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Poll
Question: Rate No Pier Pressure
5 - 17 (32.7%)
4 - 17 (32.7%)
3 - 9 (17.3%)
2 - 5 (9.6%)
1 - 3 (5.8%)
0 - 1 (1.9%)
Total Voters: 48

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Author Topic: No Pier Pressure  (Read 52654 times)
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« on: May 19, 2015, 01:38:26 AM »

Discuss, review and rate No Pier Pressure, released April 2015


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« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2015, 05:35:48 AM »

After living with No Pier Pressure for a month now, and listening to it several times, I'm comfortable rating the album as a high 4.  My rating is based on the 16 track version (I have the 18 track Target version, but since ITBOMM and L&M are bonus tracks, I'm not including them in my rating)

The album gets off to a great start with This Beauitful Day, similar to Think About the Days off TWGMTR. 

Then, we get into Runaway Dancer, a night at the club in a tropical resort, featuring Sebu.  I like the melody, and the song is hard to get out of your head.  But, that thumping EDM beat makes it hard for me to like the track. 

We get back on track with Whatever Happened, featuring Al Jardine on vocals.  More so than any other guest, Al Jardine's voice adds so much to this album. 

Back to the beach with Me & Him on track 4 - On the Island.  I didn't like the song on first listen, but it's grown on me (probably because the weather had gotten warmer).  Reminds me of late 70s / early 80s Jimmy Buffett.  Fun track. 

Next is Half Moon Bay, sort of a cross between Let's Go Away for Awhile and David Gilmour's Red Sky at Night (off On an Island).  Nice mood piece.

Track six is Our Special Love, another song that really grows on you.  Featuring Chris DeBurgh.....er....I mean Peter Collens. 

Al and David rejoin Brian for The Right Time, a more up tempo take on Lay Down Burden.  I will say here that NPP does a good job mixing the tempos of the 16 songs, making for a balanced listening experience.  This was the first track from the album I heard during the winter.  A good song. 

Brian and Kacey Musgraves give us some country pop on Guess You Had to Be There.  Like the Sebu track, this one doesn't work for me.  No offense to Kacey (nice voice), but just not my cup of tea.  I think it's the most un-Brian Wilson song on the album. 

Now, to the three extra deluxe tracks. 

I'm sure Don't Worry was meant to have a Motown feel, but with Joe Thomas at the helm, it feels like mid 80s Phil Collins to me.  To my ears, that's not really a bad thing as I like Phil Collins.  I like this song a lot as it's got a good hook, and a very positive vibe.

Next is the Summer Means New Love with lyrics, Somewhere Quiet (featuring Al uncredited).  At first, I thought this was a bad idea (kinda like the remakes on Imagination), but this works.  The lyrics fit the song well. 

I'm Feeling Sad is vintage Brian Wilson slice of life material.  An upbeat, fun song about feeling sad.  This track alone warrants buying the deluxe edition.

Tell Me Why is the one song that I think sounds a little repetitve.  Kinda sounds like Whatever Happened Part II.  Not a bad song.  Great vocals by Al really help the song out. 

Up next is my absolute favorite song on the album, and my Summer of 2015 anthem (I know this song will never catch on outside of the Bri-universe, but it's GREAT).  Blondie, Al, and Brian take us sailing away to white sand beaches.  What's not to like. 

One Kind of Love is next with its You Still Believe in Me like intro.  To me, this one takes a few listens, but when Brian gets to that chorus it's just wonderful.  I don't think I've mentioned yet that Brian's vocals on NPP might be the best of his solo career. 

Saturday Night is the last song with a guest star - fun's Nate Ruess.  And he does a fine job on this fun slice of summertime.  A perfect song for Saturday night with the one you love.  I think it's got a slight Strange World vibe.  To me, the most Brian Wilson sounding of the guest stars. 

Last Song closes out the album.  For the third straight album, Brian closes out with an attack to the heart strings (I think if you listened to Southern California, Summer's Gone, and Last Song back to back to back, your heart would literally melt).  Remind me to write a thank you card to Lana Del Ray for not showing up in the studio.  Nobody besides Brian Wilson, with his smoky aged voice, could've done this song justice.  A very emotional song, especially when you get to the repeat "There's never enough time for the ones that you love."  Very effective.  And a nice way to close out a memorable listening experience. 

