The Smiley Smile Message Board

As I was thinking of some of my earliest Beach Boys memories, one really sticks out. It was during the first few years of being introduced to them and for some odd reason, I had a HUGE crush on Mike [Yeah I know your all laughing at the moment :lol!] But heres the thing. It wasnt Mike's early days it was his 80s-mid 90s look!!! I sit here & laugh about it now & my family still wont let me live it down! I seriously thought he was so dang cute. I was ohh about 7 or 8 at the time, LOL.

My brother still thinks its the funniest thing ever, the other night a Full House re-run was on [Yep, The Beach Boys one] & my brother actually called me from the other room saying there was something on that "I had to see" so I came running in the living room & he says jokingly "Look Brit, its Mike!!! Aww isnt he cute" & just busts out laughing. I, of course,  take it with a grain of salt & laugh myself.

Anyway my question to you guys is, any embarrassing moments or memories or something that just makes you laugh when you look back on it now? Could be a song lyric you thought they said but didnt or a song that you love but is disliked by most. Something along the lines of that....?

LOLOL, that's funny :lol I don't have a funny story like that, but I remember when I was little, I pictured Brian being some nerdy guy with glasses and thick, curly hair...I honestly have no idea why. My stepdad told me that the guy who did the high voices was Brian, and I guess that's just the face I associated with that voice.

I also thought they were saying, "Bob-a-ran," instead of "Barbara Ann" until I was like, 10, haha.

ha, funny story, I wonder why when girls have a crush on Mike, they find it embarassing  :lol

I find how I got into The Beach Boys kinda funny , they played Good Vibrations the techno remix at some club I was at once, for ages I thought that was The Beach Boys orginal, got a shock when I bought the sounds of summer CD  ;D

Not very funny lol


I thought it was bomb Iran  ;D

I feel like my entire childhood was an embarrassing moment! Nobody I knew in the eighties liked the BB at all. They even laughed when Kokomo was a huge hit. Yeah, a huge hit, but apparently nobody bought it (if you want to believe those lying meanies! And I Still think Mike's a good looking guy!

I don't have any goofy BB related stories, but I must let it be known that the very first CD I bought was the Cocktail soundtrack back in 1988.  I bought it for "Kokomo" of course and my wife at the time gave me a big thumbs up because Tom Cruise was on the cover!  ::)

Not goofy, but back in the stone age, when I was in 7th grade and the BB first came out, I bought the 45 Surfin'. God, there were/are great!!! Do you guys know what 45's are????? LOL :lol

Then, in 1966, when Pet Sounds first came out, I was in love with Roger, who used to sing Wouldn't it Be Nice to me........

Then....well, nevermind................................................

As a little kid (early to mid 80s) I vividly remember thinking Mike Love was the only cool one. The others were fat, bearded or short.

I still hate short people, though. Fuckin' Jardine. Fat people are OK by me. Beards, too.

Lol those are pretty funny & interesting...keep the stories comin guys!!! ;D

Oh another little tid-bit. I had NO clue what "Kokomo" was & thought it was the name of a girl or something.

5'3" here (http://cosgan.de/images/midi/froehlich/a010.gif)

:P

The first time I "heard" Kokomo was in first grade when this kid started singing, "Aruba, Jamaica, oooh I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama!" hehehe.

Sorry, short men. And 5-3 isn't that short for women anyway, is it? I don't know ... anyone under 6-0 seems short to me.

God Luther what's your beef with short people, I just don't get it  ;D


I think 5'3 is cool for a girl, you're only short when your a girl if you're like in the 4's..

Just hope your life's ambition isn't to be a runway model  ;D

May I ask how tall you are Luther?

It's not too terribly short, but I'm the shortest in my family besides my cousin (who's my age, and we're even) and my two younger cousins, who are 4 and 9, lol. My sister's been taller than me since she was 12. Only about half an inch, but ugh :P

6-3. Sadly, as a kid I always wanted to be 6-8 like my then-basketball hero, Dominique Wilkins. I fell short.

I too am considered short especially in my fam, I'm 5'3. \

My mom [when she was younger] was about 5'8'' & my sis is 6'1. All my brothers & dad are at least 5'11 or over with 2 brothers being around 6'1-6'2. My cousins [female] are all at least 5'6. My 12 year old neice is now 5'9.

