The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi there, so far everyone has being really nice to me and I've felt welcomed when I've posted. But I know that some of my questions or comments may be old topics and that the veterans of this board (and other boards) may find them boring and over-discussed.

Having said that, I wanted to start a thread just for newbies  :)  this is nonetheless open to everyone and I would love to hear the opinion from all sides of the spectrum.

So, I wanted to start by saying that Pet Sounds is my all time favorite album ever and that Wouldnt it be Nice is my favorite BBs song. If you've read my signature, those lines sum up the beauty, the innocence that drove me into loving this band and Brian in particular. Hell, I even respect Mike Love for singing that part, he really does a great job there!

Have you ever been in a situation where the only thing left is to pray, wish, hope that something would work out? Specially when talking about a relationship? I've been there and the first time I heard this song, I connected to it in such a way that amazes me still to this day.

Anyone else has a line that really touched him/her in this manner?

Feel free to answer whatever you want to answer. To be able to share my thoughts with more people is beyond cool :)

From "The Warmth of the Sun," "The love of my life, she left me one day..."  I can vividly remember...it was Christmas Eve Eve, a bright moon where I could see her breath on that cold evening as she told me.  Her name, believe it or not, was Rhonda.  My friends in high school would sing, "Help Me, Rhonda," as we started going out.  Indeed she was the love of my life.  Probably my favorite melody to a Beach Boys song, "The Warmth of the Sun."

David Leaf makes the point in his liner notes to the Good Vibrations box set that one of the greatest things about Brian Wilson/Beach Boy music is the way it makes you feel. That's one of the things that sets the Beach Boys apart from other bands in my opinion. Whether it's being taken away to sunny California or listening to the angst and emotion of Caroline No, no other group can do that like the Beach Boys can.

I can't really recall a situation that was so dire, all I could do was hope that it worked out in the end. But that hasn't stopped me from being captivated and comforted by the music. Sometimes on days where I just am not feeling happy or am feeling stressed, I listen to some Pet Sounds or some Beach Boy music and all of a sudden, things are okay. 8)

Oh yeah, from "Caroline, No!"  "It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die..."  Man, oh man!

From No-Go Showboat:
When it comes to speed, man, I'm just out of luck
I'm even shut down by the ice cream truck
-That line just gets me every time.

Yeah, that line gets me every time. It's positively heart wrenching the way Brian sings that.

From 'Let Him Run Wild' which is my current obsession:

"And now that you don't need him
 Well he can have his freedom"

That rhyme is BRILLIANT! It makes me proud to speak English.

I am no newbie but just wanna say - YOUR ENTHUSIASM KICKS ARSE AND I LOVE THIS THREAD.




tis the season, right   :beer

2 great opinions, thanks, Scott M - For me, the BB's at their best match introspective lyrics with evocative moody music and vocals (whether it be an up mood or a mellow mood).

Anyway, schiaffino, the way Dennis sings "I wanted to hold her, I just let her go" on Angel Come Home, always kicks my ass, while lyrically "the character" in the song (not Dennis, he didn't write it) is taking stock and regretting his mistakes; which is a place where some of us may have been, once, perhaps twice (max)  :) 

I also find "Busy Doin' Nothin'" is a great one to chill out to, as required.

Thanks Hypehat  :) and it's great to see so many replies in this thread!

Aside from WIBN, another top song for me is I Get Around. I know that it's super commercial, but whenever I hear Brian's lead in the verse, it makes me smile and I feel happy, positive! Have you seen the video with the famous clapping by Dennis? Look at Brian, how much he's enjoying himself...that's another moment that does it for me everyday!

Nice choices Alholio71, I specially enjoy Busy doing Nothin', though I've always wandered how Brian came up with bossanova foe this song. Why and how? And I'm guessing is Carl the one playing the guitar there, right? What an amazing guitar player he was...

Thanks for commenting ScottM  :)

I'm way too scared to categorically say "No, it wasn't Carl" but David Leaf's liner notes from the Friends/20-20 twofer says; "Busy Doin Nothin'" was one of at least a half-dozen cuts that Brian produced during the Friends sessions on which he utilized outside musicans as he had during his 1964-1966 heyday".