Overall, a good mix of everything you'd want from a BW album in 2015.  Some emotional ballads, some upbeat love songs, some summertime/beach type material.  Cut the dance song, and the country pop, and it's close to perfect. 
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« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2015, 07:26:32 AM »

My rating is based on the standard 13 track album. I can't stand that they dumped 3 bonus tracks in the middle of the album, kinda ruining the flow of the original track order. Besides Don't Worry (which is growing on me), I love the bonus tracks, but feel they should've just been tacked onto the end of the album.

This Beautiful Day: The most beautiful opener to any Beach Boys related album since Friends. I love the 'Summer's Gone' homage, and Brian's harmonies are kick ass. 5/5

Runaway Dancer: What I truly thought was going to be my least favorite track on the album has turned into one of my favorites. Listen deep into the track: it is simple, yet there are so many little things going on, be it percussion (finger snaps, cymbal taps), or reverb/echo from the synth. To me, this is Brian Wilson harkening back to his Love You days - he isn't giving a single f*** and he's enjoying every minute of it. This is a fantastic track with some great harmonies and chords. 5/5

Whatever Happened: Modern day Pet Sounds material right here. Brian sounds damn good, and the harmonies during the chorus are tremendous. One thing I really noticed is the bass during the chorus - has a great rhythmic feel, reminds me a lot of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times. This is the Beach Boys right here. 5/5

On The Island: Zooey sings this perfectly. One thing I noticed is that she is singing is a lackadaisical bossa nova style, yet I can understand perfectly each and every word she sings. Production, harmonies, lyrics all combine to make a truly unique and quirky song. It's not meant to be Pet Sounds material, just a nice relaxing jaunt to an island nation. 5/5

Half Moon Bay: A perfect song to put after On The Island. It's like the sun has set on Zooey's island and the listener is now laying in the sand in the dark listening to the waves crash under the stars. The production on this one is stellar: each instrument is given plenty of room on the mix, and thus it gives the song a wide open atmosphere. 5/5

Our Special Love: Though I liked it from the get-go, this one was a grower for me. The intro and outro were easily my favorite harmony sections of anything from Brian's solo career. But it took a while for me to truly appreciate Peter's section. I started listening more closely and found that there were harmonies strung all the hell over this track...Peal back the many layers of this song and you'll still find a harmony or two deep in the background. 4/5

The Right Time: My least favorite song on the album, but I still love it. Al sounds like he is 25 years old here. It's a simple tune but damn catchy. It has grown on me a bit since the album released. 4/5

Guess You Had To Be There: I have to respectfully disagree with KDS about this being the most un-Brian song on the album. To me, this is the modern day equivalent to 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'. It is bouncy, popish, stunning harmonies, and has some of the best lyrics on the album. I was thrown off when Kacey started singing, because after hearing Al take the lead on The Right Time it was quite jarring to hear a female country singer start off a BW song. But when Brian starts singing I can't help but smile. Of any song that had hit potential from NPP, this is it. 5/5

Tell Me Why: castanets, harpsichord, classic Brian Wilson harmonies...what's not to like? At the 2:00 mark there is a deep horn that plays on the bridge to the chorus - it's little things like this that are strewn all over this album that make it my favorite BW solo record...each verse, each chorus has something different and exciting in it. 'Tell Me Why' reminds me a little of the Imagination album - only this song has actual substance to it. 4/5

Sail Away: Blondie sounds crazy good on this, Al sounds mind-blowing. That chorus!! So many elements in this song that make it a classic BW tune....harmonica, accordion, layers upon layers of harmony. 5/5

One Kind of Love: This has become my favorite track on the album. This is probably Brian's best lead vocal in his whole solo career. The chords, production, harmonies - this is Brian at his best. Play this on a kickass sound system and blast it. 5/5

Saturday Night: I love the placement of this track...fits wonderfully between One Kind of Love and Last Song. Nate sounds unbelievably good on this track. Yet another great pocket-pop-symphony from Brian. 5/5

Last Song: I wish beyond belief that Brian had done the "la la la"s by himself. You can kinda hear him do it towards the end of the song, and it sounds brilliant. That being said, I really love this song. Production, lyrics, harmonies all flow together perfectly. Great closer to an amazing album.

