesn't have to try anymore," said Johnston. "You're fucked." He then broke into a soaring chorus of 'I Write The Songs'.

damn dudes did you see the shirt stamos has been rockin' w/ the beach boys these days
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/535223_10150780064861920_710176919_9775661_373963554_n.jpg

I want one

i think stamos is selling them out of the back of his van in the parking lot after shows.

The Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston had some heated words for President Obama while signing autographs for fans in New York on May 10th, according to TMZ.

― buzza, Sunday, May 13, 2012 5:28 PM

That's Why God Made The White Man

Mike Love’s voice has weakened; Brian projected ok, but he battled pitch and diction problems. It's something you notice early on, then sort of forget about, because they totally had enough firepower to sing Beach Boys songs convincingly. Their secret weapon is Al Jardine, who has the strongest voice of the original guys, and who always lands that magic fourth harmony part.

I saw 'em in New Orleans at Jazzfest in late April and this sounds about right

OMG THAT SHIRT

WANT

here it is

yeah I bought one in a hot minute.

why

Fun Fun Fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJJaeva9r_g

that was rough. i made it five minutes in or so

Shame, they performed really well overall, in spite the gaudiness of the QVC setup

yeah, "do it again" sounded good, plus I think it's awesome that is a current staple of their shows. it's just... brian. sitting there not talking. plus mike and his fucking "The Beach Boys" hat.

Mike Love is the sketchiest man alive.

good to hear that Jeff Foskett's falsetto is as pristine as ever.

I didn't used to like the Beach Boys but that QVC appearance has turned me around

ahaha

it's just kinda gross now that carl and dennis aren't around. i would have fewer problems with them touring as "Mike Love's Beach Boys" or whatever the fuck. And don't get me wrong, I actually love Mike Love's singing voice, and can dig Al and Bruce, but... sheesh.

Like when the QVC host is like "oh were you guys surfers" and mike says "well, some of us tried, haha..." he could at least talk about dennis. ugh

beach boys hat...wait a minute...do you think Mike Love is BALD?????

can't be sure since he ALWAYS is wearing a hat

foiled again.

It'd be a bit odd calling them 'Mike Love's Beach Boys' with Brian, Al, Bruce and David, plus loads of Brian's band present

mike love's garbage revue

beach boys hat...wait a minute...do you think Mike Love is BALD?????

no no no Mike Love's hair actually has the unique ability to mimic the appearance of a wide variety of baseball caps.

thought they actually sound okay in that clip (I love Do It Again) but the presence of glassy-eyed Brian just depresses me

xxp i think del was saying he's more OK with the wilson-less mile love beach boys that's toured the state fair circuit forevers.

http://www.beachboysband.net/MIKE_LOVE/ML_RAP.jpg

mike love's garbage revue

lol

yeah, tyler, that's what i meant. like i'd rather Mike Love use whatever litigious-happy name as opposed to the beach boys proper with a seemingly unreachable B. Wilson. Shakey otm

whole show over here. http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1098
i listened to please let me wonder and it sounded pretty OK

I mean, everyone knows what's going on here, right? Love was pissed that Wilson was touring again/getting press/making money, particularly off of Smile, and he was doing it WITHOUT HIM. Love knew that getting Brian back on-board would send $$$/exposure his way ("Brian is Back" 3.0) and guilt-tripped him him into it and voila

this exact scenario has happened to Brian so many times I wonder if he's even aware what decade it is. it's like he made a deal with the devil when he was 16 and has been doomed to repeat the same sequence of events for the rest of his life.

Least it's Brian's band.

Dave Marks must be having the best time. FINALLY.

yeah, all i can say is i saw brian being interviewed on larry king about seven years ago and his wife seemed kind of weird. eugene landy vibe. i guess ppl with dubious motivations (not least of all his cousin) gravitate around him

so yeah, i get the impression he is something of a marshmallow at this point. which needless to say is a huge bummer

Shakey, that post reads like self-parody.

There's no way they could have gotten booked into the venues for this tour WITHOUT Brian.

Shakey, that post reads like self-parody.

that Shakey post is strict objective reportage

Brian's mentioned having a committee of consultants--management, etc.--like a lotta stars, a lotta lifers, is my impression. So? Brian Wilson Presents Smile, with fresh input from Van Dyke Parks, the BW Orchestra, oh yeah and BW, was worth the wait, and makes Philip K. Dickian, wrestling-with-yr-SoCal-Ameri50s/60s illusions-sense, beyond the original Smile sessions' bracing blurfest. Not that I didn't miss the original vocal blend, and it's good to have some of it back. Also re the non-uselessness of latter-day Brian, most of his Gershwin album was good, ditto the (few) tracks I've heard from his Disney album.

"original Smile sessions bracing blurfest"--overall, that is, not that some of the Smiletracks appearing on Smiley Smile couldn't be effective.

"Smile *tracks*", Smiley Smile *etc.*" jeez sorry.

I thought they were great tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrvJEddmsI

Almost every song on the new record is a co-write between Brian Wilson and piano player Joe Thomas. One song is co-written with Jon Bon Jovi. The album is produced by WIlson, but executive produced by Mike Love, fwiw.