So, I'm gonna tend towards it wasn't Carl - the playing has a certain finese that I think a (totally awesome) rock guitarist like Carl couldn't provide at that stage of his career (perhaps he could, I don't know), but that's ok- instead, we get to hear the beauty of a Brian Wilson solo outing as per Caroline, No.

As to why a Bossanova beat, dunno, although it strikes me that BW may have been getting back to the basics of working within various musicial parameters post Smile Sessions, as opposed to pushing the envelope. Similar tp Lennon's pursuit of the Blues on post Pepper's productions.  We also hear waltz styles used on Friends, which were continued through to Time to get Alone on 20/20.

BTW, I think "Fun, Fun, Fun" is a great one to lift the spirits, up there with I Get Around  :-D

Sorry, not a newbie, but just wanted to confirm Alholio71's response that, apart (probably) from Brian Wilson on keyboards, no other Beach Boys feature on the instrumental track.

Oh ok...I've always been confused regarding the involvement of outside musicians in BBs records after Smile. Thanks for the clarification!

Speaking of BBs studio playing after PS-Smile, I've read they recorded most of SmileySmile at Brian's Bel-Air house. My question: they did the music for Winter Simphony? Or was it a track kept from previous sessions?

This makes me think, I've told this story before, but now it has an ending...

I once had a friend (yes, a girl) who I was best friends with for 4 years, in the summer of the 4th year we were talking and
things started to go wrong.

She stopped talking to me... I turned to Pet Sounds.

Christmas Day, this year, I got the SMiLE Box, I had texted her "Merry Christmas" expecting no response, after 7 months of the silent treatment.
I put SMiLE on the turntable, and as it began to spin, she answered me, I called her, we talked, it seems we're finally friends again...

So yes, the music is magical in a way.

It has me since about, oh, 48 years ago.  Speaks right to the heart of things - which was summer in LA in the early 60's.  Reminds me the Boys were just kids like us (well, obviously we weren't just like them . . .).

That's a GREAT story, you could weave a song out of that one! :)

Amazing story  :)

One quick question, if you wanna get someone into liking the BBs, what song(s) would you choose?

I've had the tendency to always try to use the more sensitive songs (WIBN) or the complex ones (Surf's up, DYLW) to show that the band was more than Surfing USA or Fun, Fun, Fun... Not that there's anything wrong with that  8) but you know, when you're a fan and you want to convince others, you kind of aim high, no?

What do you think? What songs have you used? This could be a nice thread  :)

I think there are two types of Beach Boy fans, the ones that like the more emotional, complex stuff, and the more casual fans who like the Fun Fun Fun or Kokomo types of songs. You really never know what type of song they will like or what kind of fan they will be, but I agree that if you really want to get them into the BB you should probably show them the more emotional songs.

Emotional songs that I think newbies might like are Don't Worry Baby, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Good Vibrations, etc. I might start there and see what happens.

Thanks, it inspired me to write my opera, "Verity" a while ago... but I'm planing on re-vamping the idea to new heights with this new "twist" :D

Thanks Scott  :)

I've been struggling with the idea of 2 types of BBs fans. The more I listen to the old tunes (ex. pre-Today!) the more I find this complexity that's covered in an air of musical simplicity. Maybe some listeners will only focus in the lyrics, which is sth obvious when first getting into the BBs but the moment you shift your attention to the music...man...even stuff like Fun, Fun, Fun has so many things going on, the complexity of the voice blend, the dynamics of the song...

I don't know about Kokomo, that was mainly arranged by outsiders, but most of the fun-in-the-sun songs have such an intensity in their music...I just wish I could help new people grasp that, pass Mike's stupid lyrics in California Girls and just listen to the chord progressions, breaks...not even mentioning the intro  :)

Maybe I should show people the instrumental tracks? But then I would miss the voice layers...

One thing Beach Boy music absolutely cannot be described as is "simple." I absolutely hate it when people try and pass off their music as "simple, fun in the sun surf rock."

My point is that in my experience, some are more drawn to the harder rocking surf songs, while others can be more attracted to the more emotionally resonant stuff. I personally love both, but I definitely find that some casual fans can often prefer the less deep (lyrically speaking), more harder rocking-type stuff. You never really know what they're going to like. But it's all absolutely beautiful music.

