Brian to 'write' autobiography

[AndrewHickey]

Finally, when Brian discusses the people in the Beach Boys' family, he says hurtful things. In past books and interviews, Brian has made some very derogatory comments about people, including his brothers, that I think are better left unsaid, or not to be published in a book. But, like Dennis Wilson said in 1976, he (Brian) can do whatever he wants....

I think that, if nothing else, Brian's 'people' are well aware of how unpopular statements like that would be among the fanbase. I suspect that right now the only Beach Boy about whom anything negative would be said would be Mike -- and that only if future reunions are (as I suspect) definitely off the cards.
Be interesting to see what's said about Marilyn, though...

[Sheriff John Stone]

I don't get it. Fine, you'd rather have people buy Wouldn't It Be Nice and think The Beach Boys were loutish boors who hated Brian and Landy was Jesus Christ himself, just so long as THAT WOMAN isn't near it.

It's important this book is out there because, as I'm sure a lot of people here can vouch, if you don't know much about BW and want to find out more, you are going to pick up his autobiography first.

Is the Landy book still in print?

[The Heartical Don]

I don't get it. Fine, you'd rather have people buy Wouldn't It Be Nice and think The Beach Boys were loutish boors who hated Brian and Landy was Jesus Christ himself, just so long as THAT WOMAN isn't near it.

It's important this book is out there because, as I'm sure a lot of people here can vouch, if you don't know much about BW and want to find out more, you are going to pick up his autobiography first.

Is the Landy book still in print?

Yes. $ 9.32 or GBP 6.89 at Amazon, at this moment.

[Jim V.]

What I'm really excited for is the '69 thru '74 era, where there isn't as much info on what Brian was doing. I'm not really expecting to hear anything new about Pet Sounds or SMiLE, but I'd be interested to hear his take on the Sunflower, Surf's Up and Holland eras.

[Generation42]

Really dislike the "Love and mercy, Brian Wilson" part.

Is it like his trademark? Did he come up with it or was there someone in his inner circle who said
'hey Brian, Ringo Starr says peace and love right? You should have something too, like that song you wrote Love And Mercy?'
Anyway I think it's a bit tacky, L&M is not a widely known song and certainly not one which people instantly associate with Brian, there are plenty of other good songs to do that.


herpa derpa,
cabinessenceking

I don't know, what's to say it's not just a genuine sentiment?  As with peace and love, I can't see anything wrong with wishing a little love or mercy on folks.

[AndrewHickey]

What I'm really excited for is the '69 thru '74 era, where there isn't as much info on what Brian was doing. I'm not really expecting to hear anything new about Pet Sounds or SMiLE, but I'd be interested to hear his take on the Sunflower, Surf's Up and Holland eras.

Whew! Sunflower! That was a real heavy album. We came from a real spiritual place on that one. There's a lot of love in that album. That had a song, Add Some Music, that Mike wrote the lyrics for. We knocked that one out of the ballpark! And my brother Dennis had a song on it called Forever. That was a real pretty song.

[Jim V.]

What I'm really excited for is the '69 thru '74 era, where there isn't as much info on what Brian was doing. I'm not really expecting to hear anything new about Pet Sounds or SMiLE, but I'd be interested to hear his take on the Sunflower, Surf's Up and Holland eras.

Whew! Sunflower! That was a real heavy album. We came from a real spiritual place on that one. There's a lot of love in that album. That had a song, Add Some Music, that Mike wrote the lyrics for. We knocked that one out of the ballpark! And my brother Dennis had a song on it called Forever. That was a real pretty song.

Ha. I know, I know. But whatever. It's still Brian Wilson. And I believe it will truly be his opinions, unlike the Landy book. If that's all he has to say, that's ok.

[Nicko1234]

Really dislike the "Love and mercy, Brian Wilson" part.

Is it like his trademark? Did he come up with it or was there someone in his inner circle who said
'hey Brian, Ringo Starr says peace and love right? You should have something too, like that song you wrote Love And Mercy?'
Anyway I think it's a bit tacky, L&M is not a widely known song and certainly not one which people instantly associate with Brian, there are plenty of other good songs to do that.


herpa derpa,
cabinessenceking

I think it's cute that the BBs think they have to work song titles into everything they do. Mike will mention wouldn't it be nice to have fun, fun, fun in every interview and I remember there was a time when Al used to sign off his comments:

Come Go With Me,

Al Jardine

[Chocolate Shake Man]

What I'm really excited for is the '69 thru '74 era, where there isn't as much info on what Brian was doing. I'm not really expecting to hear anything new about Pet Sounds or SMiLE, but I'd be interested to hear his take on the Sunflower, Surf's Up and Holland eras.