Brian lived next to Joe Thomas for several years, but fell out with him, both suing each other over details regarding the Imagination album, and moved back to California. But they settled out of court and now they're getting along again. Why does this story seem so familiar?

During an interview with the Daily Herald last week, Wilson said he moved here because he wanted to work with Thomas. Their wives also were friends. Thomas couldn't go to California. His River North Recorders business in Chicago — also a place rich in music history — had just gone public and his wife was expecting their fifth child. So the friends decided to buy houses next door to each other in St. Charles so they could make the album. Thomas still lives in the house he bought.

Shortly after moving in, Wilson put a massive addition onto the then-7,500-square-foot home, including the lower-level recording studio, Realtor Betty Theisen said. Thomas said Wilson dug out the basement an extra seven feet deep just so they could record down there, and they had three recording rooms and a mixing room. According to a 1999 Daily Herald story on the house, the studio has separate security and air conditioning systems, and the walls were lined with black men's gaberdine suiting fabric for sound control.

After a falling out with Thomas, Wilson put his house on the market in 1999 and returned to his native California. The home's original asking price was $2.4 million, but after two years on the market, it sold for just $1.5 million, according to published reports. .....

Wilson's St. Charles years weren't without strife. Wilson and Thomas ended up filing nasty lawsuits against each other in 1999 over the “Imagination” album, and settled them out of court a year later. Details of the settlement were not disclosed, Rolling Stone magazine reported. Wilson and Thomas have since mended fences and resumed their close friendship and working relationship, Thomas said.

“Brian's one of those guys who can just walk over to your house, open the refrigerator, and make himself a sandwich,” Thomas said. Wilson might be doing just that, because he plans to stay with his former neighbor when he's in town for a greatest hits show Saturday, July 30, at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles.

Thomas wouldn't reveal details during an interview last week, but don't be surprised if Wilson stays in St. Charles and writes some new songs while he's here.

guy who lives in his old house and is now trying to sell it apparently barely knew who BW was, and never used the recording stutio he built

http://www.zillow.com/blog/files/2011/07/Wilson_studio-574x430.jpg

As good a place as any to link my piece on the Beach Boys' 20 Golden Greats compilation of 1976, ten weeks at number one here in the UK:

http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/beach-boys-20-golden-greats.html

Sunday morning back-up-to-the-top reminder.

This record is not great, but not terrible, so better than I expected

guy who lives in his old house and is now trying to sell it apparently barely knew who BW was, and never used the recording stutio he built

further details? depending on who he had build the studio that could be a major catch

aero's gonna invest his "Walk This Way" $$$$$ into buying it as an ILX commune, will make covers projects a lot easier.

further details? depending on who he had build the studio that could be a major catch

Can't find the article where I read that, but it's listed on this site which notes he built a new addition to the house with an underground recording in its basement. A commenter who goes by Stewball (scroll to the second page) wrote this:

Yes, it is a nice home. I was the trim carpenter for the builder at the time, and I sub contracted the work in the recording studio. I also did alot of the trim in the main floor. There is a secret room in the master bedroom - that was my first "hidden room" Very cool experience. I learned a lot.. Got to meet Brian once - I also built his entertainment center. I still remember installing the gaberdine fabric walls.. I think I have more hours in that recording studio than he does... I spent about 10 months - finishing the studio.. Those were the days.

Uhh, a secret room in the master bedroom?

There's a place where I can go and tell my secrets to, in my room in my room

the implied comma between "in my room" and the second "in my room" was a mistake. He meant The room within his room.

The Beach Boys’ Crazy Summer
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/27/the-beach-boys-crazy-summer.html
Some good bits, but dumb angle -- "He heard voices, did drugs and fell apart. Can the band’s reunion tour help put Brian Wilson back together again?"
I mean, the guy has been an active, performing/recording musician for more than a decade now, he's probably about as put together as he's ever been.

then again:
Later that night, I run into a member of Wilson’s band on Canal Street. “Good show,” I say. “It was OK,” he replies. “Brian was having a bad day.” Apparently, Wilson woke up with a black eye that he couldn’t remember receiving, then got his shoelaces caught in an escalator and fell “flat on his face.” “It was the last thing this guy needed,” the band member continues. “So we had to step in. Brian’s the quarterback, and we’re like the linemen. We have to protect him.” You did an amazing job, I say; the harmonies were impeccable. He nods. “When my friends hear I’m touring with the Beach Boys, they’re like, ‘Oh, so you’re doing fairgrounds and stuff?’” he says. “And I’m like, ‘No, we’re with Brian Wilson.’ But, you know, when we performed Pet Sounds and Smile, that was art. That was Brian. Now we are kind of at the fairgrounds.”

Asked about the Beach Boys, Brian doesn’t mince words. “My new band is so much better,” he says. “They play better and they sing better, too. I have much better time with them anyway.”

What a dick, kinda, member of Wilson's band. Imo, the nu-Beach Boys last week was so much better than Brian Wilson and crew doing "Pet Sounds" with an orchestra ten years ago or whenever.

