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Interviews with the whole band and clips from the rehearsal days PLUS Brian & Mike recording one of the NEW SONGS of the album!!

http://youtu.be/1K7h7IICAs0 (http://youtu.be/1K7h7IICAs0)

I think it goes..

"We like to get around
get up, get up
every hot spot in town"


(honestly they sound quite bad...)

So what songs could it be?  Beaches in Mind?

Mike: For some reason people wanna see us all together.

Brian: They sense that we love each other, ya know.  And that we really wanna share that love with them.


That's it in a nutshell, honestly.

"We love to get around. Get up, get up, to every hot spot in town"

And discuss...................

Interesting! Maybe that song is "Think About The Days..."

"We like to get around / Get up, Get up / Every hot spot in town"

That snippet does not sound promising. Sorry.
I really wanna like it, though!

Rhyming "around" with "town"... umh... where did I hear that before?

Er...ahem...well...so how about that Autotune, eh?  

The lyrics doesn't really fit the laidback melody (which sounds promising to these ears) - my first thought was the Mamas & the Papas song "Step Up".

Well, I don't care if some of the songs are cheesy

I love this album already

That better not be the final take!

Great chords. Definitely see what Brian meant by "mellow".

What's worse than the lyrics is the drum beat. Straight outta the 90s...

Was just about to say...

One correction on the lyrics. It's actually "Get up, we'll hit up every hot spot in town." I'm not sure what to say about this one..

uuuuuhhhh.... that sounds.... terrible. But mostly because Brian and Mike were acting for the camera. I like the background and the "get up, get up". That sounds cool. Hopefully their performance in the video is not what will be on the album  :-D

I love Dave's line about the holograms. I guess we won't be seeing those on the tour. hahah.

I'd be willing to bet a box of doughnuts it isn't.  It's either a demonstration for the cameras on what a vocal overdub sounds like or a random scrapped vocal overdub that was captured on the fly by the cameras.

"We're like little chicks."  :lol I LOVE BRIAN.

Thanks for posting!

David Marks is the man - is it just me, or does he look, act, and sound a few decades younger than the other band members? Bruce, maybe 5-7 years younger, but David...great to see and hear him.

Def brings a youthful vibe to the mix. I could be wrong, but I think he'd be 63 years old now.

Ah, I don't know. That clip doesn't tell me anything! That song might be great. Yes, there is gonna be goofy Mike Love lyrics. But whatever. I think it'll be good.

BEST VIDEO EVER

Brian so awesome in that vid, so laid back "we were born yesterday, we're like little chicks". He's so engaged in the catch a wave run though.

Bruce is so genuine in his thoughts about missing Carl, and so excited about the video tribute.

And the song sounds alright! But cheesy but could be a demo.

Ow. Ow ow. Owowowowowow.  :o

Care to expound?

And after more time to think about, can Mike write a lyric that DOESN'T refer to one of their older songs?

First time listening to Alice Cooper's Zipper Catches Skin?

maybe we can pray this didn't make the albumm....?

the bass is more 90s than the drums to me.  no seriously, what is this song?  that is like sweet insanity.  Some musical style they shouldn't be doing..

Either that or he's walking on hot coals as he's posting.

What? No Blondie?

I hate this album already.

BTW, if you think these lovin' fans are harsh around here, you should check some of the YT messages.


........


Seriously folks, this stuff is beautiful to watch. I don't get the cynisism from some people. It's a dream come true and it's happening in our lifetime.

the youtube comments section is generally the garbage dump of the internet

True that.

maybe this is what probyn heard and was like "oh man 80s"

I love the chords, hate the lyrics, and hate the current production.


Like I said about the cover.

This is LOVE YOU 2

btw, as a recording artist, I can confirm that this is NOT a take being used, the camera would cause some problems in the normal recording environment, and couldn't be in the chamber with them.

I think the instrumental of that song sounds pretty dope. As for the lyrics... Who didn't see that kind of stuff coming?

so, if they were just doing this for show, then that means they were just singing along with a track, and brian had already forgotten it. 

They'd have a lyric sheet if it was legit, obviously, that's another big sign.

I agree, has a Wondermints feel to it, which i dig :D

That would be absolutely incredible. Best case scenario.

i actually don't mind the song till the "get up get up" part

The interviews are great, and though that play-singing was way off (must be just a forced staging for the camera which ought to have been deleted so as not to mislead), I hear a hook and a driving melody in there that I like: echoes: Downtown by Petula Clark; Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On.  Others?

1996 adult contemporary sound. But it's just a short clip for now, tough to judge.

if this album has a mid 1990s adult contemporary feel to it, then i will be the first to make the "JT or antichrist?" thread

Exactly.  Sigh. :-\

nope.

Marvin passed before they took his smooth sound, put it in the blender with some ice and digital keyboards, and called it "smooth jazz", then built entire labels and radio networks off of it. No one did it like Marvin, or George Benson and Grover Washington for that matter. But it's funny I heard an 80's Marvin Gaye sound on that snippet too! The instrumental track, I mean.

On the other hand, I guess Mike is just proudly carrying on a Beach Boys tradition of quoting old songs since at least the mid-70s...more than half their existence.   And it's still cheesy.

1968, if one counts Do It Again's reference to "California girls". So maybe it is time for folks to get over the whole thing. It is part of the band's trip.

That's truly horrible. Even allowing for the obviously bad vocals, that backing track sounds like the Lighthouse Family or Simply Red or some similar mid-90s pseudo-soul, and the lyrics are awful.
It's a good job the live shows are sounding so good, because the studio part of the reunion isn't looking great so far... though of course I don't want to judge the album until it actually comes out...

Yes, and how many artistically viable songs did they make where Mike quoted from other songs? Probably one. Or actually, even listenable songs for that matter?

Seriously, I don't think we should be worrying about the quality of the album yet. That may have been a rough thing they were singing over. Who knows? Let's wait until we hear the whole thing. I'm not expecting the extension of Pet Sounds or Sunflower, however I think there will be at least a few new classic Beach Boys songs, and we will have their best album since L.A. (Light Album).

The backing track seems alright, the get up part is interesting. We'll see what we get  ;D

Their endorsement deal with Gibson must have specified that they would use Gibson guitars in rehearsal only.

Apparently for years Mike has wanted to reunite with Brian so they could write new songs..about old songs.

