The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2014-01-18/heroes-and-villains-mike-love/

Thank You for posting the link..!

*sigh* here we go again with the wacky Mike Love interviews.

Sadly will never happen

50 Years of Fun, Fun, Fun is a clever name for a tour.

 >:D

A Mike Love book would be incredible, maybe better than the up coming Brian once since we know Mike will actually be involved in his

The first "Mike Love's New Book" thread will crash this damn site all by itself, and perhaps even the entire internet!  >:D

Your post is not only funny but actually real.. Oh fun times abound.. :tiptoe

Thank God!  I only say this because Mike seemed to hate everything I loved about the last album!

'Don't ask me the formula'?!  WTF?! I pretty much guarantee he never said that :lol

I'm wondering if it is some kind of filter.

It'll be good for their image for sure.

But a perfect example of why Brian can't write with the guy. Zero new material.

Mike needs to name check album titles from KTSA, BB85, Still Cruisin, & SIP, hence the need to write "new" material with Brian

I'm sure Mike could come up with new material, just it'd be based on old material. Don't regard myself as a Mike basher but since the early 70s his lyrical output has been regressive. This interview suggests he still sees backwards as the way forwards.

What a first sentence!!  ;D

Mike Love invokes so many conflicted feelings it’s easy to forget he co-wrote “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “Good Vibrations,” sang harmony on “Don’t Worry Baby,” took the second verse on “Sloop John B,” and made John Stamos an honorary Beach Boy on Full House.



Re: “50 Years of Fun, Fun, Fun.”

How many years do you think the band can and will hang on to the 50 years stuff?

Luke Winkie ? Is that the writer's real name ?

I think it's hard to tell. His lyrics for his unreleased of a few years ago were not regressive. Just regular pop lyrics; some of them pretty good, actually. Granted, some of those lyrics were written a number of years before, but he deemed them relevant and current enough to use them.

What's wrong with his lyrics for Isn't it Time? And those for Beaches in mind fit the unpretentious (bland?) song rather well.

I'm more interested to hear what material Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and David could come up with than further "PRODUCED BY BRIAN WILSON OR MAYBE JOE THOMAS. WRITTEN BY BRIAN WILSON OR MAYBE JOE THOMAS FEATURING A BUNCH OF OTHER GUYS WITH MAFIA CONNECTIONS AS WELL AS JON BON JOVI*".

It's cool to have an extra set of ears in there (although I really wish it weren't Joe Thomas) and I'm not really against the guy contributing minimally to already-there material (a lot of producers do that), but shoot. Again, I'm not taking sides, but I do agree with Mike's assertion that it's pathetic that five human beings can't get together in a room and write without being through the filter of Joe Thomas/wives and managers and handlers/money/whatever.

They wrote together as a band for a few decades before the TWGMTR approach came to be. The TWGMTR approach worked well, I like the album, but there are so many flaws and anomalies throughout the entire thing that are the result of the process. It's a lame, convoluted approach to writing music and, in this instance, I feel like Mike is right. Like, there's no reason things should be so complicated. People talk like Brian is incapable of walking out of the room if there's a day where he doesn't see eye to eye with someone else. I feel like Al, Bruce and David should involved in the process as Brian or Mike, both to keep Brian and Mike in check and because I think their contributions would help. An additional party would be great if it were someone like Darian or Scott whose work with Brian has been worlds more tasteful than the stuff Joe does.

After reading several of these post-TWGMTR interviews with Mike Love, the picture has gotten much clearer.

It appears there were - and are - two distinct opinions/sides/wants/approaches to what a 2012 (and future?) Beach Boys album should be. On one side, the record company side, the Joe Thomas side, and the "powers that be" side, they wanted a mature, non-rocking, not exactly "fun" album of all new material, with no covers and no songs from Al, Bruce, and David. The compromise was to throw Mike a bone, albeit a bone with not much meat on it. That album was That's Why God Made The Radio. Mike didn't like that. Some fans didn't like that, either. A lot did.

Mike's side or vision - I think - would be more of a group album, with the vast majority of the songs having a B. Wilson/M. Love credit. I think Mike might be open to a song from the other members to fill out the album. That wasn't gonna happen in 2012, and maybe (probably?) ain't ever gonna happen.

It doesn't appear that Mike wants to compromise anymore. He may never get the chance anyway. Future discussions for another Beach Boys' album may never take place. If negotiations were going to happen, you would think the best chance would've been immediately following TWGMTR and the anniversary tour. They could've piggybacked on that momentum. Now, the momentum's gone, the guys aren't getting any younger, and the record company moved on with a solo Brian Wilson.

But Mike also wrote with Al, and Al wrote with Brian. I don't hear Mike go on and on about how the only way another Beach Boy lp will ever happen is if Al agrees to sit in the same room with Mike and write some songs from scratch, or if Brian co-writes with Al again.

It's all about Mike's status -- in his mind -- as co-creator of the Beach Boys songbook of the classic era, as McCartney is to Lennon, and Jagger to Richards. And to give Mike his due, he was denied writing credit on many of the songs for so many years -- I can see where the chip on his shoulder comes from.

So, the upshot: no more Beach Boys albums.

The beach boys 50.... How exciting! It couldn't have been called...

Good Vibrations: 50 Years of the beach boys

The beach boys: 50 years under the sun

Unfortunately Brian's and Mike's opinions on what way "it should be" to make an album the are vastly different...



Well, the 2016 tour will undoubtedly have a name as "50 years of Good Vibrations"... :-D

I don't think Brian can write complete songs anymore, not the way Mike wants him to. Brian needs other collaborators to contribute to chords and melodies. Sitting around a piano and writing a song with Mike alone is in the past.

All we need now is the Mike Love solo boxset and another seaworld show for the end of the world... :lol

 I don't think it will happen, but I certainly wouldn't mind an album produced by somebody other than Joe Thomas.

To me it sounds like probably Mike was made promises about how it was going to be with the album and then those promises were broken and he compromised and his reward was he could lump it. Promises were made and compromises were made for the tour by Mike and then Mike compromised some more and his reward was a public relations fiasco. You would think he was used to it by now.

I hope it happens and this time the way the bands wants it. Not holding my breath.

If they made Mike any promises, it couldn't have been more than a co-write on a song or two. That album had a lot of songs written during "Imagination" and put away for future Beach Boys' use. If Mike wasn't aware of that fact then, he was made aware during the interviews for the reunion. If Mike had a different personality or approach, maybe he could be in the room with Brian and Joe and write a song among the three of them.  It's not alone in a room with only Brian, but it's better than faxing over a set of lyrics from his own house.

Which ever way, apparently Mike feels promises were made and broken.

I don't think Brian needs an outside-the-group collaborator, I would be very interested in what could result in collaborations within the group only. It may blow but it might be brilliantish but at least it would be theirs.

What would people on here like from lyrics?  Would they want songs about "chicks and bikinis" or "Pacific Coast Highway"?  I doubt the last three songs would have been on there if Mike and Brian were writing together.  Look at the evidence from the last 50 years or so.  Apart from Brian the rest of the guys have hardly been prolific in the last 20 years. So what would they bring to the table?  Much as I like Al's solo album it took long enough to come out.  Brian should do it like the old days. Make a Beach Boys album then invite them in to sing on it.  If they do, great.  If not, fine still release it.  I doubt the guys would have any songs better than what Brian would bring to the table.  As for them producing it on their own.  They are in their 70s, they don't want the hassle.  They need an outside producer to pull it together.