And yeah, duh the "new band" is so much better than the Beach Boys. Like, no shit, new band is hardly a band. It's session guys, basically. There's a reason it's Hal Blaine on "Pet Sounds" and not Dennis.

“Brian's one of those guys who can just walk over to your house, open the refrigerator, and make himself a sandwich,” Thomas said.

Not a bad SNL skit right there.

ha, yeah. that stuff w/ thomas was weird -- i feel like they had a really acrimonious lawsuit at one point?

Alex P review

another new one, i kind of like it!
http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/beachboys.html

Alex P review

"But just as you're about to dismiss the album entirely, something extraordinary happens. The final three tracks – From There to Back Again, Pacific Coast Highway and Summer's Gone – form a kind of suite that is easily the best thing Brian Wilson has put his name to in the last 30 years. Episodic, occasionally lapsing into silence, filled with shifts in tempo, the melodies impossibly beautiful, it takes the melancholy at the heart of Wilson's greatest work – from Pet Sounds to Til I Die – and repurposes it. In contrast to the rest of the album, which relies on creaky nostalgia, it concerns itself with ageing ("sunlight's fading and there's not much to say", sings Wilson on Pacific Coast Highway), death and the Beach Boys' legacy. "Our dreams hold on for those who still have more to say … it's time to go," offers Summer's Gone, undercutting all the gung-ho, we're-havin'-a-blast guff that comes before it in the same way the wistful, autumnal intro to California Girls seemed at odds with that song's sunkissed lechery. Wilson's vocals sound engaged with the subject, which seems faintly incredible given that on every other recent record he's made, he's sounded like a man forced at gunpoint to read his lyrics off a broken autocue."

Is this the part of the album I will love the most? Or that will now prove to be the most disappointing to me?

dunno -- there to back again sounds great (that's the one linked at rolling stone).

wow yeah that is actually really... good? who's singing lead, it doesn't sound like Brian really...?

is it bruce? definitely brian there towards the end, but not at the beginning.

yeah I recognize Brian's voice at the end but the beginning is someone I don't recognize. Admittedly I dunno what Al and Bruce's voices really sound like these days.

possibly stamos

I think that's Brian.

definitely Jardine now that I listen to it again.

brian starts singing on "the compromise..." part

yeah I think it's Al too (had to listen to "The Beak of Eagles" to compare lol)

In contrast to the rest of the album, which relies on creaky nostalgia

have to quibble with this - the music it's emulating is less well known than the '60s stuff but it's just as "nostalgic" in its recollection of past Beach Boys music. The first track of the three is straight up Disney Girls - which means it's actually nostalgia for nostalgia given the subject of the track.

Are you guys talking about the "sunlight's fading" line? That really sounds like Brian to me...listen to the vowel pronunciation on "not".

no I mean the whole first couple verses

if you've heard Brian recently, there is no way in hell he is singing those opening lines.

also the idea that there is some lack of wistful Beach Boys songs about aging, the end of summer, moving on etc. is laughable...

it's al for the first half and then brian takes over around 2:15 or so.

^^^

The first couple verses in "From There to Back Again" - I also think that's Al.

yeah that's what we're saying.
i really like this song! a nice surprise.

me too, I'm almost scared to listen to the rest of the album now.

"Isn't It Time" is like an unholy combination of all the things I dislike about both 15 Big Ones and Love You.

Mike Love sounds terrible.

the chorus of "Shelter" is really nice.

"Summer's Gone" (B. WIlson, J. Bon Jovi, J. Thomas)

Is this the part of the album I will love the most?

sound p much like a summary of Lucky Old Sun tbh, did you like that?

Is this the part of the album I will love the most? Or that will now prove to be the most disappointing to me?

also the idea that there is some lack of wistful Beach Boys songs about aging

If you want nostalgia, listen to "When I Grow Up", a wistful song about aging - starting at the ripe age of 14 and looking ahead year-by-year to how scary being 21 might be. The years really fly by quickly in the fadeout, which takes us from 22 all the way to 30 just before the coda fades into silence. One gets the sense that turning 30 must have felt like a distant riding into the sunset when it was recorded.

Youth, gotta love it....

also the idea that there is some lack of wistful Beach Boys songs about aging, the end of summer, moving on etc. is laughable...

Sorry about that last mispost

also the idea that there is some lack of wistful Beach Boys songs about aging, the end of summer, moving on etc. is laughable...

OK, aging literally means getting older. But I think there's a substantial difference between 60s songs in which aging means having to grow up and face responsibilities and now, when aging means facing up to death.

Til I Die, dude.

New track would be enjoyable but for pitch correction -- the Beach Boys harmonies were never quite in tune, so making them so screw things up.

Look ma, no pitch correction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDIBMaCTwFw

Fun (fun fun) to watch these old clips and hear them pull off the harmonies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDApIGvFxA&feature=related

At my guitar lesson yesterday we were talking about what an insane chord progression you find in "California Girls," not just the descending chords in the chorus (that bring you back to the right place) but the A/B they throw in in the verse, specifically how so few (if any) pop ®acts were harmonically sophisticated enough at the time to throw in a jazzy chord like that.

xpost Til I Die isn't about aging - it's about our tininess in the eternal scheme of things. Having the word Die in a title doesn't something into a rumination on mortality. If it did, Bruce Willis's career would have been very different.

