Are you ever embarrassed to be a Beach Boys fan?

[Smile4ever]

It seems that the perception of the Beach Boys music and image can be drastically different among those who know it best (fans) and casual listeners. As a result, are you ever publicly timid or even flat out embarrassed to be a Beach Boys fan?

I know that if anyone showed the video for Rock N' Roll to the Rescue, among a slew of other 80s/90s songs, I'd be heading for the hills before admitting I was fan of that band.

[bluesno1fann]

I actually agree. While I have always defended the Beach Boys, it can be really embarrassing to admit being a fan.

People are still convinced to this day that they are just a crappy Surf band who sings like girls. Which is a big reason why I always reccomend BB's music from 1966 to 1973, to try and break their image. Songs such as All I Want To Do, Sail On Sailor, Surf's Up, Slip On Through, You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone and Wild Honey I try and reccomend, and reactions are usually favourable.

But we all know the reason for the band's embarrassing image, Mike, Bruce and Capitol Records aside.

DAMN YOU, ENDLESS SUMMER!!!

[Shady]

Never have been, never will be

[bgas]

I actually agree. While I have always defended the Beach Boys, it can be really embarrassing to admit being a fan.

People are still convinced to this day that they are just a crappy Surf band who sings like girls. Which is a big reason why I always reccomend BB's music from 1966 to 1973, to try and break their image. Songs such as All I Want To Do, Sail On Sailor, Surf's Up, Slip On Through, You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone and Wild Honey I try and reccomend, and reactions are usually favourable.

But we all know the reason for the band's embarrassing image, Mike, Bruce and Capitol Records aside.

DAMN YOU, ENDLESS SUMMER!!!

That's really funny, as those are the  songs that most every regular ticket buyer goes to concerts to hear

[Sheriff John Stone]

But we all know the reason for the band's embarrassing image, Mike, Bruce and Capitol Records aside.

Right, shoot the messengers.

[bluesno1fann]

But we all know the reason for the band's embarrassing image, Mike, Bruce and Capitol Records aside.

Right, shoot the messengers.

I was mainly blaming Capitol Records and Endless Summer, not so much Mike and Bruce although they certainly don't help.

[Mr. Wilson]

Mike helped compile Endless Summer... 

[rab2591]

When I mention that The Beach Boys are my favorite band to musicians, it usually ushers in a lengthy conversation about Brian Wilson.

When I mention that The Beach Boys are my favorite band to chicks, I usually get teased for it.

When I've had a few at a social gathering, I'll sing their praises and damn anyone who disagrees with me.

I can't say I've ever felt embarrassment for liking this band. The odds that the Wilson brothers were born and sang so well together, the odds that Denny learned how to surf and told Brian to write a song about it, the odds that Murry was such a hardass and demanded perfection, the odds that Brian Wilson was/is a musical genius, the odds that Brian met Tony Asher and both went on to create Pet Sounds...What I mean is:

The Beach Boys are a gift from above...or one of the greatest accidents to ever happen in the cosmos. They created some of the most heavenly music known to man. Yeah, they've created some terrible music in the last 40 years, and they have a sh*t logo, and their sun/surf image is corny as hell. But when I talk with others about them, I don't even think about that stuff...I'm thinking about the harmonies, the complexity of chords, the deeper meanings of their lyrics.

[Mr. Wilson]

1968-69-70 it was rough being a BB fan.. Then Surfs Up came out and all is right with the world..

[startBBtoday]

I actually agree. While I have always defended the Beach Boys, it can be really embarrassing to admit being a fan.

People are still convinced to this day that they are just a crappy Surf band who sings like girls. Which is a big reason why I always reccomend BB's music from 1966 to 1973, to try and break their image. Songs such as All I Want To Do, Sail On Sailor, Surf's Up, Slip On Through, You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone and Wild Honey I try and reccomend, and reactions are usually favourable.

But we all know the reason for the band's embarrassing image, Mike, Bruce and Capitol Records aside.

DAMN YOU, ENDLESS SUMMER!!!

I'd wager to say Endless Summer did far more to help the band than hurt it.

[Mr. Wilson]

MY thoughts exactly  !!

