Surf's Up Vs A Day In The Life

I'm voting Beatles. 'Surf's Up' is gorgeous, but I've never been a fan of VDP's lyrics. The "music holocaust" pun, "adieu or die," etc... are much too "clever" to move me. Arrangement-wise, 'Surf's Up' is certainly more textured than ADITL, but it's nothing that Spector, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys themselves hadn't done at least a few times already. ADITL's crescendos, on the other hand, are some pretty inspired and unique bits of orchestration. ADITL also flows much more smoothly to my ears than the start-and-stop production of 'Surf's Up.' I do love both songs. If you break them down into sheet music, I think Surf's Up is probably the stronger composition. It'd be a beautiful piano piece. But in the end, I prefer Lennon's voice to Wilson's, and Ringo's performance is just too good. I suppose I usually prefer the rougher Beatles sound to the Beach Boys sound.

I've been thinking a lot about album context too. I listened to each of these songs many times tonight, and it's been a little strange to hear ADITL on its own, instead of at the end of 'Pepper.' One of my favorite things about the song, and the album, is that instead of a crowd pleaser, this silly, psychedelic, half-assed 'concept band' ends their night with a creepy existentialist encore. WTF?

Yeah, that's one of the problems with Sgt Peppers. It starts off with the best intentions of being a themed concept album and quickly forgets about it all after the first two-three tracks.

Like most so-called concept albums

What is this "Yer Blues" thing you guys keep mentioning? I know John is singing off-mic for the last verse. Do yall think that is some kind of editing trick or something? It's actually part of the performance.

I really don't think they intended to make a messy record, though, it just turned out that way as a product of what was going on when it was made. Lord knows they had enough studio time to make it non-sloppy, though.

Does not compute. First of all I don't think the "White Album" really is any more flawed than their previous albums, on a purely technical level. Read through that list for yourself for plenty of messy bits even in that paradigm of studio craft "Revolver". As for it being a messy record aesthetically and this not being the intention; this is 100% silly. Look at that track-listing. Listen to the songs. At no point in the recording process was there an attempt to sequence it as a stronger cohesive single album. What is the previous record they did, "Magical Mystery Tour". Is that not a total mess as well? The Beatles love a good mess. Just watch "A Hard Day's Night".

Sgt. Pepper is messy too -- why does the concept go away after a few songs? Well, the concept is just another bit that they stumbled into during the process, it's another part of the journey of making the album, not an end in itself. In fact I think the main Pepper songs were the last recorded for it.

The concept was going to be "Liverpool", but after they had done three songs, they ran out of ideas, and the label insisted on 2 tracks for a single. So, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields became 2 sides of the "Liverpool" concept single, and "When I'm 64" was kept back for the album.

I don't think anyone but Paul ever really signed onto the "Pepper" concept in the first place

What is this "Yer Blues" thing you guys keep mentioning? I know John is singing off-mic for the last verse. Do yall think that is some kind of editing trick or something? It's actually part of the performance.

yeah I always thought so too. but the suggestion was that that whole verse is just a copy of the musical track from the beginning of the song. could be I suppose, would need to listen to it more carefully and/or consult Lewison

What is this "Yer Blues" thing you guys keep mentioning? I know John is singing off-mic for the last verse. Do yall think that is some kind of editing trick or something? It's actually part of the performance.

Right at the end of 'Yer Blues', it's clear that while the guitar solo is playing, the band are jamming and don't have the faintest clue how to end the song or get back into the main riff. Their answer to this problem? Edit the beginning onto the end and use it as an instrumental - and it sounds jarring as hell. I don't think they meant for it to sound jarring, but it does.

At no point in the recording process was there an attempt to sequence it as a stronger cohesive single album.

But that's not what I'm talking about!

I think the end of Yer Blues sounds great, intentional or not. And they do have a track record for this kind of thing. Look at how I Want You (She's So Heavy) ends...

i kind of forget what we're arguing about re: the white album

so jarring I've never noticed it

just figured it was one of the many many many rhythmic turnarounds/switchups in Lennon's songs

I think the end of Yer Blues sounds great, intentional or not. And they do have a track record for this kind of thing. Look at how I Want You (She's So Heavy) ends...

― B-Boy Bualadh Bos (ecuador_with_a_c), Tuesday, November 8, 2011 10:30 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah, you're right about 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' but the editing on that is far more seamless.

so jarring I've never noticed it

just figured it was one of the many many many rhythmic turnarounds/switchups in Lennon's songs

― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, November 8, 2011 10:35 PM (9 seconds ago) Bookmark

The whole track comes to an immediate halt and literally everything gets cut off in mid-everything just as the drum fill comes in!