I just watched the ' Campfire' stuff recently.  I would love to see them get together and do something like that and release it on DVD!

I can understand Mike's desire to write songs in a basic, old school way, the way (without outsiders) in which he felt was most productive at getting BB hits to be churned out in the early sixties. It makes sense for him to *want* that. But there is no going back again.

The big elephant in the room with Mike's comments in this interview, and in every other interview post C50 where he is complaining about how the songwriting process went down for TWGMTR is...that Mike fails in any way, shape or form, to recognize that Brian is an emotionally fragile guy, who seems to have a very specific, thought-out regimen/routine for how the songwriting process will go these days. He's doing a whole lot better these days (obviously), but his problems surely haven't vanished. Brian's people are obviously very protective of Brian when/how Brian collaborates nowadays.  I don't think they want to rock the boat too much in terms of Brian being put in potentially awkward/uncharted emotional territory. The irony, of course, is that Brian's people are the ones who nowadays, IMO, don't want to f*ck with the formula. But I believe this is due to them being protective of Brian.

I would think, that a good deal of Brian's latter-day creative process routine (when it comes to actually recording/collaborating, as opposed to informal songwriting/noodling that he may do at home by himself), involves having the collaborators/circumstances being thoroughly vetted (for being/not being in Brian's best interest) by his wife. I would think she's had occasional conversations with with psychologists regarding what songwriting situations would be best (or not best) for Brian these days.  And of course, Brian obviously has a say in who he wants to collaborate with, and the circumstances which he feels comfortable with.

Mike seems to talk to the interviewer (and in other similar post-C50 interviews) as though this scenario isn't the case. Mike speaks as though Brian is not a guy with a history of deep emotional problems.

I would imagine that Brian (and his wife/other close people in his life) believe that to some degree, Brian has a history of Brian being manipulated/influenced by Mike, in terms of the creative process going in directions that Brian, deep down, doesn't want to go.  We can argue/defend/deny/agree/poo poo the validity of these points (I personally think there is some truth to them, but that it's absolutely not a simple black-and-white situation), but... I'm NOT trying to start a debate about that; I'm only stating that IMO, this is what Brian (and Brian's people) truly, in their hearts, believe is the case ,in terms of the baggage between Brian and Mike when it comes to their collaborating process.

I would think that Mike, regardless of what he would outwardly admit, would at least be aware that this ideology in the Brian camp is a factor in why he felt "shut out" by "outsiders". But you wouldn't know it from this or any other recent Mike interview. All we hear is one grossly oversimplified Mike statement after another, whining about why things can't just be the way they were 50 years ago.  And, IMO, it is that seeming denial/lack of awareness of the situation which continues to rub people the wrong way about Mike.

For the record, I'd love if the group would be functional enough to be able to create a record without outside collaborators.  But they are living in a compromised paradise, where things didn't turn out quite like how they could've/should've. IMO Brian being happy/stable should come first (over his bandmate's desire to simply "go back to how things used to be"), particularly due to Brian not exactly being someone who can roll with the punches quite as easily as everyone else.  

If Mike feels that he wants to disagree with or dispute what the people in the Brian camp undoubtedly feel about Mike, and why they do what they do, I wish he'd actually have the cojones to deeply discuss and challenge things that he believes are myths about himself. To get in deep about it. I am looking forward to Mike's book, if and only if he actually will get into the nitty gritty of his side of the story. I'll listen. But Mike giving simplistic statements/interviews with this giant elephant in the room does him absolutely no favors. I almost feel like he's trying to convince/win over a group of people/fans who aren't well-read about the history of the band, and who would have zero idea about how Brian's latter day creative process surely has many factors at work (in why it is the way it is).

 

Seriously? Both. And, to address KittyKat's post above, yes, I believe that Mike was aware of the Imagination-era songs.

How many of the Imagination-era songs were used? That still left a half an album for new (2012) material. Total speculation...but maybe Mike woulda/coulda accepted using the Imagination-era songs (and maybe Mike even thought he was going to help finish THEM), and still be able to collaborate on another 5, 6, or 7 NEW songs with Brian. There weren't many albums - even in the olden days - where Brian and Mike collaborated on much more than 5, 6, or 7 songs. I think Mike could've lived with that, a half an album.

I have a hard time thinking Mike could have manipulated Brian's material direction when Brian was writing stuff like "Beaches In Mind" WITHOUT Mike's prompting. Obviously, Brian and Joe Thomas were leaning toward's Mike's retro-nish themselves for a reunion project. Also, Mike has written more through the years with Brian than just beach songs.

People speak of how prolific Brian has been in his solo career, relatively speaking, and that the quality is better than the other guys. Which is true, but Brian hasn't done it on his own. Not just lyrics, but music has been written by his collaborators, including Andy Paley. Brian isn't the same guy as he was in the '60s, doing all the music part of it on his own. He needs someone to kickstart him and someone to complete his ideas. It's hard to tell sometimes how much of the musical portion of a song he wrote. He still brings ideas to the table that are his style, but he needs other people to embellish and polish them.

It could come down to Brian not wanting Mike Love to be privy to that. It makes him too vulnerable for Mike to know how the sausages are made. Brian may also not trust himself enough to turn out many songs entirely on his own, musically speaking. Perhaps he still can, but it would require leaving the comfort zone of having a guy like Joe Thomas, Scott Bennett, or Andy Paley around to ensure he produces a final product of a certain quality.

Could be but Brian wouldn't do anything he did not want to do and he wouldn't not do anything he did want to do. I hope he does stretch and write his own music in collaboration with someone in the group. Just a wish.

Mike got three co-writes on the record, a solo composition and an executive producer credit. At least two of those credits were on the least well regarded tracks on the album. Brian agreed to make an album with these lamentable parts to placate Mike. He compromised more than a true artist should ever be required to.

If this board is any indication, the least regarded track on the album is "The Private Life of Bill and Sue," which Mike had nothing to do with.  There's also no indication that I'm aware of that Brian himself was dissatisfied with any of Mike Love's lyrics or his solo composition.  As long as we're projecting our own dissatisfactions with the album onto Brian, I think Joe Thomas' auto tune does more damage to the music than anything Mike Love did.

As for Mike's comment, I suspect it's more "I'd love to in theory, but it's probably not going to happen" than "I'm actively trying to convince Brian to make an album like in the old days," so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Mike should have a word with himself about the "Looking Back With Love Album".  He only wrote one song on it! ::). What was the matter there? Could he not get himself alone in a room with himself?!

(http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/brian-griffin-family-guy-image.jpg)

If a new Beach Boys album has to be 13 songs like "beaches in mind" I'll make that sacrifice.

I just want them back together

I say that if Mike Love still has the ability to write great songs, go find someone to collaborate with and do it.  And then say to the remaining Beach Boys look at this gem I've come up with, let's record it.  I get the sense that his better songwriting days are over and his songwriting focus is still on being a teenager or a T.M. state of mind, which is not going to connect with most people.

Yeah, maybe so.

I think Mike just likes the life he's built for himself over the last 15 years or so -- touring fairs and other smaller venues, retired from active writing and recording. I don't think he really wants to make more records.

