Beach Boys Channel on Sirius XM

[HeyJude]

I would assume they're playing the US version of the SIP album based on what I've heard (e.g. the "long" version of "Strange Things Happen", etc.). While artwork can't always be trusted, the artwork seems to indicate the US version, which had odd, pretty unique packaging but whose "cover" art constituted this:



Whereas the UK had a more standard packaging and used a different segment of the piece of art:

[HeyJude]

If you heard the restored bridge to "Under the Boardwalk", or the McGuinn bit on "Summer in Paradise", those are two easy ways to tell if they're tracking anything from the UK version.

[dcowboys107]

My thoughts upon reading this thread and actually listening to the station in my car:

Songs I've heard the most:

1. "Spirit of America" by FAR.  I've heard it five different times since last Friday! 
2.  "Do it Again" w/ "Workshop" tag.  I've heard this nearly as many times as "SOA."
3. "Cotton Fields"    Ditto
4. "Long Promised Road"  I've heard the album version twice and a live version once.
5. "Cool, Cool Water," "Rock and Roll Music," and "Match Point of Our Love," "Johnny Carson" at least twice.
6. "Disney Girls" album and Bruce solo version.

General Thoughts:

I have never been to keen on the Sirius/XM music stations at any point (I've had it for years) in my subscription experience.  Because of that, I had it mostly for the news.  The Beatles Channel changed that for me last year, but the Beach Boys channel has had me not change stations even once.  In my opinion, this is way better than the Beatles station.  The playlist is better done and I personally would rather listen to a Beach Boys' "oddity" over an obscure George Harrison solo track (no offense to him!).

I like not having any say in the song selection as it forces me to listen to songs I have never heard before; songs I didn't care for too much now with a new ear; or songs I wouldn't normally play.  In other words, it keeps me on my toes and out of my normal groove.  To the comments about "you could just hit shuffle," I don't think it is the same experience.  The radio makes you listen all the way through. No skipping, pausing, etc.  Your only option is to temporarily abandon the station and jump back in when you deem appropriate.  That simple fact makes "simply hit shuffle" not be the same.  It is too tempting to pause, replay, skip, etc. when the option exists.  I sure know I act upon those temptations when I hit "shuffle" on Spotify.

I have a new appreciation for a few things.  I used to think "Rock and Roll Music" was cheesy, but after hearing it twice all the way through, the bass synths in that song make it for me.  Totally a Brian arrangement and it wouldn't be the same with the off beat synth jabs in the chorus.  I also realized how "hypnotic," for a lack of a better term, the background vocals are a la "Marcella." I had definitely underrated this track and won't in the future.  I also appreciate the beauty of "Long Promised Road" even more.  I had always liked it, but the backing vocals in the chorus have a clever arrangement that would be tough to replicate without careful listening. Also the outro's "I love to see you" is heart warming and kind of puts a tear in my eye.  So simple yet soulful.  And finally, "Cotton Fields" has always rocked and should be in contention for Al's best vocal, but the wordless pre-chorus has one of the grooviest Mike/Brian combos ever.  While only lasting five seconds, their vocal blend create such a euphoric moment within an already upbeat song.  I definitely think this is of the best sounding examples of Mike's bass vocal ability and timbre.  Finally, the song arrangement is awesome in general and hearing it a few times in rather quick succession makes me realize it even more.

These last few days also have made me reflect upon the "Brian's voice" debate.  I had never listened to his MIA and LA vocals so I assumed his voice after Love You would be some derivative of that until his 80's and beyond voice.  After listening to "Match Point" for the first time ever, I realized that his 1976/1977 era voice might not have been as damaged as we are led to believe.  Sure, he didn't help his case with drug use, but the laryngitis and purposeful attempts at singing "more manly" could explain a lot of that gruff effect.  I came to that conclusion after comparing his lead vocal to the "I'm on my way to sunny Californi-a" bit in "California Saga" and his lead lines in "'Til I Die."   In addition, his background vocal also sound eerily similar to those on Sunflower through Holland.  As a matter of fact, in "Marcella" his voice has a bit of the timbre you hear in "Match Point" (for those who can't remember, he is clearly singing the "Heeey Marcella" parts in the outro fade in a lowish/manly voice with a tinge of his late '70s rasp)  Of course, his voice isn't 100% as smooth in the high register as it had been 8-10 years before, but it wasn't wildly different from the '70-'72 period now that I compare.

I'm sure I'll think of more but this has been in the front of my mind the last few days and have been dying to share.

[HeyJude]

Also interesting that at some point yesterday afternoon, they played two solo tracks (I think it was a Brian and then Al track) back-to-back, so while they're definitely portioning out solo stuff sparingly, there's no hard rule on that either.

