The Smiley Smile Message Board

I had some time, so this is the comment Mike is alleged to have made to Brian, which was heard by Melinda.
"You better start writing a real big hit because you're going to have to write me a real big check."   If this is true, I can understand Melinda having rather strong negative feelings toward Mike, who lost that case. 

That has to be pure, unsubstantiated gossip. Probably something someone dreamed up on the blueboard.

Sorry, Mr. Interlocutor, not a Bloo trasmission at all.  The Mike quote is from the Rolling Stone report on the demise of Mike's 2005-07 "Brian Stole Smile from the BB!" lawsuit.   True, the person reporting the quote is Melinda, you're entitled to have some grains of salt ready to shake.  That's a fair point.  Still, the quote does sound like something Mike would say, doesn't it?  Even worse, this came out in the lawyer's office right after Mike gave a critical deposition in which he could not testify to any kind of special agreement or deal with Brian other than that they were sometime collaborators over t he years. By this time the "Brian Stole Smile" claim was long gone...  The final dismissal of his case came a couple weeks later.

That's Dr. Interlocutor to you. :)


Bolded for why I don't take one bit of it seriously. I don't have grains of salt ready to shake, I have storehouses. The fact that Michael didn't reply back to Melinda's little quote speaks volumes of the legitimacy of it, because if it were true he would have fired back, as is Michael's wont.

(A) Just curious- does Melinda have a known history of lying, or is there evidence that this remark wasn't made?  Where I come from, something like one of those things usually accompanies calling someone a liar, though I guess just not liking a person or not liking what they say is also just cause.

(B)  I have to admit it would just be WAY out of character for Mike to make a blunt and unpopular remark.  In fact, such a postulation, even by Jesus, would strain my credulity to the breaking point.   

(C) Just to get this straight- evidence that the remark is false is that Mike DIDN'T respond (as isn't his wont). When a false comment is attributed to him, Mike says nothing; if the quote had been accurate, he would have refuted it (as IS his wont).

Melinda Wilson has a "known history" of being accused of lying by net posters who claim to Know Better.

So let's see...  Melinda might be a habitual liar with an axe to grind.

On the other hand, an anonymous poster on a net message board might possibly be too.

I think I'll stick with what the eyewitness went on record with, thanks.  :-)

Cheers,
Jon Blum

I don't know if Melinda has a known history of lying but we're all well aware of her dislike for Michael. As far as the remark, I don't think Michael would ever say something like that to Brian. Especially not Brian.

As far as the true/false thing....if Michael didn't say what Melinda says he did, he would have said something because we all know how the Beach Boys are about these kinds of situations. If he did say what Melinda claims he did, he would have just gone back for a meditation session to regain his cool head and warm heart. :)

Honestly...I really don't think Michael said that. His batting record shows him fighting back when he gets hit by the pitch for no reason.


How does posting a contradictory view make someone a liar? It might make him/her a jerkoff but it doesn't make them a liar. It's called an opinion. :)

We're on the same page there, Jon. I need a fair amount to accuse somebody of lying.  I have nothing special for or against Melinda or anyone posting here- all my friends, in my book. I just have a general sense of what's fair, by my own lights.  If someone's lying, present your case, and I expect it to be good. Better than "I just don't like them" or "I hear things".

It's not a matter of liking or disliking Melinda. It's called knowing at least the basics about Michael through what we've read, and how he conducts himself around Brian. Michael may not be the most likable person on the planet but I don't think he would say something that twisted to anyone, much less Brian. I don't think anyone is that sick.

I'm not coming out and saying "liar" to or about anyone. But this is Brian and Michael. They've had their spats, sure. But they are family. I don't think either one of them could ever say something that low to the other. To even think someone would say that to their own blood is sad.

Working against this theory: all of known history.  For one small example, Mike said- quite publicly, in 1989, that he was proud that "Kokomo" had gone to number one while [turning to camera and grinning], "...Brian's album laid a GREAT BIG TURKEY EGG!" A friend used to have this on video tape, it was on one of the 7-8 p.m. magazine shows of the time.  I saw it personally.  Anyway, those guys go back to childhood; what they would or wouldn't say to each other is pure speculation.



So if I'm following this rightly, you must think the remark is accurate because Mike didn't respond.  Or did Mike respond?  I'm honestly lost.

Say what you will about Mike, I think he has generally owned up to and/or stood by controversial things he's said, when asked.

New thread idea:

 Far, far lower  things the Beach Boys family and friends are positively known to have said and done to each other.

I remember that example, Joe - a collector I know also had this on a comp video he had. Michael make quite a fuss about Brian's '88 album back in the old clips. There was another interview excerpted (in one of the McParland books I believe) where he basically railed on the '88 album, plus the Landy issue. Even still, while I did sense the rather sneering attitude of Michael in that example (I don't enjoy it either), I don't think that's nearly as bad as what's being discussed here.