Aging is about our tininess in the eternal scheme of things! But yeah, I know, I get it.

the die hard movies are totally about aging, he's always getting too old for this shit

for the new songs,

man writingwise they aren't as bad as i feared, parts are even kind of amazing

but lord, the production is so sterile, and it's not even "80s" glossy which is at least an aesthetic, but i feel like all the bad things about music production ever have coalesced now on protools and it's just a nightmare

heard this in the supermarket today while getting milk n stuff and holy shit this is awful

stop trying to deny your mortality. we're all going to die.

jesus christ is there any thread that can putter along without a mention of Bruce Willis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdlmhNujn0U

^^that's why god made the internet

we're all going to die hard

I have no idea why people are complaining about the production. It's fairly wet sounding. Do people not like the e.q. or something?

http://i47.tinypic.com/jzab1s.jpg

lol

ha

Those concert clips should be shown to any idiot who would argue that being perfectly in tune with a piano keyboard has anything to do with good group harmony singing in rock music.

Anyone looking to the music itself to check for signs of cynicism need only turn to Spring Vacation. It opens with a verse in which Mike Love claims to be "living the dream … cruisin' the town, diggin' the scene". The Beach Boys' music has often involved a suspension of disbelief – all those songs depicting a perfect, gilded California youth, written by a man whose own youth had been mired in physical and mental abuse – but this seems to push unreality to its limit. You find yourself wondering why on earth a 71-year-old would be cruisin' the town and diggin' the scene: perhaps he's plannin' on askin' them to keep the noise down so an old man can get some rest.

Haven't heard the new album net except the single and now "From There to Back Again" which I really like, but yeah, the production sounds like something Magic Garageband came up with. I'll have to listen to the "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" soundtrack again before deciding whether using pitch correction for the new one was a good idea.

the production sounds like something Magic Garageband came up with.

I don't think so! I use Garageband all the time and this sounds more like a really nice studio with really nice microphones to me!

Tickets for the Wembley show went on sale today, my brother got us a couple. Mixed feelings about that.

xp I wasn't insulting GarageBand's technical prowess, which is impressive IMO, just commenting that it somehow comes across as electronically-enhanced rather than a natural live performance. Mind you the Beach Boys were on the forefront of making records that weren't intended to sound like a live performance. Double-tracking was to 1963 what Auto-Tune is to 2012.

There's definitely a little "Surf's Up" in "From There to Back Again." And did anyone else notice the scanning of the word "wonderful" at around 1:35 or so?

gah the pitch correction just ruins this stuff.

by default i guess this is the best beach boys stuff since the mid-70s, but jeez.

or late 70s i dunno.

LA (Light Album) is better than this

nah, only if the new one had a 12 minute disco version of "God Only Knows", or maybe a dubstep remake of "Surf's Up"

or a smurf movie tie in version called "Smurf's Up"

nah, only if the new one had a 12 minute disco version of "God Only Knows",

would listen

Feel obligated to post this. It's not "God Only Knows" but it is Pet Sounds.

My disco remix of "Sloop John B": http://soundcloud.com/the-me/sloop-john-b-the-me-remix

Indeed, there is crap on LA (Light Album), the disco Here Comes The Night being the overwhelmingly obvious example. It's not a great Beach Boys album, but I'd say the 5 great songs - Good Timin', Angel Come Home, Baby Blue, Sumahama and Love Surrounds Me - stands it as the best album after Love You.

Admittedly that's not saying very much, but it has a lot more going for it than all the others. The remaining mediocre tracks are at least listenable, I suppose.

best album post- Love You, of course.

http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/4

Is this getting any radio airplay?

Kinda ok. Isn't It Time/Last 4 tracks are AMAZING. Rest ranges from 'Can We see weirdos + Mike Love?' to passable BW cruising.

NTI, I am both really liking your remix and feeling terribly embarrassed to be listening to it out loud.

private life of bill & sue sounds like Friends filtered through autotune

Beeeeeeaches in mind! Pretty bad.

I am weirdly intrigued by this album. Is it out on vinyl?

Isn't It Time/Last 4 tracks are AMAZING.
otm. the rest i never want to hear again, but i definitely want to re-listen to these!

the opening vocal stuff on the first song i gorgeous

so far this is far better than a beach boys album in 2012 has any right to be

isn't it time is great

one of the really unique things about the beach boys is how on pet sounds and smile they really eschewed conventional trap kit drumming and i like the arrangement on isn't it time for that reason

goddam spoke to soon - SPRING VACATION, is this a stamos number?

haha now spring vacation is just as bad as you'd expect

NTI, I am both really liking your remix and feeling terribly embarrassed to be listening to it out loud.

Just be glad I didn't bust out a "Here Comes the Night"-style vocoder!