Of course it's much too early to judge the album, but I'm less optimistic than I was 2 days ago.

How about showing some love for this one:

(http://www.beachboys.com/nascar.jpg)

This is how much I love the Beach Boys, I thought it sounded pretty nice..

It's obviously "Think about the days"

This is an album that features a tune called Spring Vacation. Did anyone honestly think were were going to avoid at least a handful of tracks like this?

lyrics don't really bother me, it's the music that sounded questionable to me here

We'll see. I hear a lot of organ and then some grotty vocals. Who knows what the final product will be like. Hopefully good, but we'll see!

Kinda sounds like an R. Kelly song haha

somehow, that song reminds me of the Flaming Lips.

Every album has some filler in it.  If this album has 3 or 4 great songs, I won't mind some trips down memory lane.

Wow. I hear it. Good call. It first struck me as 80s "rock," but after listening to it again, especially the arrangement (I know, it's 10 seconds long) I am kinda intrigued.

Not sure what possessed them to let somebody film that. Everything about it sounds awful. It`s far too early to judge the album or even that song yet but it is unfortunate that Mike feels compelled to write these kind of lyrics when working as a Beach Boy as he`s proved with First Love, Celebration and Make Love Not War that he can write some good songs when he forgets about the formula. I guess it`s understandable if he feels that`s what the public wants though. All of the commercial success during the wilderness period was with nostalgic stuff...

y'know, that clip DOES sound like it's about segue into a nice chorus. hopefully it delivers.

I love the WTF look Brian gives Mike as he sings that line from Baby You're A Rich Man  :lol

It could be that they sing that, making fun of each other like Cassius Clay Vs. Sonny Liston or whatever that was called.


Probably not. 


But... making decisions on the quality of the album because you heard a staged 10 second clip on youtube.... probably makes just as much sense logically as what I supposed. 

I'm going to base it off the backing track and say its imagination 2 featuring the beach boys.
Which I liked :D

At this point, I'm expecting an album along the lines of "MIU" / "Keepin' the Summer Alive" with a kind of modern/digital/"Imagination" production vibe.  And I'm cool with that ... I mean, it's the Beach Boys and that's totally beyond any expectations I might have had prior to this reunion announcement.

EXACTLY.  A few damn seconds...I mean, really?!

I wish there were more of that exact same sentiment across this board when people were judging the quality of the reunion tour based on the vocal mixes heard at the Grammys and Dodger Stadium.  :)

From what I heard of the actual live mix (as opposed to the TV mix), I liked what I heard of the Grammy performance. The Dodger stadium deal, well that was at a ball game so it was no biggie. Hyped as hell for 8 June at the Woodlands :)

Just watched the new song part again..  Brian & Mike look & sound like two guys trying a song at a karaoke  ::)

Wow, that new song snippet really does sound pretty appalling. Oh dear!

What's appalling about it? It's a 10 second, unprocessed, non-take. Listen past Mike & Brian and there's a pretty cool track being played.

Or is it because you expecting something other than complete cheese from a Mike Love lyric?

I agree, it is absurd to freak out over this - but the fact that a random ten second snippet of the album features lyrics calling back to "I Get Around" does not bode well for Mike having learned the hard lessons of "Summer In Paradise."

Still, let's reserve judgment for a listen of the full song/album. The track does sound cool, and this could be one of only a few cheesy references - or the lyics could be totally different from what we saw. Time will tell

It's good that the band all seem to be getting along and relaxed and enjoying themselves. Gives me hope that they might want to record another album after this one if it does well.

Using my writer skills:

I, Hear my favorite sound.
Get up, Get up.
And get rid of that frown.


How hard was that?

More autotune. Please.

(just a joke. I'm optimistic that the album will be listenable.)

Exactly. I think music wise (forget about the staged singing) it sounds nice but how big is the chance that there's just one piece of this kind of lyrics on the whole album and they would show these seconds ? Not that big I'm afraid. When Mike said he was really working on the lyrics I hoped for something better. But let's wait. Maybe it is the only part on that record. TWGMTR showe how nostalgia can be done tastefully and I hope Mike won't throw that overboard and go with SIP-type lyrics. Mabe it's all just a coincidence.

I could imagine that this is "Spring vacation". Though that title sounds more like a rocking tune "get up" "every hotspot in town" would fit lyrically imo

it would be great if this was "Spring Vacation" because then we could combine the expect ick, with the already heard ick  ;D

Now that you mention it, it sounds like Mike is trying to put a modern twist on the classic Beach Boys subject matter - he is, after all, singing about WiFi hotspots...

Honestly, maybe it wasn't a reference. "Getting Around" is really a normal motif in music haha

I know it's only 10 seconds, but who the hell is exercising quality control here? Let the finished work speak for itself, but what was profiled really DID sound like two old guys @ the karaoke bar. Someone definitely slipped up here.

Ultimately, the proof is in the recording. Or in the grooves, for the vinyl collectors.

Karaoke = singing along to the track

Vocal recording = singing along to the track.

How do you think they get the vocal sound on there? Osmosis?

As a veteran host of numerous karaoke shows back in the day, I can unequivocally say that the term 'karaoke' is somewhat of a pejorative. All you need is a crowd of frat boys singing 'Margarittaville' to tell you that...

I'll bet 'Spring Vacation' will be an uptempo rock 'n roll song. The title seems like a bid for a party anthem. My guess is that the clip is  from 'Think About the Days'. Since it's the lead-off track on the album, it's logical they would want to feature it for a news crew like that. It sounds promising to me although very rough. I have faith right now this album is a winner.

It's Spring Vacation and it's fucking wretched. There's more of it on here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hRiAtEqxDk

My god, that song is  SIP part 2....

But...the first chords we hear when the clip starts sound badass.  Some great music there...

But those lyrics....

The melody is great, the lyrics are dumb.

They're beyond dumb.  SIP Part

Oh I know.  I'm being positive until I hear the full song (on the full album).  But just from that clip, I'm bummed that such cool chord changes were sort of wasted on typical cheese lyrics.  

Holy sh*t he rhymed vacation and good vibration!!! Musically sounds like wilson at times. But those lyrics lolololololololololololololol.  Well we knee that song would suck

Yes, the lyrics seem simplistic and insipid, but I don't want to panic. There are plenty of good Beach Boys songs that have poor lyrics.

