Why does Brian sing out of the side of his mouth ?

[DonnyL]

Is it just me, or is this board rapidly going downhill ?

[Dunderhead]

I think our insular little community was disrupted a little by the reunion, and we got a lot of new members who haven't all gotten the hang of things yet. I just try and post a thread every once in a while to give some of the gearheads and obsessives something to chew on. I suggest you do the same if you don't like the direction things seem to be going in. I think it's better to try and set a good example than to just complain about the situation, no offence.

[DonnyL]

not sure it was a complaint, more an observation/question.

it's not just a 'newbie' thing ... it's almost as if there's so much activity, people have gone ADD. Sure, re-hashing 'basic' stuff that's been discussed endlessly is one thing, but really these 'What do you think of the song 409?' kind of threads seem to have taken over. Maybe a 'Hanging out and shootin the $hit' section is in order. These are technically 'on topic', but are they really? The signal-to-noise ratio is getting pretty bad. I'm about to bow out (again), and I noticed a bunch of other folks aren't posting anymore. And the 'honored guests' are dwindling. This, combined with the fact that you've got to have a thick skin to post, has made this place fairly uninviting.

[Dunderhead]

I don't disagree with you, I haven't been posting much either recently. I think the board needs to be reorganized, the majority of the posting occurs in this forum while other forums like the general music discussion forum or the sandbox are so out of the way that they aren't very useful.
Maybe it would be better if things got restructured into a smaller number of subforums. One for discussion about current releases, appearances, interviews, that type of stuff. One just for discussion of past albums, and one that combined the sandbox, the media section, and the General Music Discussion forums.

[TonyW]

Everybody knows the side of the mouth thing is because this board has had a stroke.

 

[Slow In Brain]

So his good ear can hear the words

[Pretty Funky]

His mouth is fine. Its just the angle of the rest of his body is out of whack!

[mjforever]

Now that it has been brought up ... why does he sing out of the side of his mouth?

[Cabinessenceking]

Are there statistics available to show that the amount of members of the board increased following the reuinion announcement?
I got my account last summer I think, but I was watching this board for two years before that.

[Aegir]

approximately 240 members have joined the board since the reunion announcement (I don't know the exact date).

[PaulTMA]

He was trying to copy Animal Collective

[absinthe_boy]

He's been doing it since the mid 60's. Might have been something to do with his bad hear (or his good ear). But really nobody knows.

A lot of people assume Brian has had a stroke. While that may or may not be the case (personally I think it's BS) there exists lots of footage of Brian singing out of the side of his mouth going way back to the early days of the band....so that idiosyncrasy has nothing to do with a stroke (real or imagined).

[drbeachboy]

Most likely genetics. Audree was known to do it, as well.

[Banana]

I've always assumed he did it because of his hearing.  You can definitely see him doing it very early on.

[LostArt]

Ummm...you guys know that the original poster did not start this thread to find out why Brian sings out of the side of his mouth, right?

[drbeachboy]

Ummm...you guys know that the original poster did not start this thread to find out why Brian sings out of the side of his mouth, right?

We know, but if you Title it, then they will come. Plus, why on earth would we comment on our own bad or boring behavior? DonnyL should just take it upon himself to filter the board. There are some crap threads in here, but they are infinitely better than those on the bloo. Also, it's better than a dead board and no one conversing at all.

[Jon Stebbins]

I've also noticed a significant deterioration in the general quality of posts and thread topics on this board. Granted that's a subjective assessment, but I guess I'm not alone in my observation. There's a few specific things that seem to have proliferated...one is people who forget to use the search engine before they pose a question or topic, and therefore crowd the thread topics with entry-level questions about well-worn subjects. Another are people who post the "have you ever heard this?...or..."have you ever seen this?' And it ends up being something with 35,627 views on Youtube, or something that's been booted for 15 years. I go away shaking my head wondering how you can have hundreds of posts on a BB's message board but not have seen or heard these things that would seem essential to understanding the topic you are so interested in, and that are so easy to access. But for every shake of my head there are people who join in agreeing, "wow I've never seen that!" Or, "gee I've never heard of that"...which just makes me wonder do people just like to jabber on here, and are not really interested in digging and learning and gaining perspective from the myriad of sources at our fingertips. It just seems like there's a new wave of posters with a new approach...ask questions first, and make independent efforts to actually find the answers yourself a last resort. And then there are the unfortunate topics that seem to take up about half of the board now. Wow!  But again that's subjective, and like many of you i just don't read things that seem uninteresting. But you gotta admit that some of these topics are pretty dang shallow. Now don't get me wrong, i loves me this board. I even said so in print in my last book, so there... its on the record. But since others are noticing perhaps a 15 Big Ones-esque reduction in quality control around here, i thought I'd add my two cents, which I know stands a good chance of getting flamed by one of our resident concern trolls. Bottom Line...More people reading and participating in the board is a good sign. The Beach Boys fan base has expanded. Every year I get a little grumpier.

