The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hey. My m8 and I are both 21 years old and I've been digging the BB for 3 years or  so now.
My pal admits that PS and Smile are good, but Smiley and Honey didnt seem to appeal that much.


This is how far i've come (I try to make it kinda chronological)


Friends
Diamond Head
Wake The World
Passing By
Busy Doin' Nothing
Little Bird
We're Together Again
Fallin In Love (2009 version)
Celebrate The News
I Can Hear Music
When Girls Get Together
Big Sur (landlocked version)
Slip On Through
Add Some Music
This Whole World
All I Wanna Do
At My Window
It's About Time
Cool Cool Water (3 min single version)
Day In Life Of Tree
Long Promised Road
Lookin' At Tomorrow
Feel Flows
Til I Die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS34TZR3SNY)
All This Is That
You need A Mess Of Help
Cuddle Up
Marcella
On My Way To Sunny California (single version)
Leaving This Town
Streamboat
Funky Pretty
It's OK
Johnny Carson
Had To Phone Ya
Roller Skating Child
Night Was So Young
Let Us Go On This Way
Mona
I'll Bet He's Nice

Too much? Too little, some adjustments improvements? My buddies like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, Girls, Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, some rap, and more indie/dance/electro. Mostly Pitchfork rated music.  :afro

THANK YOU  :) :) :)

Edit: plan to show In Concert and Carnegie Hall shows afterwards, and some of the university shows (which are great!)

If your pal has a short attention span you may want to narrow the list a bit!

I would add Wake The World and remove It's Ok. Also would remove some of the Love You era songs...not that they're bad but those moog synths may have a bad effect on first listen :-D

Overall a great list though!

If you're making a CD mix of this I can send you the MP3 of that Til I Die mix if you want.

Did you leave off "Time To Get Alone" on purpose or are my eyes missing it? That one should be first on the list, IMO.

That's a noble effort, and a good list! Hipsters can be fickle. I would say the list is a bit overwhelming because there are so many songs, and if someone gave me a list like that for a band that I was supposed to check out but wasn't yet sold on them, I might not listen to that many songs. Maybe scale it down to the length of an average CD hits package, and if the friend likes that, have another setlist ready to give them.

The bands you mention your friends having, it helps they already have good taste! Plus half of those bands have gotten inspiration from the BBs which could help too.

Of the bands mentioned I think Girls are really good but more interesting when they play faster tempos and wear the sunny 60's influence on their sleeve (he does play a Rickenbacker after all...) but should cut back on the druggie-dirge sounds, and Bon Iver despite all the accolades and listening with a very open ear, I have yet to hear what all the fuss is about.

The thing about the Beach Boys late 60's-early 70's period including many on the playlist already is that the songs are more brutally honest and true than a lot of the bands and artists influenced by them - I think you get what you get without trying to be duplicitous or snide in hiding a meaning or a message when you hear the real deal, The Beach Boys, from that time. The performances are honest, too - when you hear a song like I Went To Sleep, it is what it really sounds like it is, as advertised and no snide winks or nods. It's a kind of honest music that many of the new artists can sound like and obviously love, but still miss that element when delivering their versions of those sounds they love so much. I can't explain it other than to compare some of the newer stuff to the art students at the museum copying the paintings on display for class projects and to learn the techniques before developing their own voice. The copy could be technically perfect, but it's still a copy.

Looking at the list and reading other comments, I'd do a 16-20 song mix of the 68-71 material and start from there. Leave the post-72 songs for another sharing session, especially if there is more interest after hearing the first batch.

I think I will. Thanks for suggesting Wake The World, I really like that one. And ye It's OK is going out, but my friend liked Johnny Carson after hearing a mixtape by The Avalanches which included that song. So he has no prob with the moog, but which of the Love You tracks should I take away?

I have it already thank you! youtube to mp3 site provided it.

I like that one too, but sometimes I feel it becomes too sweet and saccharine. And since I consider myself a hardcore fan of this group I was a little scared that new listeners would dismiss it. I was considering "I Went To Sleep" as well but there is something about the arrangement which dulls it slightly. Thanks for answering!

Remember, 'All I Wanna Do' was the first chillwave song.  It's on Wikipedia as "proto-Chillwave" (seriously) so that must be true.  The Beach Boys were just warming up music for those groovy, warped-and-shat-on-Dario-G-record harmoniez of Animal Collective.