"riiide your bicycle anywhere"

*ring ring*

Contrary to what many of us assumed, "That's Why God Made the Radio" written only by Brian, Joe Thomas, Jim Peterik, and Larry Millas (the last two ex-Ides of March).

We all know what that means: In a few years, they're all gonna be sued by Mike Love claiming the "lift up my antenna" line was his.....

Been playing "Isn't it Time" on repeat this weekend - so good!

seeing them tomorrow!

Been playing "Isn't it Time" on repeat this weekend - so good!

"Isn't It Time" is like an unholy combination of all the things I dislike about both 15 Big Ones and Love You.

I know everyone's dying to proclaim the last three songs Brian's autumnal masterpiece and all. But thus far, this tune feels like the best thing on the record by some length, lifted antennae be damned.

I like the melancholy intro tho.

otm

Apparently they are selling the cd for a grand total of $5 US at the tour merch stand, and Mike Love is hawking between songs in his banter:

"We're battling it out with Adele, so buy American," said Love at one point during just one of his numerous pitches.

(from the Houston Press review of Friday's show)

Mike Love, please don't ever change.

Glad I didn't buy it on Amazon then.

anyone read the latest Rolling Stone? when they were listening to the "13 minute suite" that closes the album Mike Love turned his hand into a gun and mocked blowing his brains out

also, Al Jardine needed help flushing the toilet on the plane

"isn't it time" is great.
good tune, good production, good voices (except brian's first words on the opening).
totally unexpected and I'm quite surprised to like a new BW/Bboys song so much in 2012!
the final suite, I'm not really convinced. it's ok but nothing special.

haha I also really hate the opening vocal on that song!
Anyone has a link to that RS article?

couldn't find it on the RS website. for some reason I get the print version.

xpost
yeah, the rest of the vocals is great so I wonder why they left this horrible part !

Mike Love, still a douche...

anyone read the latest Rolling Stone? when they were listening to the "13 minute suite" that closes the album Mike Love turned his hand into a gun and mocked blowing his brains out

Mike Love, still a douche...

Disagree. It's kind of awesome that Mike hasn't mellowed with age.

he's just not the same without a jug of apple juice tho

~thoughts~

-Al Jardine still sounds pretty good!
-I lost track of Brian Wilson at the end. It turns out he was out in front playing the bass. Then he puts the bass down and starts wandering around on stage. Like just pacing back and forth.
-turn up the guitars
-weird and sad Forever and God Only Knows appearance from Dennis and Carl
-had a ball

-weird and sad Forever and God Only Knows appearance from Dennis and Carl

Pls tell me these were holograms, Tupac-style.

I wish!

but, no

did they just show clips of old performances or something

Dennis Wilson hologram would be amazing - arm in a cast, making fun of Mike Love, streaking, drunken rendition of "You Are So Beautiful"

drowning

did they just show clips of old performances or something

type in Forever Dennis Wilson on youtube and that's what they showed. same thing for Carl.

can't believe Mike would be cool with showing this amazing clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hyp9b72jSE

it was... strange

wow gorgeous clip

dennis was such a dreamboat

has there ever been a band where there was such a contrast with one member being such a dude and the rest being such dorks? it's like a band with one robin zander and four rick neilsons

lol

Brian was sort of cool for awhile. pre-bathrobe.

Brian lorded over the group in early BBs videos like a dorky but hip genius. I would call him cool before the breakdown.

yeah but i doubt he was really getting in the bone zone that much you know?

some BB book I read years ago described Dennis as one of the great "swordsman" of the era.

I can take a stab at it, but I'm not even sure what that means.

you watch that TAMI show performance and it's clear that Dennis was the most popular with the girls.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uts03i0WRms/TK1nRKEHZSI/AAAAAAAADS0/-df4fej4nh8/s1600/AlJardineNC001.jpg

the amazing thing about Brian is that even as a 300+ pound of unshaved, unwashed pile of neuroses he STILL had multiple women literally fighting over him in the late 70s

dude had a sandbox! if there's one thing ladies love it's a dude with a sandbox. am i right?

when they were listening to the "13 minute suite" that closes the album Mike Love turned his hand into a gun and mocked blowing his brains out

ladies love $$$$

and fame.

and guys who eat their vege-ta-bles.

Posting just for the hell of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJfuml6ir8

The 12-inch mix is quite something (I'm serious)

more than 25 years ago and they look old even then. not a bad track though - not sure how it slipped through the cracks in my collection. It's probably there somewhere but don't remember even hearing it.

Going to see them tomorrow night and will be wearing my new Black Flag/Beach Boys shirt.

oh, it's on Made in the USA.

Saw two things in the Paste review of this that caught my eye:

The seeds of most tracks date back over a decade, to a series of fruitful sessions between Wilson and producer-instrumentalist Joe Thomas, who originally collaborated with Wilson on his 1998 solo album, Imagination. A stand-out from those hours and hours of recordings was a mid-tempo, ‘50s-styled ditty called "That’s Why God Made the Radio," but instead of using the track as a springboard into a new solo album, Wilson shelved it away with an unselfish (and lofty) pride, claiming its potential could only be realized with his Beach Boys bandmates.