The bonus tracks and the target bonus tracks are great. I'm Feeling Sad should've been part of the standard album it's that good.

Also want to add that No Pier Pressure is the most harmony-oriented Beach Boys related album since Sunflower....every song is drenched in layers of beautiful Brian Wilson harmony. Never before has a Brian Wilson solo album been full of so many pop masterpieces. We got a glimpse of his ability to still write bouncy pocket symphonies with Good Kind of Love from TLOS, but this album is chock full of them. After a month of listening, I can confidently say that this is my favorite Beach Boys related album since Friends. The production, harmonies, songwriting, majority of the songs being 2-3 minute pocket symphonies, it all culminates into one incredible album.

Overall I give No Pier Pressure a 5/5
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« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2015, 10:13:03 PM »

1.5.

Maybe in my old age I'm becoming more and more particular about Brian's solo career or I've just not been connecting with the music of late. Either way, this album ends up being WAY less than the sum of its parts. If any of this was also worked on at the time of That's Why God Made the Radio and then expanded on later, well...I think it speaks volumes why it was left off of that album. Sometimes things are better left unreleased.

But this album...? What is this...that stands before me?!

No, it should not have been this bad. Gettin' in Over My Head was ungodly, BWPS' K-Tel repackage style is irrelevant to my ears (thankfully), That Lucky Old Sun was woefully inconsistent, and the fucking Disney album needs no other description. No Pier Pressure is on a level of horribleness equaled only by the Disney album, Gettin' in Over My Head, Keepin' the Summer Alive, and Country Love.

And GOD...Runaway Dancer.

Seriously...I cannot put into words just how much of a steaming turd Runaway Dancer truly is. It sounds like a third-rate modern pop ripoff and Brian seems bored to my ears. When guys like MGMT and such are making relevant electronic pop music with very obvious Brian influences, hearing Brian try the same with this kind of result is just not happening for me. Coming off the heels of This Beautiful Day (easily a classic in a Meant For You mold), Runaway Dancer immediately leaves a bad taste in my mouth and it doesn't leave for the rest of the album. It just KILLS the momentum.

Many of the songs sound the same. Sure, Imagination was slick but at least it was DIVERSE. When the songs get really bad in the middle of the record (the triumvirate of songs exclusive to the deluxe edition come to mind) the monotonous sameness of the tracks becomes tiresome. Hearing Al on Tell Me Why is such a relief. Thank your deity of choice for Al, Blondie, and David on their tracks here. They're the closest we'll ever get to new Beach Boys tracks and given the surroundings it's no wonder; the best songs were saved for their performances. The other guest spots positively reek of Brian being a hired vocalist on someone else's song despite having co-written all of them - there are OK results (Guess You Had To Be There), filler (Saturday Night, On the Island), and utter, complete sh*t (Runaway Dancer).

Credit where it's due, of course...This Beautiful Day and The Right Time are classic Brian Wilson. What Ever Happened and One Kind of Love are very good. Sail Away is an OK song made good by Al and Blondie's excellent vocals.

I REALLY wanted to love this album. I really didn't think Brian had another Gettin' in Over My Head in him. But the Beach Boys have always been known for surprising us fans, and sometimes those surprises include pulling the rug out from under the listener. This is as bad as Gettin' in Over My Head was...and Brian was actually giving it a better stab this time around. This wasn't supposed to be just an album to placate a record label. What ever happened?
« Last Edit: August 14, 2015, 10:21:49 PM by The Real Beach Boy » Logged

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« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2015, 02:01:43 AM »

Time to back up those steaming pile of dogshit comments.
(Deep breath)

