Beach Boys backlash?

[zonk]

Ever since SMiLE '04 came out, more bands are name-checking Brian and the Boys.
That's cool, but what bugs me is the record reviews. Any time a group has a harmony sound, the review describes it as a Beach Boys sound, or something Brian Wilson would envy. Sometimes it's true, mostly it's hype.

I can live with people trying to sound hip, or sell records, but this seems like it will backfire at the expense of some great music. Already I'm seeing some blogs talking about Pet Sounds and the BB's being overrated, and half the replies agree.
Recently there was one blogger that even warned people to beware of the upcoming deluge of hype for POB!

Are these people overly reactionary, is this just the old cycle of things going in and out of style? This happens with the Beatles, and Sgt Pepper in particular, but never enough to make them "uncool" to like. When is it enough already?

[Mahalo]

I know what you're saying about the 'name- checking'.... probably by reviewers or artists who couldn't tell you what track 3 on Pet Sounds is.....

I went into a Rhino records and was talking with the clerk about my love of the Beach Boys and he recommended 3 or 4 groups who he thought sounded similar or were influenced by them....well they weren't...they sucked. Something tells me this kid never heard any Wild Honey, SS, Love You, Today!, or you name it....

Music goes in and out of style, and even though the BB's will never be "hip" to the "hipster elites", as long as the majority of bands that come out are watered down talentless image freaks, people will start recognizing what the BB's were and are, and start accepting and respecting them. What else is there?

Besides, the music is so great that it can't reamain a cult phenomena forever....which, to me it is.....I mean, where will they stand in 100 years? Perhaps the music will be more popular than it is now...WE all know it is that good.....

The more hype for POB the better......there is no such thing as bad publicity.

[the captain]

Regarding the fashion and backlash, it doesn't matter. It's always cyclical. Always has been. Always will be. Hipsters will get annoyed as things become more popular, and so those things lose their hipster cache. Then the popularity dies down and the new hipsters rediscover it. There was a huge Beach Boys influence in modern pop about 10-12 years ago. There will be another one 8 years from now.

As for bands being compared to the Beach Boys, most people are too stupid to make valid comparisons. People on this very board talk about bands that are alleged soundalikes--there was a thread on the subject started, what, yesterday? And most of those bands named there sound little to nothing like the Beach Boys. Or, as was said above, vocal harmony=Beach Boys to many people. Or, quirky bandleader = Beach Boys. Or drug use = Beach Boys. Or odd instrumentation = Beach Boys. Or having read that the band likes the Beach Boys = Beach Boys. And so on. All entirely unimportant.

For that matter, who cares if the Beach Boys are popular anyway? And who cares if the other bands you like sound like the Beach Boys (or not)?

None of the fashion/style cycle sh*t will ever go away, and neither will the over-generalizations. So it's best to ignore it all...or to make fun of it all.

[Alex]

I should have specified when I mentioned the Flaming Lips and the High Llamas that they aren't really soundalikes, but brought huge BW influences into their own unique styles.

[zonk]

Music goes in and out of style, and even though the BB's will never be "hip" to the "hipster elites", as long as the majority of bands that come out are watered down talentless image freaks, people will start recognizing what the BB's were and are, and start accepting and respecting them. What else is there?

Besides, the music is so great that it can't reamain a cult phenomena forever....which, to me it is.....I mean, where will they stand in 100 years? Perhaps the music will be more popular than it is now...WE all know it is that good.....

The more hype for POB the better......there is no such thing as bad publicity.


[/quote]

It seems like the Beach Boys are one of the few groups who are both a "cult phenomena" and a mainstream staple at the same time. No doubt that works to their advantage, since there is always one segment of the population that keeps the music in people's minds. The surf/hotrod/kokomo stuff is for the mainstream folks, and everything from SMiLE through Love You is music geek/hipster territory. Pet Sounds is probably where the two overlap.

I think there will always be a demand for good harmony vocal music, so the Boys music will keep on going through these cycles of popularity indefinitely. I'm not so sure about 'no such thing as bad publicity' --unless you're talking about Hollywood starlets! I keep thinking about the Peter Frampton syndrome, but then again, that was from a time when people could not interact with the media (or be the media) like we can today. 

[Shady]

Same with The Beatles, loads of people I talk to consider them overrated.

But both bands are still popular and selling millions so no need to worry from my perspective

[Dancing Bear]

Sgt Pepper is almost maligned today. Every review of any 1967 album must have the added comment: "by the way, it's way better than that overrated piece of hype, Sgt Pepper".

But this kind of sillines only shows how big you are. It's actually a compliment to the Beach Boys legacy.

[Mahalo]

Not for nothing, knock on wood, but I'm curious as to the knid of media attention Brian and the Beach Boys will get when the maestro, uh....how should I say this......"moves on"

[Pretty Funky]

Depends when I guess. This week with planned shows and potential album (TLOS) then a fair bit. In twenty years...who knows?

[Dave in KC]

I don't think that's what he meant when he said "moving on."

[Pretty Funky]

If 'moving on' means the same as 'meets his maker' then I understand and my post stands Dave.

[Chris Brown]

I would have to think that whenever it happens (hopefully not for a long time!), there will be quite a bit of media attention.  I mean, the guy's songs are among the most well known of the rock n' roll era.  With all the awards and accolades that he has received, I think the media would give him significant coverage.

As noname said...knock on wood, we won't have to worry about this for many years!

[Amy B.]

But I think that in any tributes, the mainstream media would cover the same stuff they do now -- surfing, the collapse of Smile, the resurrection of Smile. Nothing about the later stuff.

Let's see...Johnny Cash and Ray Charles were very popular for a time after they died. For a time. Maybe 3 months? It was a trend.

I would hope Smile is still being performed live 50 years from now. I know there are people who say that even when Brian performs it (meaning "not the Beach Boys") it's not the "real Smile." But I think it's a significant piece that can be performed for generations to come. And hopefully that's how Brian will be remembered... when his music is performed and people realize how much work it takes to pull it off.