SMiLE Sessions box set!

[The Heartical Don]

Smile is about the quixotic quest for the perfect peanut butter & jelly sandwich. If you replace "she" in all of the songs with "the sandwich", it becomes...

"But the sandwich's still dancing in the night unafraid..."

"The sandwich belongs there, left with its liberty..."

"Once upon the SANDWICH isles..."

"Over and over,  the crow cries uncover the cornfield..." = The crow finds the sandwich.

"The children know the way..." to make the perfect sandwich.

It just amazes me how little you people think.

...and what about that other great '60s band, the Beach Gays?

'California Boys'

'The Boys On The Beach'

'He's Not The Little Boy I Once Knew'

'Boy Don't Tell Me'

'Two Boys For Every Boy'

[Rocker]

Smile is about the quixotic quest for the perfect peanut butter & jelly sandwich. If you replace "she" in all of the songs with "the sandwich", it becomes...

"But the sandwich's still dancing in the night unafraid..."

"The sandwich belongs there, left with its liberty..."

"Once upon the SANDWICH isles..."

"Over and over,  the crow cries uncover the cornfield..." = The crow finds the sandwich.

"The children know the way..." to make the perfect sandwich.

It just amazes me how little you people think.

...and what about that other great '60s band, the Beach Gays?

'California Boys'

'The Boys On The Beach'

'He's Not The Little Boy I Once Knew'

'Boy Don't Tell Me'

'Two Boys For Every Boy'

Didn't they cut a song called "Hey little tomboy" a little later ?

[The Heartical Don]

Smile is about the quixotic quest for the perfect peanut butter & jelly sandwich. If you replace "she" in all of the songs with "the sandwich", it becomes...

"But the sandwich's still dancing in the night unafraid..."

"The sandwich belongs there, left with its liberty..."

"Once upon the SANDWICH isles..."

"Over and over,  the crow cries uncover the cornfield..." = The crow finds the sandwich.

"The children know the way..." to make the perfect sandwich.

It just amazes me how little you people think.

...and what about that other great '60s band, the Beach Gays?

'California Boys'

'The Boys On The Beach'

'He's Not The Little Boy I Once Knew'

'Boy Don't Tell Me'

'Two Boys For Every Boy'

Didn't they cut a song called "Hey little tomboy" a little later ?

Q.E.D.!

[pixletwin]

...and what about that other great '60s band, the Beach Gays?

'California Boys'

'The Boys On The Beach'

'He's Not The Little Boy I Once Knew'

'Boy Don't Tell Me'

'Two Boys For Every Boy'

Why am I all of a sudden hearing Boy George crooning over synthbeats produced by Steve Levine in my head.

[The Heartical Don]

...and what about that other great '60s band, the Beach Gays?

'California Boys'

'The Boys On The Beach'

'He's Not The Little Boy I Once Knew'

'Boy Don't Tell Me'

'Two Boys For Every Boy'

Why am I all of a sudden hearing Boy George crooning over synthbeats produced by Steve Levine in my head.

Great association! 

[Shady]

Can I change my vote from option 1 to 2 ? 

[Micha]

Is it me or is there something slightly evangelical about people who want to insist that this or that is a drug song.

Of course, "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" is really "Timothy Leary's Cow", like "Cabin Essence" is "Cannabis". 

[homeontherange]

Hell, I think both I Just Wasn't Made For These Times and Hang Onto Your Ego are about exactly that, and SMiLE was only a continuation of those themes.

Definitely. If you've experienced tripping, you know exactly what Brian's on about here. The songs aren't necessarily about drugs (except perhaps Vega-tables) but they're very inspired by the mind-changing experiences you get with the psychedelic drugs. People who can't acknowledge this must have missed that Brian's pointed this out several times. Or you're just not hip!  

[Mahalo]

I like your understanding of Heroe's and Villian's. (A song I miss very much since it has been about a month since I gave up SMiLE)

Right on Noname. I took that challenge and it's been a good few weeks for me too, although I cut myself some slack and only outlawed stuff cut between Pet Sounds and Smiley so I can still listen to Smiley Heroes or the 72 Surf's Up etc. Oh but BWPS is still out of bounds. The plus side is that I'm giving more attention to their other albums for once.

Glad someone is with me! I broke out the Party! album and it's SOT cousin this week... in between listening to loads of Pet Sounds, Friends, and Love You.. I did listen to Cool Cool Water which has the Water Chant in it...I forgot it was there. Much to my delight though, it does sound better after not listening to it for some time. I hope when the SMiLE set comes out that all the songs sound that way.

[The Heartical Don]

Is it me or is there something slightly evangelical about people who want to insist that this or that is a drug song.

Of course, "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" is really "Timothy Leary's Cow", like "Cabin Essence" is "Cannabis". 

  superb! This is one of these calls I wish I'd come up with myself. Perhaps 'Cannabincense', or 'Cannabissense' would have fit the bill also, in terms of meter. And: 'Finders Reefers, Losers Weepers'. And: 'Take A Load Of Your Speed'. And I find 'Frosty The SNOW-man pretty suspect.

