The Smiley Smile Message Board

Might seem like kind of a stupid idea, but I'm trying to put together a nice, coherent track listing of what I consider some of the BBs' most calming, soothing songs, because why the heck not. Here's what I've come up with:

1. God Only Knows
2. I Can Hear Music
3. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
4. This Whole World
5. Girl Don't Tell Me
6. At My Window
7. Friends
8. Disney Girls (1957)
9. Forever
10. Our Sweet Love
11. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
12. Let's Go Away For A While

What listing would you have? Which tracks would segue into the next best?

I like this idea. I definitely listen to The Beach Boys a lot for the soothing aspect. Here's my list:

1 "I Went To Sleep"
2 "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)"
3 "Good Timin'"
4 "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)"
5 "Surfer Girl"
6 "Summer Means New Love"
7 "Meant For You"
8 "Cool, Cool Water"
9 "'Til I Die"
10 "Caroline No"

1. Our Prayer
2. Girls On The Beach
3. California Saga/Beaks of Eagles
4. A Young Man Is Gone
5. Passing By
6. Surf's Up (67)

7. Cherry Cherry Coupe
8. At My Window
9. Anna Lee
10. Airplane
11. Don't Talk
12. And Your Dreams Come True

*great idea btw! definitely making a playlist out of this.

Denny's Drums.

No, I Went to Sleep is the calmest of them all. Awake is another calm one of course.

Edit: ten years ago I could actually hit Brian's high notes in the Awake demo. :)

Ballad of Ol' Betsy, Your Summer Dream, And Your Dreams Come True, Be Still, Nearest Faraway Place, Hold On Dear Brother

Little Pad

I'd say All this is That might be the calmest song of all.

Full Sail
Goin' South

You're welcome.  ;)

Little Pad is nice, but that intro makes it a little bizarre and uncomfortable (at least, in my opinion). I heard a mix of Little Pad and Cool Cool Water once that was very nice.

I don't mind the intro in the context of Smiley, but I made my own edit without the intro that I use in playlists and such.

It's ridiculous no one has mentioned "All I Wanna Do" yet...

edit: The probably-stoned laughing in "Little Pad" is awesome, jerks.

1. The Lonely Sea
2. In My Room
3. Your Summer Dream
4. Please Let Me wonder
5. With Me Tonight
6. Wind Chimes (Smiley Smile)
7. Wonderful (Smiley Smile)
8. Be Still
9. Passing By
10. I Went To Sleep
12. Time To Get Alone
13. All I Wanna Do
14. Disney Girls
15. All This That
16. Cuddle Up
17. Only With You
18. Winds Of Change
19. Goin' South
20. Summer's Gone
 

Definately! First one I thought of.  Makes me want to be a hindu or something. 

YES. Can't believe I forgot that one.

Oh crap, I totally forgot about TWGMTR. A lot of the songs on there are nice and soothing, actually.

Cool, Cool Water (Sunflower). In particular, the remainder of the song after the water chant.

If you listen reallllly close, somebody's goin ' "Wattttter, Wattttter" way in the background.  awesome

Fairy Tale Music (from the GV boxset)

walk on by
leaving this town
you still believe in me
lets go away for awhile
busy doin' nothin'
i'd love just once to see you
don't go near the water
match point
everyones in love with you
in the still of the night
steamboat
only with you
pacific coast highway
think about the days (pure bliss!!!!!)
tree

I often play Smiley Smile when I'm going to sleep and it's a wonderful ride, because the weird parts really scare me when I'm in that half-awake state of mind. I wish You're Welcome was in there.

Think About The Days is a very good choice. I've must played it over and over quite a few times

Hard to believe this thread could get this far without getting to Diamond Head yet.  The only thing calmer than that would have been if I Went To Sleep followed it. Instead, there's the track that, just maybe, gives you an idea of what David Lynch gets out of TM.  (Last Sunday the NY Times magazine had a long, fairly interesting article about Lynch's involvement with it.)

I was close to putting Diamond Head on my list (I did put Passing By on it), but the thunderous opening is rather jarring to my ears haha. The rest of the song however is one of the most mellow BB songs out there.

Two of my favorites from Carl.

I vote for "The Lonely Sea" as well, also "Your Summer Dream". Or are those just nice smooth ballads?

Would add The Nearest Faraway Place to the list as well. 
Jet without wings

A solo release i know, but Farewell My Friend deserves to be top of any 'calming songs' list.

All of the LA Album except for Here Comes The Night and Shortening Bread

Almost forgot - Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring. If you're gonna put Our Prayer on there you gotta put THWFOS on there. I'm putting that right at the beginning.

'Diamond Head' was a very good choice.

Can I nominate 'Sail Plane Song'?

Yes I can.

The Warmth of the Sun
Lonely Sea
Your Summer Dream
I Went To Sleep
Don't Talk Put Your Head On My Shoulder
Busy Doing Nothin'
Keep An Eye On Summer

I have a playlist on my ipod with various BB songs AND excerpts of songs that together make for a very soothing, almost dreamlike listen, - mostly from the late 60s and onwards. An example of an excerpt is the lovely harmonies at the very end of Don't Go Near the Water which I've basically just featured as a standalone short snippet in the playlist. I don't really care for the song but absolutely love that tiny bit.  :)

Cool... so cool... coolin'...
cool....so cool...coolin'....coolin' me

waterwaterwater
ooooooooooooooooooo
now now now now

  "Meant for You", "All This Is That", "I Went to Sleep", "At My Window", "Let's Go Away for Awhile", "Summer Means New Love", most of L.A.


   "Cuckoo Clock"?  Nah

Steamboat is incredibly soothing. Feels like taking a cruise.

In Blue Hawaii.

CITFOM.

Going South.

Baby Blue.

The Lord's Prayer.

"Don't Go Near the Water" is a great example of what a big difference Brian made on Surf's Up behind the scenes. He played all the piano parts, came up with the outro, and likely some of the other harmonies, too (since it sounds like Brian is on some of 'em, and it's hard to imagine he wouldn't at least touch the parts up a bit). Without those contributions, the song would've felt flat and incomplete.

Also, "Take A Load Off Your Feet" is a great song to play after a long week. Smoking a J and staring at your feet, grinning a Cheshire grin.

Whistle In.  A little toe tapper but definitely relaxing and a mood lifter.

TM Song.

Stops all disputes, makes us all friends, world peace ensues.

Only Brian Wilson could make a song featuring an erupting volcano calm.  :)

Are we counting solo? If so I nominate 'Mexico' from Pacific Ocean Blue Legacy Edition.

Be Still, duh

Old Folks At Home/Ol' Man River from the Friends/20/20 twofer

Passing By

All of smiley Smile. I am learning from this thread that most beach boy music is amazingly calming. I feel calm test reading the titles.

All This is That, followed by Cool Cool Water and Meant For You.

The slow parts of Can't Wait Too Long are about as calming as it gets.

Oh crap, I only just listened to Busy Doin' Nothing. That song is amazingly calming.
Come to think of it, virtually all of Friends is soothing stuff (with the obvious exception of the last track). Everyone seems to be bringing up Be Still... that one's nice, but there's not much to it. Busy Doin' Nothing is a little more complex musically and it sounds heavenly.

I think Cool Cool Water is the calmest song I've ever heard.  Love the bass line.