The Smiley Smile Message Board

I think this deserves it's own thread because the legacy of The Beach Boys just got a significant shot in the arm tonight by having the song 'Darlin' featured so prominently on one of TV's most watched TV shows. Consider this: the show is watched by roughly 15 million people each week or about 13 or 14 times as many people that went to see 'Love & Mercy' in theaters. The song will be played repeatedly in reruns for years to come for millions and millions more people. Beyond shifting plenty of downloads of the song (which it surely will) the song has basically become the love theme for an extremely popular TV show. And John Stamos had nothing to do with it!

One of my favorite songs in one of my favorite shows. As soon as Sheldon hummed the first line, I told my wife that was Darlin' by The Beach Boys. SO SO COOL!

The song is on Itunes Top 200 as of midnight. Outstanding! How high can it go? I could have sworn that Itunes said it was at #28, but it now says #197.

I feel ashamed that I didn't know what he was humming. I thought it sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. What a surprise it was when it was revealed.

Same here. I guess we would have stunk on "Name that Tune."

I too couldn't immediately place the tune but I said to my wife "I swear that's a Beach Boys song". She rolled her eyes and said "not everything has to always be about the Beach Boys you know". Sure enough  ;D

Episode link
http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theory/video/7A338385-5173-C97E-1C10-890935D9E289/the-big-bang-theory-the-earworm-reverberation/

Wake the World It's a brand new morning!  Little jewel's that make a persons day.  What a nice surprise to hear Darlin on the show.

Just went online to listen to Darlin' because of Big Bang and there are hundreds of comments from people who have listened to the song due to the show.  Many thanks to Sheldon and the Big Bang Theory for introducing/re-introducing lots of people to the marvel and talent that is the Beach Boys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAK0Ws6TwY 

I think this show has kind of been "jumping the shark" in the last few years, but certainly cool to see the BB track. I'd argue Sheldon's "ear worm" melody stuck in his head actually didn't exactly match the lead melody of "Darlin'", but it was kind of a jaw-dropping moment for me to see in light of how obscure a reference it was.

They never explained where Sheldon had heard the song in the first place. They've never established he listens to or likes the BB's.

I'm so glad the show has given Darlin' (& The BBs - AND a Brian Wilson name drop!) some exposure, but I don't get the appeal of The Big Bang Theory. Awful acting, awful writing, unfunny jokes. I've seen a few episodes and just can't grasp the millions of people who think this is 'comedy'. Anyway, I watched this episode because of obvious reasons and it made me cringe. The script writing, especially in the scene where Sheldon is on the laptop reading lyrics, felt like a bad fan ficition. Yikes. Hopefully it generates some downloads of the tracks - and I'm sure a few people will discover the genius of Brian Wilson through this, so I shouldn't complain.

The show was better in its first few seasons. Now it’s pretty much just a remake of “Friends.” But it used to have truly nerdy, geeky references and humor. But as the show has become more popular (and geek culture has gone from actually geeky to “trendy”), it has been kind of dumbed down even more. No, it wasn’t genius to begin with. But the whole point of the show that they were truly nerdy, socially awkward guys who couldn’t get girlfriends was eventually completely betrayed. Now they do a lot more bland, clichéd sitcom tropes out of the "Three's Company" playbook.

I can't wait to be a snob about this.

That's cool... ;D

Here you go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3lVC_-1KHs&feature=share
 ;D

FIFY

Don't be ashamed that you didn't know the song. DO be ashamed that you watch that show !

Isn't Sheldon more of a long, tall Texan? :)

I don't watch the show because I find even the commercials for it too annoying to stomach.  But what I wonder is why people here are so happy to see this reference to a BBs song in a TV show.  I mean the BBs are hardly obscure (although I admit that in this case the track isn't one of their ultra-famous songs).  It's not like they're an underground indie band that needs to be discovered - they're one of the most famous bands ever.  If people need a sitcom to "discover the genius" of the BBs, I kind of actually wish that they wouldn't.  It just means that real fans will get crappier seats at Brian Wilson shows.  Why the need for the whole world to love them as much as we do?  