[hypehat]

If there's an offense taken it's only in relation to logical cogent points being set aside in order to critique the presenter's fervor.

Dude, I am hardly being calm here. I have fervour to spare.

It's 'Hang Onto Your Ego', btw, which may well throw a spanner in your argument. Or 'Let Go of Your Libido'  Yes, the lyrics were changed. Three lines, iirc. Brian was not on the same level as The 13th Floor Elevators or something, or even the goshdarn Beatles! Drugs did not enter his lyrical concern a whole lot. If he was so 'hip', wouldn't Pet Sounds be full of that sort of thing? The dude took acid for the first time and wrote..... CALIFORNIA GIRLS. Think about this. Hell, he got the whole band in his house for two weeks with a microphone and $5000 worth of hash and the best they can come up with is 'Gettin' Hungry'. The Beach Boys aren't 'hip'. Several thousand bands were. Brian was a guy who listened to goofy 50's comedy records and didn't go out to clubs or bars, except to see the Lovin' Spoonful. 'Hip', he ain't.

I think the spiritual aspect of Smile can be separate from the drug aspect. For example, in contemporary interviews, Brian says Carl is the most spiritual person he knows. Does he mean to say Carl takes acid with his coffee? No. Spiritualism and drugs are not one and the same, although they are somewhat intertwined in Brian's mind - he referred to his trips as 'Spiritual', but then also wanted to write hymns at an organ, a teenage symphony to God and music for people to pray to. Yeah, THAT sounds like Leary. FYI, he also thinks swimming is spiritual and Zen. Just like acid! 

Brian's bio - No sale, I'm afraid  Even then, that quote is straight nonsense. Hit WHAT 'head on'? The new Beatles record? The stock exchange? Mike's receding hairline? The fact they had no Reddi-Whip at the store? Redundant.

You're saying your interpretation is brilliant? Very freshman. That second portion of your argument is so sneeringly condescending and remarkably stupid, I don't know where to start. How fucking clever you must be to find the imagery which you set out to find. You must be a real sharp one to set out and make those lyrics fit exactly what you were looking for. Gee. I notice you mentioned 'death related images'. Now, I'm no acid expert, but I've heard rumour that death is a state wherein your heart stops beating. My source wasn't sure, but they mentioned that it kinda happens to everyone at some point in their lives. 

The images of Surf's Up are concerned with ego death. IN YOUR OPINION. Or are in fact prescient images of the 60's counterculture running into difficulty. IN JIM WEBB'S OPINION. Or are about a man at a concert who realises the futility of human suffering and the pretentiousness of modern society, only to find solace in the song of children and God's truth. In some goon called Wilsons opinion 

I'm not going to say 'I'm right and STFU', because that's exactly what you're doing. I am just saying your opinion (logical, cogent points my arse - sweeping statements would be nearer the mark) is barely based on facts,  and what little facts you seem to know are being warped to say that Surf's Up is a song about some nonsense term which makes you sound cleverer than you actually are. I mean, just read Dada's post and have a look at yours again. Think about it.


Gaaaaaaah, i'm terrible at arguing. For the record, Fishmonk, I don't think you're wrong per se, you're just not right either  . You're just not seeing the forest for the trees, is all I'm trying to say. It is much more rewardingly, personally, to think about Smile in terms of the other things I mention. Think about it your own way.

[GoofyJeff]

Is it me or is there something slightly evangelical about people who want to insist that this or that is a drug song.

Of course, "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" is really "Timothy Leary's Cow", like "Cabin Essence" is "Cannabis". 

I thought the song was really "Denis Leary's Fire", an homage to the show "Rescue Me"...    

[Dunderhead]

Maybe, just maybe, Brian was sophomoric 
We're talking about a guy in his early 20s, dropping acid, various stimulants, and every form of thc known to man. Have you ever considered the possibility that by your standards, SMiLE just that? The work of a sophomoric young hipster.

I can't stress enough, I don't think every second of every track and every lyric on every song was specifically about drugs. But I think Brian's experiences with drugs were a major inspiration to him.

Your argument seems to be, well Brian wasn't hip. But wasn't that the point of SMiLE, read the Goodbye Surfing article, Brian wanted to be hip at whatever the cost.

[Mahalo]

Brian wanted to be hip at whatever the cost.

At the cost of scrapping SMiLE and dropping out of Monterey? Then releasing Getting Hungry?

I think Brian's experiences with drugs were a major inspiration to him.

No doubt...an inspiration, then a crutch (perhaps), then an "Ego Death"...leaving in it's wake, produced by the Beach Boys...

[Dunderhead]

Brian wanted to be hip at whatever the cost.

At the cost of scrapping SMiLE and dropping out of Monterey? Then releasing Getting Hungry?

I think Brian's experiences with drugs were a major inspiration to him.

No doubt...an inspiration, then a crutch (perhaps), then an "Ego Death"...leaving in it's wake, produced by the Beach Boys...

He failed to achieve what he wanted. I don't think you can use Getting Hungry as proof positive that SMiLE wasn't about drugs. It was just something a depressed burned out Brian pounded out on his organ one day. The ambition of SMiLE isn't related to Getting Hungry. You're saying because Smiley Smile wasn't hip, SMiLE wasn't hip. Brian wasn't trying to do the same thing with Smiley as he was with SMiLE.