With that being said, you can always try both. :)

I wouldn't go the route of showing them instrumentals. The Beach Boys are the best vocal group of all time (IMO). You've got to show them some stuff that shows off their beautiful, complex harmonies.

My favorite line: A children's song. Won't you listen as they play? Their song is love and the children know the way!

Yay! The thread has 2 pages, now  ;D

That's a fine line there! Anything lyrically or musically in Surf's Up is pure perfection

I think its their very best song! The BBs equal of 'A Day in the Life'.

You must still have yet to hear "Ding Dang"! :hat :hat :woot :ohyeah :banana

I have heard that. I like it, but no. :)

It's great to hear you say that, I always thought the same thing!

Could we say "columneted ruins domino" is then the equivalent to "I love to turn you on"? Sweet!  ;D

Just to revive the thread a little bit...wanna share with everyone the moment I became hooked on the BBs:

I grew up with grunge, hardcore techno, deep house and U2  ;D nice music uprising...and I remember when I was in college a friend of mine kept saying his dream was to move to a city near the seaside, get a convertible and drive around to Surfin' USA and stuff like that. I thought that was the most hideous idea ever! I found the song stupid compared to stuff I was into back then (ex STP, Nirvana, Alice in Chains...) and had heated arguments with him on whether he was musically challenged or just a plain dork!

Anyways, move forward some years and I'm living in Belgium. I used to dj in bars and discos, both to get some money to live and obviously to have fun. I met a fellow dj who told me once that his top fav album ever was Pet Sounds. I said "Pet...what? What's that?" and he said: The Beach Boys.

I had this friend of mine in really high regard, one of the finest indie djs I've ever heard, so I went to a record shop and bought myself my first BB album. To be really, really honest I was not blown away. Aside from WITBN, which I had already heard before and thought was a great tune, the rest of the album sounded so innocent, so uncool, to the kind of life style I was into back then, that I just shelved it in my cd collection and didnt hear it for months.

Until one day another bar friend of mine told me he was going to see Brian Wilson in a small town south of Brussels. He asked me if I wanted to go, he had free tickets, so I said sure, why not. Went to this small town festival, really strange place, but got really, really impressed by BWs performance. They were doing the BWPS tour and the elements section, with Fire...my God! I thought it was the craziest music ever! And to think this is the same guy who wrote those old dumb surf songs...

So started reading about the band's history and was amazed at all the troubles, the rise and fall of the band...and then got completely hooked on them. So, in my case, it was SMiLE music the one that got me into the band and the myth behind it. And I'm proud to say that their songs are around 60-70% of my iPod's selection, listen to them daily and that I'm really happy to have found this board where I can share my "addiction" with more people  :smokin

Cheers to the BBs! What's your story?

It is interesting to note that most bands have followed the Beatles model more then the BBs. First of all, because they were hipper and probably easier as well. A few obvious BB sound alike  bands are the High Llamas, M Ward, Super Furry Animals and REM (UP). I love it because it hasn't been done as much. For every BB sound alike band there are 100 Beatles sound alikes. Thus the Pet Sounds/Smile model is more rare. Although, I believe with the increase of Smile boots in the early 80s you begin to have more indie hip bands going that way. Like the Wondermints. :)

cool story, clarify for me though: do you still think the surf songs are stupid, or have you grown to appreciate those too?

 Don't mind them, but certainly not my cup of tea :)

What's your story?

The first time I heard the Beach Boys, I was looking through my dad's cds and found Endless Summer. It was 1991 and I was 13. Since I was already a fan of vocal harmony music I liked them immediately. I was a casual fan until I saw Endless Harmony in 98. At which point I started buying all their albums. I became obsessed with SMiLE and napster became
 handy  >:D   At first I never thought anything good would ever happen currently with the BBs. It was all cheese in recent years. Full House, Summer in Paradise, Imaginations, juke box concerts, etc... Then Brian started touring and played a lot of deep cuts. He played the entire Pet Sounds album and revived SMiLE. Somewhere around that time I discovered this board. I didn't know anyone was into the BBs as much as I was until then. Brian's next albums have been of very good quality. The POB/Bambu cd then came out. Two great books about Dennis, one about Dave, several about Brian. A solid album by Al Jardine. Then to top it all off, the release of TSS!!