I'm just hoping/praying that all of Mike's Beach Boys song references are relegated to this song and this one alone.  Let him have this one...but let's not spoil the rest please!

Oh f*** me.

ARE YOU FUCKIN' HIGH OR SOMETHING, GUYS

Lol that's just too funny! :D

I suppose there has to be a dud for each gem like "That's Why God Made The Radio."

Christ, this is awful  Someone stop it now!!!!!

Lets hope you're right!

It does almost become so bad its good

The chord progression, instrumentation, melody, arrangement sound UNBELIEVABLE. Kind of a modern sound. I think it could have been very accessible to young audiences, if not for the lyrics.

The Beach Boys really are back together! Mike Love takes a beautiful song and quickly transforms it into dreck. That takes talent. Who says Brian was the only genius in the BBs?

I think the wheels just came off.  For God's sake: 50 years together and then this! This is the kind of sh*t that killed the band's rep in the first place. All the good work that BW's band AND Mike and Bruce's band have been doing over the last few years is about to be undone in one swell foop.

I think Mike lied in that lawsuit in 1994 for lyrics credits, this guy shows like no talent for writing lyrics these days.

Me too!  I'm actually sort of glad I got to hear "Spring Vacation"...it makes me realize just great "Radio" really is  :lol  

Yknow it IS pretty amazing that this is the same guy who wrote kiss me baby

Let's get a grip shall we?  The album isn't out.  We've heard one full song and 10 seconds of another.  And here you are writing this off as a disaster?  Reality check...aisle three!

I'm not sure what he wrote anymore, this man has wrote terrible lyrics for such a long time now.

Wow! The over-reaction to a 15 second unfinished vocal take is remarkable.

Not a vocal take, just for show. And its not the vocals everyone is focused on lol

I like it. I don't care that it's stupid. what was anyone expecting?

I was expecting to get up onstage and jam.

It's awesome, in a terrible kind of way, that Mike feels like these are good lyrics.

The man has an aesthetic sense, by god. If he doesn't fit in references to at least a half-dozen other songs in the opening verse, he's falling down on the job!

MC5- Kick out the Jams mo'fos! :rock

I honestly believe this song is gonna be super entertaining

We Know him too well....

It's not that it's stupid - it's the arrangement and (especially) that drum beat. It's like it's 1995 up in here. I'm hoping the rest of the song sounds different.

It makes "That's Why God Made The Radio" sound like "God Only Knows"  ;D

It makes me wonder if Mike actually, y'know, listens to music by anyone, and not just his peers. Like, is that what he considers acceptable, and so forth?

Or maybe he just has the worlds shortest rhyming dictionary  :lol

I take back everything I was thinking about Bruce's proposed (redone) track, "She Believes In Love Again."

I will take that, even the 10 minute disco version, over Spring Vacation's half baked lyrics.  :(

To anticipate some of the reactions out there, this isn't a 'rush to judgement'...what it is is a hope and prayer that this album will create a triumphant coda to a long and distinguished career. Corn ball stuff like this really pisses me off. We're talking legacy. Some of us get indignant because we care.

A healthy Brian should've turned to Mike at the piano and said 'ah ahhh...do it again. you can do better'

Assuming it is Mike, of course. The others aren't above coming up with crap and playing heavily on the past, although I know he has a tremendous track record for this.

"Wow! The over-reaction to a 15 second unfinished vocal take is remarkable."  

Okay.  What I heard, lyrically, was sh*t.  I'll give your optimism the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe the rest of it is pure fucking genius.  Or maybe not. This is just the kind of crap I thought they'd avoid this time around, having worked hard to re-establish their legacy.

I would take waves of love!

"I take back everything I was thinking about Bruce's proposed (redone) track, "She Believes In Love Again.""

Just what was going through my mind.  

Mike: "Uhhh- OK, cous, how about this: Spring vacation, Celebration, Roasting weenies, String bikinis..."
Brian: "Alright...let's just move on."

Do you think mike was trying to write a sprong break anthem lol

It's simply appaling. And it's not just the poor vocals, and not just Mike's lyrics (execrable though those are), it's everything about the track -- the drum sound, the melody, everything.
I agree with the poster who said they'd much rather She Believes In Love Again than this -- at least that was competent.
Has Mike (or giving him the benefit of the doubt, whoever wrote the lyrics) not noticed that when they write new lyrics, even based on old themes, they've had *some* successes, but when they just repeat random lines from old songs devoid of the context that made them worthwhile, they've had *no* success, either commercial or artistic?
Say what you like about, say, McCartney's recent work, but he doesn't write new songs that just go "Let's Get Back to Yesterday/Let The Long And Winding Road take me away"...

I think it says a lot that out of all the other songs they could have chosen to show the AP cameras--they chose this one.  The fact that they're overly-protective about any info about this album and the only other song they're willing to throw out for scraps is "Spring Vacation"  sort of shows that maybe even they knew just how weak this one was.  Instead of wasting another song they really cared about they chose to go with the safe filler for the cameras. 

I was thinking it might be the other way round, and that this might be the thing they were proudest of in the entire album. I do hope you're right, but "let's let everyone hear the worst stuff" doesn't sound like a sensible plan to me...

That's it, you guys convinced me... I'm not buying the album!

- imitating those who say they're not going to a concert because we convinced them there's autotune on BW's vocals ;)

Seriously, it's only one track. The chords, melody, and the fact that it's Brian & Mike harmonizing again is enough to sell me. I think it sounds just as good or better than "When Girls Get Together".

Actually, he leaves that for Ringo to care of.

Oh, I'm absolutely going to get the album anyway, but I'm now guessing Probyn was right when he said it sounded like 80s Beach Boys. I had been hoping for something that sounded like Brian's recent solo records, but I expect it'll be more a case of hunting for the one or two decent songs, like with every other Beach Boys album released in my lifetime :-/

Someone needs to contact Capitol RIGHT NOW and get this song removed. Seriously.

It sucks guys, but may I remind you, one of Brian's best works handsome pretty sh*t lyrics...

Brian likes Legs, and Hips, and Breasts. 

Actually John was the one who liked to recycle lyrics ...