This Beautiful Day Standard opener to anything Brian does these days. Nice enough.
Runaway Dancer Am I strange in that I really like Runaway Dancer? Got a Hall & Oates vibe to it which is something I never thought I'd be using to describe a Brian Wilson track. Shame Brian sounds like he's just woke up.
What Ever Happened Speaking of which, this track makes me sleepy. A 'modern' Pet Sounds inspired track = YAWN.
On the Island A nice laid back bit of fluff. The vocals could have done with more work.
Half Moon Bay Boring filler.
Our Special Love This needs to have a steel cage deathmatch with Wrinkles to determine the title of worst BB solo track ever. At least Mike had the good grace not to release Wrinkles.
The Right Time A good song and the obvious single. Al sounds great even if his voice seems to have been hit with the tuna stick in places.
Guess You Had to Be There A slightly catchy melody can't save this from being a horrible modern country song.
Tell Me Why is Pet Sounds meets power ballad, with horrific results.
Sail Away. I really liked this when it first leaked but went off it rather quickly. It's OK I guess. That could have been anyone singing on the opening verse because Blondie no longer sounds like Blondie.
One Kind of Love This could have been a classic but Otto Chune still thinks the year is 1987 and turned it into a cheesy power ballad.
Saturday Night Sounds like a reject to a tacky 90s sitcom themetune. Having the guy from .Fun only adds to the misery.
The Last Song The Last Song is the bastard love child of Bruce Johnston and Dennis Wilson at their most sappy. This tries to be another Summer's Gone but fails to do so. And those 'La, la, las'? Ugh.

I will say a big plus is Matt Jardine's vocals are much better then Jeff Foskett's custom shriek. Still, better backing vocals can only do so much in the face of stilted songwriting and godawful production choices.

I'd say 1.5/5 is about right.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2015, 04:29:11 AM by Mike's Beard » Logged

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« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2015, 11:25:39 AM »

Some absolutely fabulous songs here but am I the only person who believes the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition, and capitol could have done this, should have been a seperate 7 " or CD and definitely listed as seperate tracks?

The regular 13 track edition of the albums flows so much better than the deluxe edition all streaming and download sites present a listener with
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« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2015, 12:27:29 PM »

2.

Definitely the last blind BW buy for me.  Possibly the last BW buy period.  It's just not good listening in 2015.  Needs a new producer and needs to be allowed to either do whatever the hell he wants or nothing at all.
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« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2015, 12:08:08 AM »

Seemed like this got nothing but raves the first couple weeks it was out. Glad to see I'm not the only one who is unmoved by this latest attempt to make Brian seem relevant to today's record buyers.
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« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2015, 02:46:46 AM »

Seemed like this got nothing but raves the first couple weeks it was out. Glad to see I'm not the only one who is unmoved by this latest attempt to make Brian seem relevant to today's record buyers.


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« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2015, 08:23:14 PM »

OFF WITH HIS HEAD!
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« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2015, 05:18:43 AM »

Frankly, quite a few posters here had some rational arguments as to why they disliked aspects of this album, and it's totally respectable. No one got pissed off when posters here were open about their reasons for disliking the album. In fact some good discussions took place and we learned a lot about the album during these conversations. I think the only qualms some people here had were when the posters with 1-2 posts under their belt left one sentence "reviews" about how crap the album was and when the album was called a "steaming pile of dogshit".

When people act like adults regarding a piece of art Brian spent months (years) making, even if they totally dislike the art, they'll get treated like adults.

No one here was raising pitchforks to the low star reviews in this thread...so why try to veer things off topic? It's been a great week for Beach Boys fandom, Mike did one of the best interviews we've seen from him, Brian/Al/Blondie just played a phenomenal concert, this place has seemingly gone without some sort of argument for over a week now - let's try to keep this positivity going.
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« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2015, 07:37:41 AM »

Tell Me Why is the only song I really like here and The Right Time, though 'BW by numbers' in many ways, is quite enjoyable too. I absolutely love BW88 and both TLOS + BWRG had their moments but other than that I think Brian's solo stuff has always been sort of lacking. NPP is a lot like Imagination but sounds even more polished, if that's possible. It's always strange to hear his weathered voice (which I think can still sound expressive and soulful!) against these MOR backing tracks. The combination feels kind of awkward to me and I think he'd do much better if the tracks sounded more like I'm Broke or similar stuff from the Paley sessions. Maybe that's just a personal preference, though. 2/5 for me.
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« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2015, 08:56:30 AM »

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« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2015, 11:26:08 AM »

Frankly, quite a few posters here had some rational arguments as to why they disliked aspects of this album, and it's totally respectable. No one got pissed off when posters here were open about their reasons for disliking the album. In fact some good discussions took place and we learned a lot about the album during these conversations. I think the only qualms some people here had were when the posters with 1-2 posts under their belt left one sentence "reviews" about how crap the album was and when the album was called a "steaming pile of dogshit".