1998 was a great time to get into the BBs! Some people are worried about how the reunion turns out. Some expecting cheese, others something great. To tell you the truth, I have been over so happy with what has already happened and anything else is a bonus! Really! If they all retired today, I have already gotten more then I could've hoped for!

Please forgive me. I am not a newbie on this board. But you don't have to worry, nobody will piss me off! :) And I will try not to piss anyone else off.

Seems like for the last couple of years I've been on some sort of long-term 15 Big Ones/Love You era kick, I think I was a little burned out on PS/Smile for a while (still love that stuff, though.). Funny, the beginning of my Love You kick also coincided with an anti-prog rock kick I was on.

I think Love You is awesome! But I would put Ding Dang as one of the worst (least good) songs on the album.

Ive only recently gotten into The Beach Boys (last 18 months) after having known about them, and their music for quite a while. But its only been the last couple of years that the music actually got to me and ive now grown to love them. Theyre now easily one of my top 5 all time favourite bands.

I started off in the early 90s listening to grunge/metal (Alice In Chains is one of my other all time fav bands) and lots of hip hop and 70s funk (specifically P-Funk). My older brother is a huge BB’s fan but I would never really pay attention when he played their music. I guess I just didn’t get it at the time. As time wore on I was getting into more and more metal bands (stoner, doom & funeral doom) until I stumbled across a French band called AIR. I loved their sound and music. Reading interviews they would say how much The BB’s and BW were an influence on them but still I kept away from the BB’s.

Anyway I loved watching music docos, and I caught ‘Endless Harmony’ in the early 00’s. The story really fascinated me and the ‘Til I Die clip during one of the BW montages stopped me in my tracks – I loved that song (even though it was the alt mix). But again it kinda stopped there. I didn’t really look into more of their music.

Fast forward a few years and I D/L some of my brothers BB’s CD’s onto my iTunes which is where they stayed until one day I had my library on shuffle. I was sitting at home, in the back yard on a warm summer’s afternoon, smoking some green when ‘All I Wanna Do’ came on . Hearing those voices, especially the last minute of the song just did something for me. I cant exactly say what, but when Brian sang ‘My love is burning brightly….’ it made me literally sit up. It sent shivers down my spine. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had heard. I mustve listened to that one track 10 times in a row that afternoon and to this day i absolutely adore that track.

You know those moments when a bands music has been in front of you all the time and you hardly notice it, yet one day it just clicks? It was like that. So I went and started listening to all the other albums i had. since then ive been hooked.

Now im not really into the early stuff. I understand this era is important to the sound of the BB’s but the whole cars and surf songs didn’t move me as much as the later stuff which to me seems more emotional (which is what i love).

I now love the BB's. i listen to them everyday. One gripe I do have though is that for me, most of the albums are too inconsistent. Youd have 5-6 great songs mixed in with 3-4 songs that I routinely skip. And reading some of the books about the BB’s you see how (for me anyway) disturbing their story actually is. i guess thats part of the charm. The darkness behind the sunny/smiley exterior.

A challenge. I loves me a challenge.  >:D

Ok, now I'm pissed off!!  :angry

 :old
I was 7 years old when the Beatles hit the American airwaves.  When I saw this group with their guitars and their 'mop-top' haircuts perform the song on The Ed Sullivan Show in January of 1964, I was hooked.  It wasn't long before "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was blasting out of every radio in the country.  Now, I don't know if I had heard the Beach Boys on the radio before that (I likely did), but if I did, I do not remember.  It didn't matter.  I was hooked on the Beatles.  I liked their look, I liked their sound, I liked everything about 'em.  A year or so later, when I was at a friend's house, he showed me his new 45 rpm record.  It was a song called "Help Me Rhonda" by some group called The Beach Boys.  We played it a few times, and it was okay, but the picture on the sleeve seemed odd.  These guys didn't look anything like the Beatles.  They were wearing these matching sweaters, and their hair was short and combed neatly (well, the one guy in the blue sweater had longer hair).  I filed them away as 'just okay'.  Strangely enough, that Christmas I received a new single by that group called "Barbara Ann".  I don't know why I got that particular record as a gift, but I remember not liking it all that much.  I did like the B-side, though ("Girl Don't Tell Me"), because that one sounded more like the Beatles.  The next Beach Boys record that I remember hearing was "Good Vibrations".  When I heard that one on the radio, I thought it was fantastic.  Now this, I thought, was more like it.  Right about this time, The Monkees were gaining momentum, and I became a big fan of theirs.  I don't remember hearing any new Beach Boys after "Good Vibrations".  At all.  I soon became a teenager, music changed, my tastes changed, and The Beach Boys became a distant memory.

