Don't Miss the Kennedy Center Honors Tonight on CBS @ 9PM

[Ron]

I almost didn't know this was going to be on then found it on the guide last night.... The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony honoring Brian Wilson and others is on tonight @ 9pm on CBS and runs 2 hours.

[PongHit]

I almost didn't know this was going to be on then found it on the guide last night.... The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony honoring Brian Wilson and others is on tonight @ 9pm on CBS and runs 2 hours.

It's 1/2 over now...  did I miss the Brian segment?

[endofposts]

I almost didn't know this was going to be on then found it on the guide last night.... The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony honoring Brian Wilson and others is on tonight @ 9pm on CBS and runs 2 hours.

It's 1/2 over now...  did I miss the Brian segment?

I think it's on last.  At least that's how the description of the live event went.

[AWoPS]

Pretty classy event.  Not a big Lyle Lovett fan, but he is a respected artist and did his thing.  The choir at the end was a nice touch.  Would take anything over Hootie, that blew.

[the captain]

Would take anything over Hootie, that blew.

Anything? Another Ricky Martin song?

[AWoPS]

Anything, that was a stupid thing to say.  It would have been nice to have someone classier, or at least more well respected, singing a tribute to Brian.  How about U2?  I have always wondered what Bono could bring to certain songs.  Maybe nothing, but at least he is well respected, fairly classy, and hip.  Hootie sucks, IMO.

[the captain]

Oh, no doubt Hootie sucks. Always did, presumably always will. Just thought I'd toss out another example of a terrible cover of a Brian song to test the limits.

Frankly, the Lovett song didn't do much for me, either. Hell, I wish his own band had gone up there and done something.

[SG7]

Besides all that, it was still pretty cool to watch the short film. About blankety-blank time folks, about blankety-blank time....

[PongHit]

Would take anything over Hootie, that blew.

 !  PongHit loves puns...

[MBE]

I am happy for him as I consider this particular award  prestigious. While I liked some of the unpublished photos. I felt we didn't need the bit about Murry or the "lost years". Brian has done enough good music over the years to focus on just that. He looked like he was in good shape weight wise, but seemed very lost in the eyes and far older then he looked even on the Smile tour of three years ago. No matter it was nice to see him celebrated, even if it is sad no other Beach Boys were there.

[Chris Brown]

I wasn't blown away by Lyle or Hootie, but I liked the choir thing with the beach balls at the end.  I really wish they had retained better artists to do the tributes, but at the end of the day it was still great to see Brian getting the recognition he deserves.

[Ron]

Art Garfunkel with a guitar would have been better than Hootie or Lyle Lovett.  While Hootie was singing I Get Around, I swear the woman they had singing falsetto didn't even know the words to the song.  Horrible.

On another note, they did the same thing to Diana Ross.  Jordin Sparks doesn't deserve to be on the same stage as Diana much less paying tribute to her.  The supremes? Please! 

The boys choir with the remark about how they live a long way from California but the sun shines through to london in his music, and then the beautiful arrangement of love and mercy with the beach balls was classy and truly 'got' what Brian's music is all about, imho.

Diana Ross was really nice to Brian the entire show it seeemed too, too bad he couldn't chat her up with Melinda sitting behind him, lol. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Overall, it was good....they showed Melinda more than Brian....Diana Ross was nice to Brian, talking to him and holding his hand....so it was depression that brought Brian down in the 60's and 70's....I'd like to know what the producer was thinking when he/she was contemplating guest artists for Brian's songs, "Gee, wouldn't Lyle Lovett and Hootie & The Blowfish be good"; of the hundreds of artists they could've chosen to perform....it took Brian's music to get the stuffy people off their asses and dancing....the beach balls were a nice touch; even Robert DeNiro was into it....President & Mrs. Bush were into Brian's music, smiling and clapping....Brian looks so uncomfortable in those settings; it's probably the last place he would like to be, sitting for three hours with celebrities...."God Only Knows" was too slow and too soft....as nice as "Love And Mercy" was, I wonder how many people there and watching at home thought, "What the hell song is this"....if they would've asked Mike, Al, Bruce, and David instead of Hootie, would've they accepted....when you look at the vast array of talents, artists, and geniuses who have received the Kennedy honor, it might be Brian's greatest honor yet....and yet, I wonder if it phases Brian; he didn't appear as moved as the others, not that you would expect it....I was hoping a tear would fall down Brian's chhek; Diana Ross was crying during "Love And Mercy"....Brian employed those same awkward hand and arm gestures that he uses on stage....that music just can't miss, it's the greatest, it makes so many people happy, over and over and over, generation after generation; you just never get tired of it....

