The Smiley Smile Message Board

It's that time of year again....

Coming up Sunday! It's our 3rd annual BEACH BOYS BASH! - with special guests:

1. Beach Boy DAVID MARKS to talk about the group's early days, and Dave & The Marksmen and The Moon.

2. Endless Summer Quarterly editor DAVID BEARD discusses the Brian Wilson film "Love & Mercy" and the upcoming "Adult Child" retrospective in ESQ.

3. Author JIM MURPHY talks about his new book "Becoming The Beach Boys: 1961-1963".

4. and last but certainly not least...BARBARA EDEN (star of 1964's "Ride The Wild Surf")

 Sunday 11amET 89.1 WFDU fm or streaming live at http://www.wfdu.fm

As usual I'll, post links to all the interviews/discussions as Youtube videos later Sunday night.

Sounds MASSIVE - can't wait!

Sounds very cool, I'll definitely be tuning in.

Well, looks like 3 of the 4 will be worth hearing

Thanks Ghosty for the interview . . . listening to David Marks right now and looking forward to hearing David Beard discuss Love & Mercy.  And, as I still dream of Jeannie, hearing Barbara Eden reminisce about Ride the Wild Surf.  Great show!

My pleasure, Jim, and you were a great guest!

As promised, here are the interviews:

Jim Murphy (author of "Becoming The Beach Boys"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsHkZUeN38

David Marks ('nuff said): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61z6AZklZ7M

Barbara Eden (Ride The Wild Surf/I Dream Of Jeannie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FlhSsiMk60

David Beard (Love & Mercy review/discussion) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la8I_WtvvHI

Is that Love & Mercy segment about Love & Mercy or more about defending Mike Love like David Beard's last piece before he edited it to remove the comments about brain damage and whatnot? It'd be great if it was abut the movie or brought some new info to the table, but am so not in the mood to ruin my brunch digestion with some Mike Love PR.

Great interviews, GhostyTMRS. I just got finished viewing all of the YouTube videos; very entertaining and informative. And, just by coincidence, Barbara Eden turns 84 years old today!

Ghosty,

First, you have an amazing radio voice.  Second,  I really enjoyed the Beach Boys Bash -- great interviews interspersed with super music.  Thanks very much!

Ontor:  It was what you would expect.

Hmm, I don't know about that. It's just a little weighted towards Mike's side and doesn't go overboard with anything not n the movie
Beard's portion started out reasonably OK, talking about L&M. I think it did veer , with  both Ghosty and Beard  mounting a Mike & The Boys defense as relates to Brian, which is how the first segment ended. the 2nd segment  was much more balanced and had no Mike-isms. Talk of the Cusack portion of L&M, Adult Child, tidbits relating to NPP and talk of the Next ESQ issue; you should watch the Fogerty Tours David.
 ESQ subscriber alert: if  you're thinking of subscribing now. DON'T!!       You have to do it do it thru ESQ Facebook or you'll lose your chance to win Beard's swag

Ghosty, Thanks for having me on...really enjoyed David Marks and Jim Murphy Q&As.

The end of my first segment is a conversation about how important the Smile work is, and concludes with "Cabin Essence."

I read the Nathan Jessup post and then read the things people like Beard are saying and posting, and I can't help but laugh at how accurately Jessup pegged them.

INTELLIGENT AND RESPECTFUL INTERVIEW WITH MY FAVORITE BB, DM. Oh how I long for another reunion tour and album. Dave is so kind to Al. The love between these men is remarkable--all of them. Al and DM bonded as "best friends" on the tour.

Dave says here again he did the overdub guitar part on DWB.  Again, this issue rises. Amazing. Is Dave right?  Would he mis-remember? Did he do the overdub and then have it left on the cutting room floor? Or is it simply him playing it, as he did in the 50th 67 times?

