The Private Life Of Bill And Sue - better choice?

[SIP.FLAC]

I think a better choice would have been to take that song and not put it on the album.

[hypehat]

The thing is, he never really says anything about reality television. The song doesn't say anything about anything, actually. In it's 4 minutes, there isn't a story arc. Whoever fleshed out the lyrics (Joe I guess) could have done a better job. In the end, the message is that people watch pointless television shows. I knew that!

Exactly.

[Chris Brown]

The thing is, he never really says anything about reality television. The song doesn't say anything about anything, actually. In it's 4 minutes, there isn't a story arc. Whoever fleshed out the lyrics (Joe I guess) could have done a better job. In the end, the message is that people watch pointless television shows. I knew that!

Exactly.

Seconded.  Although I've grown to kinda like the song, I was really let down when I first heard it.  Given the cool and quirky title, I expected the track to be a lot more interesting, musically and lyrically. 

[MBE]

It's not my favorite on there by any means. Reminds me of South American and that's not a good thing.

[BB Universe]

I'm in agreement with those who say that PLOBAS would not be as good a follow up single as Isn't It Time, especially if talking about airplay. IIT is catchy whereas PLOBAS is in the vein of Brian composing/writing about something (ie. reality shows) that struck him for some reason but I don' think the theme of the song would resinate generally IMO.
FTTBA and Shelter could have been candidates - FTTBA sounds very good while Shelter is somewhat catchier with the refrain.
Actually, I think Strange World is very solid and Spring Vacation and Beaches In Mind are "guilty pleasures"  that keep re-occuring to me.
Even Mike's Daybreak is an enjoyable listen.
Brian's final 2 songs are simply superb, just not singles material.
All in all, IIT is a good choice.

[Aegir]

There's no way From There to Back Again could be a single... it doesn't even have a chorus.

[Ron]

I dont' know if it would be a better choice, but I don't think either one would be a good single.  They're decent songs, but we're talking about singles.  something that stands on it's own.  Neither of these songs are 'good' on their own... they're only good when you're sitting there explaining to somebody why they're good.

"From there to back again" wouldn't work as a single, Tom Petty might play it if he still has his radio show that plays 'deep cuts' but other than that, you're not going to hear that playing on the drive home from work.

The kitch in Beaches in Mind is just a little too much in my opinion, but Spring Vacation would make a great single that would have the potential to pull in new listeners.  Everyone I play it for thinks it's great.  It sounds like the Beach Boys. 

It's a fact: If some rock band You'd never heard of released "Isn't it Time" you wouldn't listen to it twice.  If some rock band you'd never heard of released "Spring Vacation", it'd get stuck in your head. 

[rn57]

Bill & Sue definitely grew on me after a while. But it wasn't that appealing in first listen and in today's US radio/TV scene first listen is what counts. If IIT's production is fine tuned enough for the single it just might be ready for prime time and then some.

[Wirestone]

Nah. Isn't It Time is the hit.

[Micha]

I think a better choice would have been to take that song and not put it on the album.

That's another way to put it. I agree.

It's a fact: If some rock band You'd never heard of released "Isn't it Time" you wouldn't listen to it twice.  If some rock band you'd never heard of released "Spring Vacation", it'd get stuck in your head.

No, that's NOT a fact. To me it would be the other way round.

[hypehat]

Oh Ron, your opinions aren't fact. When will you ever learn?

[shelter]

'Isn't It Time' probably won't become a big hit anywhere, but I can see it getting some radio airplay.

'Bill and Sue' on the other hand, it's really not one of the better songs on the album. And because of the quasi-tropical sounds, I think a lot of people will see it as just another weak attempt at a second 'Kokomo'.