In closing, like you say Joe, Michael owns up to his remarks. If there is proof of him owning up to the remark discussed in this thread I'll stand corrected.

Well, he owns up when specifically asked, but he's kind of an elusive interview. 

I guess one big difference we have is that I don't see anything more than mild obnoxiousness (and some wishful thinking, legally) in the remark.  I don't think the remark crosses any big lines that the lawsuit itself didn't, so there's nothing remarkable or incredible about it at all to me.  "I'm suing you, so get ready to get your checkbook out."

That Melinda would fabricate it strikes me as a far bigger stretch, whatever her character.  There would have been nothing to gain by it, and no one has ever needed to fabricate outrageous dialogue for Mike.  Mike has even talked about his penchant for saying outrageous things (I take it you're familiar with his R & R HOF speech). Mike says it's just his own sense of humor, and that certainly works for me.

Yeah I have the film and he is refering to Landy's interloping. He's not putting down Brian he's knocking Landy.

Joe, please note that I did not call Melinda a liar at all in this thread. Maybe she misheard. I don't know. We weren't there. All we have is the proof we've been given in the thread. Perhaps I need to track down the article and read it if I can find it somewhere online.

Pure semantics, but I don't agree.  If I say I met Brian Wilson the other day, and you say "My opinion is that you didn't", you are suggesting pretty directly that I am either a liar or delusional. Do you think that Melinda hallucinated the remark or that she fabricated it?  It's one or the other, and legally/ethically/logically, you need to be able to support such a claim with more than intuition.

I'm being pretty disagreeable tonight, I guess. If someone smiled at the camera and said joyfully, that my album "LAID A GREAT BIG TURKEY EGG!"...well, I'd take it as a put down.  There's a big strain of just never letting Mike accept any responsibility for anything he says...except from Mike himself.

My best guess is that she misheard. If she were to fabricate it we all know what would have gone down with Michael. If she hallucinated it, it's time for me to meditate. :)

Zen question for meditation:

If Mike made a negative remark in a forest, where there were no posters to deny that he said it or reinterpret it as a positive remark, would it make a sound?

 :lol

Like I said I have the clip and I see no joy. He is just really pissed at Landy, frankly I  don't see how it's a knock at Brian directly. It's a knock at how his career was being handled if anything.  Mike was an ass to sue in 2005 and perhaps he did make a nasty comment who knows.  Melinda is quick to point fingers at others as far as what happens with Brian per Larry King interview, but hey Love isn't one to mince words. I've said horrible things when I was pissed to my family, it happens and you get over it. When you are famous your mistakes are public knowledge and never forgotten.

This would be a question for the esteemed philosopher Bishop George Berkeley. Do things exist when they are not perceived? That is difficult. For if the answer is 'no', then things would stop existing when all perceivers would go away, to pop into being again when someone drops along, so to speak. Berkely answered his own problem with the statement that since God is always there to perceive his own creation, there is no problem at al, even if all mortal perceivers went away to enjoy a beer at the bar around the corner.
In reply to Surfer Joe: ask God. Now.

Thinking it over, I'm pretty sure he meant "turkey egg" in a positive, supportive way. And those comments at the R & R HOF, about the Beatles, etc...? Actually, that was all code for "Landy".  By George, I'm getting it!

The entire interview with Mike is about Landy watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFPjJSI5sc4
Was turkey egg tactful..nope, did it make a valid point that Landy's presence hurt the album sales wise you better believe it!
Mike was a damn hero to speak out against the guy. He probably helped save Brian's life. The hate posted in the comments below on that site show me how strongly Mike needs a real defense. These are real people not some myths.

Rock Hall of Fame..good for him for not being a phony. McCartney not showing up that night really pissed me off. I remember I wasn't even a Beach Boys fan yet but loved the Beatles. It kind of turned me off to Paul.

I don't expect people to agree with me or interpret things the same way, but come on you take a quote without giving the context and then mock me for pointing out the facts! Do you hate Mike that much to not be civil.

I'm pretty sure this is a different clip.  The one I saw was, I believe, from a year or so earlier, and also involved "turkey egg" in a much less "heroic" way. It was in the context of "Kokomo" 's success. Granted it's been almost twenty years. And I'm pretty sure it was Spring 1990 when I saw it.

But I'm afraid we all have to face the reality, eventually, that Mike does say nasty things from time to time, as do we all, which was the original point: to say he didn't say what was quoted (a mild, crass but  harmless crack) simply because he wouldn't have is to deny a lifetime of contrary evidence about the guy.

Twenty years ago or more I tried to be everybody's champion and got all outraged over the Gaines book and so forth.  I just wanted to see them as all great guys.  They are.  They are/were all great guys.  And they also are/were all capable of being huge pricks and saying just about anything.