But just when you’re ready to write off Radio completely, it closes with a four-song stretch (part of a supposed long-form suite that remains, as of today, unfinished) that rivals anything in the group’s post-Pet Sounds repertoire.

the reflective, meditative closer “Summer’s Gone,” which was originally intended to serve as the final track on the final Beach Boys album.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/06/the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio.html

Are there any other sources for this stuff? I'd never heard either of the first two stories -- and the latter may prove yet to be true, so...

think that stuff was covered in the recent newsweek (Time?) article.
hey i'm listening to this right now! http://www.npr.org/event/music/154917913/the-beach-boys-in-concert?sc=tumblr&cc=tumb_music

"isn't it time" holds its own mixed in with the hits!

That's right, it's here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/27/the-beach-boys-crazy-summer.html

Jim Peterik

Not just ex-Ides of March, but also of Survivor fame, and writer of .38 Special hits, too. Plus, another local Chicago guy, which would explain why he and Brian hooked up.

dude had a sandbox! if there's one thing ladies love it's a dude with a sandbox. am i right?

Female posters post more when the main server goes down, it's true.

more than 25 years ago and they look old even then

also really reassuring that Brian looks just as confused as disengaged onstage then as he does 2/3 of the time now

Amazing show at Merriweather Post Pavilion last night...

MVP: Jeff Foskett
Beach Boys MVP: Al - as advertised here, he sounded great.
Mike was even sketchier than I could have imagined and sounded old, but the essence of the original vocals came through
Brian showed flashes of his old self but was pretty subdued
Bruce didn't sound very good

They gave a shoutout and solo each to David Marks (Hawaii), Jeff (Don't Worry Baby), Darian (Sail on Sailor), and Scott (don't remember) - very classy. David Marks played lead guitar and was quite good. They didn't miss any of the big hits as far as I could tell. Some of the album tracks included Ballad of Ole Betsy, Hawaii, Little Honda, When I Grow Up, and All This Is That. Isn't It Time was the worst song of the day, Radio sounded a bit better. The backing band is top notch. All in all, it was incredibly more fun than the BW solo concert I went to a few years ago. It just looked RIGHT to see all of those guys on the same stage.

The video tributes to Dennis (Forever) and Carl (God Only Knows) were actually quite well handled.

All in all, it was incredibly more fun than the BW solo concert I went to a few years ago

Exactly my feeling.

Finally listened to as much of the new album as I could. A couple of these tracks, "Strange World" and "Spring Vacation," are among the worst I've heard from anyone in months.

I didn't think Strange World was that bad. Seemed like a typical BW "I'm scared of everything" song.

"Spring Vacation" on the other hand...

Yeah spring vacation is awful but I like strange world

I'm not going to listen to it again, but I want to say mid-"Stange World" I realized that if this was by anyone other than the Beach Boys I wouldn't have even made it half way.

It wouldn't be a proper Beach Boys album if it didn't have a few lolworthy tracks mixed in with the good ones

Finally read the Daily Beast piece -- it's awesome. Loved this:

They begin to sound like the Beach Boys. Close your eyes, shutting out Wilson’s swoosh of silver hair and Love’s four golden rings, and 1965 isn’t such a stretch.

Or it isn't until someone's iPhone rings. Jardine's. He turns away from the piano and presses the device to his ear. "I'm going to have to call you back, because--wait, what?" He hangs up, shaking his head. "Dick Clark just passed away," he says. The room begins to murmur; the makeup lady covers her mouth with her hand.

The Beach Boys in rehearsal for their 50th Anniversary reunion tour.
Over the next few minutes, I watch as each Beach Boy absorbs the news. Love makes light of it, pretending to strangle Jardine behind his back. “You’re next, Al,” he purrs.

important insights from George Will

Closing trilogy beginning with To There And Back Again is really really good. Some pretty gorgeous melodies and arrangements. An assemblage of classic Wilson strategies perhaps, with strong hints of Smile and Holland, but lovely all the same.

That reads like a wine description.

http://s7.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/84AA39BB.jpg

'60s vintage pretty tasty.

YES

Overtones of surf wax, cocaine, sand

would drink

"You're next, Stew."

Does george will ever have a fucking point? Every time I get to the end of something he's written I'm like ”Ok.....and...”

Pay no attention to the man behind the bow tie.

Does george will ever have a fucking point?

Political scientist James Q. Wilson grew up there, and in 1967, the year after the Beach Boys released “Good Vibrations,” he wrote a seminal essay on the political vibrations that produced California’s new governor: “A Guide to Reagan Country.” Wilson’s conclusion was that Ronald Reagan represented the political culture of a region where social structure nurtured individualism.

Heh, it does a bit. Unfortunately the Mike Love contributions have the unpleasant tang of corkage.

Eh, I'm sending the whole bottle back. I think it's been adulterated with antifreeze.

Mike Love in still being "Mike Love" SHOCKAH!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/mike-love-books-beach-boys-shows-without-brian-wilson-20120626

haw. never take your eyes off love! interesting that they're playing/singing "our prayer" now, that'd be interesting to hear.