Also, I would imagine at least a bit of vetting was done at least when it comes to using tracks from compilations. That is, the *only* things I've seen them play from, say, "Made in USA" are the two "new" (at the time) songs, "California Dreamin'" and "Rock and Roll to the Rescue."

That's not to say they aren't playing tracks from multiple sources, though. While most instances of "Good Vibrations" have oddly been from the '93 GV set, I've also seen it played from "Smiley Smile."

They seem to pull "Rock and Roll Music" and "It's OK" often from "GH Vol. 3: Best of the Brother Years", yet not a lot else.

[HeyJude]

I'm still seeing, understandably, some hits more often than any other tracks. I've seen the following pop up seemingly almost a dozen times each in my scattered listening:

California Girls
Good Vibrations
Surfin' Safari
Surfin' USA
409

[HeyJude]

I've recently just caught within the last half our or so multiple live cuts from copyright extension sets, namely "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" from Michigan '66 (thanks Mike for turning the song into bad jokes) and "Monster Mash" from Chicago '65.

Also caught "Summer Means Fun" from "Bruce & Terry" yesterday. Forgot how much that one sounds like a "Beach Boys" version of the Rutles. Almost like a weird off-kilter clone of Jan & Dean.

[Tony S]

Everything I've heard has been US

[TV Forces]

"Heroes and Villains" from BWPS on right now.

They found BWPS !

[HeyJude]

"Heroes and Villains" from BWPS on right now.

They found BWPS !

They played "Vegetables" from BWPS earlier today.

What's weird is that the BWPS vesion of H&V is labeled as "Alt. Version" even though I think it's just the regular album version. There was an instrumental version of the song available as a bonus track on some online download retailers, but then wouldn't *that* be the "Alt. Version?" Perhaps it's to differentiate from various BB versions. But other BB tracks from his other albums haven't been labeled as such.

There have been some weird track notations here and there, so no big deal. "Deirdre" is misspelled "Deidre", Al Jardine Family & Friends tracks are labeled as "Al Jardine & Friends", etc.

[dcowboys107]

"Heroes and Villains" from BWPS on right now.

They found BWPS !

They played "Roll Plymouth Rock" on Sunday. 

[B.E.]

... What's weird is that the BWPS vesion of H&V is labeled as "Alt. Version" even though I think it's just the regular album version.

Same with 'Surf's Up'.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

My thoughts upon reading this thread and actually listening to the station in my car:

Songs I've heard the most:

1. "Spirit of America" by FAR.  I've heard it five different times since last Friday!  
2.  "Do it Again" w/ "Workshop" tag.  I've heard this nearly as many times as "SOA."
3. "Cotton Fields"    Ditto
4. "Long Promised Road"  I've heard the album version twice and a live version once.
5. "Cool, Cool Water," "Rock and Roll Music," and "Match Point of Our Love," "Johnny Carson" at least twice.
6. "Disney Girls" album and Bruce solo version.

General Thoughts:

I have never been to keen on the Sirius/XM music stations at any point (I've had it for years) in my subscription experience.  Because of that, I had it mostly for the news.  The Beatles Channel changed that for me last year, but the Beach Boys channel has had me not change stations even once.  In my opinion, this is way better than the Beatles station.  The playlist is better done and I personally would rather listen to a Beach Boys' "oddity" over an obscure George Harrison solo track (no offense to him!).

I like not having any say in the song selection as it forces me to listen to songs I have never heard before; songs I didn't care for too much now with a new ear; or songs I wouldn't normally play.  In other words, it keeps me on my toes and out of my normal groove.  To the comments about "you could just hit shuffle," I don't think it is the same experience.  The radio makes you listen all the way through. No skipping, pausing, etc.  Your only option is to temporarily abandon the station and jump back in when you deem appropriate.  That simple fact makes "simply hit shuffle" not be the same.  It is too tempting to pause, replay, skip, etc. when the option exists.  I sure know I act upon those temptations when I hit "shuffle" on Spotify.

I have a new appreciation for a few things.  I used to think "Rock and Roll Music" was cheesy, but after hearing it twice all the way through, the bass synths in that song make it for me.  Totally a Brian arrangement and it wouldn't be the same with the off beat synth jabs in the chorus.  I also realized how "hypnotic," for a lack of a better term, the background vocals are a la "Marcella." I had definitely underrated this track and won't in the future.  I also appreciate the beauty of "Long Promised Road" even more.  I had always liked it, but the backing vocals in the chorus have a clever arrangement that would be tough to replicate without careful listening. Also the outro's "I love to see you" is heart warming and kind of puts a tear in my eye.  So simple yet soulful.  And finally, "Cotton Fields" has always rocked and should be in contention for Al's best vocal, but the wordless pre-chorus has one of the grooviest Mike/Brian combos ever.  While only lasting five seconds, their vocal blend create such a euphoric moment within an already upbeat song.  I definitely think this is of the best sounding examples of Mike's bass vocal ability and timbre.  Finally, the song arrangement is awesome in general and hearing it a few times in rather quick succession makes me realize it even more.