I'll never understand how I ended up being the height I am lol.

Confusing him with Mark Volman of The Turtles, perhaps?

Hating on short people? Who the hell do you think you are, Randy Newman???!!!! :lol :lol :lol

Only an oaf, kiddies. Only an oaf.

I would have to say thinking that Student Demonstration Time was a great song, haha.  I used to sing along all the time until I got older and realized how silly the lyrics were.  I still think the backing track is tops, and of course the original song is great. 

There's nothing wrong with being short.  I'm 5'9" and I don't feel that short.  Of course, I'm not going to say anything outright mean, but I'm sure most of us would rather be just short than be like.. say Elton John these days.  I still love Elton though.

In that my sometimes less-than-sincere statements are taken literally, yes!

I have a similar experience. My father is 6'1.5", my mother was 5'8", my sister is 5'9" or maybe a bit taller. My uncle is 6'4", cousins are 6'2" and 6'4" (both male).  I'm five-feet-two-and-a-half. I was a picky eater as a kid and I paid the price. It's really not bad except when you're trying to buy clothes. Or reach something in the cabinets.   ::)

Well, what's Brian? 6'3"  6'4"??  And Carl and Dennis were only 5'9" or 5'10", so there you go. He must have eaten all the food!  :-D

I don't really have an embarrassing BBs memory, except watching Mike on stage in footage I'm sometimes embarrassed FOR him. Oh, and when Brian called me for that "Brian calls you" event, I clammed up and made an ass of myself.

I'm sure I (and probably a lot of others here) would do something similar - I wouldn't have any idea what to say.

Ahhh that must be it! I was  a picky eater too...still am lol.

Brian needs to do a Brian calls you thing again. I'm not quite sure what that is, but sounds pretty awesome to me!

I wish I were 5'3...I'm not even 5' tall. I'm only 4'11. Sucks to be me!

Hey, well at least Al would have to stand on his tippy toes to kiss you!  >:D

I remember buying Still Crusing at Tower Records near my house, and both my friends bought Metalica's And Justice For All!

No amount of explanation or justification put a dent in the harassment and jokes I had to endure that day (and many many after) .... But I still went home and blasted side 1 onver and over!

Incidentally, I still think Mike is the coolest Beach Boy! Not the most talented, of course, BUT, he was the only Beach Boy who ever seemed completely at ease with himself, bad fashion or not. Plus, he really is and always was a complete freak of nature/oddity/and everything about him is as far as you can get from what a "rock star" is...... which is of course, kinda cool!

Oh yeah I dont think Mike is a dork either! People just always laugh at me when I tell them the story of how when I was little I thought the 80s-early 90s Mike was the cutest ever!

Yeah well I'm listening to The BB's, all my "peers" are listening to whatever is on the radio. But I could really care less because I wont pay attention to people who cant appreciate good music! ;D

"Dear erikdavid, what a statement! The second part is a masterpiece of objective realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will get in trouble with all the world!" - Sergio Leone with slight rearrangements.

(http://globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/picard_ashamed.jpg)

where did you get that shot of Mike? On the tour plane? :lol :lol :lol

OMG epic  ;D

I guess I must be the shortest male here (5'6")

Guess my funny Beach Boys story is when I first started to really listen to Good Vibrations. I thought it was a Brian lead the whole way (the released version)

Just in case Mike is reading this, and considering your lovely avatar, I'd warn you to be looking over your shoulder for baseball caps, hawaiian shirts, sensuous nasal/tenor mumblings/geriatric leisure wear, and stay clear of state fairs or coorporate shindigs with a stage set-up!

But yes, Mike is cool! He's also a great frontman! None of the other Beach Boys were exactly Mick Jagger, but Mike was close!!!!

(http://globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/picard_ashamed.jpg)

Dennis was, and always will be, the coolest Beach Boy ever.  He should have been their frontman in the 70s, how cool would that have been?  Anyway, Mike is okay, I've got nothing against him, but bald and "cool frontman" don't fit together in my world very well.

Bald guys who wear tacky Hawaiian shirts try OH SO HARD to be cool are not the epitome of cool.