INTERESTING

I just read "Nearest Faraway Place," and while there's no question the guy is often a dick and I hate to say it, it's pretty clear there would be no Beach Boys without him. When Brian was staying at home, first working and then just, um, staying at home, Love (and I guess Carl) kept the machine moving.

Another way to look at it is that linking your career to Brian's is a risky proposition, especially if you make a living in the road.

On the road.

Love is a horrible, largely talentless asshole, and yet imho he is absolutely indispensable to the Beach Boys, no incarnation of the Boys is complete without him.

Tbf, I loved seeing them a few weeks back, but I'd pretty much describe all of the BBs, including Marks, as more or less talentless. Which sounds harsh, but really, every move they made was shadowed by someone else, or several others. Eleven or so people on stage, six of them guitarists, most of them singing ... but of course, none of them Beach Boys.

Rolling Stone acting like there's a controversy when there isn't one? Was Brian upset about this? It doesn't say. Not sure why Love wouldn't do a tour with his band if he wants to and call it the Beach Boys as he is allowed to do and has been doing for fourteen years.

every move they made was shadowed by someone else, or several others.

"Shadowed" implies that the players behind them were playing their same parts. Were you really able to determine whether this was so?

ARE YOU REALLY CALLING BRIAN WILSON AND BRUCE JOHNSTON TALENTLESS

Never really knew about about Al's guitar skills. Marks seems like a good lead player!

Re: shadowing, for sure. Well, sure as I could be from the audience. They totally looked like they were playing the same parts, note for note, as far as I could tell and as far as it sounded. I mean, Al Jardine had a guitar in his hands almost the entire time, but damned if I ever really heard it. Likewise, if there's one keyboard part, yet four people are playing keyboards, and one is a nearly motionless Brian ...

Marks was perfectly proficient, but it's not like his chops were ever better than 15-year old garage band guy, and this is decades later. And by calling Brian Wilson and Johnston talentless, come on, that is nowhere near saying they never had any talent, or were never geniuses or whatever. I was just saying, in response to someone calling Love talentless, that none of the original guys on stage were offering much in the way of talent. If we're being honest here. Like, Jardine sang better than the other guys, but his voice wasn't some awesome instrument. Love and Wilson did fine, but they were a far cry from their prime. Etc.

I say this in comparison to their peer Paul McCartney, for example, who was just oozing talent when I saw him last summer. No need to shadow that dude.

it's not like his chops were ever better than 15-year old garage band guy

Seems like he has good surf guitar chops to me.

Nah, he was really just OK. And I was watching him! Every once in a while they gave him a little Chuck Berry solo, but it was pretty rudimentary. He didn't fuck up, though.

Recall, he's barely playing on the records he's on. That's all Glen Campbell and those dudes.

On the records from '62 and '63?

I think so. Right? Actually, I have the Wrecking Crew book right here ... one sec.

Certainly there was a Wrecking Crew presence on "Surfer Girl," "Surfin USA," "I Get Around," "Fun, Fun, Fun" ... so yeah, a bunch of that stuff. But maybe not the first couple of discs, though Wrecking Crew was playing all the Jan & Dean albums, too, plus various surf and hotrod comps. I think Campbell started working with them in '64. Before that the solos and stuff were mostly Carl, I believe, up to '63. Marks was just a kid!

Yeah, Campbell (among others, like Tedesco) from late '63 on.

yeah it's crazy, marks was 13 when he joined! he's probably on those first three or four records, but just playing rhythm i imagine.

There's a David Marks and the Marksmen compilation on Spotify. Surf tunes and instrumentals from '63-'65.

ha no kidding? will have to check it out.

First track "Sheriff of Noddingham" is very cool. Kind of Dick Dale-ish.

There is so much tangential Beach Boys stuff. Like the Hondells (the first to record "Little Honda") and the Honeys (produced by Brian). Then there's Ed "Rat Fink" Roth, who did a bunch of hot rod albums with the Wrecking Crew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NYhMKqWt18

This was written and produced by Brian as a birthday present!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Yj9oHikgY

yeah this comp is highly recommended
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IdU6W5onL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Speaking of talent, I picked up a vinyl copy of the astounding 12 string guitar of glen campbell, talk about a hot shit player, damn

thinking back to the show, "Don't Back Down" may have been the most memorable song. I wasn't expecting to hear it and they stomped through it like a garage rock track. Don't know why David Marks is getting shit here, his guitar playing sounded fine.

Bruce Johnston's first record, from 1963:

http://www.beachboys.com/hotdoggers.jpg

Mostly covers of then-current surf rock, but also includes a Johnston original "Quasimoto". Features Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, and Leon Russell. Terry Melcher produces.

xpost Campbell may be the most overlooked guitar virtuoso short of Vince Gill.

Willie Nelson to thread.

Yeah, maybe. But he's no flashy technical master capable of guitar showdowns, is he? He has a very distinct, intuitive style.