These last few days also have made me reflect upon the "Brian's voice" debate.  I had never listened to his MIA and LA vocals so I assumed his voice after Love You would be some derivative of that until his 80's and beyond voice.  After listening to "Match Point" for the first time ever, I realized that his 1976/1977 era voice might not have been as damaged as we are led to believe.  Sure, he didn't help his case with drug use, but the laryngitis and purposeful attempts at singing "more manly" could explain a lot of that gruff effect.  I came to that conclusion after comparing his lead vocal to the "I'm on my way to sunny Californi-a" bit in "California Saga" and his lead lines in "'Til I Die."   In addition, his background vocal also sound eerily similar to those on Sunflower through Holland.  As a matter of fact, in "Marcella" his voice has a bit of the timbre you hear in "Match Point" (for those who can't remember, he is clearly singing the "Heeey Marcella" parts in the outro fade in a lowish/manly voice with a tinge of his late '70s rasp)  Of course, his voice isn't 100% as smooth in the high register as it had been 8-10 years before, but it wasn't wildly different from the '70-'72 period now that I compare.

I'm sure I'll think of more but this has been in the front of my mind the last few days and have been dying to share.

Great post. I completely agree in regards to the station. I’m gaining a new appreciation for songs I never cared for like Don’t Hurt my little sister and Full Sail.

And as far as Brian’s vocals go, I’ve been pointing that out here for years.

[HeyJude]

I have to admit grabbing screencaps of (mostly) slightly off-kilter track selections on my phone is way too much fun for such an inane activity. I've been posting a bunch in groups on the Facebook page (link below), but here are a few random fun (relative) weird ones:

[dcowboys107]

I have to admit grabbing screencaps of (mostly) slightly off-kilter track selections on my phone is way too much fun for such an inane activity. I've been posting a bunch in groups on the Facebook page (link below), but here are a few random fun (relative) weird ones:

Something about seeing "The Beach Boys - Problem Child"  printed out so officially made me "lol" pretty hard.

[B.E.]

I caught this a few days ago...

(Ariola Version)

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

What song was right before Luau? Never heard it before

[HeyJude]

What song was right before Luau? Never heard it before

Lyrics? I know they've been playing some weird Bruce stuff from his pre-Beach Boys days; that seems to be some of the most obscure stuff they're playing.

[BeachBoysCovers]

What song was right before Luau? Never heard it before

"Come Love" by Bruce and Terry

[dcowboys107]

I wonder if any point they’ll spin entire albums. On the Beatles channel they played an entire Sgt. Peoper documentary and i think even played the album from start to finish. I think it’d be the ultimate tribute if they dedicated a week to an album and played it from start to finish once a day for the week. I remember Pet Sounds blew me away the first time I ever heard it so I can imagine hat happening to other listeners.

They can play the first half dozen records in their entirety and keep with the summer theme easily. Beyond those, you have your classic post-surf Beach Boys records to evolve into. I’d also like to hear live albums in full and BWPS since I think that’s a masterpiece in its own.

Good thing too, most of the records from start to finish barely pierce 20 something minutes.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

What song was right before Luau? Never heard it before

"Come Love" by Bruce and Terry

Wow... I’d never heard the before and I actually liked it

[TV Forces]

This guy just requested "Surfin'."  Come on, man..  They're going to play that a few times a day anyways.
I requested "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" a couple hours ago in the hopes others will be turned on to that song.

I agree with dcowboys107 that this is far better than the Beatles station.  The Beatles don't go nearly
enough into the solo catalogs.. they also have a lot of Beatles covers and "influence" segments.. And
replaying countdowns over and over is lame.  I've heard "Forever" and "Cotton Fields" a bunch, but the
depth of this channel, and never knowing what's coming up next, is tons of fun.  It's too bad it's a
temporary channel because it's my favorite thing in a long while.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

My Diane and the alternate version of Breakaway I just got my pay, and now one of the instrumentals from Surfin USA... they’re going all out this past hour!

[SMiLE Brian]

She Believes in Love Again!

[SMiLE Brian]

forever into SIP.....

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

My Love Lives On by Dennis blew me away yesterday. It's perfect on a station like this because it was so shockingly different than all the music that proceeded it. What a great song.