Haha.  It's weird talking about the Beach Boys.  I feel like the world of the Beach Boys is this really serious place where one wrong word will land you out on your bottom.  Whenever I talk about them here I feel like I'm taking some sort of risk because I'm not the most knowledgable fan, etc, etc.  Regardless of all that, I feel safe saying Mike isn't cool.  I think at one point the Beach Boys were each cool in their own way, but you had to learn to appreciate them.  That day is gone, long gone I think, and now they are a bunch of old guys who are veterans (and good) at what they do but aren't exactly cool.

Awwww, c'mon! Just cause Mike's bald shouldn't make it impossible for him to be a cool frontman! it just doesn't stand up to logic! I mean, the guy DID wear hats a lot of the time!

James Taylor is bald and has been for ages

Neil Young has had a huge bald spot on his head for years and years

Freddy Mercury had a receeding hairline going way back

Michale Stipe is bald and has been for ages

Phil Collins is....... wait, uh, I'd only be disproving my own point if I include him

It is all opinion of course, but I don't think any of those guys are cool.  Also, as talented as some of them are (and I would include Dwight Yoakam in that list), they aren't really cool frontmen.  I'll give you the hats bit, Mike did wear some great hats, but he couldn't hide forever! 

Freddie was (and is, even in his 18-years-as-ashes form) mind-numbingly cool. But James Taylor? Yikes.

I think I might have to retract my Phil Collins, uh...retraction....

Sure, he has some faults, but you gotta hand it to the guy.

He managed, what I consider something of a feat!

It was the image obsessed 80's and the guy became a HUGE pop star!!!!

Look at all the points he had working against him:

1. He was short
2. He was bald
3. He was pudgy
4. He came from prog-rock
5. He came from prog-rock that went all soggy ballad-ish!
6. The only cool points he had was being a great drummer

So with all that against him, Phil went and became a huge star with scores of hits and his mug plastered all over everything.

All that and sure, he still isn't/wasn't "cool"...... but what the hell does cool mean anyway?

Come to think of it, how many people actually ever were really really, honestly cool???

Elvis?
Keith Richards?
Lou Reed?
Chuck Berry?
Dennis Wilson?

Those are about the only really really cool people I can think of who were honestly cool and not in some detached, ironic "Beck" sense, but Fing cool!!!!!

So, maybe cool is a merda term and perhaps Mike's "cool" is in being NOT cool? I dunno!

Yup, Luther, Freddie was damm cool if there ever was such a thing!

Coming in very short order in the non-music forum (what is it called again? Whatever. The bottom one. You know.).

People Who Are, or Were, Cool. And When. And Why.

Mike Love....When I hear that name I sometimes conjure up the scenes in the BB American Band doc where sleazy ML,while wearing one of those white robes with his skanky looking scalp is seen pulling some dazed Polish teenager out of a line with a carnal look on his bearded face...total poon-hound.

In typing something like "poon-hound," do you laugh?

Poon-Hound????

remember, this guy had DENNIS WILSON to compete with!!!!

That's about enough to drive any poon-hound to make many many questionable decisions (mostly having to do with fashion, but I degress)

Not that Dennis' fashion sense was beyond question. Excuse me, are those white linen pants you're wearing?

Remember who keeps replying to you with the Jean-Luc Picard pictures - the ultimate Mike hater of Beach Boys fandom. He's like Bill O'Reilly only nowhere near as relevant or even interesting. :)

Mike Love-Not War!!!!!

That's my motto!  >:D

Don't listen to the guy who has the dorkiest picture of Mike as his avatar.
 
Freddie Mercury vs the guy in that avatar? Roger Daltrey vs. the guy in the avatar?  Mike was a wannabe.

Mike's cool. And he's alive. Hehe

Ahhhhhh, this post reminds me of a good ol' musing I left on the Male Ego forum a while back.

Oh, that one was a real show stopper.  ;D

But as Freddie sang, "Who wants to live forever?"

Of course, he also sang "I wanna make a supersonic man out of you."

A visit from Mike Love's historians!! We should all be honored!

But hey if you wanna think that guys who pathetically try to look cool but just come off as boorish dorks really are cooler than guys like Dennis Wilson, be my guest!

Daltry is a great singer but has had his share of silly moments!

Plus Mike never had to bare his chest and flex his 6pack onstage in order to look cool! ...... Oh, wait, he did (minus the 6pack part)!

But how was Mike a wannabe? Who was he trying to be (besides a bit Mick Jagger)?

