Mike Love "Vibe Room" Q&A

[SMiLE Brian]

I don't get why he is still hung up on the drug use, BW has been clean for decades and Carl was too before his death. Mike needs to look in the mirror as a TM addict in a cult before trashing his cousin plus his deceased brothers. Mike is bitter and petty joke when he talks like this.

[filledeplage]

I don't get why he is still hung up on the drug use, BW has been clean for decades and Carl was too before his death. Mike needs to look in the mirror as a TM addict in a cult before trashing his cousin plus his deceased brothers. Mike is bitter and petty joke when he talks like this.

Smile Brian - if you check YouTube there is a clip with Cal Saga where this is fully discussed with the band, and the full agreement of the BB children whose parents are now "deceased or unavailable" for some of those years as a direct result of drugs and alcohol.  They agreed with Mike as to the price they paid.  If they didn't disagree, why would you?

TM ( in a non-religious context) is now being used for mindfulness in schools, some forty years after its' introduction to the West by many musicians, including The Beatles. 

It is great when people are in recovery.  Things are now much  better.  And we celebrate it, (I do, anyway) especially when we get to see Brian, onstage, with a beautifully rebuilt life, and some of us waited decades to witness that. 

Maybe Mike wants to use this experience as a cautionary tale, so that young people don't fall prey to the pitfalls that often accompany the business and artists get sucked into by predatory managers or promoters who exploit and attempt to control.  It's part of the dark side of the industry and the artists often paid the price. It is part of the reason MusicCares now exists; to give support to artists and musicians.  They didn't have that support back then, and transparency for industry charlatans. 

How many great artists and musicians died? Almost too many to count. Thank God Brian survived.

[ontor pertawst]

It's pretty cheesy to blame other people for "your biggest regret," tho. Does he actually think he's never done anything regrettable?

I guess so.

Especially when he's already mentioned his cousins doing drugs earlier in the interview. I guess he needed to underline it.

[CenturyDeprived]

It's pretty cheesy to blame other people for "your biggest regret," tho. Does he actually think he's never done anything regrettable?

I guess so.

Especially when he's already mentioned his cousins doing drugs earlier in the interview. I guess he needed to underline it.

Exactly.

Avoiding answering the actual question much?

Can you imagine any other band member in this group, if asked the same question, consistently mentioning Mike Love and his actions as *their own* biggest regret? It's absolutely, positively laughable.

It's like Mike's baseball cap of answers.

[SMiLE Brian]

So damn well said from Ontor and CD!

[CenturyDeprived]

So damn well said from Ontor and CD!

Thanks SB. Just speaking the truth! It's not like Shawn would be the biggest regret or anything. His cousins doing drugs is for more regrettable, because of course it is absolves him of actually having to cop to anything personal, anything the question actually asked, whatsoever.

[filledeplage]

It's pretty cheesy to blame other people for "your biggest regret," tho. Does he actually think he's never done anything regrettable?

I guess so.

Especially when he's already mentioned his cousins doing drugs earlier in the interview. I guess he needed to underline it.

Ontor - my impression is that when they do the tributes the biggest regret is that they (Dennis and Carl) are not there, for whatever reason.

[CenturyDeprived]

It's pretty cheesy to blame other people for "your biggest regret," tho. Does he actually think he's never done anything regrettable?

I guess so.

Especially when he's already mentioned his cousins doing drugs earlier in the interview. I guess he needed to underline it.

Ontor - my impression is that when they do the tributes the biggest regret is that they (Dennis and Carl) are not there, for whatever reason.

I'm sure the deceased members are missed, and I'm sure Mike legitimately believes it is regrettable that they have passed away.

However, this argument really falls apart when you consider the living members who have been squeezed out of the situation (despite the complex set of BRI circumstances which allowed it to happen, which nobody has to be reminded about as a way of deflecting the truth of the matter). Ironically, it's mighty unlikely that Mike would have the level of power he does today if they were still with us, so while their absence from this earth is surely something he regrets as a human being, I can imagine their absence from the standpoint of not being able to voice opposing opinions to the band's direction is NOT something he much regrets, anymore than any "regret" that Brian and Al are missing from the stage, and are unable to stop Mike from doing anything he wants to do, barring some excruciating legal maneuvering which will probably never happen.

[filledeplage]

It's pretty cheesy to blame other people for "your biggest regret," tho. Does he actually think he's never done anything regrettable?

I guess so.

Especially when he's already mentioned his cousins doing drugs earlier in the interview. I guess he needed to underline it.

Ontor - my impression is that when they do the tributes the biggest regret is that they (Dennis and Carl) are not there, for whatever reason.

I'm sure the deceased members are missed, and I'm sure Mike legitimately believes it is regrettable that they have passed away.

However, this argument really falls apart when you consider the living members who have been squeezed out of the situation (despite the complex set of BRI circumstances which allowed it to happen, which nobody has to be reminded about as a way of deflecting the truth of the matter). Ironically, it's mighty unlikely that Mike would have the level of power he does today if they were still with us, so while their absence from this earth is surely something he regrets as a human being, I can imagine their absence from the standpoint of not being able to voice opposing opinions to the band's direction is NOT something he much regrets, anymore than any "regret" that Brian and Al are missing from the stage, and are unable to stop Mike from doing anything he wants to do, barring some excruciating legal maneuvering which will probably never happen.