Fast forward through my high school years (Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jethro Tull), and my college years (Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever), and beyond.  The year was 1988, and I was playing in a band as well as working at a home electronics retailer as a delivery man.  A co-worker and I talked about music a lot as we drove around town delivering TVs and VCRs and stuff.  One day, he started talking about this guy named Brian Wilson.  I remembered the name, and I guess I had heard some stuff about him back in the '70s, but I found that I knew almost nothing about him.  He told me about a new album of his, asked if I would like a copy, and I told hime I would like to hear it.  The next day he gave me a cassette tape with "Brian Wilson" ('88) on one side, and "Smiley Smile" on the other.  Well, let me tell you...I was blown away.  "Love and Mercy" with it's stop/start drumming, "Melt Away" with those harmonies...all those quirky synth parts, and gorgeous harmonies just sucked me in.  I loved it.  My friend had told me a little about Smiley Smile, and the whole Smile saga (as he knew it in '88).  It sounded interesting, but nothing he told me could have prepared me for what I heard when I turned that tape over.  "Heroes and Villains", then "Vegetables", then "Fall Breaks", and on and on.  I was stunned.  Are you kidding me?  This is the Beach Boys?  How did I miss this?  That was the start of my fascination.  I started by looking for any piece of Smile that I could find, and it was tough to find any in those pre-internet days.  Then came Pet Sounds, then the two-fers, then the '93 box, and now, 23 or so years later, I am still fascinated by this weird group with the matching sweaters.       

I like your story. Its funny how people my age (40 and under) are more open to the Beach Boys then many that grew up in the late 60s. I guess, in their mind, a band that wore matching striped shirts and short hair couldn't be cool. Although Good Vibrations was a big hit, maybe it was too doo woppy or something. But even still, most people never give post Good Vibrations a chance. If they don't like what came before it, why would they like what came after? Then some of them hear it and are blown away!

It's late Summer, 1982, and I get home early from cub camp as the humidity bakes another Brisbane, Australia Sunday afternoon.

I've been away for a couple of days, so everyone's happy to see each other.  My 13 year old big sister takes me straight to the Sanyo cassette deck in the kitchen.  With the deft authority of a sibbling with 2 years more experience than I, she flicks the setting from AM to tape, then hits play.  

Good Vibrations blows me away then merges quickly into Help me Rhonda and then ticktacks across the gold of the Capitol years.  

"You got it!!", I say, excited.  Earlier that week, we conspire to get our music situation organised in order to do battle with the noisy Bogan (Australian Yobbo) elements across the road.  I'd chip in $4, almost half the purchase price, to replace the well worn "Disco Fever", which was sadly holding back our musical arsenal.  The Beach Boys Greatest Hits (including Beach Boys Medley and Beach Boys Ballads Medley) seemed our best sonic strategic move.

Something unexpected happens at the end of Side 1 - I fall in love with Sloop John B at the tender age of 11.  It's a fairly primal and unconditional response.  But that's it.
I need more.

My next purchase is the Vinyl Surfin' Safari/USA twofer + some of the various compilations doin' the rounds in the early '80s.  Original Albums are hard to get, not to mention good info, and I nail the Ten Years of Harmony and Beach Boys Rarities comps before I hear many of the classic albums.

I want to join the Beach Boys Fan Club, but Mum says I'll be unlikely to see my money again - in reality, she's unsure how to go about getting a money order.  I'm not resourceful enough to go it alone, so miss some good opportunities to go hardcore.  But that's okay, it's cool to gradually piece together the sequence of songs and history via "new" tracks that slowly appear on various comps.

