The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've always wanted to throw around the idea of writing a Beach Boys book, but topics are dwendling down. I wanted to continue where Keith Badman left off (i'm sure he's composing a 2nd volume...or atleast a version that's cleaned up of mistakes and SSN's) or start where Brad Elliot left off as well. But AGD has done such a fantastic job with his own book and website...kind of outta ideas. I was thinking of writing a fiction (Almost Famous-like) story about the Holland era....I also thought about writing about MIU, but i figured nobody would read it.  ::)

anyone wanna throw something out there?

Would love to see sheet music for every BB song ever released like they do for the Beatles.

How about a book on the life of Carl  Wilson..?? Id buy that in a heartbeat...!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to see a biography of Brian Wilson (and maybe the Beach Boys) that BEGINS in 1975. Maybe take one chapter to set the scene, but cut right to the chase. Not having Dr. Landy's (new) input would be a huge hole, but there are still a lot of very interesting things to discuss from 1975 - present.

Me too. The hardbound white book affectionately known as the "Beatle Bible" is amazing, full transcriptions for every instrument of every song. It's great. Not 100% accurate, necessarily, but so good and cool as not to matter. I'd love a BBs one.

I've thought of doing full transcriptions of at least Pet Sounds.  Or maybe instead just highlighting some of the more interesting arrangements.

And they'd be as accurate as can be.

While the Beach Boys have not been as dissected as some other artists, a large general overview of the band or BW would not excite me as much as a book that took a narrower aspect of the band.

In the vein of one of my favorite Elvis books (Elvis and Gladys), I would like to see a book that developed Brian's relationship to both his parents.  Murry is an important figure in the history of the group and book could probably be written on that relationship alone.  But I know less about the relationship with Audree although wonder if that  relationship is just as important in Brian's development. (probably but once again I dont know as much about it)

Heck why narrow it to Brian.  Open it up to Carl's and Dennis' view of their parents as a comparison/contrast as why three different children coming from the same environment deal with their childhood in different ways.

Call it "Murry and Audree's Boys"

I'd like a biography on Mike, Carl, Bruce, or Al.

This is almost certainly never going to happen, but i'd like to see a book on The Beach Boys in a similar format to Kevin Brownlow's seminal tome on the silent era, The Parade's Gone By....

Or in other words, just interview everybody, from the remaining band members on down and then present their words as the narrative.

OK, back to reality - I'd really like to see books on Mike & Alan. Mike deserves a fair crack of the whip, and Alan, being the most divorced from the family nature of the band, has to have interesting takes on... well, pretty much everything.

I would have said an accurate sessions book, but in the process of putting together the gigs & sessions pages with Ian & c-man (and their contribution far exceeds mine), it's become sadly evident that not all the AFM sheets have survived. Most notably MIA is the dcoumentation for Surfer Girl & Little Deuce Coupe - wherever they are, in the files of Local 47 they ain't...

Yeah that for me would be the coolest thing ever!! I don't know if there would be enough space for EVERY Beach Boys song but even say between 50-100 songs would be cool!! As long as they don't include "Barbara Ann", "Kokomo" etc.. then I'd be cool with that!!

I would like to see that too Andrew. I know its not the same but that Beach Boys book "In Their Own Words" was even a cool idea, except it was nowhere near detailed enough and didn't even source the quotes. The Beatles one is way more comprehensive. Not sure about the Stones one though.

I would also like to see a book on Mike in particular. It'd be interesting to see things from Mike's point of view. I know you can get Mike's point of view in interviews etc.. but obviously he never goes in to great detail about his childhood or anything. So it'd be interesting to get Mike's perspective of things. Then maybe a lot of people (myself included) would be able to understand where Mike is coming from and that would perhaps in turn help the reader understand why Mike has become so hated by most people.

Actually I would like to see one that ends in 1973.

It was once put to me that if you consider the upheavals during Mike's late teens/early twenties, his monetary concerns are easier to understand - in the space of maybe three years he went from being a carefree highschool student with a wealthy family and a lovely home to being a young married with a baby working two crappy jobs whose mother threw him out of the house. Add to that his father's business (= his inheritance) going belly up shortly after, and that's got to psychologically scar someone just as much as having an abusive father and a mother with a growing drink problem. Plus the abrupt change from being the Wilson's social superiors to pretty much depending on their son to bale you out. Think about it.

Very true Andrew. That's clearly why (or atleast the major factor) why Mike is always looking at the "commercial" side of things. And perhaps Brian's abuse from Murry etc.. was why he was always so full of such loving music. You have to look back at history to understand why people are like they are and that is exactly why I think a book on Mike needs to be done. I'm sure like a lot of people I will always love the Wilsons better than any of the other members but like I said clearly Mike aint as bad as everyone makes out. He is clearly just misunderstood. And once he was condemned by the likes of Leaf, Priore etc.. he was pretty much stuck in a hole and now can't get out of it cause in most cases writers etc.. are totally against him. I mean almost every book on the Beach Boys is based around Brian and that's obviously fair enough. But it is usually full of bias and prejudice against Mike.

