The Smiley Smile Message Board

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4-gJfKGX34 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4-gJfKGX34)  to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvj3Na7GvCU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvj3Na7GvCU)

I may be wrong, but there seems to be a difference in Brian in the first clip and Brian in the second clip. What do you think?

You posted the same clip twice.

Fixed.

I fixed it.

Change in meds.

Yep. He was transitioned off a lot of Landy-era meds in the mid-90s (Melinda actually wrote about it at the time), which definitely seem to have included uppers of one kind or another. He was then started on a lower-intensity regimen, which was more about dampening his anxiety.

Brian seems to be much better now than he was in that 1998 video. Really hard to watch at points.

He sounds so good, hits high notes and seems "on".

Seems much more energetic back then compared to now

Ha I think we forget its 16 years ago!

Fair enough. I'm talking only about his speaking voice and his responses to the questions, not his singing.

If you've ever known anybody who was on anti-psychotic drugs or ridilin or any of that sh*t, then you know what an incredible effect they have on people.  Any kind of mood-altering medication like that is very powerful, even in small doses, that's it's point, it's meant to even out emotions by altering the chemicals in the brain. 

Really though the manic way he acts sometimes (like in that 1996 singing clip you posted).... he did things like that in the mid 60's, and he still does if you catch him on the right day.  It probably has more to do with his mental illness and just his general character and personality than the medicine.

Brian's always been wildly different from day to day or even song to song in some concerts.  I've always thought too that some of it's an act, just one of his character traits.  It's almost child-like, kids play around like that sometimes, they'll be completely quiet and relaxed for a few minutes, then hyper and jacked up for a few minutes, back and forth, etc. 

It's very hard to infer anything about Brian's health or state of mind by observing how he's acting, singing, or talking.  To compound it all he's very intelligent, too, so he literally can be screwing with you and you'd never know it. 

Thanks for the audio link! That was new to me!

I think meds and mood (which the meds regulate) are certainly at play anytime we see a clip of Brian.  Is he up?  Is he down?  Is he hearing voices, etc?  I've seen clips of him from the same "time frame" where he's manic and clips where he's a zombie.

What I mean is ... I used to think it depended on the era.  For example, he was this way in the 80s, that way in the early 90s, this way in the late 90s... and this way today.  But now I think, basically, he's been *this way* (whatever that means) since the 70s.  And the wild swings we see are just his ups and downs.  On meds, off meds.  New meds, old meds that aren't working as well as they used.

I think he's basically a little off, out there, spacey-goofy or eccentric -- at best.  And the meds either boost this or sedate it.  And it's not practical to think there's a mix that works 100% all the time.

On his best days, with good meds working well that day... I think he's fairly even keeled.  Pleasant.  But he's still, as I said, eccentric and out there.  And quick to just "go off" in another direction -- such as, "I wanna watch TV."  And that's what he's gonna do.  And he'll probably be really into the TV for that moment.  Laser focus, laughing out loud at stupid sit-coms.  Then... bam, loses interest and goes in another room.

Just a hunch.  :smokin