Whew! Sunflower! That was a real heavy album. We came from a real spiritual place on that one. There's a lot of love in that album. That had a song, Add Some Music, that Mike wrote the lyrics for. We knocked that one out of the ballpark! And my brother Dennis had a song on it called Forever. That was a real pretty song.

Ha. I know, I know. But whatever. It's still Brian Wilson. And I believe it will truly be his opinions, unlike the Landy book. If that's all he has to say, that's ok.

This raises an important point and one that I am very much interested in since my research work is done on autobiographical literature. When Brian says stuff like what is quoted above, I don't necessarily think that it's his opinion but rather a way that he has been trained or has trained himself to speak in public. And while this has become much more apparent since his comeback in the late 90s, it's a method of speaking that is more than likely rooted in his very emergence of a rock star wherein he felt the best way to express himself in public was to take on the persona of a music exec/rock DJ/press blurb - "this one is going to go all the way to the top!" It's kind of like when a sports player is interviewed and talks about giving 110%. With a lot of sports stars though, you begin to wonder if there is anything beneath that honed language. There is surely something behind Brian's - you can hear it in the sessions. However, I really do wonder if he has access to a language that can help him articulate his own feelings about his life in a way that would be honest for him.

[rn57]

I don't get it. Fine, you'd rather have people buy Wouldn't It Be Nice and think The Beach Boys were loutish boors who hated Brian and Landy was Jesus Christ himself, just so long as THAT WOMAN isn't near it.

It's important this book is out there because, as I'm sure a lot of people here can vouch, if you don't know much about BW and want to find out more, you are going to pick up his autobiography first.

Is the Landy book still in print?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wouldnt-Nice-My-Own-Story/dp/0747531455/

Strangely enough, in Britain its UK publisher Bloomsbury has always kept it in print...see link above. I'm still puzzled how it was published there in the first place, since British libel law is a lot stricter than in America.

[Mike's Beard]

So, does anyone else smell a lawsuit coming Brian's way in the near future?

[Mikie]

All I gotta say is that if the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" auto is still in print when the new one comes out, it'd better be very clear as to which one is the newer version! To us it'll be obvious, but maybe not to the average guy off the street, at least at first glance. Have other people written more than one bio about themselves? More than likely an update or addendum has been written to an existing one, but probably rare that it happens starting from scratch under a new title.

[Mike's Beard]

All I gotta say is that if the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" auto is still in print when the new one comes out, it'd better be very clear as to which one is the newer version! To us it'll be obvious, but maybe not to the average guy off the street, at least at first glance. Have other people written more than one bio about themselves? More than likely an update or addendum has been written to an existing one, but probably rare that it happens starting from scratch under a new title.

Leonard Nimoy has wrote 3! Seems the guy can't decide if he is or isn't Spock.

[Nicko1234]

Personally I think an autobiography by Al would be more interesting (though sell much less). He has been surrounded by madness his entire life and could probably contribute much fuller stories of the group's past.

[AndrewHickey]

All I gotta say is that if the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" auto is still in print when the new one comes out, it'd better be very clear as to which one is the newer version! To us it'll be obvious, but maybe not to the average guy off the street, at least at first glance. Have other people written more than one bio about themselves? More than likely an update or addendum has been written to an existing one, but probably rare that it happens starting from scratch under a new title.

Loads have. Johnny Cash wrote The Man In Black in 1975 and Cash in 1997.  Stephen Fry wrote Moab Is My Washpot and The Fry Chronicles. I keep reading stories in Private Eye of celebrities I've never heard of being on their third or fourth autobiography...