Peter Ames Carlin's book treats Mike more even-handedly than any other I've read.

No matter what Mike would write/disclose, most people would still be unsympathetic. His stories would be considered self-serving, and probably dismissed.

Well Sheriff to be honest I dont think most people would even buy a book on Mike and that's the main problem right there. But I think most people who would read it would see Mike in a different light (assuming that it's written fairly and puts things in context etc..). Of course there is a bad side to Mike just as there is to Brian, Denny or indeed ANY human being... but there is obviously also a good side. I mean my views have changed over the past year or so on Mike. I mean I'm still not his biggest fan but I can at least understand him better now from reading things about him and from people on this message board making very good points. And to be honest Sheriff, if people read a FAIR book on Mike and they still hated him just as much/even more, then they are clearly never going to change their opinions.

I think there should be a book that picks up where the Steven Gaines book left off. Or an update of the Gaines book that adds a couple of chapters about the stuff that's happened since the book was originally written, and maybe even have Gaines' mistakes corrected for better historical accuracy.

I think that might be the case.

The problem(s) with Mike Love isn't his nasal singing voice, his bald head, his loud clothing, his quest for money, the fact that he was the lyricist and not the musician, or that he prefers the Car Medley over Cabinessence. Mike Love crossed Brian and Dennis Wilson. And he will never be forgiven for it.

Very true Sheriff. Never thought about that before but I tend to agree with you. And to be honest I can see where a lot of people are coming from. Especially in reference to Smile. Who knows what went on but it does appear Mike didn't like Smile and that clearly hurt Brian's feelings. Whether he told VDP to piss off or whether he just politely said he didn't like the new songs is irrelevant. Brian was offended. But in saying that Brian was growing paranoid from drugs etc.. so who knows. We sort of covered this a week or two ago but I really do think that it's hard to know what REALLY happened.

Brian, bless him, was easily offended and prone to making impulsive, dumbass decisions - remember what happened to about the "Little Honda" single ?

No I don't remember? I might have known before and have forgotten but I don't recall reading anything?

Brian was recording "LH" with the intent of it being the next BB single. Did a rough mix, and as he was playing it back, someone walking down the hall at Western stuck their head into the control room. Brian asked them what they thought. "Don't like it" was the reply, whereupon BDW promptly canned the idea of it being a single. Guy might have been Voyle Gilmore, might have been the janitor - didn't matter, his response killed it for Brian.

A Revolution In The Head style book with instrumental line-ups for every song. :D

I was about to post exactly the same thing. "Revolution in the Head" is hands down the best book about music I've ever read, a Beach Boys version of that book would be great.

I'd also like an updated and better looking version of the Surf's Up discography book.

Thirded. Also biographies of other BB's would be interesting, no authorized suck ups but real biographies like Carlin's.

I actually do remember hearing something like that...not surprising in the least. 

Yeah, it's a great book. The instrumental line-ups in RITH could use a lot of improvement, but the comments about each song are brilliant.

I would love to do Mike's bio.  He'd probably prefer somebody with more credentials, but I think I'd do a great job, considering my passion for the Beach Boys and my lack of dislike towards Mike.  A rare combination.

If Mike's people are reading this...eh-eh?

Maybe they will give you Mike Love fanclub pencils in return  :lol :lol :lol

"The Life and Times of Andrew G. Doe- Beach Boy's Super Genuis"  by Van Dyke Parks

The funny thing is Brian was kind of the same way, reciprocally...he was frank with songwriters if he didn't like something...which got more than a few of them down, from what I understand.

thanks for the ideas! i didnt expect so many replies!

Hmmmm... in the intrests of accuracy, disregard what I said about Mike's father's company going bust having a big impact on him - Love Sheet Metal filed for voluntary bankruptcy on October 4th 1964, by which time The Beach Boys had already scored six Top 10 singles and four Top 10 albums. It might have been a shock, but it wasn't any kind of financial disaster for Mike.

Yeah I remember hearing a story where somebody handed Brian one of their original CDs to sign (somebody relatively famous, although the name was never given), and Brian wrote "thanks for all the great songs."  Then he crossed out "great" and wrote "good".  Absolutely hilarious.

One name I've heard was Don Henley.  ;D

Reallly AGD?  That would be quite funny, I didn't think it was somebody THAT famous.

Isn't it "To A Great Good Songwriter"? :D

It was definitely Don Henley.  I've heard this from too many different people who should know for it not to be true.

Only Brian would do something like that to a songwriter from one of the biggest American bands ever...talk about brutal honesty!