"See how they fly like Lucy in the sky"
"The walrus was Paul"
"Walrus Gumboot"
"Say you want a revolution. We better get on right away
"The only thing you done was yesterday and since you're gone you're just another day" Two Paul songs for the price of one

(And of course, he sang part of "She Loves You" at the end of "All You Need is Love")

I'll admit, they could've stayed away from the whole "ation" thing, lol. That's just a lyrical trap for Mike.

Yeah, but this also has terrible music.

It's still possible that the album will be good, of course -- but it's not looking likely...

Somehow all of those examples come across as so much more classy. But perhaps that's because they're the Beatles, and my generation has been raised to worship them.

I know I'm beating one note on a single drum here, but we have known for months now that this album was going to feature Brian/Mike co-writes and contributions (at the very least as a co-writer, and possibly production wise) from Joe Thomas. What's more, we've known now for several weeks that titles on the album included "Beaches in Mind" and "Spring Vacation."

Anyone who has followed this band can put this together. There's nothing shocking here. I know we all love this band, but the expectation that they were going to record some grand art pop masterpiece -- given what we know about the participants -- was never realistic. At best, we can hope for something along the lines of a tackier TLOS -- which I think is still entirely possible, and which would still be a great statement in its own way.

It sounds great, classic Beach Boy song. :brian

But...but...I want a grand art pop masterpiece!

I agree with you, except this was Paul singing "She Loves You" at the end of all you need is love.  I read a book once where a gentleman supposed it fit really well, because it was kind of the end of that era of their music.... so Paul finishing the song with that in the background (spontaneously?) was kind of like kissing that part of their career goodbye.  

So do we all.

But the instance the words "Joe Thomas" were uttered last year, I think any hope of that evaporated.

That being said, TWGMTR is actually a pretty impressive tune. If we have like five or six tracks of that quality on the album, and then four or five super-cheesy ones, it all might be worth it. (And possibly the band's best since L.A.)

I don't mind the backing music...sounds NOTHING like SIP. As for the lyrics, they're lyrics. Words are just words; meaningless. Unless it's Bob Dylan or Tom Waits, I just don't care.  I normally don't give two shits about lyrics as long as the melody, production, and vocals are good. Can't judge the vocals as that was an obvious canned take, and I happen to like the little bit I heard musically.

I agree!  Joe Thomas sucks.  Of course the Beach Boys all suck too since they picked him to produce the album, but lets focus on Joe (who always sucks and can't help it) instead of the 'boys (who are actively choosing to suck).  

I'm just glad I didn't see this travesty live.  To think.  Jeff Foskett singing all the damn songs.  Brian lip syncing to a wah wah pedal, did you hear the clipping?  CAN YOU HEAR THE CLIPPING??????

Also, when you go backstage, the band doesn't even know your name.  VIPEE MY ASS.  

Spring Vacation
Good Vi-bration
Are you sleeping,
Brother Johhhhn...


Do it with a big gospel rave-up (ala That Same Song)
There you go. A compromise between Art and Commerce.

Deal. I'd take it.

i think a shame here is the base melody ain't so bad at all!

if you wanna contact Capitol records...

writeus@hollywoodandvine.com

AND GOOOOO

What the f***? People are ready to trash that new song based on that small clip? The vocals were obviously unfinished and raw.
As far as the lyrics, it's the Beach Boys, what were you expecting?
Sounds promising to me.

"Dear Sirs,

I am concerned the new Beach Boys album might have given Mike Love a chance to not only leave the house, but also write lyrics.
I hope you understand this is a considerable health risk to many, and may be interpreted as an act of war according to the constitution of the European Union.

I hope this can be resolved peacefully.

Yours,

Dr. Oesophagus Jones, Esq."

since when did we settle for shitty lyrics?  Though i guess it was naive for us to expect Mike to grow artistic integrity (not like the others stopped him anyway)

REALITY CHECK:

1. We don't know who wrote it
2. We don't know if it's on the album
3. We don't know if it's a song or them just screwing around

Er, we know it's on the album and it's definitely a song, although obviously not finished.

Ok, that's it. See the Rieley quote in my signature. Their last chance and they blew it once again big time. And let's be honest, no one but Mike would write these lyrics. I could live with it if they were just dumb like many of the early songs were. But this is just tasteless and making clear that he has no sense of quality (nowadays). I mean did he really write lyrics to "The warmth of the sun" ? And thzat just after he critisized Smile's lyrics on CBS ? How can he critisize them and then come up with this ?!?!?! I also would rather hear a new recording of "She believes in love again". What about David's song ? They even did some vocals on it Jon Stebbins said.

And whoever said he rather has Mike write nostalgia lyrics for Brian than Scott Bennett trying to... well, this is what you got. Goddamnit, this is awful beyond believe and it's only like ten seconds. Is Mike proud of such garbage ?
It doesn't surprise me now that Brians acts for the camera as if he didn't know the song. I wouldn't want to admit that I had a hand in writing that, too.

Where's Scott Bennett ?!





I would agree, but I don't think that would happen. Hopefully some of the powers that read this board start to realize how important this is to us fans and that we can't accept trash like this

It was all so tasteful until....THAT !!

@Ron:
"Spring vacation" is on the tracklist. And we know who would write those lyrics. I can guarantee those are Mike's lyrics. If I'm wrong I gladly buy you a drink.

REALITY CHECK:

1. We don't know who wrote it
2. We don't know if it's on the album
3. We don't know if it's a song or them just screwing around

Reality check:
We know 2 and 3 at least.

Rocker, I immediately thought of that Jack Reiley quote when I heard the lyrics.

Do we know it's on the album like we know Life Suite is on the album? 

Answer please. 

its on the amazon tracklist, life suite probs got name change

Oh sh*t. I take it back. I just listened to the other clip with the "good vibrations" reference.
Are they fucking with us, or what?

So, Life Suite is no longer on the album, right?  Or is it?  Do we know?

AGD...please...anyone...Jon Stebbins. DO SOMETHING! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE'S PR GUYS! WHO TOLD THEM THIS WAS GOOD! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!

Yes, we know. We have a f*cking tracklist for cryin' out loud.
And I guess it should be clear that "Life suite" was/is a working title.

I think it was originally said by mike to be the songs that finish the album, then the capitol press release mentioned a song called "my life suite", then amazon put up a tracklist that did not have "my life suite", but did have two songs at the end of the album that the capitol release did not mention.  So people did math that the end songs make up the life suite (hopefully).