When people act like adults regarding a piece of art Brian spent months (years) making, even if they totally dislike the art, they'll get treated like adults.

No one here was raising pitchforks to the low star reviews in this thread...so why try to veer things off topic? It's been a great week for Beach Boys fandom, Mike did one of the best interviews we've seen from him, Brian/Al/Blondie just played a phenomenal concert, this place has seemingly gone without some sort of argument for over a week now - let's try to keep this positivity going.

Great post, agreed 100%. Talk about finding a straw man argument when an actual issue never existed...
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« Reply #14 on: September 15, 2015, 10:42:32 PM »

Tell Me Why is the only song I really like here and The Right Time, though 'BW by numbers' in many ways, is quite enjoyable too. I absolutely love BW88 and both TLOS + BWRG had their moments but other than that I think Brian's solo stuff has always been sort of lacking. NPP is a lot like Imagination but sounds even more polished, if that's possible. It's always strange to hear his weathered voice (which I think can still sound expressive and soulful!) against these MOR backing tracks. The combination feels kind of awkward to me and I think he'd do much better if the tracks sounded more like I'm Broke or similar stuff from the Paley sessions. Maybe that's just a personal preference, though. 2/5 for me.
There was a time when the prospect of a BW solo album was something I found very exciting. Now...not so much. I'll take Sweet Insanity over the new stuff.
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« Reply #15 on: September 25, 2015, 12:08:36 PM »

I cannot believe NPP has this many fives. Percentage wise, this album has a higher favorability rating on this site than Surf's Up. I assume my review on PopMatters didn't go over too well...
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« Reply #16 on: September 25, 2015, 01:21:30 PM »

I cannot believe NPP has this many fives. Percentage wise, this album has a higher favorability rating on this site than Surf's Up. I assume my review on PopMatters didn't go over too well...

13 people gave it 5 stars. Is it really that hard to believe that 13 people like this album a lot? The people that didn't like this album probably don't care enough about it to waste their time reviewing or rating it. Also, given that the NPP poll has only been up for 4 months and the Surf's Up review thread has been up for almost 10 years, I'd say give it a bit more time for the numbers to even out.

As for your Popmatters review; I don't think too many people cared specifically about your review. I thought it was satire actually, given how much you got wrong in the article. It honestly sounded like you were just making fun of the people who were knocking the album. If you were being serious, I'll clear up some glaringly obvious faults with your review...

For instance, Runaway Dancer is indeed a Brian Wilson track - he recorded a demo track with Joe back in 1998 and according to people who would know the track didn't change much at all. I think Sebu helped add some synths and other things, but much of the track is the same concept from the 90s.

Quote
Would he invite Zooey Deschanel, or that guy who was on that Pink song from a few years ago to do guest spots? No, because he doesn’t know who those people are, nor should he.

Actually there is a history between Zooey and Brian, she even interviewed Brian quite a few years ago, it can be found on Youtube. No doubt he had heard her Wouldn't It Be Nice cover.

Quote
But alas, the man has bills to pay and family to support, so he signed off on this thing.

Ahh of course because he's not making enough from the Beach Boy royalties...he's scrounging up those pennies and dimes to feed his hungry children.

Quote
If anyone has seen an interview or spoken with Brian these last five or ten years, you know that this is a man who is simply not interested in making music anymore, and he doesn’t need to be.