[bluesno1fann]

I disagree. It was with Endless Summer that their image as a square surf band was set. Endless Summer marked the start of the Beach Boy's decline musically and degeneration into a oldies nostalgia band.

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

[Smile4ever]

I usually tell people I'm a Brian Wilson fan and start explaining it from there. The Beach Boys name is, to some people, tarnished. Hopefully as time passes this will no longer be the case.

[Mr. Wilson]

Well I agree with you also.. In a perfect world we would have the artistic BB + the oldies BB .. And in those years we hoped that is what was gonna happen.. And we hoped all the way till the end of the 80's.. Then gave up..  

[alf wiedersehen]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

I disagree with this.

I'm glad Endless Summer came out, maybe not for the aftermath, but because the band was allowed some success and attention again.

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

[bluesno1fann]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

What About Sail On Sailor?

[CAFeelin89]

I'm definitely hesitant when I tell people they're my favorite band of all time. I always try to add in "...But none of that Kokomo or Surfin' USA/Safari sh*t." 

[alf wiedersehen]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

What About Sail On Sailor?

I'd probably rank it below the three tracks I mentioned, but above the other ones I didn't mention.

[Summertime Blooz]

I'm never embarrassed by the music I like. It's very egotistical, but I actually feel sorry for people who don't "get" the Beach Boys or other music that I treasure.

[bluesno1fann]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

What About Sail On Sailor?

I'd probably rank it below the three tracks I mentioned, but above the other ones I didn't mention.

Fair enough.
But I'd take Holland over 15 Big Ones and Love You, as good as the latter is. And you can't deny they really went downhill musically in the years after Endless Summer was released

[donald]

To each his own.  As this thread illustrates, even fans can't seem to agree on what the good stuff is.    I'd say the general public has grown in their appreciation and knowledge of the band these past 10 to 15 years if thet've seen either a Mike or Brian show or the reunion.  They have put more of their catalogue out there than ever before.     ANd the amount of press and publicity in recent years is proof there is an interest in this band  greater than any time since they owned the charts in the 60's.  so where's the embarrassment in being a fan?

[alf wiedersehen]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

What About Sail On Sailor?

I'd probably rank it below the three tracks I mentioned, but above the other ones I didn't mention.

Fair enough.
But I'd take Holland over 15 Big Ones and Love You, as good as the latter is. And you can't deny they really went downhill musically in the years after Endless Summer was released

I think that decline, however gradual it may be, happened before ES was released.

[bluesno1fann]

In all honesty things would have gone a hell of a lot better if Jack Riley was never fired, Blondie and Ricky never left, and they continued making top-notch albums after Holland instead of "shudder" 15 Big Ones!

Also, I find Holland to be an incredibly bland, boring album (with the exception of "California," "Big Sur," and "Funky Pretty.")
I would rather listen to 15 Big Ones or Love You than to Holland.

What About Sail On Sailor?

I'd probably rank it below the three tracks I mentioned, but above the other ones I didn't mention.

Fair enough.
But I'd take Holland over 15 Big Ones and Love You, as good as the latter is. And you can't deny they really went downhill musically in the years after Endless Summer was released

I think that decline, however gradual it may be, happened before ES was released.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Personally, I've always considered the BB's best work to have been made from 1966 to 1973. Pet Sounds to Holland. Not a single bad album in between.
Endless Summer came out in 1974.
Then came 15 Big Ones...

[CenturyDeprived]

I have prefaced conversations about the BB (with people who aren't aware of their "deeper" work) by saying that I think the BB are THE most misunderstood band of all time.

This could obviously mean different things to different people... but because of this band's many, many, many various identities/drastically different incarnations over the years, and due to the fact of the music of their early years (which I still love) being whored out to unimaginable proportions, I feel that this is a pretty spot-on statement to make.

[phirnis]

What's wrong with Endless Summer? Listen to that record from start to finish, it's quite an incredible collection of all killer, no filler. Sometimes I feel this might be my personal "desert island disc" because it's just timeless and I never seem to get tired of it. Even has some of the group's deeper cuts from the earlier years, such as "Let Him Run Wild". If Mike Love was responsible for that, then he did a fabulous job I think.

Endless Summer itself is not to blame for the BB becoming an oldies act. After the album's success they could've released great "progressive" music with stuff like "It's OK" (which I love) being used as singles.