Dave also blasts the "wrecking crew" myth, clarifying that the BB, except where noted, were "self-contained" on stage and in studio.  The WC deserved its due but not at the expense of their actual history of accomplishment and artistic accomplishment.

So pleased with this interview. Dave is the kindly peacemaker and musician that makes the whole BB history, past, present and future, full of hope.

BB forever!

My pleasure as always, and we need to do that Jan & Dean discussion sooner than later.

Thanks so much!

Very nice of you to say! In case anyone's curious. Here is the full playlist for yesterday's show. It's interesting, at least to me anyway, to see what Beach Boys songs our listeners requested:

The Beach Boys - Fun, Fun, Fun (session + master take)
The Beach Boys - The Surfer Moon (request)
The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda (request)
The Beach Boys - Surfin' (session + master)
(Jim Murphy author of "Becoming The Beach Boys" interview)
The Beach Boys - The Warmth Of The Sun (request)
The Beach Boys - Catch A Wave (request)
The Jets - I'll Hide My Tears
Brian Wilson - Just Like Me and You
The Beach Boys - Girl Don't Tell Me (request)
The Beach Boys - I Can Hear Music (request)
The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe (request)
(David Marks interview)
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari
The Beach Boys - Surfer's Rule (session + master)
Dave & The Marksmen - I Wanna Cry
The Moon - Mothers and Fathers
The Beach Boys - Getcha Back (live)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (live)
The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA
(Barbara Eden interview)
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby (request)
The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not To Love You (request)
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
(David Beard "Love & Mercy" interview/discussion)
The Beach Boys - I'm Waiting For The Day
The Beach Boys - Hang Onto Your Ego
The Beach Boys - Cabinessence
Brian Wilson - Melt Away
Brian Wilson - Love and Mercy (live)
The Beach Boys - Disney Girls (request)
The Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor (live) (request)
The Beach Boys - Summer's Gone

Thanks Professor. I also found it fascinating that "Gethca Back" was originally conceived with Dennis singing the lead. That would lead me to believe that it was written perhaps around 1982-to late 83.

Mike is the only other Beach Boy with any significant dialogue/scenes in the film. He would have to be discussed. The character we spend the most time discussing, however, is Landy.

At least this time the "thumbs down" on the video I posted came 30 minutes after it was uploaded. When David Beard and myself gave our review to No Pier Pressure, which sounded like a revival meeting with pom poms, I got a thumbs down from someone here at Smiley within 5 minutes of it being uploaded, meaning, of course, that they didn't actually listen to it. But that's fine, it goes with the radio territory.

And as I did last year, all of the Beach Boys-related interviews/discussions are here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA132AA9FFCF9DE8B

Also...look for Jim Murphy to appear on Phil Miglioratti's excellent and highly recommended "Pray For Surf" podcast/blog soon. 

I'd like to point out something I took away from the interview about the film. I listened to the whole thing. At around 8 minutes into the conversation, it felt like it turned into a defense of Mike Love and a finger-wagging directed at fans who may not share the host's and the guest's opinion of the issues being discussed. That's what hit me the wrong way, in all honesty. On this board alone, you have seen fans of all backgrounds offering their interpretations of the film, from interpretations of individual scenes to full-blown reviews which were more insightful than anything in the major media outlets save a few exceptions, right down to people describing how the film affected them personally.

When someone tunes in to hear a discussion of a film, where was that over the portion of the discussion devoted to the film? A lot of the time was spent, to be brutally honest as I see it, trying to "set the record straight" on issues that could have been separated entirely from the film itself. Explaining why the band or Mike objected to lyrics, explaining why certain points are valid versus those that aren't, suggesting the fans who voice opinions about the lyric changes are blowing things out of proportion...And this relates to the film how, exactly?

As I said on the release of some previous articles, interviews, and whatnot...I don't expect to tune in to a discussion or start reading a review or discussion based article and get a finger-wagging. That's what this one felt like.

