New Mike Love interview

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

See, this is the thing. We all love BW here. But who would want to spend more than a few minutes interacting with him in a social situation? Doesn't it seem like it would be kind of a chore? On the other hand, I bet going out for dinner with Mike would be really entertaining.

Nah. Like I said, I'm not sure if I could name anyone from a 60s rock and roll band who has poorer social skills than Mike Love.

\

Keith Moon???

C'mon man!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Mike's done some questionable things, said a lot that's, at best, ill-advised and has a character that rubs a lot of folk up the wrong way. But... Brian's done a lot of reprehensible stuff too, as have all the others.

No hereos, no villains, only shades of gray.

Can we put this quote up in stone on the main page of this board?

It's really all that needs to be said, and if you dare to be a fan of The Beach Boys, it should be something of a mantra or credo!

[Aegir]

"I wrote a song more recently called "Cool Head, Warm Water," which was something the Maharishi [Mahesh Yogi] said to me once: "You need to have a cool head in warm water." So I made it into a little pop song."

What the frick is that all about?  Was Mike just feeding him some crap because the interviewer was kind of clueless and a bit rude?

This is a simple issue of whoever transcribed the interview not being aware of the song and mishearing Mike.

[ghost]

HEART sounds nothing like WATER.

[Micha]

See to me if Mike likes Smile doesn't matter. He did a good job singing on the sessions and helped considerably with Good Vibrations. The Asher lyrics were terrible.

I really like 'em. And I like the way Brian sang them.

You mean on BWPS? Because I think the "Early take" has Carl on vocals too, but with a more Wild Honey singing style.

[shelter]

Isn't there someone close to Mike who can tell him to finally give the whole "I came up with the "I'm picking up good vibrations" hook and I wrote 'Kokomo' without Brian's help" thing a rest? I think I've read about two dozen interviews by now where he mentions that and it gets really annoying. If Mike would ever wonder why people see him as the bad guy, that might be the reason. The Wilsons never bragged about their personal contributions like that... And the worst thing is that Mike doesn't even need to toot his own horn like that. He was an essential part of one of the most successful bands in the history of pop music, he sang on dozens of classic pop songs, he's been touring the world for half a century - that's impressive enough. He doesn't need to keep claiming all the little hooks and the album titles that he came up with.

Did you mention the parts where he gave more praise to Brian than himself?  Calling Brian a musical genius?  Talking about Brian's harmonies?  Re-Read it without the jade this time.

Fine, if you re-read my post without automatically assuming that I'm anti-Mike Love... And did you notice that I'm actually praising Mike?

Mike Love probably isn't the type of guy I'd like to hang out with if he wouldn't have been a Beach Boy, but he was a very important and essential part of a band that I love to death. I very much respect and admire him for that. Whenever I read an interview like this, I don't think "Wow, what an a**hole", I'm more like "Man, you don't need this, you should stand above this kind of petty BS. Don't lower yourself like that."

[Pretty Funky]

This subject has been covered many times and one thing mentioned in the past is that a guy sits down and interviews a person for maybe 30 minutes or so then we read the story in 3 minutes. Mike may have gone on for most of a interview about nothing but the positive but the writer targets the negative, which may have been a small part of the discussion.

As for a question to ask Mike. Often a one-off gig like the Reagan show, Good Morning America, Dancing with the Stars, his voice sounds a bit weak, yet it gets stronger during a summer of constant touring. Does he notice it himself?

[Mikie]

Because I think the "Early take" has Carl on vocals too, but with a more Wild Honey singing style.

This is what I'm talking about. The two verses, probably recorded around February, 1966:

I, I love the colorful clothes she wears,
And she's already working on my brain.
I only looked in her eyes,
But I picked up something I just can't explain.

And I'm pickin' up
Good, good, good, good vibrations, yeah!
A-well I'm pickin' up
Good, good, good, good vibrations, yeah!

I, I bet I know what she's like,
And I can feel how right she'd be for me.
It's weird how she comes in so strong,
And I wonder what she's pickin' up from me.
            
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh,
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh.
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh,
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh.

[Chris Brown]

See to me if Mike likes Smile doesn't matter. He did a good job singing on the sessions and helped considerably with Good Vibrations. The Asher lyrics were terrible.

I really like 'em. And I like the way Brian sang them.

You mean on BWPS? Because I think the "Early take" has Carl on vocals too, but with a more Wild Honey singing style.

No way that's Carl - why would Brian call Carl in to sing on what's clearly a demo?  Besides, no way Carl could hit that high B flat in full voice at that point in time.

[Micha]

Because I think the "Early take" has Carl on vocals too, but with a more Wild Honey singing style.

This is what I'm talking about. The two verses, probably recorded around February, 1966:

I, I love the colorful clothes she wears,
And she's already working on my brain.
I only looked in her eyes,
But I picked up something I just can't explain.

And I'm pickin' up
Good, good, good, good vibrations, yeah!
A-well I'm pickin' up
Good, good, good, good vibrations, yeah!

I, I bet I know what she's like,
And I can feel how right she'd be for me.
It's weird how she comes in so strong,
And I wonder what she's pickin' up from me.
            
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh,
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh.
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh,
Hum de dum, Hum de dum, oh-oh.

Where is the version to be found that you are referring to? I was thinking of the "Early take" on th SS/WH two-fer, track 25, which hasn't got the Humdedums, so that's obviously not the track you mean.

[Mikie]

The '76 BB radio special played various takes of Good Vibrations, including instrumental tracks using different instruments and all of the vocals that you hear on the Smiley 2-fer (track 25) plus the hum de dum part and a different ending. If you have the Smiley 2-fer, the '93 GV box set, the 40th Anniversary GV EP, and/or boots with the Good Vibrations sessions, like SOT 15, then you've heard it all already.

How 'bout that Hammond B-3 with the Leslie speaker eh? Ol' Larry Knechtel played the manuals with one hand on that.

Really felt good, let's play it!

[Micha]

If the vocals you refer to are the Asher lyrics as heard on track 25 of the two-fer - I'm pretty certain that's already Carl, not Brian.