People who have actually spoken with Brian said he was amped up nearly every day to get to the studio to record for NPP. He worked his ass off for months in the studio before this was released, polishing and getting each sound right.

edit: actually just found an even better breakdown of your review from the poster Wirestone: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,20283.msg510064.html#msg510064

Again, pardon if I completely misread your review; if it was satire just ignore the above. If not, next time you do a review and rip an artist to shreds, do 10 minutes of research on the World Wide Web before you open that Word application.
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« Reply #17 on: September 25, 2015, 01:59:19 PM »

I cannot believe NPP has this many fives. Percentage wise, this album has a higher favorability rating on this site than Surf's Up. I assume my review on PopMatters didn't go over too well...

13 people gave it 5 stars. Is it really that hard to believe that 13 people like this album a lot? The people that didn't like this album probably don't care enough about it to waste their time reviewing or rating it. Also, given that the NPP poll has only been up for 4 months and the Surf's Up review thread has been up for almost 10 years, I'd say give it a bit more time for the numbers to even out.

As for your Popmatters review; I don't think too many people cared specifically about your review. I thought it was satire actually, given how much you got wrong in the article. It honestly sounded like you were just making fun of the people who were knocking the album. If you were being serious, I'll clear up some glaringly obvious faults with your review...

For instance, Runaway Dancer is indeed a Brian Wilson track - he recorded a demo track with Joe back in 1998 and according to people who would know the track didn't change much at all. I think Sebu helped add some synths and other things, but much of the track is the same concept from the 90s.

Quote
Would he invite Zooey Deschanel, or that guy who was on that Pink song from a few years ago to do guest spots? No, because he doesn’t know who those people are, nor should he.

Actually there is a history between Zooey and Brian, she even interviewed Brian quite a few years ago, it can be found on Youtube. No doubt he had heard her Wouldn't It Be Nice cover.

Quote
But alas, the man has bills to pay and family to support, so he signed off on this thing.

Ahh of course because he's not making enough from the Beach Boy royalties...he's scrounging up those pennies and dimes to feed his hungry children.

Quote
If anyone has seen an interview or spoken with Brian these last five or ten years, you know that this is a man who is simply not interested in making music anymore, and he doesn’t need to be.

People who have actually spoken with Brian said he was amped up nearly every day to get to the studio to record for NPP. He worked his ass off for months in the studio before this was released, polishing and getting each sound right.

edit: actually just found an even better breakdown of your review from the poster Wirestone: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,20283.msg510064.html#msg510064

Again, pardon if I completely misread your review; if it was satire just ignore the above. If not, next time you do a review and rip an artist to shreds, do 10 minutes of research on the World Wide Web before you open that Word application.

If you are of a mind to give this record 5 stars then that's a good sign that no amount of logic or facts could possibly sway you.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2015, 02:04:27 PM by caseyhardmeyer » Logged
rab2591
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« Reply #18 on: September 25, 2015, 02:53:03 PM »

Sway what?

You wrote a "review" littered with incorrect facts. I, and Wirestone, corrected those facts for you based off of information from people who actually know Brian...information easily accessible from the internet.

And knocking my taste in music? Taste varies, slugger.
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God must’ve smiled the day Brian Wilson was born!

"ragegasm" - /rāj • ga-zəm/ : a logical mental response produced when your favorite band becomes remotely associated with the bro-country genre.

Ever want to hear some Beach Boys songs mashed up together like The Beatles' 'LOVE' album? Check out my mix!
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« Reply #19 on: September 25, 2015, 03:02:54 PM »

I cannot believe NPP has this many fives. Percentage wise, this album has a higher favorability rating on this site than Surf's Up. I assume my review on PopMatters didn't go over too well...

13 people gave it 5 stars. Is it really that hard to believe that 13 people like this album a lot? The people that didn't like this album probably don't care enough about it to waste their time reviewing or rating it. Also, given that the NPP poll has only been up for 4 months and the Surf's Up review thread has been up for almost 10 years, I'd say give it a bit more time for the numbers to even out.

As for your Popmatters review; I don't think too many people cared specifically about your review. I thought it was satire actually, given how much you got wrong in the article. It honestly sounded like you were just making fun of the people who were knocking the album. If you were being serious, I'll clear up some glaringly obvious faults with your review...

For instance, Runaway Dancer is indeed a Brian Wilson track - he recorded a demo track with Joe back in 1998 and according to people who would know the track didn't change much at all. I think Sebu helped add some synths and other things, but much of the track is the same concept from the 90s.