How about more discussion on the actual film, discussed as a film? If I wanted opinions there are plenty of outlets to get opinions. And if I do want opinions I'd rather have the option of hearing them and then judging them on their own terms instead of some portions in this clip where it felt like I was being told "this is what happened, this is how to think about it...".

That's my take. I got nothing new from the L&M discussion that I didn't see or hear before, and beyond that I got more of a sense I was being lectured on a radio show more than getting some new information or a new perspective on the actual film, not the background of what it was portraying.

I stopped listening to the L&M segment because I felt like the discussion was more about how misunderstood Mike is with some indirect swipes at the fan base in general and the discussions on this board in particular. The other segments were great, though.

I feel like you’d have to be  “looking for an argument” so to speak to go into “Love & Mercy” and then come out feeling any defense of Mike was needed. The film portrays him sympathetically, and given the actual point and subject matter the film is intended to address, he is given enough screen time. I’ve seen the film with “non-fans”, and they came away sympathizing and understanding Mike’s position. I think the actor did a good job of portraying Mike as frustrated rather than being an a-hole about anything. While I only have limited recounting and description of Mike’s personal demeanor and attitude in conversations over the years, I dare say the actor portraying Mike in this film avoided the more blunt/sarcastic/sardonic side of Mike that I’ve heard about over the years.

I can’t imagine even a rather neutral, non-inflammatory, non-confrontational fan of the group seeing “Love & Mercy” and having the thought that one of the points needing discussion is to defend Mike, nor that the fan base needs to be criticized for being anti-Mike, etc. The only type I can fathom that would come out of “Love & Mercy” with Mike Love on their mind at all would be the same type that would turn a discussion of “The Right Time” into an essay on why Mike didn’t break up the Beach Boys reunion.

A fair criticism. In talking about those scenes with the Mike character, we "went there", though I believe it amounts to 4 minutes of the total discussion. As host of the show, I'm going to have my opinions and of course, everyone is free to agree or disagree. I personally feel the "Hang On To Your Ego" thing is overblown. As for the other issue regarding the rest of The Beach Boys being to blame for Brian's downward spiral in the wake of Smile, I just find that absurd. That's not necessarily something that pops up on this board in particular, but it does pop up elsewhere, including in conversations with friends who saw the film and came away with the idea that The Beach Boys were jerks because they didn't recognize the onset of Brian's mental illness or diagnose it properly (which is especially frustrating to hear when you know the historical context and what was known and not known about auditory hallucinations at that time).      

After reading HeyJude's reply above, I have to say his thoughts got me thinking even more along those lines than I had in my own comments. I agree with him in asking how after seeing the film would a defense of Mike regarding the lyrics (keeping it focused on the topic of the show) even be considered necessary? And the other points heyJude raised were valid as well, at some point it starts to look like the film is used like more of a vehicle to make points about defending Mike or the Beach Boys or anything else instead of being the primary topic of discussion as advertised. Even in 3-4 minutes, it really didn't feel like discussing the film as a film was the topic as much as it was to make points about Mike Love in the context of a debate that has been raging for decades. And I'll agree, I got a similar feeling when I clicked on a link back in the spring to read a review of a new BW single and instead got hit almost immediately with content about Mike Love that had nothing to do with a new BW single hitting the internet. As a fan, it gets tiresome, understand that's just my own opinion as a fan but I think it's a point to consider.

Well, you can't please everybody, I guess. If you develop a rapport with a guest, conversations do tend to veer into other areas (check out my multiple interviews with Juliana Hatfield where we go off on tangents about old movies, the Spice Girls, reality TV etc. and I constantly say "I swear we're gonna get back to your new album").

I've heard from listeners who wren't even aware that the film existed who are now anxious to get it on DVD, so that's good enough for me.  :)

Pretty cool, loved the David Marks interview.  You have a great radio voice, Ghosty!  ;D

DAMN the rapport, then.

Thanks! Glad you liked it. Onwards to the 2016 edition.