At 14, I buy a book of guitar chords called "The Beach Boys Complete" - as a bonus, it contains a reprint (with pics - including Bruce with a mustache) of Tom Nolan's Rolling Stone article.  It seals the deal for me, and I spend every cent I muster tracking down Beach Boys discs, gradually unraveling the mystery; but never completely.

I do some dumb things, including passing on an original mint of POB  :wall, and not going to Dreamworld (a Gold Coast theme park) to see Mike Love with Celebration, who are providing the free lunchtime entertainment  :-D

I keep the flag flying (somehow) through 1985 - the only other person at school vaguely interested is the resident Boy George fanatic (also the school weightlifting champion) - but as I move towards university and the lure of Morrisey, the Smith's, They Might Be Giants, the Pixies, Blue Note Jazz - it gets hard to keep cool about our boys - so I take my leave; until the release of the twofers, in '91 (don't think I missed much); when I come running back to tie up the loose ends.

The Beach Boys are a constant to me, and I know I will never change. l don't go to Mike and Bruce shows, and I didn't go to Brian's last tour down here.  But I am totally pumped about the reunion, and will be there with bells on.  And I hope they include a new Brother records Belt buckle in ther merch!

Thank you so much guys! These are the stories about the BBs that I love reading: First person accounts, explaining how you got into their music, what was your "fan" evolution and how you see them today.

I encourage everyone, both newbies and "old"bies, to share their story. It makes me really, really proud that your very own personal stories are here, in this thread  :)

You asked for it :-P.
A few years back (2008) I used to upload videos (crude picture montages) to Beatles bootlegs, I was a VERY big Beatles fan and honestly didn't think anyone would top them. About March time I got talking to this guy (who I now consider a VERY good friend!) who said that there were one band who were better than The Beatles, the reaction my 16 year old mind had to this was along the lines of "What is this blasphemy!?!?!?!", anyway we got talking about the demos that John Lennon cut between 1975 and 1980, now and then he would keep dropping The Beach Boys into the discussion.

One day he sent me quite a few Beach Boys and Brian tracks over MSN (back in the days when it has a "sharing folder" and you could store stuff there). Reluctantly I gave them a listen, I mean I liked serious music, why would I want to listen to this surfing cr@p?!, first track "Country Air", I was impressed, VERY impressed, loved the eerie vibe to it, next track "This Whole World" again, wow, those key changes, this band knew their sh!t. "Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll", thought it was a fun track, loved Dylan's vocals, seemed like an unusual decision to have him in there, and to sing a mater of like 3 lines. I went out to a second hand media store we have, brought the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey 2-fer, again loved the creepy vibe to it, for some reason reminded me of old silent horror movies (still haven't worked that one out).

This takes us up to about Sept 2008, found a few bootlegs here and there (along with the Sweet Insanity stuff which I enjoyed in that first batch), brought some more albums. In October I had started to have a few troubles with the start of depression, I brought "Pacific Ocean Blue" around the same time, something in the sadness and pain in that music I could relate too, and fell in love with that. Gradually I started locating the albums on vinyl where I could and had really, really fallen in love with this music.

The Beach Boys music has been with me in some form for nearly the last 4 years, it has helped me through the lowest points of my life and has been there in some of the happiest; I used to wind my ex up by scaring him with the Fire track (I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he said that still gives him the creeps  :lol), I lent a very good friend of mine the Sunflower/Surf's Up 2-fer, I thought his reaction to it was rather cold, a few months later I discovered he had a good 70% of the album on his iPod. I have some wonderful memories attached to this music now, it's more than just music, it's become something that I cherish too.

Sorry for the ramble there  :lol

Cool story :) thanks!

Mmm thinking of changing the title of this thread, maybe to something like "A home on the range or 101 open topics for newbies and tolerant experts"...  ;D

Anyone knows how can I do this? I mean, really, though I wanna keep the thread newbie-friendly, I wanna change the title to sth less exclusive

Thanks!