I'm glad this was a different clip as what you are saying now makes much more sense. I would like to see it myself before I say anything either way but I guess Mike finally felt he proved himself and was a bit cocky. It was always a character trait, but I still fell a lot of the dysfunction there comes from the Brian and the five asshole view. Funny enough when I saw them in 2007 Mike and Bruce  made fun of each other over Johnston writing "I Write The Songs" and Love doing "Kokomo". 

I agree even if Mike did say the comment in court it doesn't make him a monster. He could of said it and I don't deny that, but Melinda is not someone I trust to paint a valid picture of Mike nor vise versa.

I agree with you too that the Beach Boys were all pretty good guys at their core, but yeah they all have done some really rancid things. Again I try to look at it with a measured view. If every detail of anybody's life is examined people could find great things to say as well as bad things.

Fair enough, MBE- no personal mockery or incivility intended.  I was aiming at the whole Mike apology school (my view).

I like Mike.  But one thing I specifically like about Mike is that he doesn't spin or deny that part of himself. After his embarrassing RRHOF speech, he just manned up.

Oddly enough, that clip in question was shown to me by a couple other long-time fans- (that's part of how I know when it was; only time I was at the one guy's house before he moved)-  as a way to break ME of being a Mike apologist.  I was an all-six-or-seven of them apologist; couldn't hear any evil of any of them. I went to the other extreme on Mike for a while between his Goldmine interview and the made-for-TV debacle, and then settled into a truly balanced view.  They're all just human to the nth degree.

And I'll buy any of 'em a drink any day of the week.

It's funny I thought Mike was a jerk until I read the Goldmine thing. I mean it was angry, it was bitter, but I guess I understood where he was coming from. By that I understood that the guy had a lot more to him then his cartoon caricature and realized that he indeed had been important to the band. I felt he was so much more real then most rock stars. Sure it was self promoting but I don't think he was lying.

The movie I never solely blamed him for because I figured Brian had been in on it to a certain extent. I also remember Mike saying that he wasn't 100 percent happy with it. Certain scenes made him uneasy. To be fair I thought Mike WAS a jerk saying that people should applaud when Murry dies, but Mike does have valid reasons to hate the guy even though that was in really poor taste.

Today after having done a fair number of interviews with people around them I look at them as real people. Being a writer for some means creating and following a myth. For me it makes everything more real and in saying that I strive to be balanced as well. I have opinions but I do try to see all sides. A few people in the Beach Boys world I openly don't care for, but with one or two exceptions I have found out that most of the players in the saga were decent folks.

Is it possible that Mike DID say it to Brian, but he was trying to tease him, as in the old days when they were close? Sort of like the "Mickey Mouse with a sore throat" remark (that was scripted, okay, but in that vain). Mike isn't always the most tactful guy, and Brian (and Melinda) are sensitive to perceived slights, so it just blew up? Especially if, as some people believe, Mike's lawsuits aren't personal?

Good thinking. It's in the perception. If Brian says something, no matter how odd, it's taken as a joke. 'Typically Brian'. But everything Mike utters is taken at face value, even perhaps when it's not meant to be.

I don't see what the big deal is.

I've said FAR worse things to friends/family members, only no one cares to discuss them on a message board.

Wasn't Brian the guy who publicly said he "Can't stand Mike Love" and that he's "Too egotistical"

Those are much worse/more hurtful comments than some BS about writing a check.

Great post.

Yeah, Mike probably said it; I'm not questioning that.

For me, the bigger question is why would Melinda report the incident to a reporter? What was her motivation in doing that? What did anybody have to gain by reporting that remark to a reporter?

Good points Erik...and God knows in the 40 + years of the Beach Boys existence, all members have said far worse things to each other (Brian included).  There is no reason to think that Melinda would make such a comment up, despite her obvious dislike of Mike.  So I suppose I can buy that Mike actually said it.

That said, I don't find the comment nearly as distasteful as the BS lawsuit that it arose out of.

These things all have to be kept it context.

Everyone here must have seen Brian and Mike calling each other 'senile' on the Stars and Stripes video. If you were to read those words only, one could think they were insulting.
Were they delivered as such? Of course not.

Just to piss off Mike? 

I figured it all out - Mike is always ticked off at Brian because Brian still has a full head of great hair and Mike's been bald for the past forty and then some years.

The truth.

Get a hair piece already or embrace being bald.  That wearing hats everywhere looks silly.

Let me add to that thought, if I may. Let's not forget that Brian is sensitive. That's not a slight against him in any way. Brian always was the sensitive type, but Landy's meds probably added to that. Maybe Brian took it seriously, when it WAS just a joke? Maybe Melinda saw that his feelings were hurt, and decided to defend her husband? She probably shouldn't have done it in public but....

I believe what he said was "My dear old Uncle Murry didn't die fast enough". Now, that was just downright EVIL to say. That's probably the one thing that he's said that was genuinely mean spirited.