One of my favorite Brian albums, reminds me a lot of this album. BW80.

TWGMTR = Love And Mercy (Great song, okay lyrics, bad production for the most part) (Not my opinion, but a complaint i've heard)

Summer Vacation = Night Time (Nice music for the most part, production and lyrics kill it.)

Shelter = (Hopefully, a great Brian song, maybe... Melt Away style?)

Life Suite = Rio Grande (Worth admission)

Hope you're right! We wanna believe.

I downloaded the euro clip, then trimmed the 15sec. track - listening to it 5 times in a row.  ::)

Yeah the vocals are raw. Everyone can see that. But why did they agree to allow that to leak? Surely they couldn't have found some other tasty hors d'oeuvres from the sessions to spotlight, you know?

do you all think it was an actual recording session?

i thought it was just a clip they agreed to do.  They played the track, have mike and brian sing to it, brian forgot the lyrics.

Lucky guy.....

"spring vacation" kicks so many songs in the ass. It's so much better than about 40% of KTSA, 35% of L.A., 60% of MIU, 95% of SIP.

This album is going to be turning point for the Smile/indie generation of BBs fans. It's the BBs, with Brian at the helm, claiming their place in the music world, at 70 years old, including their summer image with all it implies. It takes some balls and they're doing it big time.

Actually, I agree, if THAT'S THE WORST, Imagine the best!

Is there a version of "Spring Vacation" in one of the videos or pieces that I missed? Or are you referring to the snippet from the AP interview? I'd love to hear the whole tune.

It's only a bit more then the AP video

it's on page 4 of this thread, another youtube video, but extended

I don't think it's either. Rather, it's because of the line "We're back together." They chose it because i has the lyrics that have the most relevance to these little puff pieces on the reunion. Then the original clip blew it by editing that part out!

The BBs will never reach or reflect the level of coolness expected by the generation that discovered them through Smile/Pet Sounds in the last 10 years. It's the Beach Boys: great art in a bowl of lard. That's what we're getting with this album, and I'm diggin' it already.

It's not coolness I'm interested in. Heck, TLOS isn't cool. Doing two albums of Gershwin and Disney covers ain't cool. But they're well crafted (and in TLOS's case) well-written albums. I'd like that.

We are all up in arms about a clip, sure. but I was excited by TWGMTR in a similar circumstance, and I'm not at all with this. But I have still have my hopes for the record....

I've been listening to the background track as much as I could and I gotta admit it sounds really synthetic and like 1994 adult contemporary. However, I'm still really excited for the album, even if it ends up being an embarrassment. Which is a major possibility.

I still by the fact that I think there will be a few new Beach Boys classics on this album, and we haven't heard them yet.

Strangely, I agree with this.  I actually don't have many problems with the tune.  It's not really my thing, but it at least sounds original and not another nostalgic song, at least musically.  I could live with that. 

But lyrically?  Goodness, our worst fears were realized, weren't they?  There's a line from "The Office" where Michael Scott blows up at Dwight and says: "Just have a thought!  Have an original thought!"  This applies to Mike Love.  It's not even writing lyrics; it's merely a copy and paste job from the last song with these rhymes, which was a copy and paste job of the song before that, etc., etc.  It's not only wretched, it's lazy.  This guy used to be capable of occasionally writing great, and sometimes even deep, lyrics.  And, unbelievably, I think if he went back to trying to focus on being great, instead of being interested in marketing the band's discography in every damn song, he still could pull it off.  But it just baffles me; for someone who's self-described as being about success, when has this sh*t actually done well and been respected?  Does he really think people want to hear this?  It's crap like this why this band doesn't get the respect it should.  This isn't reminiscent of Beach Boys circa 1965, as he claims, but, rather, 1992. 

And I know, it's only 10 seconds, who knows how the rest of the album will be, and that's true; the rest could be great and I hope it is.  But when the offending lyrics in question are the main hook, and when you've had 20 years between albums to write material, to reflect on your band's legacy, there's no excuse for even one second of this.  There's just not.  And, to be fair, that doesn't fall on just Mike.  Brian, the rest of the group, and the label are also going along with it.  I really do hope this is just a blip on the radar, but I'm fearing it's not.  Though I am trying to keep an open mind.  We'll see... 

I would just love for someone to explain to me what the people at Capitol were thinking when they decided to put this track on the album.  What the heck was their logic.

You're talking about executives. They don't use logic that anyone else is familar with.

Ah, I had thought that it was the same as the AP interview and so I hadn't clicked it. Some of us had guessed that the song was "Spring Vacation" but I was wondering how everybody was so certain...

I'll preface this by saying that, as most of the regulars around here are aware, I am a fan of Mike Love. I think he is talented and misunderstood, and his artistic and personal missteps are amplified by constant comparisons to the Wilsons and his dry sense of humor. I like Mike, I respect his place in the group, and I think he is a capable lyricist and melodicist when he puts in the necessary effort. I also was heartened by Mike Love Not War, as it evinced a renewed willingness to write songs for the sake of making beautiful music, not just crass commercialism.

That said, this doesn't bode well, for this song or for the album as a whole. From the "We Got Around" to  "Spring vacation/Good vibrations/Summer weather/We're Back Together," it is of a piece with the parody lyrics we were writing a few pages back.

Mike - WHAT THE f***??? Come on, man! Your instinct for commercialism has been spot-on at times in the past, but there are a lot of people out there who desperately want one last Beach Boys album that tends towards art as well as commerce. They want Mike Love firing on all cylinders, just as they want 100% of Brian, Al, David and Bruce.

Commerciality and art can co-exist - you can even have well-written summery lyrics that reference your hits - but from an artistic and commerical standpoint, these lyrics just reek of laziness. What about the lyrics for "All I Wanna Do" and "The Warmth of the Sun?" They were commercial (even though AIWD is an obscure song) and 'boy-girl' but they were also tasteful. These lyrics sounds like something from Summer In Paradise.

I am a huge fan of Brian's work and Paul McCartney's work, and in both cases, their lyrics run the gamut from the sublimely beautiful ("Caroline No," "Here Today" by McCartney) to the eccentrically mundane ("Busy Doin' Nothin'," "Bip Bop") to outright lazy ("Night Time," "See Your Sunshine"). The lyrics here just reek of misplaced commercial ambition on Mike Love's part. It can't be that he doesn't care or is phoning it in - Mike is a consummte professional who seems to almost always give his all.