If the creative fires were still burning for Mike, wouldn't having 3 or 4 songs (even if the writing process was not ideal) on a record be preferable to no songs, and no record?

But if he did that, no matter how good it was, no one would release it :/

It's getting to the point we can set a watch to the appearance of another interview such as this to get the dust flying. This one, not so bad, but it does seem like Sisyphus pushing the stone up the hill to read another "wish" to work like they did in the old days, only to watch the stone roll back down the hill as details of a new project from any BB's camp start to come out.

What was the last really good song Mike wrote? "Goin On" I suppose

Mike music is rarely terrible. Its generally just "meh." Not good, but not completely awful.

What was the last good song he did write with Brian though? It may have worked 50 years ago, but I just don't think it will now. What will actually bring them both together in such a way that they'll write good songs? The peak of Brian's creativity was Pet Sounds and Smile, projects Mike had very little to do with in terms of creative contributions. In my opinion the best song they wrote together, aside from Good Vibrations, is All I Wanna Do, and I have no idea the extent that Mike had in the creation of that song. I assume he wrote all the lyrics.

So while I am curious as to what would come out of the two of them working together, it just seems more likely than not the result would be "meh."

Brian would play Mike an idea, Mike would get excited and write lyrics about surf and sand, and Brian would go "ok."
That's how I picture it playing out anyway. I'd love to be proven wrong.

‍

I may take some heat for suggesting this, but the past 15 years or so (maybe even longer) have shown that the better Beach Boys music has come from multiple writers, and it could be suggested that individually none of the band members is a prolific enough individual writer to crank out the kind of hits I think Mike is imagining. The collaborations are more across the board than simply one guy banging out the music and another adding words. The exception being Brian and Van Dyke working together, they're each such unique and strong musical minds that when they get together the results are fascinating, even if they're not going for radio hits or even fan-friendly ditties, which of course is what makes it unique and interesting.

That's exactly how It would work out. Mike had his chance with TWGMTR, he was given space on the record, had Brian's ear and he produced the most insanely uninspired lyrics possible, I never imagined Mike would actually write a song called "beaches in my mind". "Spring Vacation", it's just so ridiculous.

Didn't Brian and Joe Thomas give Mike the title "Beaches In Mind" for him to apply his pen to?

Same with Spring Vacation.

For a bit of levity, here's Joe Thomas explaining the process:

Q: What happened after Brian contacted Mike and asked if he wanted to write together again

A: He also had a song that was eventually called “Spring Vacation.” That was the original song that he wanted Carl to sing on during Imagination. It was originally a song called “Lay Down Burden.” It was a gospelly kind of thing that he wanted to do with Carl. And then when Carl got sick, there was no way he could go back to that song again. So it just laid there. Now, 10 or 12 years later, he came up with a new title and a new direction. I think that it’s had enough time, because Carl didn’t sing it. He and Mike now sing it. He brought it as a kind of new song to Mike with a new theme: “easy money, ain’t life funny, hallelujah, blah blah blah.” Mike then polished it off with the “Spring Vacation” lyric and the verses. It was like, wow. That was the first song that they started writing together."

Q: Ok, so Mike writes some lyrics for “Spring Vacation” …
A: It was just like Mike told me “California Girls” was. Brian said, how about a title that’s like, “Spring Vacation, easy money.” And within five minutes, Mike had written “Spring vacation, good vibrations, summer weather, we’re back together.” It was like, “Wow. Five minutes.” The next thing you know they were in the studio singing it. It was so much fun to watch. It was like, you know… that’s when I became the fan going, this is really really amazing, how these guys write together. Mike goes off… Brian’s the studio rat, and Mike likes his privacy. So Mike will come down for like an hour. He’ll absorb the session and just kind of watch. Brian will say here’s do-do-do-do-do, and come up with a bunch of melodies or just arrangements. He’ll give Mike the theme and the title, and Mike will go up… in the studio, we had an office that we kind of set up for him, and he’ll go up in the office and meditate, he’d have a notebook, and then he’d come back down with a bunch of lyrics and we’d go, boom, let’s try these. It was just fascinating.

Full interview: http://notes.andrewromano.net/joethomasbeachboys


So, it's like: unfortunately, The Beach Boys in general, are all capable of writing stuff that a lot of people seem to think is crap. No sense in just endlessly blaming Mike no matter what.

So... lemme get this straight. Thomas thinks "Spring Vacation" is "Lay Down Burden" a and that the latter title wasn't released on an album he co-produced with Brian some fifteen years ago.  :o

That's a good question. But what is straight is that regardless of anything, none of it matters when you can just blame Mike.

I wish Brian and Mike would just come up with a set of relaxed and occasionally silly love songs, like Wild Honey, an album that Mike is apparently quite fond of. No big production, no allusions to either the early hits or the Pet Sounds/Smile era. Also, let Mike and Al handle most of the lead vocals with Brian's voice still high up in the mix. Too bad this is very unlikely to happen. I think it might suit them very well at this point in time.

Mike wasn't given the chance to write lyrics like that. He was commissioned to write lyrics for two throwaway songs Brian had in mind, and he wrote throwaway lyrics for them. So we can't tell whether Mike has better stuff in him.



That's it exactly. Mike knows that the only way he can his stuff get heard is writing it with Brian.



Was this post intended for the "unpopular opinions" thread? ;D



Could be A. the journalist who wrote down and probably edited the interview made an error or B. "Lay Down Burden" was kind of a working title for this musical piece, and then the title was given to the song we now know. I mean you could sing "lay down burden" instead of "spring vacation" -  same amount of syllables. And wasn't a "Good, good, good vibrations" an early title for the piece now known as "Here Today", IIRC? Or is that a Badham error?

So Mike says he wants to be in a room with just Brian … but then just walks out of it and does his own thing in his own room…?   Just no pleasing the guy…  ;D

I remember reading somewhere (?) ages ago that there was a completely different song called Lay Down Burden intended for Carl. I think later on (Imagination DVD?) the stories started getting mixed together about the Imagination released Lay Down Burden being about/for Carl.

Yeah, I can't believe you don't know that the thing called "Lay Down Your Burden" or "Lay Down Burden" from the '90s became "Spring Vacation" and that a different song altogether became "Lay Down Burden" as it is known on the Imagination album.

Of all people, I'd think you would know that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Lay Down Burden" is not the same song as the one Brian released on Imagination. My impression was the original LDB was built around what would become SPring Vacation. But after Brian set that original version aside (in 1995 or whenever) he used the title for a new song also called LDB which is what was released on Imagination. So what Thomas says is actually accurate. Right?  ???

Yeah Pixletwin, thats how I understood it as well.

One aspect of this that just hit me was the shelf life of some of these song ideas, and I can see a little bit more of Mike's opinion even though I don't necessarily agree with some of the more obsessive wording he tends to use when discussing it...things like "writing in the same room" and all of that.

I guess my question is why were/are they still dipping the bucket into the well of song ideas which are nearing 20 years old at this point? I know it's a topic that has been discussed to death in similar threads here, but it's still worth a look.

Again, it's old news and I think the way Mike words it in some of these interviews can be an issue that clouds the actual sentiment. But from his perspective, maybe the idea of collaborating on a song isn't getting a fragment or a demo from 1996 and being asked to contribute.

