Mike's Comment to Brian, Heard by Melinda

[MBE]

I'm glad this was a different clip as what you are saying now makes much more sense. I would like to see it myself before I say anything either way but I guess Mike finally felt he proved himself and was a bit cocky. It was always a character trait, but I still fell a lot of the dysfunction there comes from the Brian and the five asshole view. Funny enough when I saw them in 2007 Mike and Bruce  made fun of each other over Johnston writing "I Write The Songs" and Love doing "Kokomo". 

I agree even if Mike did say the comment in court it doesn't make him a monster. He could of said it and I don't deny that, but Melinda is not someone I trust to paint a valid picture of Mike nor vise versa.

I agree with you too that the Beach Boys were all pretty good guys at their core, but yeah they all have done some really rancid things. Again I try to look at it with a measured view. If every detail of anybody's life is examined people could find great things to say as well as bad things.

[Surfer Joe]

Fair enough, MBE- no personal mockery or incivility intended.  I was aiming at the whole Mike apology school (my view).

I like Mike.  But one thing I specifically like about Mike is that he doesn't spin or deny that part of himself. After his embarrassing RRHOF speech, he just manned up.

Oddly enough, that clip in question was shown to me by a couple other long-time fans- (that's part of how I know when it was; only time I was at the one guy's house before he moved)-  as a way to break ME of being a Mike apologist.  I was an all-six-or-seven of them apologist; couldn't hear any evil of any of them. I went to the other extreme on Mike for a while between his Goldmine interview and the made-for-TV debacle, and then settled into a truly balanced view.  They're all just human to the nth degree.

And I'll buy any of 'em a drink any day of the week.

[MBE]

It's funny I thought Mike was a jerk until I read the Goldmine thing. I mean it was angry, it was bitter, but I guess I understood where he was coming from. By that I understood that the guy had a lot more to him then his cartoon caricature and realized that he indeed had been important to the band. I felt he was so much more real then most rock stars. Sure it was self promoting but I don't think he was lying.

The movie I never solely blamed him for because I figured Brian had been in on it to a certain extent. I also remember Mike saying that he wasn't 100 percent happy with it. Certain scenes made him uneasy. To be fair I thought Mike WAS a jerk saying that people should applaud when Murry dies, but Mike does have valid reasons to hate the guy even though that was in really poor taste.

Today after having done a fair number of interviews with people around them I look at them as real people. Being a writer for some means creating and following a myth. For me it makes everything more real and in saying that I strive to be balanced as well. I have opinions but I do try to see all sides. A few people in the Beach Boys world I openly don't care for, but with one or two exceptions I have found out that most of the players in the saga were decent folks.

[Amy B.]

Is it possible that Mike DID say it to Brian, but he was trying to tease him, as in the old days when they were close? Sort of like the "Mickey Mouse with a sore throat" remark (that was scripted, okay, but in that vain). Mike isn't always the most tactful guy, and Brian (and Melinda) are sensitive to perceived slights, so it just blew up? Especially if, as some people believe, Mike's lawsuits aren't personal?

[The Heartical Don]

Is it possible that Mike DID say it to Brian, but he was trying to tease him, as in the old days when they were close? Sort of like the "Mickey Mouse with a sore throat" remark (that was scripted, okay, but in that vain). Mike isn't always the most tactful guy, and Brian (and Melinda) are sensitive to perceived slights, so it just blew up? Especially if, as some people believe, Mike's lawsuits aren't personal?

Good thinking. It's in the perception. If Brian says something, no matter how odd, it's taken as a joke. 'Typically Brian'. But everything Mike utters is taken at face value, even perhaps when it's not meant to be.

[KokoMoses]

I don't see what the big deal is.

I've said FAR worse things to friends/family members, only no one cares to discuss them on a message board.

Wasn't Brian the guy who publicly said he "Can't stand Mike Love" and that he's "Too egotistical"

Those are much worse/more hurtful comments than some BS about writing a check.

[MBE]

Is it possible that Mike DID say it to Brian, but he was trying to tease him, as in the old days when they were close? Sort of like the "Mickey Mouse with a sore throat" remark (that was scripted, okay, but in that vain). Mike isn't always the most tactful guy, and Brian (and Melinda) are sensitive to perceived slights, so it just blew up? Especially if, as some people believe, Mike's lawsuits aren't personal?

Great post.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Yeah, Mike probably said it; I'm not questioning that.

For me, the bigger question is why would Melinda report the incident to a reporter? What was her motivation in doing that? What did anybody have to gain by reporting that remark to a reporter?

[Chris Brown]

I don't see what the big deal is.

I've said FAR worse things to friends/family members, only no one cares to discuss them on a message board.

Wasn't Brian the guy who publicly said he "Can't stand Mike Love" and that he's "Too egotistical"

Those are much worse/more hurtful comments than some BS about writing a check.

Good points Erik...and God knows in the 40 + years of the Beach Boys existence, all members have said far worse things to each other (Brian included).  There is no reason to think that Melinda would make such a comment up, despite her obvious dislike of Mike.  So I suppose I can buy that Mike actually said it.

That said, I don't find the comment nearly as distasteful as the BS lawsuit that it arose out of.

[Pretty Funky]

These things all have to be kept it context.

Everyone here must have seen Brian and Mike calling each other 'senile' on the Stars and Stripes video. If you were to read those words only, one could think they were insulting.
Were they delivered as such? Of course not.

[Mahalo]

For me, the bigger question is why would Melinda report the incident to a reporter? What was her motivation in doing that? What did anybody have to gain by reporting that remark to a reporter?

Just to piss off Mike? 

[sofonanm]

I figured it all out - Mike is always ticked off at Brian because Brian still has a full head of great hair and Mike's been bald for the past forty and then some years.

The truth.

[urbanite]

Get a hair piece already or embrace being bald.  That wearing hats everywhere looks silly.

[Jay]

Is it possible that Mike DID say it to Brian, but he was trying to tease him, as in the old days when they were close? Sort of like the "Mickey Mouse with a sore throat" remark (that was scripted, okay, but in that vain). Mike isn't always the most tactful guy, and Brian (and Melinda) are sensitive to perceived slights, so it just blew up? Especially if, as some people believe, Mike's lawsuits aren't personal?

Let me add to that thought, if I may. Let's not forget that Brian is sensitive. That's not a slight against him in any way. Brian always was the sensitive type, but Landy's meds probably added to that. Maybe Brian took it seriously, when it WAS just a joke? Maybe Melinda saw that his feelings were hurt, and decided to defend her husband? She probably shouldn't have done it in public but....

[Jay]

To be fair I thought Mike WAS a jerk saying that people should applaud when Murry dies, but Mike does have valid reasons to hate the guy even though that was in really poor taste.

I believe what he said was "My dear old Uncle Murry didn't die fast enough". Now, that was just downright EVIL to say. That's probably the one thing that he's said that was genuinely mean spirited.