I just doubt new listeners would dismiss "Time To Get Alone" or "I Went To Sleep" faster than over half of the Love You songs (Roller Skating Child, Johnny Carson), which to many *non-fans* are just bizarre and cheesy (brutally honest), but to each his-or-her own! If it were me I'd give them all the albums from Friends up to Surf's Up and leave it at that.  ;D

Time To Get Alone is one of my favorites, post-Smile. Gorgeous song. The Beach Boys version kills the Redwood/Three Dog Night recording.

And what re-ignited my gushing fandom for "I Went To Sleep" was a random radio broadcast on the show "The Many Moods Of Ben Vaughn" http://xpn.org/xpn-programs/many-moods-ben-vaughn (http://xpn.org/xpn-programs/many-moods-ben-vaughn), which is the kind of record-loving, have fun playing obscure music kind of show that many hipsters wish they could pull off but can't get past the image issues. And Vaughn himself is such a hip guy he's actually an anti-hipster...or something. But hearing "I Went To Sleep" in the car on that show, that was a thing of beauty.

Shorten it down!! Give him just a handful of absolutely killer songs (prefably ones which are going to really surprise the casual BB listener) and once he's listened to those, and hopefully been wowed, then go for the longer playlist.

I recently convinced a sceptical friend with the following cd (and yeah i know i'm cheating a tad with the opening track but what the hell...):

1. River Song
2. Til I Die
3. Feel Flows
4. Long Promised Road
5. All I Wanna Do
6. It's About Time
7. Lady
8. Trader
9. Funky Pretty
10. Cuddle Up

I can truthfully say that he absolutely loved it, and swallowed his pride in telling me so (he'd previously ribbed me mercilessly about my BB fandom).

Thanks for the link! I'm looking out for these underground radio stations with good music, spotify is great but does not give you stuff which is unrelated to the artists one listens to.  ;D

I hope you enjoy the show, it's definitely worth checking out! He does different themes every week. Any radio host that plays "I Went To Sleep" as part of a theme show featuring jazzy vocal harmony is worth tuning in... :-D

River Song I forgot! I guess that fits in well with the Add Some Music/Sunflower songs, does the original BB recording exist in fan possesion? I have the demo witht the raw guitar intro, such a kickass song! Thank you for feedback. I'll prob cut the list in half as you recommend.  ^-^

If he's into cult music, or modern indie synth music, Love You tracks would be perfect. I've converted people with that album alone, actually. Which tracks to play for a possible convert depends totally on the taste of the person in question. For instance, I converted a Ramones fan simply by playing him the Surfin' Safari album.

A while back, I compiled a-post '71 mixtape for my good friend (who incidentally has similar music tastes to your friend) as he wasn't too keen on the whole early sixties 'fun in the sun' schtick. I was there as he listened to 'Magic Transistor Radio' for the first time and I could tell by the enormous smile on his face that he was absolutely blown away by it.

'Magic Transistor Radio'

You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
The River Song
Marcella
Feel Flows
Lookin' At Tomorrow
A Day in the Life of a Tree

Dreamer
Steamboat
Time
Sail on Sailor
All This is That
Thoughts of You

Some are DW solo, yes, but they likely had the capacity to become Beach Boy tracks (like River Song) and since they also stand up impeccably against material on this compilation, I say, "why not?!"

I was considering adding 'Fairy Tale Music' from GV box and rename the track  ;D It is sonically very stimulating, very indie for 1973!
Lookin At Tomorrow didnt cross my mind, I like it alot and it fits well on SU with its dark tone and feel. I'll consider that one for sure.
Adding DW songs will make it too big, I plan on making one when The Drummer comes out as I'm sure it will gather some attention and might end doing for Dennis what 'Control' did for Ian Curtis & Joy Division! Thank you for good suggestions!

I dig 'Love You', but given how divisive it can be even among fans I am scared to put it in someones face. 'Johnny Carson' seems to have some popularity with young ppl I get the impression of. TY for comment!

Open with River Song and you can't lose... It's got three Beach Boys singing and/or playing on the track (Carl, Dennis and Ricky) which is more than a lot of official Beach Boys tracks.

