The Smiley Smile Message Board

So....we have seen these two quotes or paraphrased quotes tossed around all the time:

"Don't f**k with the formula"

and of course the alleged Leonard Bernstein quote.

Where did the "formula" quote originate? I'd love to see the entire context.

And the Bernstein thing...both Brian and Van Dyke have said that Bernstein said great things about "Surf's Up." Where? Certainly not Inside Pop, as Brian's segment was during David Oppenheim's half of the show, not Bernstein's...

If Mike Love didn't say DFWTF then I'd be sorely disappointed. It's a key part of the SMiLE story.

most rock n roll myths/legends have that element of qoutes that people have said that may have some truth to them but also could have been paraphrased or changed throughout the years..so it's probably true up to a point but how much of it is true who knows..it's kindo of like the whole "we're bigger then Jesus" statemeant made by Lennon where that is the ONLY part of the quote that we hear but we don't hear the rest of it so it's taken out of context .in fact he actually said they are more "popular" then Jesus not bigger so the qoute that floats around out there isn't even right,or like Stan Laurel saying "I would rather be skiing then doing this" as his last words before dying who knows if he really said it but it's out there as his last words ..sure Mike may have said it but it could have just been once and then the media (or Rock N Roll mythology/legend) makes it looks like he says it all the time .

I very much doubt Lenny ever talked about "Surf's Up."

I think the quote is often attributed to Pet Sounds, not Smile. Also, not sure if it's real or not.

I'm pretty sure it originally came from an interview with Tony Asher (I'm thinking the same one where he called Brian an "amateur human being"), so it's definitely in reference to Pet Sounds.

No-one has yet succeeded in tracing a contemporary source for the "DFWTF" quote.

As for Bernstein, the voice-over on Brian's part is Oppenheim. Not saying that Len didn't say something nice about "SU", but not on tape.

How about Paul McCartney naming God Only Knows as his favourite song of all time? Brian often suggests that at his concerts, but has Sir Paul ever actually said that? I seem to remember that even in his Pet Sounds box liner notes, he touts You Still Believe in Me as his favourite from the album.

Yeah, I've seen more than one instance in writing of Paul attributing that to "You Still Believe In Me." (Speaking of Macca...I seem to remember LONG ago that the whole vegetable-chomping thing was debunked.)

In that matter, what about the "surfing Doris Days" reference??

"Surfing Doris days", yes, I've seen the original to that... "The public thinks of us as surfing Doris Days."

Attributed to one of Doris Day's producers, one Bruce Johnston.

Maybe I shouldn't add to the confusion with a vague memory of something I read, but here goes: Paul was asked recently (= last ten years or so) about GOK being his favorite song, and he sort of confirmed it, sort of didn't. What he said was that he once, in an earlier interview, had been asked what his favorite song was, and felt that he had to come up with something, and GOK were among the first songs to come to his mind, so he said it.

The first Pet Sounds issue on CD in the US included an insert with an interview David Leaf conducted with Paul Mc. He talks at length about GOK being his favorite. This was 1990, me thinks. Previously, he had answered a Rolling Stone magazine poll about favorite songs and GOK was on top or #2. But his favoritism statement dates from before, as in the 25th Anniversary Special Mike reads a cue about Macca's love for the song.

"'God Only Knows' is a big favorite of mine."
—Paul McCartney

http://blog.brianwilson.com/musicians-on-brian/

Mike probably said "Don't f*** with the Formula".  People feel different things at different times.  Only famous people like Mike, however, get held to everything they've ever said.  I'd shudder to think if people held everything I ever said against me.  I've said I love you and I hate you to the same damn people.  Which one is it?  It's whatever moment it's in.  It's one of the downfalls of being famous, people take you too seriously. 

Paul's talked extensively about the entire album.  He specifically said that he likes God Only Knows because of the bassline (of course, Paul is one of the greatest bass players of all time, imho).  I'm not great on music theory, but Paul was impressed that the bassline of the song doesn't play the root it plays the 5th or 7th or something through the song.  I believe he may have even talked about that song in particular in his induction speech for Brian.  He's said before too that it's not easy to write a song as great as God Only Knows.

About "You still believe in me" he's said that it's his favorite before as well, and he's said that the part at the end where it goes away, then comes back blows him away every time.  He's said the first time he ever heard that song he cried after he heard it, and he said somewhere sometime that when his kids would be going off on a trip he'd give them a copy of Pet Sounds to listen to on the way, or whatever.  Talked about how he would point out "look, look, listen how it fades out, then comes back in" or whatever in the song.  

He's without a doubt as huge of a fan as he's made out to be. Paul's a fan of good music though, i'm sure most people know his publishing company is the largest privately owned collection of songs in the world including Buddy Holly's, and a bunch of stuff like that.  

Disgusting. Just cos he liked smoking LSD and dropping pot doesn't mean he should give it to his kids.

Better remind Brian of that, then

lol.  I think Marilyn got that point across to him pretty good, eh?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y57e-zmvLc8

Next you'll be telling me Mike didn't tell Dennis, "You're out of the band, Buckwheat!"  ;)

I think I found my new ringtone ;D