[Paul J B]

And listen to how poorly Brian phrases some lines:
- no one knows just why we CA'..  we see their faces EVERYWHE'
- at the line at the grocery STO'
- we watch them on a tv SCREE'.. their lives are like a movie SCE'
- sometimes life can be so STRA'... maybe we just are looking for a CHAN'

Brian does that on a lot of songs even on the classic records when he sings softly, although with his age and damaged voice it's a more prominent now. I would still take that style of singing than the way he sounds on the opening verse of IIT. I've said it before and now again that I can't believe that take was accepted. Listen to Brian on Nothing But Love and even if there is SOME processing, it's Brian Wilson without a doubt. That's what Brian singing good these days should and can sound like.

[runnersdialzero]

If some other band released "Isn't It Time", I would be inclined to check out more of their material. This is more true of "Isn't It Time" and "From There To Back Again" than the rest of the album.

I can't think of any circumstances in which I'd even hear a song like "Spring Vacation" sans the Beach Boys releasing it in 2012. I do not actively seek out music that sounds like this because most of it sounds pretty bad, to me. It would not get stuck in my head, as I was initially very put off by it and only gave it additional listens because it was on an album I was interested in. It's definitely grown on me and turned into a favorite from the album, but only under these very specific circumstances.

"Isn't It Time" is exactly the sort of thing I want to hear the Beach Boys pushing as a single in 2012. It sounds modern, but in a way that won't date it to this year (see Beach Boys '85 or Still Cruisin' for an example of the opposite and why it's generally not a good thing), and yet you can easily picture a slightly more sparse production and it appearing on an album like Friends (think "Anna Lee The Healer"). I like the rest of the album, but what I just said either only applies to or applies the most for "Isn't It Time". For the Beach Boys to put out something that sounds so fresh and well-written in 2012 is an extremely pleasant surprise. It's one of the few things on the album that you can show to anyone without making any kind of excuses. You don't have to put it in the context of "Well, it's a new Beach Boys album. They're legends, they have a lot of history. Yeah, well, they're all about 70 now, so the liberal amount of cheese/gloss/nostalgia is kind of expected" or "Yeah, Brian/Mike/whoever doesn't sound like he did in the 60s. Still, Brian's had a rough time, he sounds much better now than he used to and we're lucky he's still around." You don't have to say who it is, you don't have to explain why the recording even existing is such an important thing, you can just say, "Hey, I like this song, check it out."

Those are the facts for me.

[Bean Bag]

I think a better choice would have been to take that song and not put it on the album.

That's funny.

I actually like Bill and Sue.  I LOVE the mellow coconut, tropical vibe.  I LOVE the chorus.  I love that a cappella highlight near the end!  Delicious!!  Ah Yes...the verse lyrics (and Brian's delivery of) are a little cringe worthy though.  They sound a lot like a "Gettin' In Over My Head" reject.  (Which is an oxymoron, since that whole damn album is a reject!  And I love it too, cause it's crazy!)

But the "isn't it time we dance the night away..." lyric from "Isn't it Time" isn't top-shelf liquor either.  Dance the night away?  How do you -- who dances the night away?  They're old!  It's not time to do that.  No.  It's time to watch other people dance the night away.  Maybe hook up with your best friend's daughter, who's now 40.   

I don't take Beach Boys lyrics too seriously...and I expect cringe-worthy moments on every album.  Every album.  Isn't it Time is the more logical single, though.  It's got hand-claps!

[Bean Bag]

If some other band released "Isn't It Time", I would be inclined to check out more of their material. This is more true of "Isn't It Time" and "From There To Back Again" than the rest of the album.

Good point.

I can't think of any circumstances in which I'd even hear a song like "Spring Vacation" sans the Beach Boys releasing it in 2012. I do not actively seek out music that sounds like this because most of it sounds pretty bad, to me. It would not get stuck in my head, as I was initially very put off by it and only gave it additional listens because it was on an album I was interested in. It's definitely grown on me and turned into a favorite from the album, but only under these very specific circumstances.

