Brian - The Fan

[XY]

In an interview done before POB was released Brian praised the album and told that Dennis used to play him tapes of songs in progress and wanted to know if Brian likes them.

[shelter]

What, he likes Green Day? That's so cool... I never expected he could like anything that simple and noisy.

I detect alot of the Beach Boys in Green Day's music.. probably not intentionally on their part, but it's there.

A lot of Californian melodic punk rock bands were influenced by The Beach Boys. Take The Queers for instance, they have a Beach Boys cover on almost every album they've ever done and they even called one of their albums Don't Back Down. Pennywise recorded two Beach Boys covers as well.

[Cabana Boy]

A lot of Californian melodic punk rock bands were influenced by The Beach Boys. Take The Queers for instance, they have a Beach Boys cover on almost every album they've ever done and they even called one of their albums Don't Back Down. Pennywise recorded two Beach Boys covers as well.

Not Californian, or plastic-"punk", but The Jesus & Mary Chain did a brutal 'Surfin USA'.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

more surprising still was his claim in dublin never to have heard pacific ocean blue. I thought for a moment david leaf was gonna say "cmon brian you've heard that" but he stayed quiet

brian's definitely heard POB and in fact has said he loved it in more than one interview. I'm wondering how that question was put to him? If someone said POB or Pacific ocean Blue it might not have jogged his memory, as opposed to someone saying Dennis' solo LP. I have an interview Brian gave to an east coast radio DJ just a few months ago... and in it he says he liked Dennis solo record, but that he DID NOT  like Carl's two.

As far as i can recollect it was put to him as dennis's solo album pacific ocean blue. I think he knew what the question was, he just did not feel like talking about it (wanted to get away as quick as possible)

[Mitchell]

I wonder if Brian's heard and likes My Bloody Valentine.

[Cabana Boy]

I wonder if Brian's heard and likes My Bloody Valentine.

He has, and he does.

"WOW! I LOVE Kevin Shields! Loveless just blew me away. Knocked me clean outta my keds!"
Qmagazine
October 1996

[rb]

I, too, seem to remember hearing that Brian was a Four Freshmen fan... but what about the Hi-Lo's? Up here, on a TV station with the most uncool monicker of 'Cool TV', is shown a program from the 50's called 'The Rosemary Clooney Show'. I didn't know that Brian is a Rosemary Clooney fan (she was great); featured on this show was The Hi-Lo's, a jazz quartet of male singers with some hair-raising high harmonies. The bandleader on this show was Nelson Riddle, at his 1956 arranging peak.  Seems that the Hi-Lo's were recording artists in their own right, as well as doing jingles and commercials. Does anyone remember Brian mentioning these guys, or any other 50's vocal groups besides the FF, as influences?

[Jon Stebbins]

I, too, seem to remember hearing that Brian was a Four Freshmen fan... but what about the Hi-Lo's? Up here, on a TV station with the most uncool monicker of 'Cool TV', is shown a program from the 50's called 'The Rosemary Clooney Show'. I didn't know that Brian is a Rosemary Clooney fan (she was great); featured on this show was The Hi-Lo's, a jazz quartet of male singers with some hair-raising high harmonies. The bandleader on this show was Nelson Riddle, at his 1956 arranging peak.  Seems that the Hi-Lo's were recording artists in their own right, as well as doing jingles and commercials. Does anyone remember Brian mentioning these guys, or any other 50's vocal groups besides the FF, as influences?

I have an interview with Dennis from 1977 in which he mentions the Hi Lo's as being a big influence on the BB's vocal sound(after he'd first mentioned the Four Freshman). The dee jay seems stunned...saying he hadn't heard the name Hi Lo's in so many years. I thought it was really cool that Dennis pulled that one out. Not the kind of name-check you usually heard on rock radio in 1977.

[Mitchell]

I wonder if Brian's heard and likes My Bloody Valentine.

He has, and he does.

"WOW! I LOVE Kevin Shields! Loveless just blew me away. Knocked me clean outta my keds!"
Qmagazine
October 1996

That's awesome! Good to know! Thanks for the quote.

[Aegir]

I think Brian probably likes The Crows (original artists of "Gee").

[Rocker]

I think Brian probably likes The Crows (original artists of "Gee").

Yeah, he mentioned that at some interview, but I can't remember which...

[Third Coast]

My favorite quote of his about POB (from a tape of a radio interview in the '70s) is where he said he told his brother, "I said, 'Dennis, that's FUNKY!  That's FUNK-EE-EE-EEy!!'"

[Third Coast]

PS:  No one mentioned another singer he has said he's fond of -- Perry Como.