Never watched the show, I know it's huge though.

Pretty cool

Although they didn't explain where Sheldon had heard the song, Sheldon said he was not a fan of the group because they had "beach" in their name.

I personally think Full House is a better show than Big Bang Theory, but neither have great writing or acting, so...

That being said, the fact that Darlin' isn't the typical Beach Boys song that gets used in television and film, it might help some casual fans take a deeper dive. I really don't understand the snobbish attitude. Who cares if this is the way someone develops a deeper appreciation for the band, everyone needs to start somewhere.

As soon as the episode was over I looked at that video and it had 92000 view now not even 24 hours later it has 122000 views! This should help really get this song well known. That tv show is very popular. I was very pleased to see this song on there. I had no idea that that's what Shelden was humming and even after watching the show and listening to the song I can still hardly get Darlin out of it.

I finally watched this on the cbs website and noticed that Jim Parsons (Sheldon) has a story writing credit. Needless to say, I too think that the show has jumped the shark but I really did enjoy this episode and all of the YouTube comments on the link shared above.

Edit: Sorry, I was incorrect on the writing credit. The writer's name was Jim Reynolds.

No way on God's Green Earth is Full House better than Big Bang Theory.

Wait, this is Kokomaoist Central, so... nevermind.

Not a fan of the show but it's cool for the Boys. 

Must be nice to be specifically lyric-checked as a pivotal scene in a currently popular show, even if it took 48 years.

I could care less whether you like the show or not or whether one show is better than another. The whole point is is that a network show worked its episode around a Beach Boys tune and even used the actual Beach Boys track. Kokomaoist and Brianista's alike should be equally happy that The Boys received a nice plug on a very popular show.

Let me clarify. Comparing "Full House" and "Big Bang Theory" is apples and oranges. "Full House" was a family comedy, which you don't really see outside of ABC Family or the Disney Channel these days. "Big Bang Theory" is just a poorly written and acted adult comedy that does not hold a candle to the likes of "Parks and Recreation" "The Office" "New Girl" etc. If you like it, good for you. I'm happy the Beach Boys got the exposure.

Also, for the record, Carl is my favorite Beach Boy.

of course this is your opinion...

Of course.

Seriously...this is something to get excited about in BB fandomland?  My, my things have gotten pretty dire, have they not.

Darlin IMO is one of the more pedestrian singles they ever released and it has always bothered me that coming out of Smile he was reduced to recycling such an old melody.  I have always thought of it as somewhat like the killing time release of Then I Kissed Her in the UK.  It is actually one of the songs I like least on Wild Honey.

I know, what a useless f***ing retread of a song that Brian sprung on us in 1967. Brian's work is all worthless after that Smile fiasco, huh? Oy!

They mentioned it on Sirius 60's station today...more exposure...

A worthless song featured on a worthless TV show.
Sure are a lot of Debbie Downers posting on this thread.

Well spoke.

The sort of thing that keeps Brian and the Beach Boys near the center of popular culture. How is that bad?

Lessee... song clip used on major network TV series watched by something like 19 million (which will also be in syndication forever)... band is name checked... more to the point, Brian is name-checked... what's not to like here ? What am I missing ?

Note to self: Never listen to Darlin on youtube.
Reason:
accidentally scrolling into thousands of "thumbs up if you're here because of that big bang theory show

Although I log in to Little Richard tutti frutti video the one where alan freed introduces him and he lip syncs and I say thumbs up if the b side t okokomo brought u here. so im a hypocrit

I love the song "Darlin'"; one of my favorites.
On the show, Brian Wilson was called a genius; "Darlin'" was played, in part, and its lyrics were explored, and "Love & Mercy" was referenced by the illustrative "shot" entering Sheldon's ear canal!
I thought it was great.

Much as I'd love that to be the case, I very much doubt it.

Take two and call me in the morning.

Yeah, he recycled an old melody, but it's what he did with it.