[runnersdialzero]

I don't get it. Fine, you'd rather have people buy Wouldn't It Be Nice and think The Beach Boys were loutish boors

Like that's not gonna happen again. As someone above said, Brian indeed is occasionally not great with facts versus fiction, especially when he has people who weren't there telling him the story they heard in order to attempt to get more coherent statements out of the guy. Some of the stuff they prodded out of him for the Beautiful Dreamer "documentary" was total, total crap. You just picture the wifeandmanagers sitting around, "Remember Brian? Remember how the band hated Smile? Remember how Mike walked out of vocal sessions?" Huge exaggerations sprinkled with outright lies and occasional truths. You know it's gonna happen again, unfortunately, as there are still a lot of spiteful people running his show.

I really hope I'm wrong and I really hope this is the most unfiltered Brian piece we've gotten since 1977, but I just don't see it happening, especially considering the timing. The Beach Boys story is bizarre and fascinating enough on its own, we don't need people who weren't even there to continue to bring lies and exaggerations done out of spite into the picture.

[KittyKat]

WIBN is no longer in print in the United States. I'm not sure if that's because of the lawsuits or the fact that it bombed and wound up remaindered. If there are any new copies left it's because they didn't sell on the first run. I'm not sure about the UK, because on the Amazon site, it's in paperback with a different cover and it says that Amazon has new copies to sell and more on the way. Unlike US Amazon, where all the copies are only available from second party sellers.

[Mikie]

WIBN is no longer in print in the United States.

I thought so!  I was surprised to even see it on Amazon.  A few years back I picked up an extra copy of WIBN in the bargain bin at Border's for $1.00.  I kid you not!

[Cabinessenceking]

Be interesting to see what's said about Marilyn, though...

very good point. I wonder how he interpreted that. Did he react with disbelief? Was he angry due to a perception of being left when he needed her the most? What contact did he have with Diane afterwards? So many questions of which he might potensially give some answers to.

Ofc I'm here due to the music and less about the gossip, but even I find the personal lives of BW and the Beach Boys quite intriguing!

[hypehat]

I don't get it. Fine, you'd rather have people buy Wouldn't It Be Nice and think The Beach Boys were loutish boors

Like that's not gonna happen again. As someone above said, Brian indeed is occasionally not great with facts versus fiction, especially when he has people who weren't there telling him the story they heard in order to attempt to get more coherent statements out of the guy. Some of the stuff they prodded out of him for the Beautiful Dreamer "documentary" was total, total crap. You just picture the wifeandmanagers sitting around, "Remember Brian? Remember how the band hated Smile? Remember how Mike walked out of vocal sessions?" Huge exaggerations sprinkled with outright lies and occasional truths. You know it's gonna happen again, unfortunately, as there are still a lot of spiteful people running his show.

I really hope I'm wrong and I really hope this is the most unfiltered Brian piece we've gotten since 1977, but I just don't see it happening, especially considering the timing. The Beach Boys story is bizarre and fascinating enough on its own, we don't need people who weren't even there to continue to bring lies and exaggerations done out of spite into the picture.

I know what you mean. David Leaf had his own directorial thing to pursue, and we know he ain't the greatest fan of Mike Love and co. Hopefully this author, who's spent some time with the lot can find a more balanced viewpoint.

We all say 'Oh, who's Melinda to say this about Mike/Carl/The Band' etc, but who do you reckon she hears it from? She doesn't lay down next to David Leaf every night....

[Cam Mott]

Well, how to explain the Larry King interview. Wasn't Brian correcting Melinda's Leafian version of history?

[SMiLE Brian]

Brian got really pissed when Mel trashed his first wife.

[Nicko1234]

I know what you mean. David Leaf had his own directorial thing to pursue, and we know he ain't the greatest fan of Mike Love and co. Hopefully this author, who's spent some time with the lot can find a more balanced viewpoint.

We all say 'Oh, who's Melinda to say this about Mike/Carl/The Band' etc, but who do you reckon she hears it from? She doesn't lay down next to David Leaf every night....

Well, for quite some time she probably heard it from Leaf as well but of course there will still be negative things said about the other band members which is fair enough if true.

I would hope that Brian's use of drugs, and particularly the effect they had on his mental health, isn't whitewashed this time though.

[Nicko1234]

Well, how to explain the Larry King interview. Wasn't Brian correcting Melinda's Leafian version of history?

Melinda was really shitty in that interview.

[Mikie]

Melinda was fine during that Larry King interview. A very loving, supportive wife.