It is?  ;D

Day In Life Of A Tree, Brian on organ and Al with a few lines at the end ^^

I'm still confused by the statement in bold above - what songs and albums are we thinking of to make a statement like that? Because it was in no way "more than a lot..." when 3 current members were on a track, even in the 70's. I'm just curious to see the basis of that statement, maybe I misunderstood it.

Well quickly and off the top of my head: Don't Talk, Caroline, No, Feel Flows, Long Promised Road...

I'll agree to disagree here, I don't see the number of tracks with less than 3 Beach Boys anywhere near the number with 3 or more in any decade of their work, especially considering they were a vocal group that featured group vocals most of the time, and the self-contained band played more instruments on those tracks than they'll ever get mainstream credit for. But it's cool. :)

Take your list and edit it down to the essential 35-40 minutes. Most people have short attention spans when it comes to unfamiliar music.  Good luck on making a convert of your friend.

all i wanna do should be front and center.  any animal collective fan would love (for obvious reasons)

"Endless Summer", enough said.

Maybe the cover! :lol

I'll offer up an alternate playlist:

Our Sweet Love
All This is That
Cuddle Up
Surf's Up ('71)
Cool Cool Water
Long Promised Road
With Me Tonight
Forever
Only With You
Our Prayer
Cabinessence

Probably not as representative as your OG playlist, and it's a bit SMiLE-heavy, but hey...

I think anything from this era has to have River Song and Sail On, Sailor.  They simply represent what the Beach Boys "sound" of that era was

On the contrary, 'River Song' represents what the Beach Boys sound should have been during this period...

I agree, doing roots rock with psychedelia was their thing, the return to Endless Summer perhaps prevented much great music from being made and a change in modern perception of the band. But I wouldn't trade that for Love You  ;D ;D ;D

I remember walking out of a Brian Wilson solo show several years ago and a group of males in their early 20s were singing "Time to Get Alone" at the top of their lungs.  I don't remember if it was even played at the show or not. 

Give him something to re-listen to from Smiley.  Either Wind Chimes or Wonderful. 

And if he's not a Beach Boys fan by this point, just set fire to his bed.

Little Pad, With Me Tonight,Whistle In, Mama Says, Vegetable chants, fishies going swim swim, it was Brian in the mic, George Fell Into His French Horn, Brian Farts Into His Piano... Anyone who listens to AC should already be accustomed to repetetive psychedelic chanting and general weirdness.

Solution to 1st world problems: set fire to bed if subject does not enjoy Smiley Smile.  :hat

When the news breaks of what the motive of my future serial killings are, you shall share the responsibility sir!

Honestly your friend has pretty sh-t taste in music if what you listed is any indication.  If I were you I'd have him listen to Love You through headphones repeatedly, just to cleanse his brain from the awfulness that is Vampire Weekend.

Again, if somebody doesn't like endless summer, they will not like their later material.

I agree Love You is therapy music! What do you consider good modern music? I want to expand my musical horizon.

I listen almost exclusively to their PS and after career. Sometimes I might enjoy deep cuts from their first albums and All Summer Long (song), but the ASL album - Today/Party bearly gets more than a listen a month  :angel:, I guess ballads aren't my favourite when it comes to this band (and the Beatles for that matter)...

I give you a second opinion. Actually what your friends to isn't all as bad as some of these people say. If we are wanting to always have our modern sound exactly like yesteryear, of course we would be disapointed. I like people who are inspired by the Beach Boys, not duplicates of them. Here's a nice list of "modern" I like.

Of Montreal -  Satanic Panic in the Attic
Adventures in Stereo - Monomania
Stereolab - Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (reminds me a lot of Smiley Smile  in terms of experimentation. Leaf House is my jam.)
The Drums - The Drums

You can't get more modern than JS Bach, seriously, not one of these f*ckers, BW included, has ever come close to catching him up.

Anyone who thinks MIU is "genius" has absolutely no room to slam others' musical tastes.  None.

I'll say this about the OP's list.  When I was only familiar with Pet Sounds, Smile and the early stuff, I heard a lot about the greatness of Disc 3 of the GV box set.  When I finally listened to it, I was a bit disappointed, and remember wincing at I Can Hear Music and Long Promised Road.  They seemed SO SO cheesy at the time, and to a lesser extent still do.  And folks like Jason who take mortal offense at the notion that some people dislike certain BB songs-- no need to slam me, because I just don't care what you think.  The point here is to consider what appeals to music fans, not Beach Boys fans.