[drbeachboy]

True that, Jon. Also, way too much rehashing of the myths as facts around here. There is enough of that already on the Internet. No need to keep perpetuating it here, as well.

[Jason]

I've also noticed a significant deterioration in the general quality of posts and thread topics on this board. Granted that's a subjective assessment, but I guess I'm not alone in my observation. There's a few specific things that seem to have proliferated...one is people who forget to use the search engine before they pose a question or topic, and therefore crowd the thread topics with entry-level questions about well-worn subjects. Another are people who post the "have you ever heard this?...or..."have you ever seen this?' And it ends up being something with 35,627 views on Youtube, or something that's been booted for 15 years. I go away shaking my head wondering how you can have hundreds of posts on a BB's message board but not have seen or heard these things that would seem essential to understanding the topic you are so interested in, and that are so easy to access. But for every shake of my head there are people who join in agreeing, "wow I've never seen that!" Or, "gee I've never heard of that"...which just makes me wonder do people just like to jabber on here, and are not really interested in digging and learning and gaining perspective from the myriad of sources at our fingertips. It just seems like there's a new wave of posters with a new approach...ask questions first, and make independent efforts to actually find the answers yourself a last resort. And then there are the unfortunate topics that seem to take up about half of the board now. Wow!  But again that's subjective, and like many of you i just don't read things that seem uninteresting. But you gotta admit that some of these topics are pretty dang shallow. Now don't get me wrong, i loves me this board. I even said so in print in my last book, so there... its on the record. But since others are noticing perhaps a 15 Big Ones-esque reduction in quality control around here, i thought I'd add my two cents, which I know stands a good chance of getting flamed by one of our resident concern trolls. Bottom Line...More people reading and participating in the board is a good sign. The Beach Boys fan base has expanded. Every year I get a little grumpier.

I think Dennis put it best, so I'll paraphrase him a bit.

"Everything that they are or will ever be is in the music. If you want to know them, just listen."

[Wirestone]

Is it just me, or is this board rapidly going downhill ?

Regular visitors have complained about this board going downhill for years. There is periodic turnover of a significant proportion of the posters, so you regularly get a nearly new board.

More recently, the reunion has brought back some older posters and swirled in many new ones, so it's made for an uneasy mix at times. I'm mainly bothered by the topic churn. Lots of good stuff has been lost.

[Justin]

I think once the tour is over, you'll see general activity go down again.  I've already noticed that a few newbie posters that were regulars on this board, immediately stopped posting once they attended their shows.  Perhaps they reached their Beach Boys "climax" and felt they don't really  need the board anymore?  I suppose that would be something to look forward to for those on this board who are irked by all the newbie posts. 

As with any online community, it can be tough to mix new members with long-standing members consdiering there will almost always be a clash.  The events in the last year from the TSS, to the new album/tour have brought on a new wave of fans to come here and celebrate the band---myself included.  But from what I've seen on other boards online, it always moves in waves (no pun intended!).  It goes up and down and eventually the waters begin to calm and things slowly get back to "normal."  I'm still relatively "new" here and I also can get a little peeved by a few random posts here and there but I suppose the only thing you can do is just practice a tiny bit more patience and simply not participate in the posts that bother you and move on to the ones that stimulate you positively.

[drbeachboy]

Justin, you are a fairly new guy in here that I am grateful showed up. You are smart , concise and you stay on topic. Also, a big thanks for tracking all 51 U.S. Reunion shows.

[Shady]

I love this board but it's without a doubt the most unfriendly board towards newbies I've ever experienced..

I think BB's fans have a low tolerance or something 

[Justin]

That is very kind, Doc..thank you for the kind words! You're defintiely one of the good guys 'round here!

[pixletwin]

Justin, you are a fairly new guy in here that I am grateful showed up. You are smart , concise and you stay on topic. Also, a big thanks for tracking all 51 U.S. Reunion shows.

Yup. A BIG "+1" from me on that one.