If you go to your first post in this topic you can click on "Modify" and change the title. Or for that matter, modify all posts you made in that topic. Unfortunately it's not a garantee that future replies will continue to use that new title. But it's worth a try.

Yay, it worked  :-D Dank u voor alles, mijneer SMiLE-Holland

And now, just hoping we'll get more people to post here **our prayer playing in the background**

n00b  :P

This is old and tedious for those who know me, so here's the Reader's Digest version: knowledge of BB pre-1975 was whatever was on UK radio (legal & pirate) then read Nick Kent's NME "Last Beach Movie" 3-parter in summer 1975. Hooked, as I loves me a good mystery. First album purchased: Pet Sounds. Mind duly blown, I set about getting hold of the rest. It's all good, but the big obsession is Smile. Engage a clippings agency and buy the books as they come out (that's how I've got some of the very rare ones - I was there at the time !). See advert for Beach Boys Stomp #1 in Sounds, May 1977 and subscribe. Write first article - about Smile, natch - for issue #5 later that year, meet John Tobler, get my first cassette of dubious origin. Head Stateside in 1981, meet Dennis, and in 1985 spend a day in the studio as the band (less Mike) mix the new album (Brian plays "Rhapsody" with me in the corner, jaw in lap: also meet VDP, SWD, Stevie Kalinich, Chuck Britz, Jasper Dailey). Do 1st ComGuide in 1997, go online in February 1998, steadily expand net of sources and contacts. The rest you know.

Little known fact about me: one of my other all-encompassing interests is late 18th/early 19th century cricket. Little suspected fact about me: in person, I'm (reportedly) a nice guy. There y'go, cover blown.  ;D

Bless you.

I can only but say, thank you so much for sharing such a cool story ;D

If you guys want to know my story, it's a little amusing and petty.

So I knew a few of the surf hits already, and I really liked them. I loved California Girls. so this is 2003, I guess. I was just about to turn 16. I started watching a show on TV that I became obsessed with. Batman. Like, the live action show from the sixties starring Adam West. I became completely completely obsessed with the show. I wanted to immerse myself in that world. so this was June 2003, and I decided to get a few albums that were from June 1966. I looked it up, and two of the albums that were released in June 1966 were Pet Sounds and Revolver. I listened to those albums nonstop in between watching the four episodes of Batman that aired on TV Land daily.

      It was May and August, but 1966 is a great year to look
into, and Batman is a fine way to start. Check out Hal Lifson's
1966! and Modesty Blaise, possibly the most 1966 film imaginable.

Thanks everyone for sharing all those great stories, cool stuff  ;D

I was away from the board for some days, too much work at the office. Normally I walk from my house to work, one of the advantages of living in downtown Montreal, you can walk! Except when is -30 Celsius outside...anyways...

One morning I was walking to work and I was listening on my iPod to the BBs first TV show in Britain, the Ready-Steady-Go one. One of the songs they play there is When I Grow Up, the one version where they have that false start. And to be honest, I love this recording and listen to it almost daily...know it by heart, know the answers from Mike (Surfing, what do you mean? Surfing is a sport  :) ) and Brian...the screams from the girls, the guitar sounds....the whole thing!

But that particular morning, I don't know what happened and something clicked inside my head when listening to this particular song. I don't know how to explain it, its like I heard something I hadn't heard before, something so innocent and beautiful...that brought tears to my eyes  :'(

The emotional punch was complete then when my random BBs playlist chose Surfs Up...the Brian tv solo version...the contrast was so stark, so deep and profound! Innocence vs. Angst musically expressed in less than 5 mins!

Sorry guys, don't know if this post makes any sense, but I figured if there's anyone that could understand this feeling it would be someone here, in this board.

Cool story :), Brian's music is some of the most emotional and heartfelt music out there.

Thanks :)

You know I was thinking, a real BB Best of mix should have songs ordered in an emotional way....mmm....let me explain: instead of ordering the songs in terms of release date or single chronology, there should be a running order based on comparing or doing a side-by-side analysis of Brian's emotional output.

Just imagine a song like Fun, Fun, Fun next to Till I die? Or SU following something like I Get Around....you know what I mean?

What would be the best song listing in emotional order? Any ideas?