The Smiley Smile Message Board

Nothing earth-shattering in any of these of course, all local puff pieces for upcoming shows:

The Brian/Al article/interview:

http://buffalo.com/2015/10/06/featured/a-conversation-with-brian-wilson/

The Bruce "interview":

http://timesleader.com/news/local/487703/487703

And why not, let's throw in a new Gary Griffin/Surf City All Stars interview/article:

http://tbrnews.com/lifestyle/the-surf-city-allstars-return-to-the-beach-cities/article_5c71eb5a-6c93-11e5-94ef-73273a47816b.html

We can quibble with all three articles. Al says "we" when talking about extracting Brian from Landy (not a huge deal, but I don't know how active Al was in that process obviously), Bruce evidently went into how he, Mike, and Al, get ready for it, never did drugs! They also "seldom take a drink" according to Bruce....

The author notes Bruce went into the Wilson brothers drug use topic, although thankfully he (for some reason) doesn't actually publish *what* Bruce said about it.

I guess you can't expect much from an article with lines like: "The Beach Boys have enjoyed much success. They truly are legendary."

The Brian/Al article is a bit more interesting. The author correctly points out Brian can be a tough interview, but he doesn't help things by asking the same questions like "Are you still writing music?"

Also, apparently Gary Griffin sang lead vocals with the Beach Boys.....  :lol

It is kind of funny that Griffin points out that one fringe benefit of the BBs not working together is that it employs more backing musicians across multiple bands.  :lol

Seriously, I guess I'm busting the chops of the authors and subjects of these articles too much. They're being published, I'm not, so what do I know?

I must say I was surprised to read that Brian and Al had gone back to high school after graduation and actually met there in the early sixties. The things you learn these days . . . . . . .

Meh, I'm published a few times a month (non Beach Boys related pieces) and I completely agree with your criticism.  Lazy writers.

Bruce: “We like to be any place where the people are normal and want to have fun."


He's kind of a douche.

Dork as well! :lol

I was rather wondering what the hell "normal" is to Bruce.  And then I decided a really didn't care. 

So now there's something wrong with being normal? Just call me Mr. Dork, I guess.

  Yeah, based on that criteria, Bruce probably doesn't care much for Brian Wilson. But wait, Mike Love was around to keep everything "normal."

I think there's something wrong with the idea of a general norm for humans. We're too varied to establish a general norm.

It was at their college.

Maybe Bruce meant it as "being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events" - Merriam-Websters; adjective

Yeah Ted, you're right. Probably.

Sure, that wasn't a Pacifico Bruce was drinking backstage, it was, ummm, water. And those weren't wine coolers in Mike mini-fridge. Mike doesn't drink, It interferes with his spirituality and meditation.

(https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/q84/s720x720/1526505_577104285701750_544562218_n.jpg?oh=b1b621bb887bbde92bea27a03ac74230&oe=5674243D)

Uncork the love!

What does that even mean?

I think it’s pretty clear it’s Bruce’s way of saying he prefers clean, conservative, inoffensive, nostalgic, old-timey music/people/vibe/crowds, etc. It’s the same thing they’ve been saying since the early 80s. It’s basically his version of Ringo’s “Peace and love, peace and love, peace and love”, where we’re supposed to listen to the short, over-simplified, quotable sound-bite catch phrase and not actually think about it beyond that. We’re not supposed to think about Ringo crankily going out of his way to announce he won’t sign autographs, we’re not supposed to think about Bruce’s political comments or the fact that he says they “seldom” drink yet numerous pictures and comments indicate they do drink (maybe not to excess, but enough to go beyond “seldom” I’d say).

Yes, I'm sure you're right.  It's just such a stupid, alienating thing to say.  And ridiculous, too, coming from someone who was involved in-depth in the music scene in the 60s and 70s.  I mean, come ON.  You want to be around "normal people"?  Then why did you join the Beach Boys?  Why not be an accountant?  (no offense to accountants)

Totally, I think the comments are pretty ironic in terms of the history of the group, the turmoil of which cannot be anywhere near entirely ascribed to the drug use of the Wilsons. Bruce has been a part of what is nearly universally accepted as among the most dysfunctional bands of all time.

And yes, in terms of describing the “audience” for the music, “normal” is a weirdly kind of alienating, patronizing sort of way to put it. But it’s par for the course. He has always been the most openly conservative guy in the band (both in terms of actual politics, and just in general), and was doing old-fashioned schlock all the way back in the 60s.