The views on that youtube  video went up from 92,000 to 161,000 Almost doubled in just 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!! all because of the big bang theory

Yes, it is. We live in a time where pop culture has reduced one of our favorite bands down to being just another oldies group with some songs about surfing. This show, even though I'm not a fan of it, is one of the most watched shows in North America. They basically spent an episode talking about the Beach Boys and referenced a song that most people didn't even know existed. A song not about surfing, the beach, or cars... but rather a really great pop song by an amazing band.

It's something to be excited about.

I like this show alot. To see a melding of one of my favorite shows with a band and a creator whose work I respect is more than I could have hoped for in 2015. Being a fan sine 1973 and having endured the "these guys are has beens" for a lot of that time, I like this so much more.

It's nice to be recognized as a group and Brian as a genius regardless of the circumstances.  It's nice for Mike to have his lyrics featured as a pivotal  plot point too.

They should have used the song I'd Love Just Once to See You instead and explained that Sheldon had it stuck in his head because it expresses how he feels about Amy. Then at the end of the episode they'd play the actual song and reveal the lyric "I'd love just once to see you... in the nude." Would have made for a funny twist for non-Beach Boys fans.

I also just think that it's a more hummable tune.

"A Day in the Life of a Tree" would have been cool but I'll take this.  From "Wild Honey!"

Interestingly, it is the lyrics that are truly spotlighted.  Written by Mike Love if I'm not mistaken.

Doesn't Billboard have a chart for songs 100-200?  I'm thinking they do, but can't find it.  Will be interesting to see if Darlin' is on the chart.

Wow!  I think this is something worth getting excited about.  Darlin' is a catchy, but relatively unknown tune from a fairly dark, and somewhat obscure era in the BB's history...featured (rather heavily) in an episode of one of the more popular TV sitcoms today.  Very cool!

And for those who made it clear that they don't like Big Bang Theory....next time, try to remove the stick from your @$$ before you sit down to watch it....

What a strange assumption that somebody would prefer a TV show over another for the sole reason that one of the actors of one show frequently appears with Mike while in the other show Brian is praised. That's agenda crap. Tells a lot about the mindset of someone who makes an assumption like that.

I never watched Full House, so I can't have an opinion about it. TBBT - although not all scripts are great, I love the acting in TBBT, the team has great chemistry. I watched the whole 7th and 8th seasons on long distance flights to and from Australia, while in Australia I met a nice person whose favorite BBs song actually IS "Darlin'", so this to me is a special thing to happen even outside the fact that my favorite band is given a big time plug.

Literally anything is better than Full House

I'm thinking that there are some folk on this forum who would bitch at any positive publicity for the band because it didn't fit into their rigid framework of likes and dislikes.

As I was saying.  ;D

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"I reject your reality and substitute my own!".  ;D

Sitcoms will never be the coolest, hippest, or most critically acclaimed form of TV show. 

But, as I posted in an earlier thread, I have no problem with shows like Full House and The Big Bang Theory exposing people to Beach Boys tracks that might not be as well known to people outside of the BB/BW universe like Forever and Darlin'. 

I'm really not sure how this can be a negative thing. 

This fan of Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, All in the Family, Seinfeld, Cheers, Arrested Development, and The BBC version of the Office disgrees with you.

I never said I wasn't a fan of sitcoms.  I'm a huge fan of Taxi, Cheers, Home Improvement, Fraiser, Seinfeld, The Office (UK & US), and many others including the current reboot of The Muppets. 

I was just pointing out that, in general, the sitcom genre tends to be perceived as uncool or unhip. 

According to whom?

+1

There's really nothing remarkable about 6 notes from a Beach Boys song being the subject of a mediocre sitcom episode... the only cause for celebration is extra royalty money.

Having now actually seen the clip :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A54YD3CEvlE&feature=youtu.be

It's very nice and all, but is it worthy of all this fuss ?

Btw, I love The Big Bang Theory !