At what point do they start with the proverbial blank page and start from scratch? And at what point does the mid-1990's well of song demos and fragments run dry, or become considered as throwaways that perhaps have been left off of a half-dozen or so projects in the last three decades for a reason? Or maybe they're just too dated to the 90's at this point to even warrant an update?

I guess if I bend the wording a bit, I share some of Mike's wishes that they start with a blank canvas rather than having Joe Thomas or whoever reach into that endless bag of old DAT tapes for the next Beach Boys song.

And ultimately it may be as telling to note that perhaps that treatment is what has been assigned to the "Beach Boys" label, as Brian's efforts for his solo projects seem to be more of a current (and personal) interest.

Just thinkin' out loud.  :)

Well, we've ridden this wave so many times now,
The tide is going out.
An' I'm running out of clichéd rhymes now,
My role has lost its clout.

The rhymes that go with "good vibrations",
Have reached their furthest limitations,
I'm fresh right out of excitations.

We stayed too late out in the sun,
Sad to say the end has come,
for words that rhyme with "fun fun fun".

Wouldn't it be neat
to start with a clean sheet
but my creativity's beat…

Hey cousin can we start from scratch?
I'm sure we'll write a whole fresh batch,
Of summer songs to sing with glee,
I'm Captain Positiviteeeeee!

I think Brian wanted to use the Joe Thomas material for the BBs in the late 1990s, but Carl's death and the Mike/Al feud delayed his plans.

Take a bow, John..... :lol :lol :lol

But at some point - and again a handful of projects later - isn't it time to try another tact? A 20 year old song idea or even a 10 year old song idea is just that, it's an old song idea coming from a different place and mindset. And, to be a little brutally honest about it, that well of material hasn't exactly been the source of any blockbuster material, in fact the whole "Imagination" era isn't exactly an unqualified success or fan favorite. Meaning simply, most fans fall somewhere in the middle with their opinions of it. And save for a few songs, it's going to disappear into history and perhaps not too many fans will be anticipating a 25 year commemorative reissue of that album. It's not even a love/hate thing, it just sits squarely in the middle of lukewarm to semi-cold opinions.

And yet, that same era is the source material for culling something new to release?

Maybe I'm in the camp that wants to hear something from that blank page starting point rather than 1990's leftovers, should anything new ever develop with this lot.

And anyone who mentions or tries to relate revisiting Smile to warming up 90's leftovers just doesn't get the point and should be relegated to spinning a stack of records on the "Peter Pan" children's label for a period of three weeks solid for penance.  ;D

I want new songs from Brian with VDP or Tony Asher, not Brian and Mike in a room.... ;D

this is all i've ever wanted

Not sure the Beach Boys have been in that clean sheet zone for decades now though. Throughout their history they rewritten, recycled, re-recorded, restarted songs and album projects. Brian's the creative dynamo of recent years (if you discount Dave and Blondie, which we really shouldn't…) and most of his albums contain retreads or covers, either of his own material or that of others. A completely fresh, original body of work is the last thing I think we can expect from Planet Beach today. 

Well, tomorrow…

Scenario #257, the phone call.

Mike thinks out loud: "Man, those lyrics are a total gas, a real knockout, an out of the box smash! I gotta call Brian.

(Ring....)

Brian: "Hello?"
Mike: "Brian! It's Mike. Look man, I got this real gasser of a song idea from a guy named John, I can juice them up a bit and we'll get some music going, how about it?"
Brian: "Well, ok, I mean I have to look at my schedule...(CLICK)
Mike: "Hello Brian, are you there?"
Joe Thomas: "Michael, we have something ready to go..."
Mike: "Joe, what the..."
Joe: "Yeah, I have a DAT tape of Brian messing around with the chords that he heard on the demonstration song that came with the Korg M1 he got back in the 90's, it's a perfect fit. I'll FedEx the DAT to you and we'll talk. K? Bye."
Mike: "Brian? Joe? What, wait...hello? Hello?"

Just because Mike wanted write by himself during TWGMTR doesn't mean he doesn't want to write in a room with Brian. He apparently can write anywhere if he wants to like in a room with just Brian, in a motel room with the group and Fred Vail, in a car on the way to the studio with his wife, in a hallway with the group during a session, and in a room by himself. I hope he gets the opportunity before one of them dies and I hope Brian and Mike start from a blank page.

And indeed I would have not made such an erroneous statement had the original poster quoted the entire text of that part of the interview instead of selectively editing what was posted. My 50% bad.

En passant, the full interview puts to rest the spurious claim that Brian wrote "LDB" as a tribute to his brother.

The famous "room" is metaphorical, as Mike confirmed when I asked him last summer.

Well good, they could branch out to together in a hot tub, garden, cave, canoe, bus [while Al waits for it], clinch, huff, minute and a huff...the mind boggles.

So we can assume the rumors of Mike in 2012 renting a 1963 Ford Galaxie, hiring a female driver, climbing into the back seat of the Ford armed with a pencil, notepad, and flashlight, and asking to be driven around West L.A. at night for inspiration in an attempt to recapture the songwriting magic of 1965 are untrue?  :lol

He spent last summer riding a cab out of Salt Lake City coming up with vroom vroom vroom…

We can criticize Mike on a variety of points but his tenacity can never be questioned... ;D

Mike Love & Brian Wilson - "Remember When?"

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.....

Remember when you couldn't write a chorus for "Good Vibrations"
And I said cousin Brian, how about some excitations?
Remember when you needed a way to end "Wouldn't It Be Nice?"
And I said "good night, sleep tight" and rolled the dice?

You said I was genius
This whole world, they need us
You did say I was genius
Man, if they could've seen us

Remember when I wrote the intro for "I Get Around"
And then you came up with that magical guitar sound?
Remember when I thought up "Fun, Fun, Fun" and all the surf songs
And you stayed up learning the chords all night long?

You said I was genius
This whole world, they need us
You did say I was genius
Man, if they could've seen us

Good vibrations, excitations
Good night, sleep tight
Good vibrations, excitations
Good night, sleep tight

And at least the Salt Lake cab ride produced something vaguely lyrical. Again if we believe the rumors, all he got from the 1963 Ford Galaxie writing sessions were a few doodles and rude jokes scribbled on the notepad, and a stomach ache from the vegan wrap and wheatgrass shake he ordered when they stopped the car for some takeout after he got hungry on the ride.

This is reminding me of "Green Eggs & Ham."

But I did not selectively edit what I posted.... I simply cut and pasted the 2 questions of interest and their entire answers.... Er, wait! I guess I did leave out a couple questions in-between. But I wasn't selectively editing any answers (and I did provide the full interview as well) .... My 50% bad.

This sounds like a big mess to me, personally. Not that bands/artists don't raid the vaults more often or not. Maybe it's just the Joe Thomas aspect... The whole Caroline No as a "sexy Sade type thing" is a tough one to shake off.... I sincerely wonder what Brian and Mike (or Brian and anyone else really) could come up with from complete scratch with just a piano and a pen instead of this Joe Thomas, DAT tape, Mike in a metaphorical porta-potty reality.