I hear it now that you've pointed it out

you've ruined it for me forever!

*cries*

I don't care one bit for 'Surf's Up'. I didn't even know it had a following until ILX

I would of preferred an album that's all stuff like "She's Goin' Bald" and "He Gives Speeches"

those are the same song

yeah, they should of stuck in that mindset and made more cracked out pop

in what universe did they NOT make more cracked out pop?!

> I would of preferred an album that's all stuff like "She's Goin' Bald" and "He Gives Speeches"

That's what most of Smiley Smile was.

"Fall Breaks and Back to Winter" is wack but it got darker and more cracked out with "Mrs. O'Leary's cow". I'd like an whole album of cracked out shit - not so much light and wacky

That "sha na na" section in 'She's Goin' Bald' still gives me one hell of a chuckle when I hear it. In fact, the whole song does... "yer too late momma, ain't nothin' upside your head... no more no more no more no more!"

whenever I saw this thread I was always like ugh and now I read it and am surprised at how great it is

I don't care one bit for 'Surf's Up'. I didn't even know it had a following until ILX

― hotter than a hoochie coochie (CaptainLorax), Wednesday, November 9, 2011 12:06 AM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark

waht

"She's Goin' Bald" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Surf's Up"

surf's up is blahbity blah or mehhity meh

the Befuddling Opinions of Captain Lorax

I would of preferred an album that's all stuff like "She's Goin' Bald" and "He Gives Speeches"

This is why smiley smile is one of my favourite albums, even above smile

captain lorax's technically after the deadline vote bumped surf's up from its rightful #1 spot on the beach boys poll

I respect iatee for having not been so Type A (tight A) about the deadline (like johnnyfever).
Anyways, "God Only Know" is obviously better

iatee was considerate

Oh god, Lorax, still frustrated about the deadline? Jeez, get it out of your system man.

people make lasting impressions

Impressions don't just dissipate. I have no desire to make them disappear

This is why smiley smile is one of my favourite albums, even above smile

― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Tuesday, November 8, 2011 11:45 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

'Smiley Smile' is that oddest thing, a replacement for a scrapped record that is perversely far more uncommercial and strange than what it replaced. It's not a record I dig out on purpose to enjoy, but rather I find it offers a kind of window to how strange things had got in the world of The Beach Boys at that time. 'Wind Chimes' has always been a kind of slightly unsettling moment on 'Smile', but on 'Smiley Smile' it's fucking scary.

yeah, I would support that track for a cracked out Smile album
and even though I like "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations" - they are bit of a different extreme. Also, "Good Vibrations" always seemed out of place even if there were songs on Smiley Smile that didn't fit either extreme

Impressions don't just dissipate

controlled demolitions are required for that amirite

be careful what you say, it all goes into one big government file

Impressions don't just dissipate. I have no desire to make them disappear

― hotter than a hoochie coochie (CaptainLorax), Wednesday, November 9, 2011 12:53 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark

This train of thought will inevitably lead you to mistake frustration for impression. The GBV poll had a deadline, you didn't meet it, get over it. Christ.

I don't care if my poll wasn't tallied. Big whoop. I care about a person's character and I don't jive well with Tight A's. Loosey Goosey all the way baby

Turrican is my new favourite poster. Smiley Smile was the first album I heard after their best ofs and pet sounds, and to me it's their pinnacle. No, not their best or most realised but the truest, most fucked up, most acid fried, funniest, craziest album in a time of crazy fucked up, acid fried funny albums.

Same goes for white album. Shit, you wanted the Beatles or the beach boys to take drugs and discover musical nirvana, these are the ones

Beach Boys/Nirvana collaboration in the immediate future

'Wind Chimes' has always been a kind of slightly unsettling moment on 'Smile', but on 'Smiley Smile' it's fucking scary.

that was the first song i heard off Smiley Smile: i was in my local record store when they started playing Wind Chimes and it kinda blew my mind. i had spent quite a bit of time with 3 different Smile bootlegs at that point so i just assumed this was another fan mix that i hadnt heard. i asked the clerk what album they were playing and then asked if it was for sale

I don't get what's "scary" about Wind Chimes.

Really? The Smiley Smile version is Scott Walker levels of sinister compared to the Smile version (which I heard much later and found quite strange to be honest). Okay not Scott Walker but 'c-lose your eyes and lean ba-ck/listen to wind-wiiiiind chiiiyiiiimea' is sirenic stuff.

I just... what is sinister about chilling out and listening to some windchimes?

like lyrically this song does not deliver the bad vibes

the arrangement is cracked and the melody is eerie but "scary" implies fear of something and I'm not sure what anyone is afraid of in this song