Like many of us on this board, I constantly evangelize albums like SMiLe, Sunflower, and Friends, trying to show people that the Beach Boys evolved beyond their early years. Much of the time, this leads to a reassessment of the early music, and people who may have written it off as anachronistic give it a second chance and recognize it for its beauty and lyrical simplicity. However, when they move on up through the group's catalogue to the late 1980s "summer fun" retreads, the reaction is almost unanimously one of disgust - disgust that this entity that had evolved through Smile, Friends, 20/20, etc. has reverted and regressed into a shadow of its original self.

This is a very real problem with The Beach Boys' image, much exacerbated by their 1980s and 1990s output. It is disturbing to me because I want them to be recognized for everything good and original that they offer - their early beach-themed music, their Brian Wilson masterpieces, and their later collaborative work - a band of artists (including Mike, whether or not he would consider himself an artist). The best of and commerce, all within the same group.

This it is a long-standing image problem for the Beach Boys that has been rehabilitated by the Smile Sessions, and the reunion can potentially go a long way towards resolving it. The funny thing is that the image problem is no longer Brian's - his solo work over the past decade, including the california-themed stuff like That Lucky Old Sun and even the Disney Album, has been tastefully and thoughtfully produced, and his image as an artist is cemented, in spite of his critical and commercial misfires. Even if Brian's next album is crap, he is Brian Wilson.

Likewise, the live Beach Boys (including the Mike and Bruce Show) now have a reputation for respectfully performing songs from throughout the group's vast catalogue. Mike and Bruce used to be regarded by many as a county-fair-oldies band, but they put in the work, diversified their setlist, hired better, more respectful musicians to work with them (Scott Totten, John Cowsill), and they are now regarded even by many Brianistas as a worthwhile live act that does justice to the group's considerable legacy.

The reputation of Mike Love as an artist, and the reputatkom of the late-period Beach Boys as a viable recording group, is what is hurt by this kind of stuff. That's why I view it as Mike shooting himself in the foot in a misguided attempt at commerciality,  as he did with Summer In Paradise.

The best Beach Boys music is groundbreaking and authentic. It can have inane or ephemeral lyrics, but it comes across as real, whether it is "Surfin' Safari," "Surf's Up," "'The Little Girl I Once Knew," "Do It Again," "California Saga" or "Johnny Carson." Even Al's solo album, which includes a new version of "Help Me Rhonda" along several other remakes and an Alec Baldwin spoken word passage, comes across as sincere and authentic.

Nothing could ruin my enthusiasm for the new Beach Boys album, as at the very least, we will get to hear the Boys' blend again, and we will get some new Brian-Mike songs as well as a new Beach Boys suite written by Brian, all produced by the man himself... but my expectations for the album are a little bit less after seeing that extended clip.

/Whining over a 15-second clip of one song from a 12 song album

I don't know why, but i have a feeling i'm going to kind of dig this tune. I'm just glad it's not the opening or closing track on the album.

Nice write up b00ts.


I dunno...when we all read the track listing from this album a few weeks ago almost everyone here predicted "Spring Vacation" to probably be the stinker of the album (plus "Beaches In Mind).  We knew even then....and it seems are instincts could be right.  If we were to trust our instincts again, then the songs we were all intrigued by could in fact deliver the goods:  "Shelter" "Private Life of Bill and Sue" "Life Suite" "Summer's Gone."  Let's not all crap on this before we even get to listen to it, eh?

i was actually relieved when we found out that this song was indeed "Spring Vacation", it just felt like the song we knew would be crappy was the song that sounded crappy.  nice and condensed.

Brilliant post, b00ts.  Sums it all up very well. 

It's remarkable that these lyrics are exactly like the Mike Love parodies that people here do, some from even a few days ago, maybe even in this very thread before this extended video clip came to light. Those worst-case-scenario absurdist jokes actually became the reality. Unbelievable. Mike puts down Smiley Smile in recent press releases, says he's really trying, and then here's a sample. And it's gotta be said: Brian is just as much to blame, seeing as how he's the PRODUCER and yet he didn't veto this tripe. This is why i wish the band had called it quits permanently in 1978. It's unbelievable that no one in their camp put their foot down and drew the line with these lyrics. It's been 20 years since the nadir of Summer In Paradise, and in some ways, nothing's changed at all.

"To sum it up, they blew it, they blew it consistently, they continue to blow it, it is tragic and this pathological problem caused The Beach Boys' greatest music to be so underrated by the general public."

I am reminded of why it can be exhausting being a fanatic of this fucking band.

I have to slap the new record on my turntable to judge fully, but since I heard Joe Thomas was back I wasn't expecting much. Like I said before I just hope it is up to MIU where you can listen to it in the background without gagging much. Unless they would have gotten Rick Rubin or someone with his guts to work on it, we can't hope for more. The issue is lack of vision.

I'm with you on the feelings of disappointment, and I whinged for quite a while in the post upthread, but it is important to remember that we will probably get at least a few good new tunes from this album, with Brian producing and all the surviving Beach Boys - including David Marks - singing beautifully.

In particular, the suite and, as mentioned upthread, "Shelter," "The Private Life of Bill and Sue," and "Summer's Gone" sound like they could be artistically rewarding and interesting new Beach Boys tunes.

Yes, new Beach Boys tines. In 2012. Even in a worst case scenario, I sincerely doubt the album will be as bad as "Summer in Paradise," although we may end up with an album of the same quality as the '85 record, sans Carl but with the additions of David Marks as a singer/performer and Brian as a producer. That sounds like a worthwhile endeavor to me, even if it is not the career-capping record we are all hoping in vain for.

One terrible song (and that's assuming it's fair to label a song terrible after hearing one ten second clip of it  ::)) does not a terrible album make. Remember, Brian has been writing good music lately, and unlike on "Summer in Paradise", he's actually involved with this one.

Keep the faith until June 5th (or whenever it is the album leaks).

Rick Rubin is not a hands-on producer, which the Boys clearly need. Nigel Godrich would be better, as he has a good filter for separating the wheat from the chaff.

However, Brian is the producer of this record. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it is going to be a fully Brian-driven record like "Love You," but more of a collaborative effort, in between "Love You" and albums like "Friends" and "Sunflower" crossed with the too-many-cooks aspects of "Beach Boys '85."