But Willie doesn't have session guy chops, does he?

beach boys concert or nursing home stand-up act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLIbu6sJ4-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE9xv-VcH3w

And that's it...

Beach Boys Reunion Tour Ending With Three Founding Members Sacked Via Public Statement

The Beach Boys might still be Keepin' the Summer Alive with their U.K. tour, but for three members it will be a cold harsh winter.

The band's frontman Mike Love announced that the group will split after this week in the U.K. and three members -- Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks -- have been dropped from the group. The three did not find out they had been dropped until Love and Bruce Johnston released a public statement.

The statement announcing the big shake up reads: "The post-50th anniversary configuration will not include Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks. The 50th Reunion Tour was designed to be a set tour with a beginning and an end to mark a special 50-year milestone for the band."

The exiting Beach Boys will be replaced by the group's long-time backing band, which includes Love's son Christian, according to the Telegraph. Love added that the decision to drop the three members was financially motivated. "You've got to be careful not to get overexposed. There are promoters who are interested [in more shows by the reunited line-up], but they've said, 'Give it a rest for a year'. The Eagles found out the hard way when they went out for a second year and wound up selling tickets for $5."

Wilson was blindsided.

"I'm disappointed and can't understand why he (Love) doesn't want to tour with Al, David and me," he told CNN. "We are out here having so much fun. After all, we are the real Beach Boys."

If the five members of the Beach Boys do not rekindle their bond, the September 28 concert at Wembley Stadium may be the last show they play together, CNN noted.

There is already a petition on iPetition.com asking for Love, who owns the rights to the band's name, to rethink the decision to break up the original Beach Boys.

The petition, addressed to Love, reads: "In order to preserve the validity of 'The Beach Boys' as a whole, and not as a 'money saving, stripped down version' that only contains 1 original member, and 1 member that joined in 1965, we ask you to re-instate the 3 other members to the touring group for your final years performing."

"It's the right thing to do, and it's what the fans want," the message concludes.

Jardine linked to the petition in a tweet. As of Wednesday morning, it had over 2,000 signatures.

In December 2011, the Beach Boys confirmed 50 shows to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Rolling Stone previously reported. The band formed in California in 1961. The reunion tour marks the first time the Boys have toured together in more than two decades.

Although the group had problems in the past, like nasty comments in the press and numerous lawsuits, Love swore that all the negativity was behind them. "All that stuff is long forgotten," he told Rolling Stone.

Back in June, Rolling Stone had reported that Love booked shows for his version of the Beach Boys without consulting the other members.

On Sept. 19, the group played at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles to celebrate the opening of the new Beach Boys exhibit.

how could this possibly come as a surprise to anybody

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A3veWDHCMAA041u.jpg

.. including brian ..

xpost

If the five members of the Beach Boys do not rekindle their bond, the September 28 concert at Wembley Stadium may be the last show they play together, CNN noted.

serious lol at this -- only mike love would fire a bunch of his bandmates and still expect them to show up for one more concert.

Two more, Royal Albert Hall tomorrow night.

the most dysfunctional family in pop ever ?

of course, the use of the word 'family' is being stretched .. but hey ..

I would really enjoy watching Brian Wilson beat the tar out of Mike Love.

The Beach Boys might still be Keepin' the Summer Alive with their U.K. tour, but for three members it will be a cold harsh winter.

The infinite number of lead sentences they could do in this vein . . .

"Beach Boys audiences might be pickin' up Good Vibrations, but behind the scenes things are anything but groovy . . .

"This summer's reunited Beach Boys tour has been a success by any measure, but God Only Knows if there will be another . . ."

I would really enjoy watching Brian Wilson beat the tar out of Mike Love.

pretty much anyone would like to watch anyone beating the tar out of Mike Love.

has anyone ever publicly assaulted Mike Love? besides probably Dennis?

you almost wonder if mike was running a long con and just did the whole album and tour so he could have the satisfaction of firing the guys at the end

i feel like mike might get beat up at some point in 'heroes and villains' but tbh that book is basically one nonstop horrorshow so it doesn't stand out much

Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks were informed of the news via a statement issued by Mike Love - the band's frontman and Wilson's cousin - that the tour would be continuing without them.

there's definitely fistfights in heroes and villains. dunno if any of them could be described as Mike receiving a beatdown though.

why does Mike Love care about any of this. i will never understand.

Brian responds to Mike:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-brian-wilson-al-jardine-respond-to-mike-love-on-beach-boys-flap-20121008,0,6270223.story

As far as I know I can't be fired--that wouldn't be cool.

I don't know why, but it's funny to think of Brian Wilson saying lines like this like Brad Pitt in "True Romance."

Brian responds to Mike:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-brian-wilson-al-jardine-respond-to-mike-love-on-beach-boys-flap-20121008,0,6270223.story

Sounds like both of them need to get in a room together and talk it out, rather than hearing shit second-handed through PR guys.

What they need is another centralized PR guy to handle the PR.

Need Mike Love to intervene on Brian's destructive relationship with Joe Thomas.

did he produce No Pier Pressure? that's a really boring record

Mike's bitchiness about this record in his new book is hilarious