I'm exaggerating the point for sarcasm, and it's probably not true, but I still see a scenario where Brian in 2014 would say something like "I want to write a song about seeing all the young fans dancing and singing along when we were doing the 50th tour, that look of joy in their faces", and instead of grabbing a blank sheet of paper and a pen, Joe would reach for his bag of DAT tapes and start looking for something they demo'ed in the 90's that would "fit the bill".  :)

and it's likely not much of an exaggeration ...... :/

"I have mixed feelings about it. I think there was some great music on Smile, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset."

There's more truth and honestly in those two sentences than in anything Mike wrote in his Smile Sessions 'essay'.

I bet Brian's hurt he wasn't involved with SIP. Can't you just see those liner notes when the SIP box comes out? "I pleaded with him. Let me f*** with the formula, Mike, I said. Please? Nothing doing. He wanted us all to wear shorts and loud shirts and jiggle about the beach like we were 25 or something. Me? I'd rather crawl on all fours and make pig noises. And another thing, I'm not putting my hair into any fucking pony tail!"

I for one am also very glad that Mike is being more honest about this, but I guess Mike's definition of "nothing to do" on SMiLE neglects to mention that he did sing on almost all the tracks. That has to count for something, right?

  After being the main lyricist for about four years, Mike was obviously hurt to be set aside for non band members like Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks. Perhaps Mike felt that his assist with "Good Vibrations" earned him more consideration from Brian but that did not happen. I can understand how he felt. It is fascinating to wonder what Brian's SMiLE music would have been like with Mike's lyrical input. Maybe they'd have finished the album in 1967!

You know what? It would be great. Mike was at his lyrical peak and they would have got it finished, I'm almost sure!

In my alternate reality, Mike’s interview would ideally go like this:

"I have mixed feelings about it. I think there was some great music on Smile, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do with writing anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset, which grew into a complex situation, and I’d really like to set the record straight about a few things.

To be brutally honest, I did struggle with feelings of jealousy and resentfulness during this time, since I felt under-appreciated for my track record of successful lyrical collaborations with my cousin. During SMiLE, there were moments when I honestly felt discarded/not needed, and casually tossed to the side, compared to how my lyricist role had been in the past. Other people who’ve been in bands might be able to empathize more with how something like that would feel. Though it’s hard to admit, I do feel that I may not have dealt with/communicated these feelings of mine in the best, delicate way, since my cousin was a particularly emotionally sensitive and fragile person (exacerbated in a bad way by the drugs at the time). In addition, there were numerous other unrelated factors at play as well in the shelving of the album. But I want it to be known, that in my heart, I never meant to cause Brian (or Van Dyke Parks, for that matter) any hurt/pain, and I’m sure that Brian didn’t either with me.  

Obviously, both Brian and I were dealing with feelings of mutual artistic rejection of each others’ ideas; while we each tried to handle with that rejection in the best ways we could at the time (as young men), if I could do it all over again, I’d hope that both myself and Brian could have both handled the delicate situation with a more mature frame of mind, and without an overabundance of drugs clouding the situation. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. I always have and still do love my cousin very much, and I do hope we can find a way to work together again in some fashion.

IMHO… if Mike could say these words while these guys are all still on planet Earth, I imagine that there could really be some true hatchet-burying between these guys, and I think his reputation amongst the public would improve by a considerable margin. Maybe even another BB album with some actual collaborations. Thing is: I think Mike probably feels this way to a degree in his heart, but perhaps he’s too proud to say them in a public interview, and I doubt he’s ever said them to Brian behind closed doors, either.  

What can I say: idealistically, I would truly love to see Mike address stuff like this, and not in an oversimplified single sentence, but with humility and perspective. Hey, many celebrities will do an interview and field questions in detail, to address a situation which they feel they have been “wronged” or maligned somehow. Mike has hinted over the years many times that he feels very misunderstood, particularly regarding his role in this era. The SMiLE Sessions interview clips/album essay didn’t get into stuff like this, though. Hell, Mike doesn’t have to say any of this stuff if he doesn’t believe it.  

Maybe I’m way off-base, but I don’t think that something like this being said in an interview by Mike is absolutely, 100% impossible. However, is it 99% improbable? Probably. But, it was also equally improbable that SMiLE would ever be officially released, and that wound up happening eventually. Perhaps most guys born in 1941 (who came from messed up family environments) probably often don’t get into territory like this. But maybe, just maybe, something like this might be written by Mike if his book ever comes out. Call me crazy, but I’m holding out a teeny-tiny glimmer of hope.

I think a lot of hatchets have been buried over the years only to be dug up repeatedly by third parties for the sake of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The fact that Mike gets kind of bent out of shape when someone else has control or involvement isn't new or interesting. But the evolution of his feelings towards the various elements of "C50" are a bit interesting.

I find it hard to believe that there was some sort of serious bait and switch going on concerning the new BB album in 2012. I think what has happened is that his disposition soured as "C50" continued; he raved about how great Joe Thomas was mid-tour to Howie Edelson, yet by 2013 was saying things that both directly and indirectly seemed to point pretty strongly to no longer being a big fan of how Thomas' involvement impacted the project.

A bit in line with the post above about an idealized version of Mike being honest about his feelings in interviews, I think if Mike would maybe indicate that he had mixed feelings from the get-go about the album, but by his own choice decided to sort of grin and bear it, and then afterwards feels more liberated to talk s**t about it, that would be understandable.

There was one of his relatively early post-reunion interviews where he minimized the album's going to #3, pointing out it didn't have staying power and didn't have a hit single. If "SIP" or some Mike-helmed project had hit #3, there's no way he would have characterized it that way. He doesn't like being beholden to others, that is clear. The C50 project illustrated his two possible reactions to this. In doing the album and tour, he showed he could "grin and bear it" and not have all the power. His quick exit also illustrates he doesn't want this to be an ongoing thing anymore.

When it comes to new BB albums, I'm all about it being good, regardless of whether that happens with Wilson/Love songs, Joe Thomas songs, Ron Altbach songs, Jeff Lynne songs, cover versions (maybe not so much with covers I suppose), whatever.

Comments earlier about Brian not being able to write a complete song all by himself were perhaps inflammatory, but not without merit. He has used collaborators to flesh most of his stuff out in recent years, decades in fact. That's okay. Similarly, Mike hasn't shown a capacity to produce much quality writing himself, and surely uses other musicians (and in some cases actual co-writers) to flesh his stuff out too. Mike is pining for the chance to write alone with Brian, but I don't think that would produce much quality stuff, especially if we're truly talking about a "from scratch" situation. Brian needs someone more musically inclined to flesh his ideas out than Mike (e.g. Thomas, Bennett, etc.), and Mike needs someone who will tell him to stop referencing old BB songs, and surfing, etc. in his lyrics.

The Rolling Stone article back in 2012 about the album and tour was pretty telling. That episode about Mike listening back to the ending suite was quite similar to the "Smile" era: Mike did not refuse to sing his parts, but also clearly after 50 years still doesn't "get" why people like the melancholy stuff, or stuff that is not evocative of their early, innocent era. Let me state this again: 50 years later, Mike STILL doesn't get it. Now, in a band with many personalities and styles, that can even be okay. But what that often means it that the guy that doesn't seem to fully "get" Smile, and who wants an album full of "Summer in Paradise" and "Beaches in Mind" type songs, can't expect to sit in a room alone with the crazy, eccentric guy that made "Smile" and who does Gershwin albums and "That Lucky Old Sun", and expect it to be "just like 1965", or even expect it be good.