Not that it necessarily matters, but “Big Bang Theory” is certainly perceived as “cooler” now or any time during its run than “Full House” ever was. It’s a very different climate with ironic/hipster coolness factor and whatnot. They make actions figures and crap like that for “Big Bang Theory”, stuff that ADULTS collect. 

I like the show generally (as I mentioned, recent seasons have been much more “meh”), and even I think the BB song placement was just kind of weird. But yeah, I think it’s kind of silly to have any sort of contempt for the song appearing in the show. They’ve used BB songs in far worse contexts. What movie was it, “Rush Hour”, where in the trailer Jackie Chan is clearly indicated as the “nerd” for playing BB music in the car? That was far more annoying.

So you’d rather *less* people get into the Beach Boys? Like you want to keep it all to yourself?

I’ve argued both sides of this equation before. I find the cost/benefit on their multi-episode run on “Full House” much more questionable. The “cheese” rep that show and Stamos had may have been more injurious than the benefit of more ears on the Beach Boys.

But that context is very different from “Big Bang Theory.” No Stamos. No BB’s appearing on screen looking not-very-cool and pitching awful jokes and dialogue with toddlers. No cast member re-recording of a BB song. No prominent placement of a critically divisive song like “Kokomo.”

I don’t really see any downside to the “Big Bang Theory” placement. If the BBs had never been used in any movie or TV show or advertisement, perhaps a different standard would apply. But “Darlin’” in this show is better than Stamos warbling “Forever” or “409” being used to sell tile cleaner. 

^^THIS! It can't be any more plain and simple. How is this in any way a bad thing for The Beach Boys or us as fans?

People will complain just to complain, I guess.

Some -- many -- on the board "support" the Beach Boys (or one or more members of the band) the way people support football teams, wanting them to "win", and seeing it as a validation of a group identity when they do.
That's not the way I am -- or, presumably the way you two are. I don't care how many or few people like the Beach Boys, so long as enough do to make future tours, archival releases, new albums, and so on viable. But supporting "team Beach Boys" (or team Brian, or team Mike, or whatever) is not an invalid way of being a fan (except when it festers into aggression against someone else's team, real or imagined).
This has made a lot of people on the board very happy. Why not just let them enjoy that, rather than try to show you're above it?

Big Bang has a huge "Cult Following" and will be in the future in the same way that shows like "Golden Girls", "The Transformers gen 1",  "Dr. Who", "The Dukes of Hazard", "The Brady Bunch","Star Trek-TOS" and "Three's company" have now become many years after they were canceled or started, a huge fan base with fan clubs and fans that show up at Comic con to buy/sell the products from the show etc that keep growing over the years,,,,, Full House was a good show but I don't see it having a huge fan base and a "Cult Following".. yes This is a good thing because as the fan base grows over the next few years (yes consisting mostly of "Nerds" lol ...but I mean that in a good way since they are the ones that keep these cultural things like the ones I mentioned above in the limelight..) they will be reintroduced to the Beach Boys through this episode in the same way people get reintroduced to Davy Jones singing "Girl" on the Brady Bunch every generation and it's hard to imagine how many people get the lyrics "Girl look what you've done to me.." stuck in their heads when watching antenna tv...lol..Big Bang is a bigger Cultural phenomenon then (I think) that some people on this board realize.... 

I could be wrong, but I think it's the highest rated comedy on network TV in the States (if it isn't now, then it was fairly recently). 

The clip is pretty awesome, actually.  Not just the BW reference but name your genius...probably more education in this 90 seconds or so than in a full day at school or on Facebook.

I wonder how many people will discover the Wild Honey album thanks to this episode? more than a few I'd imagine, which is pretty cool to think about.

also cool to think about:
an expanded reissue of Wild Honey with stereo and bonus tracks, a Wild Honey tour, Wild Honey documentary DVD, Wild Honey t-shirts and assorted merchandise, Wild Honey tribute album and concert... basically all the things this fantastic album deserves!  :)

That is sad. That isn't saying much about our school systems throughout the U.S. I do agree though that that whole scene was pretty cool and knowledgable.