Quote
Would he invite Zooey Deschanel, or that guy who was on that Pink song from a few years ago to do guest spots? No, because he doesn’t know who those people are, nor should he.

Actually there is a history between Zooey and Brian, she even interviewed Brian quite a few years ago, it can be found on Youtube. No doubt he had heard her Wouldn't It Be Nice cover.

Quote
But alas, the man has bills to pay and family to support, so he signed off on this thing.

Ahh of course because he's not making enough from the Beach Boy royalties...he's scrounging up those pennies and dimes to feed his hungry children.

Quote
If anyone has seen an interview or spoken with Brian these last five or ten years, you know that this is a man who is simply not interested in making music anymore, and he doesn’t need to be.

People who have actually spoken with Brian said he was amped up nearly every day to get to the studio to record for NPP. He worked his ass off for months in the studio before this was released, polishing and getting each sound right.

edit: actually just found an even better breakdown of your review from the poster Wirestone: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,20283.msg510064.html#msg510064

Again, pardon if I completely misread your review; if it was satire just ignore the above. If not, next time you do a review and rip an artist to shreds, do 10 minutes of research on the World Wide Web before you open that Word application.

If you are of a mind to give this record 5 stars then that's a good sign that no amount of logic or facts could possibly sway you.

I don't think this is a 5 star album, so how about addressing those points for me?
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caseyhardmeyer
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« Reply #20 on: September 25, 2015, 05:49:24 PM »

1. Brian Wilson and Zooey Deschanel must be friends because they did a youtube video together once. Yes, I'm sure that wasn't a PR stunt or anything like that. She covered one of his songs, of course he knows her, just like Brian is friends with every one of the thousands of artists that have covered his music! You win that one!

2. Brian doesn't need money, he's got Beach Boys royalties. Exactly, it's not like he's obligated to fulfill his record contract with Capitol or face legal penalties and I'm sure he doesn't have money tied up in lots of different places like most wealthy people with big families and lawyers and managers and all that stuff. He never needs income ever again! You win round two I guess Sad

3. Yes, this officially released behind the scenes video shows him fully engrossed in the record-making process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHPYULAS1k
Joe Thomas is conspicuously absent from the video, which must mean Brian was the ONLY one in the booth during the making of the entire record! And Brian clearly thought high enough of the material to leave most of the singing to guest spots. I read it on a source that is "easily available on the internet". You win again!

btw I found it funny most people took it as an attack on Brian. Clearly the targets were Joe Thomas and his horribly schlocky production (which was almost universally panned) but I guess it's hard for people to realize that their favorite artist can turn out a dismal product. Truth hurts folks.
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rab2591
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« Reply #21 on: September 25, 2015, 06:40:33 PM »

1. Brian Wilson and Zooey Deschanel must be friends because they did a youtube video together once. Yes, I'm sure that wasn't a PR stunt or anything like that. She covered one of his songs, of course he knows her, just like Brian is friends with every one of the thousands of artists that have covered his music! You win that one!

2. Brian doesn't need money, he's got Beach Boys royalties. Exactly, it's not like he's obligated to fulfill his record contract with Capitol or face legal penalties and I'm sure he doesn't have money tied up in lots of different places like most wealthy people with big families and lawyers and managers and all that stuff. He never needs income ever again! You win round two I guess Sad

3. Yes, this officially released behind the scenes video shows him fully engrossed in the record-making process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHPYULAS1k
Joe Thomas is conspicuously absent from the video, which must mean Brian was the ONLY one in the booth during the making of the entire record! And Brian clearly thought high enough of the material to leave most of the singing to guest spots. I read it on a source that is "easily available on the internet". You win again!

1. Did I claim they were friends? Stop putting words in my mouth. From what I recall Zooey is the daughter of an old friend of Brian's (and if I recall correctly the exact story is that Brian's family babysat Zooey when she was a kid). Either way, you claimed Brian didn't know who she was - you were proven wrong. Surprise.