[Ron]

One thing Brian's music has going for it is that not only is it so well written and so beautiful, but it's Rock and Roll at it's soul... it's intertwined with EARLY rock and roll, too... like the first 10 years since the inception of Rock the Beach Boys are already recording... when you hear "I Get Around" that *IS* rock and roll.  That's as rock and roll as Little Richard or Chuck Berry, and always will be.  So until the day comes that people totally dismiss Rock as an art form, Brian's music will never be seen as anything less than great. 

I read a study one time (and I've seen it with my own eyes, too) that something about the backbeat in Rock is attractive to the human ear, and even babies and animals have a natural inclination to enjoy rock and roll.  A friend of mine has a 3 month old baby that smiles if I play an early Beach Boys song.... it's amazing. 

On top of that, you've also got a family harmony recorded on all those tracks... which again is something naturally soothing to the ear and attractive.  3 brothers and a cousin (and a well-voiced friend) all layered on top of each other with similar voices singing chord structures and inventive harmony lines.  Just amazing music, it's great to see everybody so happy for Brian on the show tonight. 

[Jonas]

someone screwed with my dvr and cut off the 2nd half of the recording. i miss the Brian segment



i hope it gets on youtube soon

[sherryluvsbrian]

Brian looked board or mad at the world, diana keep looking at him with a smile but brian just looked  straight ahead. He smiled only once, you would think he would have been thrilled and laughed with the others. His wife was rubbing his shoulder as he sat there staring with no glow about him. At the end he closed his eyes for a few seconds, I wonder what he was thinking about. I enjoyed seeing carl and dennis in footage i never seen. When dennis kissed the back of brians head, i almost cryed, how a tender momemt has never been seen before.

[MBE]

The Carl and Dennis footage is in the Knebworth DVD.

[sherryluvsbrian]

I guess I never watched that video

[HighOnLife]

Brian looked like Brian last night. I expected him to look that way before the show started. He gets so focused, he's like a horse with blinders on. It's just Brian. Diana Ross was very nice to Brian. She did hold his hand at the end, and they shared a few smiles. I think she's empathetic of his condition. Brian obviously should have gotten this award twenty years ago, but I understand their reasoning in why they waited. I was impressed with the whole show really, and everybody up there easily deserved induction. Leon Fleischer is amazing, and Diana Ross has to be one of the three or four greatest female artists of all time.

I loved seeing Brian dancing to I Get Around.

[HighOnLife]

Some YouTube footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhldJfHxu88

[Ron]

When they showed people like Robert Deniro clapping for Brian, you really got the sense that they weren't just being nice, that these were an entire room full of people who were casual fans of the Beach Boys.  It really drove home how influential his music is, I think the respect for him has really grown over the past 6 or 7 years.

There was one neat moment when Smokey Robinson said something really nice about Diana Ross, Brian jerked around in his seat really quick, smiled at her, and said something as if to suggest "Hey! Wasn't that nice of him!" and Diana just smiled. 

To be honest, this show has gone a lonnnnnnng way towards making me think Diana isn't a tyrant.  lol. 

[Ron]

I loved seeing Brian dancing to I Get Around.

I loved seeing Diana dancing like a go-go girl to it, that was kind of hot.  In a "She's in her 60's" kind of way. 

[melissalynn]

I enjoyed most of it, and I didn't find the Hootie and the Blowfish segment to be as bad as a lot of people are making it seem...sure, they aren't the best band out there, and they probably weren't the best ones to do the job. But they did alright, and pretty much everyone looked like they were having a good time. Lyle Lovett just kind of dragged out...I didn't think his version really went anywhere. I like him normally, but his version of 'GOK' just didn't cut it for me.  The choir doing 'Love and Mercy' was great.

And, like several others have already mentioned, I respect Diana Ross a bit more now. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but I've always heard such negative stories about her 'diva' personality...but watching her interacting with Brian so kindly really puts her in good favor with me. It was great to see so many 'big names' there, cheering on Brian and his music. You could tell that when the audience stood and clapped, it was genuine. The beach balls were a nice final touch!

[HighOnLife]

After watching the Hootie segment again this morning, I thought they did quite well. Since Darius did the BW Tribute a few years back, he was probably a shoo-in to do this one with the other guys. They are still quite popular down in the South Carolina area.

[Fun Is In]

Imagine if they'd combined the orchestra, choir and rockers for Surf's Up or Cabinessence (with a more appropriate lead vocalist).