Brian's use of humour
Mitchell:
I mentioned this in the Today! thread and I like the subject, so I thought I'd bring it over here for its own discussion.
Brian's got a funny sense of humour, which can rear its head in many ways. One of these is the use of jarring juxtapositions.
Examples include:
'Cassius' Love vs. 'Sonny' Wilson going into The Warmth of the Sun
This one is funny because it has Brian and Mike mocking one another's voices before going right into a blast of Brian's sweet falsetto and Mike's deep bass ringing together in harmony.
Our Favourite Recording Sessions going into Don't Back Down
This one is funny because it's a bunch of sloppy mistakes/random comments/outtakes from the studio, cleverly going into the casual "I forgot my note, LAAAAAH, Okay, let's make one, Charlie," at which point Don't Back Down takes off perfectly.
Side 2 of Today! going into Bull Session with Big Daddy
Ian mentioned this in the Today! thread: "Playing a practical joke on the listener. Brian is not the ultra-simple fellow he turned into, post-LSD. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew exactly the effect that putting 5 ultra-serious ballads in a row would have on the listener and he knew exactly what putting the Bronx cheer following it meant. It's a joke, that's all. He even has Denny saying Dick Rising in it, fer Chrissakes!"
and perhaps the most jarring of all:
Wind Chimes going into Gettin' Hungry
A gorgeous Gregorian chant quietly fades out... if you turn it up you can hear it... it's so pretty... ORGAN SOLO!!!!!!!! The same joke is pulled during Wind Chimes itself with the HONK partway through the verses.
Discuss these and add any others that you can think of. I'd prefer to keep it to the officially released Beach Boys music, if possible.
I. Spaceman:
Cool, man.
At the end of OFRS, he even strikes the first note of Don't Back Down on the piano.
monkee knutz:
Even as a kid, Our Favorite Recording Sessions has always sounded staged to me vs something that was extracted as outtakes or flubs. Can anyone elaborate on this?
zelilgirlI1cenu:
I think Brian sense of humour derives from the fact he lets us see, or achem, pretends to let us see, what goes on in his head, and often laughs at himself.
I. Spaceman:
The end is definitely staged. But at least some of it is genuine. For instance, the "All the way from Hawthorne, California" exchange is from the session for the outtake "Let's Live Before We Die".
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