"From There to Back Again" or "Waves of Love" or "Cool Head, Warm Heart" would probably end up being better songs than much if not most of what Brian and Mike could write "from scratch."

I also think the specific songwriting complaint Mike is having is more emblematic of an overarching control issue when it comes to albums and tours, and also specifically his souring on Joe Thomas.

Again, as Howie Edelson has said, if the group had some sort of Neil Aspinall type to keep all the guys placated and get everybody happy, the group could be doing more stuff together. Mike doesn't want to work with Joe Thomas? No problem, get another producer or collaborator to buffer Brian (he needs this in some form). Get Brian and Al to book some cheaper smaller town gigs if Mike wants to. Let Mike just tack on more of his decade-old solo album onto the group's album. If he wants to "write with Brian", but they can't do it from scratch, compromise by working ALONE with Mike, but bring him in partially or fully-written pieces that he can add all the lyrics to, with the caveat that Brian and maybe one of his guys like Bennett can have some lyrical input (e.g. convince Mike not to integrate any former BB song titles into lyrics of new songs). Even these compromise are more easier said than done, but some third-party person has to help these guys out. Someone has to tell Brian's camp that Mike won't sing on another Brian/Joe Thomas album. Someone has to tell Mike that his track record ("Summer in Pardise" anyone?) stinks and he can't be the creative force being a new group album.

Okay, random thought generator off. :)

Ive been pointing to the 2012 RS article ever since it came out and thank you for bringing it up again.. The issues are all there.. LOL.. Mike upset cause BW has his own separate tour bus.. Mike says he is hiding..  Yea from arguing with Mike.. Set List's + to many musician's..  On + ON it goes.. Mike is never happy.. Thank You for bringing this up again + providing insights + solutions.. Intelligent + well put post.. Now if they would just READ it.. ;D

How is it "inflammatory" to point out the truth? Read how TWGMTR was written. It's hard to tell how much Brian wrote of some of those songs. He also needed a collaborator, Scott Bennett, to do TLOS. Even when Landy had him on a writing regimen way back when, he had Andy Paley to help him with some of those songs, not just words, but music. Those facts rarely came out when Brian was interviewed, but when his collaborators (Paley, for example) were interviewed independently, it's often surprising how much of the music part of songs they contributed. I don't expect Mike Love to be able to write music. He's not an instrumentalist or a writer of the music part of songs. These days, he doesn't write lyrics too much, either (or he would be doing that with other writers, I'm sure people besides Brian would be willing to work with him). It's almost pointless to expect a true collaboration between those two that would approach anything they did earlier, even something along the lines of "Do It Again."

At this late stage I don't think he needs it or can be bothered really. I'm not being critical but Mike books a gig, turns up, plays for a few hours, turns off. No BS or egos, answerable to no one. Why would he want to write then spend time in a studio (which he hates), when the alternative is so stress free?  

I think you're right, Mike's days of creating new music are over.  And when it comes to touring he is put out by the needs of other rock stars, and so wants to stay with the way things have been done for years.

Jesus, this is tiresome....

I sometimes just wish Brian had quit The Beach Boys officially right after Pet Sounds and maybe just donated songs here and there to them from that point out...... All this who's the genius?, who's not?, who wrote what?, credit credit credit credit!!!!!!!, "this album would have been better if", just F*$cks with our ability to honestly take in the 50 years of awesomeness the world's greatest band has gifted upon us  >:(

Ick.  I'd take That Lucky Old Son over that ANY day!

Spring Vacation!

Seriously. 

I've thought about this, too, and for a while I thought like you do. But ultimately, the reason Brian quit SMiLE were his mental issues, so he really didn't have a choice. Using Mike as a lyricist would have changed Mike's attitude to the album, but it wouldn't have changed Brian's insecurity and dissatisfaction and habit of constant re-recording. If at all, I could imagine that Mike and Carl would have stepped in an finished an album called SMiLE with the material they had, but then still everybody would bitch on that this was not the album "as Brian originally envisioned".

I respect your opinion that I once had myself, but Mike was only the lyricist - not the genius of the group that everybody relied on at the time and who made everything stand or fall. I think even with Mike as lyricist SMiLE would not have been finished. Maybe with the right diagnosis and medication, but otherwise, no.



He only wrote the lyrics, not the whole song! :wink

I think it is possible that Carl quit the 1996 album project (from the Paley sessions) out of hurt because he was once more not involved in the creative process. That would be totally understandable.

There's an interesting comparison between that idea and Mike's issues with TWGMTR. Carl hand been the touring band leader since Brian stopped touring, had been Brian's right-hand man in the studio during the sixties (or at least a key assistant/understudy/whatever you'd call it), became the group's strongest vocalist in place of Brian and was lead producer for a time up until Love You. Things got messy for a while after that and Carl withdrew and went solo for a bit, but returned on condition of more rehearsals etc (I think) and so in some ways I think he returned to a leading role whilst Brian remained absent. In some ways it seemed like he withdrew from being the studio lead again after '85, when the Mike/Melcher team seemed to take over. Many people in Carl's position might have taken the view that they'd held the band together, insisted on high standards for the group and found that those standards slipped when other people took control. In the late 70's Brian had returned, but his productions were sloppy and off-the-wall by Carl's early 70's standards. Carl's often described as a perfectionist and probably found a lot of that hard to take. He might have been conflicted between his love and respect for his brother and his desire for high quality material. We know he worked on the Love You tapes to get them into a better shape for release, but he was then barely on the next album. Given everything Brian had gone through, and everything that the group had gone through with Brian, I can see why Carl would have struggled with the concept of returning to a Brian-led studio project when Brian's recent track record wasn't exactly strong. Brian had been sporadically part of the touring band and that hadn't always been a positive. He'd not provided any great new material for the group in well over a decade and was in many ways a different person from the musical powerhouse of the sixties. It would have taken a fairly huge leap of faith to jump back into a Brian produced album without having some control over the project. Add to that the recent SIP disaster that Carl had had little control over, personal issues over the Brian/Landy debacle, the autobiography, possible Brian/Mike friction, Carl's outside musical interests and possiby even issues around Carl's health and you've got a long list of reasons to pull the plug on those session at that time. It didn't mean that Carl never wanted to do it and it's only with hindsight that we can see it as a missed opportunity given Carl's all-too-early passing.

Compare that scenario with Mike's in 2012 - he'd dominated the groups studio output since Kokomo (the group's last big hit), had single-handedly led the touring band since the late 90's (again, for better or worse), had seen little interest from Brian in the Beach Boys, had provided an income to the other BRI members through his touring act, had had to take legal action against Brian to get credit for his part in composing some of the group's hit material, felt jilted over Pet Sounds, Smile and other examples of collaboration with Brian, had been much maligned in the popular media for various supposed acts of bad taste, unpleasant behaviour, cancelling Smile (generally anything negative that ever happened with the Beach Boys) etc etc. So you can see that from his perspective, he's earned his place alongside Brian as the group's leader. Rightly or wrongly, the Beach Boys of recent history had been Mike's and he probably wasn't happy about suddenly ceding control over the group he'd led for the past 14 years or so. Especially if that control went to an 'outsider' in Joe Thomas (or possibly anyone else). Add to that that Brian's solo output hadn't exactly set the world alight and I think his comments since the reunion are understandable, even if I tend not to agree that Brian/Mike collaborations are for the best at this stage. Mike compromised and later felt that maybe others didn't.