Still, it is said to be an album that Brian put a lot of work into writing and producing, so I am hoping that in spite of the dubious writing credits for "That's Why God Made the Radio" and the Mike Love cheese of "Spring Vacation," the pervasive Brian influence wins out for most of the record.

Do we even know for sure that Mike wrote "Spring Vacation"? I mean, I guess it's safe to assume, but I was just curious.

I think a little Mike Love cheese is the perfect companion to all the whine generated by this unfortunate clip. I think it is just really silly to rush to judgement on the final version of this song (let alone the entire album as a few have done), based on a crude performance for the cameras. The BB's biggest error in judgement at this point is letting that be filmed at all. My two cents.

This thread is hilarious. I hope the entire record sounds like that last clip, just to piss everyone here off royally. "OH MY GOD, HE SAID FUN FUN FUN!!!!".

Problem I had with the clip of "Spring Vacation" wasn't the track, or even the lyric (I like "Sum-Sum-Summer Yer Lurve", did from day one) but the totally wretched vocals from Brian. Whoever gave the green light to let that clip out needs their ears syringed.

Good ol' Ian.  Yawn.

Both their vocals are way off. And the song still sounds like the great steaming turd in the room.

"It's remarkable that these lyrics are exactly like the Mike Love parodies that people here do, some from even a few days ago, maybe even in this very thread before this extended video clip came to light. Those worst-case-scenario absurdist jokes actually became the reality. Unbelievable. Mike puts down Smiley Smile in recent press releases, says he's really trying, and then here's a sample. And it's gotta be said: Brian is just as much to blame, seeing as how he's the PRODUCER and yet he didn't veto this tripe. This is why i wish the band had called it quits permanently in 1978. It's unbelievable that no one in their camp put their foot down and drew the line with these lyrics. It's been 20 years since the nadir of Summer In Paradise, and in some ways, nothing's changed at all.

"To sum it up, they blew it, they blew it consistently, they continue to blow it, it is tragic and this pathological problem caused The Beach Boys' greatest music to be so underrated by the general public."

I am reminded of why it can be exhausting being a fanatic of this f*cking band. "

Apart from the fact we don't KNOW Mike is responsible, I find it hard to disagree.

"There's nothing shocking here. "

There is.  ::)

What's your problem, moron? I was just having a little laugh, that's allowed. Next time you yawn, open wider. Pop that "great steaming turd" (in your own deathless, poetic prose) right in there.

I do wonder again how Al is feeling deep down about things.

His songs were apparently cut from the album and yet this made the grade...

I wonder how Al can say "Pet sounds", Bruce can say "Sunflower", Mike can say "Today!"
I'd have thought Darian and Scott would whisper into Brian's ear not to do this kind of sh!t

And there are two other songs that might go into that direction if we judge by the titles. "Beaches in mind" and "Think about the days". Who wants to have a try at the lyrics ?

Love your contrarianism, Ian.  Man, you're touchy, aren't you? You were having a laugh and I was laughing.  Job well done. If you like the song, good for you. I don't see it as Do It Again nostalgia, but as SIP clumsiness. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Two enlightening conclusions you get from reading this thread:

1- the lyrics of this song are by Mike Love and they suck.
2- based on those 9 seconds, the entire song sucks. Heck, the whole album sucks.

Seems like I'm the only one who liked the clip  ;D

Thanks for summing it up! In the heart of every BB fan lurks a drama queen ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect

If The Powers That Be are reading this, then please know that nobody will hate you for pulling the great Michael Edward Love over to the side and asking him if he's 100% sure about these anachronistic lyrics and arrangements. And if anybody does, then f*** them. At least you tried to do something about this inevitable trainwreck knocking Pet Sounds' legacy down a few knotches.

There's no reason why we should be hearing gated reverb in 2012.

After listening to it 10 times it's kinda growing on me. :-D

You have to remember that Ian was one of the people who bolted this board back in the day because of the guy who runs it. So he left in protest.

However, he likely looks at most of us as halfass Beach Boys fans that don't understand it the way he does. If we were cool, we'd be over at the record room. Which I don't get. We're mostly people who just like the band. Not elitist assholes.

You read the credits of this song already, I suppose. ::)

Lyrics are bad, but I need to hear the full song to make judgement.

As someone who advised people to settle down after the opening night auto tune hoopla, and has been a pretty staunch defender of Mike as of late............this snippet has me alarmed. California Calling, R&R to the rescue, Wipe Out w/ Fat Boys, SIP......that kind of junk goes hand in hand with the really bad shirt Bruce was wearing in Raleigh.......what the hell?  They are so close to restoring the legacy. With this entourage of talented people they can't come up with something  beach/summer related (if they feel they need to) that isn't totally lame?

I've got a verse for "Think About The Days":

Over the years we've met a lot of great people
Like Blondie, Ricky, Dave, and Jeff
And I remember when columnated ruins domino
Made us all go WTF!?

I call the hook line:

(kind of in the tune of Looking Back With Love)

And though things have changed
In so many ways
We can always
Think about the dayyyys
Think about the dayyyys
(think about... yeeaaah think about)

It sounds like a relaxed, chilled out song....

I see nothin wrong with that  ;D

Track reminds me somewhat of "Summertime" by The Fresh Prince.

The clip is 24 seconds.

And you can't blame people for their educated guesses.

Here comes summer, school is out oh happy day, here comes summer, gonna grab my girl and run away.

Oh wait that's not right.

FTR: I don't think the song is all that bad  :-\

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pRtVDvL0yQ&feature=related

Here's the clip with a german dubbing

I said the same thing about those Members Only jackets that everyone was wearing in 1983 with the sleeves rolled up halfway, similar to David Hasselhoff on the show "Knight Rider" were he drove a talking car while wearing those kinds of jackets. Or Mike Love's stage attire as seen on any number of early 80's concert videos.

Then I was watching one of those Hollywood celeb shows called TMZ, which I got addicted to BTW, and I saw more than one celebrity or pseudo-celeb sporting one of those jackets as a modern fashion statement while tooling around Beverly Hills with the fashion elite. If I see them being worn among the hipsters in Austin, we may be in trouble...