Hate to get off track, but this SO MUCH reminds me of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.  ;D

I hope you're being serious here (sometimes it's hard to tell on the Interwebs), because this would be a very good thing!  8)

hear hear!

yes i'm serious and seriously giddy at the idea of folks discovering Wild Honey for the first time. i realize most of the newfound attention is going to the song "Darlin" and not the album it came from, but i bet a bunch of folks will dig a little deeper thanks to this TV show.

how freaking cool would a Wild Honey/Friends tour be?? or at least a few shows. i bet Brian would be down

Many thanks for posting the clip… good to finally see what's shaking things up so much!

Is that the sum total of Darlin's role in the show or does it extend beyond that clip?

he hums those notes throughout the show

entire episode is here:
http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theory/video/7A338385-5173-C97E-1C10-890935D9E289/the-big-bang-theory-the-earworm-reverberation/

A friend of mine always called it Full Diaper.  That would actually be a good name for this thread!

On next week's episode, Sheldon has "Country Air" stuck in his head until he realizes he wants to go camping.

Thanks for this… sadly it see s inaccessible in the uk, at least on an iPhone 3…

It's also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEBIGBANGTHEORYOfficial/videos/934144199968242/ (https://www.facebook.com/THEBIGBANGTHEORYOfficial/videos/934144199968242/).

Thanks! Nice to watch without the ads.

I wonder how Sheldon got the song stuck in his head in the first place?

Indeed. That's not being clarified.

I thought it was brilliant how it was featured in a BB episode.

I have not seen this episode of the show yet but you are way off base with that statement. That show draws in millions upon millions of viewers and is already bringing in tens of millions more in syndication. Having a prime time show with a mass audience will expose the BB music to FAR MORE people, new fans or what have you than the BB's Grammy appearance a few years ago or the buzz from L&M including all of Dano's award bids.

As far as not liking the song personally....to each his own....but please don't use the word pedestrian. That goes for everyone out there! This word all of a sudden crept up into daily conversation and it's really....pedestrian to use it. Kind of like amazing. Everything is amazing now.  :P

Yeah, it's kind of like "kind of like"! :-D

Sheldon has an eidetic memory and only needs to hear a song once, he explained in a previous episode.

He also knows the words to Bohemian Rhapsody :)

The lyrics are by Mike Love, aren't they? Are they all by Mike?

Why is he not getting the credit for writing the lyrics on the show, when it's the lyrics that were important for the plot?

I guess Brian Wilson is cool and Mike isn't, but imagine if it were the other way around... Mike getting the namecheck instead of Brian... parallel universes.

I think Brian Wilson was mentioned over Mike because Brian's name came up in Sheldon's list of geniuses who were driven to insanity, so it made sense that siting Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys would jog his memory of the song.

This reminded me of one of my favorite Married.....With Children episodes when Al had Anna (Go With Him) in his head. 

But Brian being a genius wasn't the thing, Mike's lyrics were the plot driving thing. 

Sheldon was convinced that the earworm was driving him to insanity.  So, just before he realized what the song was, he listed other brilliant minds who were driven mad.  So, in that context, it made more sense to reference Brian than Mike. 

Since Darlin was the song that drove him back to Amy, I would expect the song to be used again at some point.  Knowing Sheldon, he would likely analyze the lyrics to the point that he would contact Mike Love to consult him.  (Not sure if they'd go down that road, but knowing Sheldon's character, it would not shock me). 

I've actually wondered about this -- *did* Mike write the lyrics for Darlin'? They don't sound like Mike's lyrics to me -- frankly I'd expect better from him than "Gonna love you every single night/Cause I think that you're doggone outtasight". They sound Brianesque. I know that if you put new lyrics to a song which has already been published with one set of lyrics, the old lyricist retains a share of copyright and credit, so is Mike's credit there just because of his co-writing Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby?
This seems especially plausible to me given that *all* the Brian/Mike songs are credited jointly on Wild Honey, no matter who did what, and that the track was originally intended for Redwood rather than the Beach Boys, but I don't actually know one way or another.