[Sam_BFC]

Brian wanted to be hip at whatever the cost.

At the cost of scrapping SMiLE and dropping out of Monterey? Then releasing Getting Hungry?

Maybe he wanted to be hip at whatever the cost up until the point where he scrapped Smile and dropped out of Monterey, at which point he was tired of trying to be hip.

[Mahalo]

I don't think you can use Getting Hungry as proof positive that SMiLE wasn't about drugs. It was just something a depressed burned out Brian pounded out on his organ one day. The ambition of SMiLE isn't related to Getting Hungry. You're saying because Smiley Smile wasn't hip, SMiLE wasn't hip. Brian wasn't trying to do the same thing with Smiley as he was with SMiLE.

That wasn't my intention. No, I actually think that SMiLE definitely has an aura of Hash haze permeating it, just not the theme is about drugs as much as others think. I just think that Brian wasn't as concerned with being hip at any cost, at least after he gave up on SMiLE, hence we have Geting Hungry...

[onkster]

I can easily see how after some hash, "Gettin' Hungry" would be the result.

And didn't John Prine write "Illegal SMiLE" after getting a really cool BB bootleg? And we all know what ELSE illegal smile refers to!

[bgas]

I can easily see how after some hash, "Gettin' Hungry" would be the result.

And didn't John Prine write "Illegal SMiLE" after getting a really cool BB bootleg? And we all know what ELSE illegal smile refers to!

>>In the rock era, John Prine’s song, “Illegal Smile,” is a wry critique of the sort of censorship that outlaws certain thoughts. Prine has said that the phrase, “illegal smile,” refers not only to the bemused look on a stoned person’s face, but also the “knowing smile” one exchanges with another when each one understands that a joke or reference has violated certain proscribed thoughts—the silent, non-verbal communication, in the form of a smile, that occurs between individuals living under the threat of punitive action. <<

[Andrew G. Doe]

And didn't John Prine write "Illegal SMiLE" after getting a really cool BB bootleg?

Given it was on his first album, released in 1971 - no, he didn't. 

[onkster]

As Mitch would have said, I have to clarify that when I say that joke, I was just jokin'.

[Andrew G. Doe]

As Mitch would have said, I have to clarify that when I say that joke, I was just jokin'.

I know, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that somewhere down the line, that joke will be repeated as a fact.  

There's more than one rock reference book that has Bruce's birthplace as Peoria, Illinois and his middle name as Norvelle, and I know for a fact those are both wrong as I made them up back in 1986 for something I wrote in a fanzine.  

[bgas]

As Mitch would have said, I have to clarify that when I say that joke, I was just jokin'.

I know, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that somewhere down the line, that joke will be repeated as a fact.  

There's more than one rock reference book that has Bruce's birthplace as Peoria, Illinois and his middle name as Norvelle, and I know for a fact those are both wrong as I made them up back in 1986 for something I wrote in a fanzine.  

But I saw the hospital bed in Peoria where they put him after he was born.  There's a whole "shrine" section set up in the maternity ward for Bruce

[Bill Tobelman]

The cabinessence is cannabis thing was first brought up by Derek Bill in an online discussion group years ago. He had met with Frank Holmes a few times & Frank had mentioned the connection.

I, like others currently on this thread, seriously doubted the connection. So I contacted Derek about it & he was (a little offended &) quite assertive that Frank definitely had pointed out the connection.

For those who doubt the permeability of drug references in SMILE you may reconsider "Fire," it's connection to a bad trip, and various references throughout the work.

The fire trip (as in the bio) took place in a friend's apartment, has the sound of fire engines, firemen falling down-getting hurt--dying, as well as Brian going back in time (not too SMiLE-like huh?) to the point where he didn't exist (ego loss, or perhaps an ego death possibility).

Fire references therefore would seem fairly entwined with this drug experience (If you check out the "Good Vibrations" firehouse film you see the Beach Boys as firemen leaving the apartment & falling down & riding on the fire engine, etc.).

"Heroes & Villains" has the "fanning the flame of the dance" lyric, "Do You Like Worms" has the "social structure steaming," "Barnyard" has the cook chopping lumber for a fire, "Cabinessence" has the fire mellow and the "home on the range"(get it? the range!!!--Frank Holmes' latter day painting got this connection) and the backing vocal "who ran the iron?". "Surf's Up" has the fired roast!!! We haven't even arrived at "Fire."

You can also add the group fire escape photo in the album's booklet into the mix.

Is is hot as hell in here or is it me? It really is a mystery.

I'm going to guess at this point that some of you are going to think my silly points are not convincing at all. Never fear. The totally innocuous official SMILE explanation is coming soon to blow your minds.

[Bill Tobelman]

One last thought. Before Brian started his work for BWPS he had asked David Leaf to find him a copy of Alan Watts' book The Joyous Cosmology.

You may be able to find a used copy somewhere.

You'll have to find it that way as there aren't likely to be any of its passages quoted in the SMiLE Sessions booklet.