So I wouldn't be surprised after seeing the return of the Members Only jacket to a status of retro-chic to hear some hip, trendy young producer asking the studio engineer sitting at the ProTools controls if he could make the drums on a certain track "sound more like Phil Collins' 'Sussudio'" and not have a hint of irony in his voice.

OH............GOD.....................NO

It's every worst nightmare

Erm, are you only just hearing those lyrics?

Was that on the other video?

I totally missed them

I'm still holding on to the belief that Al (and the group) is really, really proud of the rest of the album....so much so that they're willing to let one stinker get on the album without worrying about it marring the other good stuff on it.

No, those lyrics are only on the European edit of the video. I'll forgive fun-in-the-sun lyrics or dated production techniques, but name-checking "Good Vibrations" is stomach-churning. Apart from that, I'll put my opinion on hold until I hear the whole song...preferably in the context of the album.

I will say to those who wonder why Brian wouldn't veto this kind of thing is that Brian has not worked with Mike Love (or the other Beach Boys) in the studio for 16 years. I think that says a lot about how he feels about things. He's playing nice now and doing what he thinks is right while avoiding stirring up trouble. Meanwhile, there is a lot of material Brian's released over the past decade that is pretty good, so...

Which was a monster hit and a great video shot in and around Philadelphia in *1991* - but check out the instrumental "Summer Madness" by Kool And The Gang from '74 for the original groove: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfzWj5a_Y4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfzWj5a_Y4)

Oh Please let these be the lyrics to the next verse! It would redeem the song in my eyes.

As McCartney so aptly wrote: "Check the rack/What went out is coming back." It's just the way it goes - we are living in The '80s part II: Now 10% More Homogenized.

"Beaches in mind"
I got those beaches on my mind,they have nice tans
beaches on my mind they walk on the sand
those beaches are on the beaches all day long..
those fine sexy beaches are on my mind
I want to make love to those beaches
all night long.
i'm going surfing with the beaches (ooooohhhhhh)
those hot fine beaches (oooooohhhhhhh)
then we go to the beach..

Yeah, not too shabby (and that means they stink !!  :-D ).
How about another for "Spring vacation":

Spring vacation
across the nation
it's so much fu-un
in the su-un

Think about the days

Think about the days when we tripped real hard
we used to cry at the wind chimes
think about the days when the colors were real
living  in a cartoon land
those days were a trip
they blew my mind
pills,booze,acid and coke
boy those were the days.
why can't we bring those days back
days of hope and joy
surfing on a rainbow colored ocean
the groovy days of smiley smile
let's bring back those days.

"Isn't It Time"

Isn't it time
To have Beaches In Mind
On a summer day that's sublime
God only knows that it's time

(Yes, it's time...)

Ohh be true to your pension
And the AARP
We used to sit in detention
But now we are free

Isn't it time
To go to Kokomo
With Brian and Mike
Playing a reunion show
And a brand new album
With some assistance from Joe

Isn't it time
My 409 is so fine
I see some Car Crazy Cuties
And they're standing in line
For our big 5-0
Our fuckin' reunion show
With Alan, Bruce and Dave
And of course, Jeff and Joe

Ha, well, I came up with other verses but these are completely using the Brian's Back model:

Over the years we've met a lot of great people
Like Blondie, Ricky, Dave, and Jeff
And I remember when columnated ruins domino
Made us all go WTF!?

If you enjoyed the words Parks did employ
Well I guess that’s your prerogative
But I love those surfin’ songs and I’m still cruisin’ along
I guess that why I’m Mr. Positive

Big Sur talked about cashmere hills
Did I mention that I wrote that song?
Along with I Get Around, and Good Vibrations
Don’t forget about All Summer Long

On Surfin’ Safari, Carl played his guitar-y
Brian’s harmonies were nice and dandy
But on my Kokomo, well, Brian was a no-show
And it’s because of Dr. Eugene Landy

Ah, Kokomo, you were a hit, you know
You went all the way to Number One!
And I still feel like I’m in Aruba today
Man, that single really sold a ton!

In my little Honda, took a ride with Jane Fonda
And we let the wind blow on by
And as we listened to All I Wanna Do
We couldn’t help it but cry, cry, cry

Thing needs a chorus,

"THEY SAY THAT MIKE IS BAAAACK,
HE SUED BRIAN FOR ALL SO LONG,
WELL THEY SAY MIKE IS BACK,
AND NOW HE'S STUCK OUT THIS CRAPPY SONG.

STILL THEY SAY MIKE IS BAAAACK,
HE AND BRIAN HAVE HAD THEIR UPS AND DOWNS,
WHEN THEY SAY MIKE IS BACK,
STILL TRYIN' TO REWRITE "I GET AROUND""

:lol

They should sing Brian's Back at the concerts!

rockandroll, Can you write a detailed essay on the Mike Love/ Brian is back recording method? ;D

Maybe they should leave some room in the song, like a bridge or something, for the surviving members of the Fat Boys to come in and spit some lyrics. Or maybe they can get in touch with Young MC. :)

This board writes better lyrics than Mike Love! :lol

Laughing 'till I cry.

This board hit a new peak today

My friend, I think you have reached the top of the comedy pyramid. Honorable mention goes to the one above yours.

 :lol

Don't tempt me.

"Waves Of Nausea"

Certainly not what God made the radio for.....  :-X

Sad thing is, we're the ones with the official stuff and the boots and this is just what we didn't want - although I appreciate some of you are being more generous and want to hear the whole thing first - and one or two are being obtuse.

You guys are funny.

Just like Smile's lyrics....


Edit:


....according to Mike on the CBS clip.....

Mike Love from MOJO magazine, 1993:

"MIKE LOVE: The Beach Boys have always been lovingly irrelevent. There's a great deal more complex concerns than cars and girls, there always was, but we wanted to make people have a good time, take them away for a while. There was always pollution and cri me and starvation. Being the person I am now I find it difficult to be the carefree person I was in the 60's. People have always called us anachronistic and they're right! We want to say something important again."

SOMEONE NEEDS TO SHOW HIM THIS!

Again?

Actually, I think  it would be great if 'Beaches In Mind' turned out be an instrumental.

100% agreed.

I thought the rehearsal footage was REALLY COOL.  More please!

And, the 4 or 5 seconds of the new song, this was cool too.

IT'S THE FREAKIN' BEACH BOYS!