2. He never needs income again? You're claiming i'm implying that absurd statement? Yet again, don't put words in my mouth (you really have a knack for skewing/ignoring the truth, eh?). Also, like most wealthy people who have to pay managers/lawyers I'm sure Brian's money is invested heavily in things other than music. You and I both know absolutely nothing about Brian's financials, difference between you and I is that I'm not writing this bullshit in Popmatters.

3. Well if you don't trust sources who actually talk to Brian on a regular basis then this conversation is useless.

Quote
btw I found it funny most people took it as an attack on Brian. Clearly the targets were Joe Thomas and his horribly schlocky production (which was almost universally panned) but I guess it's hard for people to realize that their favorite artist can turn out a dismal product. Truth hurts folks.

You find it funny that people took your pitiful review as an attack on Brian? Dude, read your hack piece again. You compare Brian to an old grandpa who is wheeled out by his daughter at Thanksgiving dinner and forced to make a speech to the family. No, that's not degrading to Brian at all...jeesh. You say straight out "there is a very special kind of knot that appears in their stomach each time someone decides to drag out Brian Wilson for another go-around." implying that Brian has no control over his life, that he is forced to make music, or as you so eloquently put it "sign off" on it.

Next time you write one of these things, actually research the facts before spouting nonsense. And possibly spend more than two sentences talking about the music itself. Then maybe you won't have to spend your time childishly berating someones music taste because they corrected a slew of facts from one of your reviews.
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Bill Tobelman's SMiLE site

God must’ve smiled the day Brian Wilson was born!

"ragegasm" - /rāj • ga-zəm/ : a logical mental response produced when your favorite band becomes remotely associated with the bro-country genre.

Ever want to hear some Beach Boys songs mashed up together like The Beatles' 'LOVE' album? Check out my mix!
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« Reply #22 on: September 25, 2015, 08:22:23 PM »

It's amusing that a reviewer -- anyone, really -- would find it worthy of comment that members of an artist's fan board would be inclined to enjoy that artist's music. It's like going to the Eric Clapton fan board and asking incredulously why the members like guitar solos and gave five-star reviews to "Old Sock."
« Last Edit: September 25, 2015, 09:44:37 PM by Wirestone » Logged
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« Reply #23 on: September 25, 2015, 09:19:06 PM »

This guy is totally the kind of person who writes reviews - he has a very simple, black and white way of thinking. If I could go back and not have a read a single word written by him, I would.
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caseyhardmeyer
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« Reply #24 on: September 26, 2015, 12:12:25 PM »

You folks may need a reminder that an album review is not a scientific document, it is not a legal document, it is not a research paper, but it is an opinion piece that is equal parts personal experience, conjecture and, in my case anyway, a historical examination through the lens of a consumer. If everything I wrote was wrong, or slanderous, I would have been contacted long ago to make corrections or remove the article outright (believe me, managers, and particularly labels, are VERY quick to go after journos for negative reviews, even if they have no grounds for doing so. London electronic label Hyperdub threatened an editor of mine recently because I thought Jessy Lanza's EP contained "filler").

But of course, we never received anything like that from Capitol or Brian's team. Probably because they too knew the product was weak (if you think I wrote the sole harsh review please look again) and they knew there was nothing legally dubious about what I was saying.

And above all else, I would encourage you to have a sense of humor. Opinion pieces are meant to be provocative, album reviews are no exception. You can't review an album like Consumer Reports reviews a vacuum because music is ENTIRELY subjective, there is nothing more pompous than a dissection of a pop album that presents itself as anything but one dude/lady's opinion.

The Beach Boys are my favorite band, and they have been for a decade now. And if there's one thing I've learned about loving this group, and Brian, is that being a BBs fan is very frustrating. My review is a reflection of those frustrations, and in more general terms it's also about the complexities of fandom.

I commented on this thread originally to express my personal shock about how highly this album is thought of by fans, because in my listening experience, there isn't anything on NPP that resembles what has always attracted me to his music. I don't listen to BBs/BW to hear Kacey Musgraves, to hear autotuned vocals, or to hear disco (Didn't they learn ANYTHING from Here Comes Comes the Night???). I listen to hear Brian and, in regards to the Beach Boys, his brothers, cousin and friend. I hear way too little of Brian on NPP.
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