For me "Spring Vacation" was great from the get-go.  There's not a weak second, musically.  "Ridin' around..." the verse is smooth and cool.  Great melody.  Period.  And the chorus is powerful with that wicked-cool harmony, that trademark dissonance on "Vaaa-cation" and "Hoo-ney."  I agree with Sheriff John Stone...this is the song.  I'm surprised so many dislike it (or disliked it, past tense).  The lyrics are little novelty...but as a fan, I don't care.  It'll be a fan's song...not a single.

"Isn't It Time" is exactly the sort of thing I want to hear the Beach Boys pushing as a single in 2012. It sounds modern, but in a way that won't date it to this year (see Beach Boys '85 or Still Cruisin' for an example of the opposite and why it's generally not a good thing), and yet you can easily picture a slightly more sparse production and it appearing on an album like Friends (think "Anna Lee The Healer"). I like the rest of the album, but what I just said either only applies to or applies the most for "Isn't It Time". For the Beach Boys to put out something that sounds so fresh and well-written in 2012 is an extremely pleasant surprise. It's one of the few things on the album that you can show to anyone without making any kind of excuses. You don't have to put it in the context of "Well, it's a new Beach Boys album. They're legends, they have a lot of history. Yeah, well, they're all about 70 now, so the liberal amount of cheese/gloss/nostalgia is kind of expected" or "Yeah, Brian/Mike/whoever doesn't sound like he did in the 60s. Still, Brian's had a rough time, he sounds much better now than he used to and we're lucky he's still around." You don't have to say who it is, you don't have to explain why the recording even existing is such an important thing, you can just say, "Hey, I like this song, check it out."

Those are the facts for me.

I agree, Isn't it Time does sound fresh.  It's a cool little pocket symphony production.  "Dance the night away" is a little canned -- a reflex lyric, but again...I can't be bothered with hating it.

[lance]

For me, on paper Spring Vacation utterly sucks, but the reality is I love it and did from the moment I heard it. It got stuck in my head.

Now Beaches in Mind, that does utterly suck.

Having said that, I think that Isn't it time is the better single.

[Ron]

Oh Ron, your opinions aren't fact. When will you ever learn?

My opinion is you're wrong.  That's a fact. 

[I. Spaceman]

Oh Ron, your opinions aren't fact. When will you ever learn?

My opinion is you're wrong.  That's a fact. 

Your opinion then is that your opinions are fact?

[Aegir]

no, I think he's saying that it's a fact that his opinions are what they are.

[runnersdialzero]

ah JEEZ.

[absinthe_boy]

I would have chosen Shelter or even FTTBA. But definitely not Bill & Sue. I see that song as a huge missed opportunity to have a really meaningful dig at reality TV. It's not a true clunker but it's probably the worst cut on the album.

Isn't It Time is fine, OK, quite catchy and features most of the Boys taking a go at a lead vocal at differing points. I dislike the vocal processing they've chosen on the album track and would love a remixed single with different/less vocal effects. I don't see it being a huge hit but if I might just buy it.

[JimC1702]

Whether it would be a viable single or not, I do like "Bill and Sue" a lot.  I find the chorus to be infectious and it's one of my favorite tracks on the CD.  I think it could have the wide appeal of "Kokomo", given the same exposure.

[Nicko1234]

Whether it would be a viable single or not, I do like "Bill and Sue" a lot.  I find the chorus to be infectious and it's one of my favorite tracks on the CD.  I think it could have the wide appeal of "Kokomo", given the same exposure.

I really, really don`t think so. Nowhere near as catchy and it could never be a hit single. The lyrics are really poor as well.

As things stand I think Spring Vacation would have been the best choice but hopefully the new version of Isn`t it Time will be an improvement.

[shelter]

I would have chosen Shelter or even FTTBA.

Shelter needed some time to grow on me, so I don't think that would be hit single material. FTTBA is in a way like songs like Til I Die, Surf's Up and I Just Wasn't Made For These Times: beautiful, but they'll never play that kind of stuff on daytime radio.