(NB I am *not* trying to reopen the "who wrote what?" question more generally, or to imply that in the general case Mike doesn't deserve his credits.)

Maybe I read too much into it, but when Penny asked Sheldon "Do you even like the Beach Boys?" there seemed to be some disdain in her voice as if she thinks the Beach Boys are like, totally lame. 

She's so basic. 

:) 

I agree this should not become another Brian-Mike supporters battle.Mike wasn't mentioned because he's not a crazy genius, and that's what the whole show is about.


I think so. I think Penny's disdain is about the snobby Sheldon seemingly liking something she likes herself, normally he's into things she does find lame herself.

You are correct ;D

Getting back to the show. I saw it on demand last night and was delightfully surprised that the song went on through the entire show and Sheldon mentioned Brian in context of great minds with mental problems. Just because the Beach Boys are a historical super group does not mean they are above new wide exposure with a shot in the arm like they got from this Big Bang Theory episode. The audience for this show is GIGANTIC. Well done!

And really....no need whatsoever to turn this into another Mike is being slighted thing. The music was stuck in Sheldon's head. The lyrics came later.

Mike and Bruce will probably reference this show's episode in their act...and that's a good thing for Mike, Brian.....everyone.

yes if you watch the show over the years it shows that anytime Sheldon or Leonard like something Penny will all of a sudden think that whatever it is, is lame...She's the "Preppy girl" who thinks "nerdy things" are lame....I actually think it's kind of funny since she "got with" Leonard...lol

There was a Beach Boys  'Good Vibrations' reference with this week's (12/17/15) episode. It was titled 'The Opening Night Excitation' about Sheldon and Amy having sex for the first time on the same night as the new Star Wars movie opened.

Somebody is a fan over there in big bang theory land

I read that wrong first time around…

First time:

"…about Sheldon and Amy having sex for the first time on the same night, as the new Star Wars movie opened."

Second time:

"about Sheldon and Amy having sex for the first time, on the same night as the new Star Wars movie opened."

First time was more interesting ! :lol

A wonderful showcase for a great BB song. Nice to see the song itself being hyped and not the typical cliche associated with the band. Also, it's fantastic that Mike's ace-lyrics are being showcased as well as Brian's terrific melody.

wow this old music video that's been on youtube for quite a while went to 92000 before this episode aired to over 306,000 in just over a month! This should really help the popularity of this song and the beach boys in general!

That's really cool. Thank you for sharing that update.

Could you elaborate?  I guess I'm missing the GV/Star Wars connection.

I was referring to the title of the episode. I don't think the use of the word "excitation" is just a coincidence. To me it was a reference to the Beach Boys tying back to the previous episode. It's not exactly a very commonly used word.

I'm no fan of the show, but good on 'em for introducing a more obscure Beach Boys gem to a new generation

In case you're able to see German TV, the German version of that episode airs this Monday night, 7. März, at 20:15 hours. My recorder will be set.

And BTW, totally OT: I read a great joke yesterday. How many Germans does it take to change a light bulb? One, we're efficient and we don't have a sense of humor! :-D

I beg to differ.....yet I don't find your joke funny.  >:(

In case anyone missed it, here's a clip of Sheldon realizing which song he has stuck in his ear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYAG0d1yc9I



BTW, look at the comments on this video of "Darlin'" done at Knebworth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D3DUx5X8kw

Nice to see a couple of people watching this great performance after they got introduced to the song on "Big bang theory".







To me they sound totally Mike-esque. Especially given that during this periode of time we have concert recordings with Mike using that kind of language on stage.

In case this wasn't mentioned before (otherwise just delete my following message):

The guy who plays Bernadette's father ("Mike") on BBT, Casey Sander, also played Mike Love in "Summer dreams". Just found that out by accident.



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That's a funny coincidence. It's also a funny coincidence because I just watched that 1990 summer dreams movie for the first time this week. And it was… a piece of media content that exists.

I just watched that a couple weeks ago. It was horrible

Now there's a method actor :)