The Smiley Smile Message Board

I wanted to share something with the rest of you that got a big rise out of me. Now, this is not technically BB related, but I think the members here who really love music in general will appreciate it. I have a burning obsession for lieder currently, and simply can't get enough of the stuff. I stumbled upon this recently, Schubert's "Serenade", D920. Am I the only one who immediately thought of The Beach Boys upon hearing this? I may be alone, but I was so entertained by the similarity I thought some of you would be too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6f90Xx_e2U&feature=related

Schubert had a large circle of friends, they were sort of like his vosse-posse and wrote lyrics for him. The story goes this song was commissioned by a friend to commemorate some unimportant social event, Schubert looked at the poem that was handed to him for a few seconds in silence, and then said "There it is done." Of course I don't mean to imply Brian ever heard the thing. So don't get me wrong, it's just meant as fun.

A driving tempo, key modulations, through-composed structure with repeating motifs, call-and-response harmonies that weave in with the main melody... You are onto something here, Mr. Fishmonk.

Really I thought the resemblance uncanny, so I'm glad you were able to put a finger on it.

Here's a lovely performance of it at a slow tempo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l--L4xopws8

Thanks, I haven't heard much Schubert since college.

I do remember some stupid pretend feminist saying "good" when it transpired he'd died of syphilis, caught after his first and only sexual experience.

I always appreciate classical music but it didn't make me think of Beach Boys. It reminded me more of the music to A beautiful mind for some reason:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxvWELzoVY

Brilliant, yet primitive: I think this is something similar like  Three Blind Mice or Woody Woodpecker Symphony:

youtu.be/ZGmAmRhee2s (http://youtu.be/ZGmAmRhee2s)

What, the Schubert?

I imagine it was referring to Satie, Three Blind Mice, and Fall Breaks because there's nothing primitive about Schubert. Though there's nothing primitive about those others either, especially Satie--people are still catching up with him. 

Fishmonk, this connection you drew forced me to draw a connection between Schubert's near worshipping of Beethoven to the point of stalking him at Beethoven's favorite cafe nearly everyday, and never approaching him to speak to him (though who knows if that's more myth), and Brian's worshiping of Spector. 

There are a lot of really interesting parallels beyond that. A lot of 60s musicians feel like reincarnations of people from around the turn of the 19th century. Brian seems a bit like Schubert, who always used his reputation as being absent-minded and forgetful to get out of things. He also reminds me of the poet Holderlin. Holderlin had an undiagnosed mental illness which ruined his career. He had been one of the most promising writers of the era but he spent the last 40 years of his life living as a near-invalid in the care of a carpenter. Some of the stories of his madness years really remind me of Brian, as he had all these little idiosyncrasies. He couldn't really focus on writing or reading new literature, he just spend every day reading and rereading his few favorite books. His poetry lost all its greatness, but every once in awhile he would write a verse of incredible beauty unexpectedly.

I find the sympathy between the two eras really rewarding.