Of course Mike misses them. Wouldn't the life of that band have been easier without the succession of predators who were in charge and the substances, including tobacco?  Wouldn't things be easier if they were alive? Of course.

Whatever power Mike has, comes with legal boundaries set forth by BRI. If the shareholders were not happy, this wouldn't be happening.  This could change but only "by agreement of the parties."

We don't vote. We only opine.

[Cam Mott]

First, it is answer to two different question. Second, I guess he should call you fellas first so you can tell him his thoughts and feelings. 

[ontor pertawst]

Why would he do that? We have you to tell us that. Tell us Mike's biggest regret, would you? That doesn't involve other people doing drugs. Talk and/or discuss.

[Cam Mott]

Why would he do that? We have you to tell us that. Tell us Mike's biggest regret, would you? That doesn't involve other people doing drugs. Talk and/or discuss.

He told you.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I think the point is that one's regrets tend to be about personal decisions not about other people's personal decisions. Even the google search for the dictionary definition turned up these synonyms:

feel contrite about, feel remorse about/for, be remorseful about, repent (of), feel repentant about

These imply a certain sense of personal guilt over personal actions.

[ontor pertawst]

He told you.

Not really. He dodged the question and rephrased his answer to a previous question. Most people's greatest regrets involve mistakes they've made or things they wish they didn't do. I guess Mike has transcended all that and is a perfect being free of such petty human errors. Remorse? Bah! The f*cker can levitate. What could he possibly have done to feel repentant about?

It'd just be refreshing to see the guy fess up to making a mistake or two, acting a little out of line once, getting drunk at an awards show, that kind of thing. Rather than pointing out once again that his cousins did drugs decades ago.

[CenturyDeprived]

He told you.

Not really. He dodged the question and rephrased his answer to a previous question. Most people's greatest regrets involve mistakes they've made or things they wish they didn't do. I guess Mike has transcended all that and is a perfect being free of such petty human errors. Remorse? Bah! The f*cker can levitate. What could he possibly have done to feel repentant about?

It'd just be refreshing to see the guy fess up to making a mistake or two, acting a little out of line once, getting drunk at an awards show, that kind of thing. Rather than pointing out once again that his cousins did drugs decades ago.

Amen. A substantial part of why there is a great deal of well-documented frustration towards the man, to put it mildly, is because he never publicly admits to doing anything wrong. And I mean ever. It's always somebody else who takes the fall. I should add that it drives me crazy to know people who are like that in general, it's not exclusive to Mike by any means. That's one of the worst traits a person can have.

[SMiLE Brian]

The refusal to admit any faults is borderline insane on Mike's part. Just admit some faults and be human for once.

[Cam Mott]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

[filledeplage]

The refusal to admit any faults is borderline insane on Mike's part. Just admit some faults and be human for once.

And posters here, get to be his judge?

[Chocolate Shake Man]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

Which is astounding. I should also note that this conversation is happening at the same time as the thread titled, "Did Landy ever realize he did anything wrong?" Not to say that Mike ever did anything on the scale of Landy but the inability to recognize anything about your own actions in your entire life that you hadn't done is just completely bizarre to me.

[SMiLE Brian]

Its easier for him to TM his way out of any human feelings or behavior. 

[Cam Mott]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

Which is astounding. I should also note that this conversation is happening at the same time as the thread titled, "Did Landy ever realize he did anything wrong?" Not to say that Mike ever did anything on the scale of Landy but the inability to recognize anything about your own actions in your entire life that you hadn't done is just completely bizarre to me.

Maybe Mike knows more about his life and career than you think you do.

[CenturyDeprived]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

Seriously, do you really truthfully believe that is true? Even you must admit that it is surely just a quick go-to answer because he doesn't want to discuss anything personal. And you can feel that this is a perfectly acceptable way for Mike to be, but let's at least call it for what it is: avoidance. Nobody has no personal regrets. I don't buy it, and I don't really think that in your heart of hearts you actually buy it either.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

Which is astounding. I should also note that this conversation is happening at the same time as the thread titled, "Did Landy ever realize he did anything wrong?" Not to say that Mike ever did anything on the scale of Landy but the inability to recognize anything about your own actions in your entire life that you hadn't done is just completely bizarre to me.

Maybe Mike knows more about his life and career than you think you do.

I'm quite certain he does. What does this have to do with anything I said?

[Mike's Beard]

As long as he's tactful, I think Mike should absolutely mention that his cousins did drugs and they paid heavy for doing so. He had first hand experience of seeing it up close and saw how it can wreck your life. So as a tale of caution it certainly has it's worth - BUT the question at hand was clearly about any regrets Mike had about what HE had done throughout his life, so to dodge it and turn back to be about the Wilsons was to use his own phrase "chickenshit".

[Cam Mott]

It seems to me he answered that he really doesn't have a regret about his life and career.

Which is astounding. I should also note that this conversation is happening at the same time as the thread titled, "Did Landy ever realize he did anything wrong?" Not to say that Mike ever did anything on the scale of Landy but the inability to recognize anything about your own actions in your entire life that you hadn't done is just completely bizarre to me.

Maybe Mike knows more about his life and career than you think you do.

I'm quite certain he does. What does this have to do with anything I said?

This: "... the inability to recognize anything about your own actions in your entire life that you hadn't done is just completely bizarre to me."