I think there are very obvious comparisons to be made between Mike and Carl, and their respective attitudes to TWGMTR and the Paley sessions stuff. Both had been the band's leader, both had had strained relationships with Brian at various points, both might have had questions over Brian's ability to produce material that they were happy with and felt entitled to their own input into the furtherance of the groups legacy.

All that said, I'm a huge fan of TWGMTR and think it turned out better than a more democratic album would have. I see little evidence to seggest that a Brian/Mike collaboration would be fruitful without other's input and I'm not keen on Mike's solo contribution to the LP. My guess is that things could have been handled better and that Mike could have been more involved to keep him happier, but I don't think the album would have been better for it. In the past, Mike seems to have been happy with relatively small contributions to the writing process (e.g. Wouldn't it Be Nice) , so maybe he could have been more involved, but I suspect Mike's being a bit optimistic about Brian's ability to do what he used to without musical input from other sources. I think it's a shame it all ended as it did, because I'd love to see something more from the group - but it now looks very unlikely.

I think it has been thoroughly shown that Mike will put up with and stuff a lot and for decades if it is from his cousin Brian. I don't think Mike is so into putting up with and stuffing it from "others" especially if they promised something and don't deliver. He is a team player and still delivers what he agreed to but he doesn't have to like taking it in the neck from the "other".

What do you mean "taking it in the neck" from the other?

He means that Mike is such a wonderful guy that does stuff for others and always sticks to his word, and that others just always break their agreements and hurt him.

But don't forget,  he will do anything for cousin Brian.....


....except record a new Beach Boys album with him unless it's three quarters remakes of their hits and then other new songs written by him and Brian.

It means to receive trouble or punishment. Like someone promises you something and doesn't do it or someone insists on something and then launches a public smear campaign against you when they get it.

I'm the biggest Mike fan in the world but (aside from all the factors we do not know) I don't really get why he doesn't take matters into his own hands a bit. Like, he should stop Bruce from clapping, sit his ass down at a piano under threat of dismissal and make him write some tunes. Mike can write all the lyrics he wants and the M&B "Beach Boys" can start laying down tracks. Then he can call up Brian and play him some stuff over the phone and say "Get your ass down here"

Seems like the most likely way to get Brian "in a room".... If the stuff is working and has potential, Brian would probably get excited and jump on.

Or maybe I'm kidding myself.

Why would you say three quarters remakes of their hits?  He said he wants to write new songs with him and Brian, and suggested perhaps Al was promised to participate as well.  He said nothing about re-cutting old material in any recent interviews, that I'm aware of.

Ya know that suggestion you just put forth has some merit.. maybe not  long term   solution but short term no doubt.. { Pinder's suggestion }

I'd like to see Bruce write some songs. He won a Grammy, fer gosh sakes.  He should write songs by himself. He can write lyrics, too, albeit sappy ones, for the most part.

Ditto for Bruce although I can't comment about his attitude in the studio.

Who in the world want's a full album of Bruce ballads  :lol

If they're along the lines of Dierdre and Disney Girls: yes!!!!

He actually acted really bummed that they didn't do re-records in an interview HERE (http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/20130415beach-boys-mike-love-interview-arizona.html). Sure it says Brian said it, but I don't recall anybody but Mike being sad that they didn't do re-records. I guess he's just had such success with Mike Love, Bruce Johnston & David Marks of the Beach Boys Salute NASCAR and Summertime Cruisin' that he wanted to have some "fun, fun, fun" and maybe it'd be cool if he could "do it again".

 Strange that at the supposed peak of his powers and songwriting prowess, Bruce came up flat with GOING PUBLIC. No problem with him revisiting "Disney Girls" and "I Write the Songs" as they were his tunes, but what an underwhelming effort.

I don't know why anybody would interview Mike Love.. Always the same answers.. You guys are kind enough to provide links to all these and yet I never learn anything new.. He must have all the answers written down close by.. And talking to Mike they never did anything after the 60"s except Kokomo.. Is he getting senile ? Somebody please interview Bruce for a change.. Or give Mike a few glasses of Wine and loosen up a bit.. :lol

++++++++1  :smokin

So it was Brian's idea but Mike's blame.

This M&B album is going to killing me and OSD on first listen!!!! :p

y

Didn't Brian himself re-record two Beach Boys songs on "Imagination"? How is that different than Brian proposing they do a couple of remakes for the C50 project? It couldn't have been any worse than a couple of the worst songs on there.  I also wouldn't be surprised if it were a Joe Thomas idea, since he also produced "Imagination." Of course, the first reunion recording was a remake of "Do It Again."

It was Brian's idea, but Mike's the only one who seemed peeved at all that it didn't happen. I haven't caught any interviews where Brian mentioned he was disappointed that they didn't get to re-record "Be True To Your School" or maybe "Surfin'" with heavy metal guitars. Oh wait, that one happened already.

I also gotta add that I think one reason why Mike wrote a certain kind of song for his latest (unreleased) solo album, but went back to self referential nonsense for the TWGMTR is that, being a guy who obviously favors money over art (and that's not a diss, I think he'd admit it) he thinks of The Beach Boys as a "brand" and that stuff like "From There To Back Again" don't fit that brand. He knows that songs about beaches and referencing past hits are easier ways of capturing Joe Dipshit's attention span, so that's why he does what he does. I have to say though, while there are a handful of good songs (like "Cool Head, Warm Heart" and "Daybreak Over The Ocean" among them) from his latest solo effort, a lot of the lyrics are pretty mediocre. Not wincingly bad, but just incredibly pedestrian. However, maybe if you had Brian put a better tune to something like "Anything for You" maybe it'd be better.

But whatever the case, Mike sounds like he feels he has something to say artistically. So what I don't understand is why doesn't he release some new freakin' music!? He kinda hinted that he would in some interviews last year, but he still hasn't. And I think that's a shame. I think he still doesn't understand that indie is the way to go. I think it took Al a while to realize that to get a solo album out, he had to do it that way. If Mike is waiting for Capitol or somebody to release his solo stuff, he's in la-la land. In my opinion, he should get the stuff out in the world via iTunes and also press up a few physical copies and sell them at his shows and also online. Shoot, maybe if Brian's people see that Mike is still making moves artistically and has some strong new tunes they might say "hey maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to work with him on some new material again?"

But hey, what do I know?

And lastly for my third post in a row...


I agree that it's disappointing that Going Public wasn't that great, but I think one thing to remember is that perhaps this era wasn't when he was at "the peak of his powers". If you go song-by-song (which I won't, don't worry), it actually becomes pretty clear that he really hardly brought any new to the project. In fact, after looking at the track listing, I think it's fair to say the only "new" songs he brought to the project were "Don't Be Scared" and "Rock and Roll Survivor". Everything else was either a re-do of something he either did with The Beach Boys, something he recorded as part of "Bruce & Terry", straight up covers, or stuff he wrote that was already released by other groups.

So I think the point is, dude has never really prolific at all, and while for a while I thought it was incredible that all he offered up for the latest Beach Boys album was "She Believes in Love Again", I can now understand. It could be totally possible that he hasn't written a complete song since "Slow Summer Dancin'". And anyways, it's probably better that we don't get any new material from him, since apparently the music that really gets him going these days is pop-country nonsense like Brad Paisley.

Well, you seem to forget that the real world isn't black and white. Mike Love is neither hero nor pure villain. The same goes for Brian.



You could make it a game: The one who stands more tracks wins. :)

Right, Mike's complaining about not being able to write more new material with Brian because he's peeved Brian didn't rerecord more old stuff like Brian wanted. 

The vast majority of these interviews are for the local paper of the town they're playing in that night, so the answers will be the same because the questions are. Mike's done some in depth interviews -Goldmine 2002 springs to mind - and a new one is long overdue. And... C'mon, has Brian never trotted out formula answers ? Or Alan ?

You know, when I first read that interview, I understood he meant recording cover versions of songs they like. Brian may have suggested they do Proud Mary or Honeycomb and Mike a couple of others. Heck, when asked about future BB projects on TV, in 2012 with all the guys, he mentioned (and sang) Honeycomb. And hey, I would buy an album of quirky BBs cover versions.

Hey AGD I agree with you with the formula answers.. ive posted that every interview on youtube are all the same + interchangeable .. I was especially disappointed in the Charlie Rose interview.. I expected more in depth analysis there.. I should have posted a longer post + explained myself better.. Im not a Mike hater.. I stand middle ground with him.. I DO find Mike Love frustrating tho.. But that's life as they say.. ;D

AGD.. Did Mike do an in depth  Goldmine interview in 2002..??   I didn't know that.. The last one I remember was 1992.. Its possible I missed that of course.. THX

I would like to ask ML - why do you keep making references to old Beach Boys hit songs in your newer compositions?  Did you and BW attempt to write any new songs while the two of you were traveling around the world for the 50th tour or did BW rebuff your effort to try and write?

I doubt they were ever together apart from sound checks and the actual show. Major tours usually have people well-separated and they have to want to hang out together. Look at the "reunited"  Everly Brothers for an example of a touring act who avoiding ever talking to each other except for onstage. They had separate hotel rooms, separate transportation, and separate stage entrances.

Nothing wrong with that idea at all… think Sloop John B, Barbara Ann, Do You Wanna Dance, The. I Kissed Her, I Can Hear Music, Rock an Roll Music, Come Go With Me, Cottonfields… th Beach Boys have scored some decent hit with cover versions down the years; a few more couldn't hurt and could be well handled and tasteful.

And what was that album they released in 2011 that was peppered with covers? You know, Gee, I Wanna Be Around, the El Paso derived tune, You Are My Sunshine… forgotten the album's name now…

Well, the big Rolling Stone article covering the tour starts with Mike joining Brian for dinner, and later in the article it was pretty clear that Brian was traveling with the rest of them (although Mike stayed behind in NYC for a bit and therefore wasn't on the same flight as the rest of them).

Brian + Jeff had a separate tour bus.. The rest of the BB + the whole band + crew had a separate tour bus. How they got all those people on 1 bus I don't know.. Maybe some of the crew rode with the truck driver up front + in the sleeper bunk.. There was 2 big rigs with 53 ft trailers and 2 busses at Indio Ca ..End of may 2012.. And I know you were talking about when they fly to a gig.. Sure wish they would do a tour like that again.. The music was AMAZING..!

Imagine the photos.  All the photos we have of Mike are the ones he allowed to be releaseed, think of all the photos he's kept locked up. 

for instance, did you know that he used to wear wigs?  Yeah.  There's a ten year period where he wore wigs.  Nobody was allowed to take photos, they'll be in the book, you'll see. 

There's a lengthy thread on here with some incredibly unflattering photos of Mike.

I didn't say Mike hasn't written some great lyrics.  He has including stuff with Dennis like POBs.  Do you think Mike would have come up with another "Warmth of the Sun"?  His interviews suggest he has an idea for the Beach Boys nowadays ( last 35 years) and they don't really involve much other than fun in the sun let's mention our old hit songs type lyrics.  It doesn't mean he can't do it, it's just unlikely.  Brian, on the other hand, has come up with some cheese in his time, but has demonstrated he can still and wants to produce 'art', with help from others.

Those types of lyrics are Mike's calling card and the precedent has been there for decades, as much as fans like me would like to see some different themes coming from his pen, I doubt it will happen on any larger scale than perhaps a handful of song ideas. Remember the Don Was story, from when he had Mike and Brian collaborating and co-writing in the studio almost 20 years ago? Don suggested they write about their family bond, their relationship and the struggles that they went through leading to a reunion of sorts, like a redemption, and Mike and Brian came back to Was with "Baywatch Nights". If that doesn't explain it, I don't know what can... :-D

Remember too Mike's main outlet is still anything labeled "Beach Boys", and I think he is indeed thinking in a decades-old mentality of how to get a hit record on the charts. When he did the fun in the sun route in the 80's, it got him Kokomo. He even tried to get together some of the same crew who worked up Kokomo to do the next "Beach Boys" album, and his lyrics flirted with a social conscience and relevance, and it gave him a sales bomb of almost epic proportions. So to get those "hit records", where did he go? The revisit/rehash/retro/nostalgia route, and even most of those efforts didn't make that big of a splash with the general public, outside of hardcore BB's fan circles. Santa Goes To Kokomo?

Brian has also flirted with a lot of light, fluffy, cheesy material, but at the same time he has taken artistic chances and has sought out lyricists like Van Dyke to go beyond where his reputation with the BB's might suggest - again, like Mike, to mixed sales results. But I think there are more opportunities in that kind of outlook to even give someone like Jimmy Webb a call if some kind of new inspiration hits him. And the vehicle Mike has with the Beach Boys identity also exists for Brian, but I don't know if anything outside the norm coming from Brian's pen would be immediately targeted for a Beach Boys product. In all seriousness, I think that might also explain why he wanted to rerecord "Do It Again" in the early reunion stages, because it simply fit that label and that outlet.

Well said.... what it always comes down to with me too is, we don't know what the label's role is in all this. 

I'd have to think that the label sees them more as a fun in the sun band then a brian wilson perpetual teen angst band or even the brian Wilson the genius band. 

Ron - roughly, what years in question are you referring to?

I thought Ron was joking. Was he not?

I hope he was joking because if they were wigs they weren't very good!  Or maybe Ron meant wigs for beards!  ;D

That reminds me of the "Dick Van Dyke Show" episode where Laura accidentally tells a game show audience that Alan Brady wears a toupee. When Laura goes to apologize, Alan shows her his collection of wigs, including some that imitated a receding hairline. Mike must have been wearing various receding hairline model wigs for years before he gave up and started wearing a baseball cap.

" there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the Smile album, so naturally I was a little upset."

Suprised no one's mentioned this quote from the interview.  Very revealing of Mike's real feelings towards Smile, and this doesn't seem like a formulaic answer - don't remember him coming right out and admitting this before.  He was upset about Smile because he was cut out of the songwriting, that was why he was so negative towards the project and personally to Van Dyke.  Just like he's negative now to the TWGMTR project, although he had a lot more input into that album than Smile.