Who else in "rock" was bald bearded and with Mike's wardrobe?

Mike was just trying to be Mike! and it worked!

Who else in the history of music sounded or sounds at all like Mike? (ignoring the obvious question of even wanting to sound like him)

He kicks ass and wrote/co-wrote some of the greatest, genre defining lyrics in rock history! What have you done????

Grown men discussing what pop singers are cool is great. Homoeroticism at its finest.

I mean, hey dude. Heh heh. f*** dude. Yeah. Rawk.

Nah, nah, we're getting closer to the essence of Wilson Brothers fanboyism. We'll all find out who we really are and be able to move on. Finally.  :)

Daltrey was rock's greatest frontman. The moment in The Kids Are Alright where he lets out the big scream in Won't Get Fooled Again (coupled with Pete's knee slide) is the quintessential rock and roll moment. Great rock frontmen, to me, should be slightly above us mere mortals. Mike, at  best has Everyman appeal. Nice and relatable, but I always found him incredibly smarmy which is something I never liked. Mike always reminded me of the arrogant high school jocks who would say anything to the girl that you secretly ljust to get laid. Some may think that's cool, but  I always thought guys like that were ruthless assholes.

Brian, Denny and Carl didn't even have to try to look or be cool. The fact that there weren;t any pretensions is exactly what makes them cool. Mike always tried too hard whether it be with the dorky dancing, the outrageous costumes, the tacky shirts or the smarmy stage patter.

My favorite Dennis moment comes at the end of Knebworth where he says very simply and sincerely, "thank you very very much".  The sweetness and warmth beats the holy hell out of "we mean it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!"

Oh Rob... Did those jocks hurt you at school? What a shame, man.  :-D

Not that it's any of your business., yeah.

Hey guys, let's calm down. If RobMac is in any way offended by the people slamming him, he can report their posts to the moderator. :)

RobMac, I didn't mean to be offensive. It just gets annoying when I can have fun ribbing Mike just like everyone else, but while still respecting and defending him, and then someone always seems to come along and take serious offense at it!

My only point about Daltry (who I'd place as the 3rd best frontman in rock after Mick Jagger and Joey Ramone: weird, I know) is that the Beach Boys were never ROCK like The Who were and it's a bit unfair comparing Mike to these ROCK Gods we all worship!

None taken. And I hope the Patrick Stewart pics didn't offend you.
 
In all seriousness, I get why people like him. He just doesn't have any appeal to me as a personality. As for whether it;s fair to judge him against Roger Mick, and Joey or whoever. I think it is fair, especially since Mike spent the better part of the 70's apeing Mick's moves.  Interesting that you mention Joey Ramone. The side of punk that worships the BB don;t even try to emulate Brian, Carl or even Dennis. They emulate Mike's singing which (despite my dislike of him) I've grown to appreciate and even love on occcasion.

Wow its crazy how these threads get so out of hand! Anyway...

I hate to say it but I kind of agree with Sciencefriction in the aspect that with this place it seems everyone does have to watch every little thing they say for fear of starting some long drawn out stupid argument. And I dont want it to be like that because I enjoy this board but I guess if it happens, it happens...

But anyway, I guess the bottom line here is opinions are not facts and what we have here about Mike are just opinions. I personally think he is super cool in his own way and I could really care less who disagrees with me or who thinks that was the most ridiculous thing they have ever heard. I do have some beef with Mike, yes but I still like him and think he has a great voice & he's part of pretty much my favorite band ever. And even now that some people may think those dance moves were dorky, but in the 60s they werent [And no I dont have to be born in 1943 to know that] Go back and look at alot of those old videos, thats the way they danced then!

Also as far as Mike's stage costumes and clothes, omg. Everyone has made a few fashion faux pas! If you going to rag on Mike, then you'd better rag on Elton John or Freddie with those glittery jumpsuits. Or how about the "ever so cool" Roger Daltrey with all that fringe!? Remember, what looks nerdy, stupid or tacky now was very hip & cool 30- 40 years ago. & I'm not bad mouthing any of the singers I mentioned but my point is if your going to keep knocking on Mike's outfits then ya better take a look back at some of historys finest musicians and you will see they ALL had fashion mishaps.


 ;D

LOL....sensuous nasal mumblings..great post ^-^

Thank you for your compliment btw!

[  Interesting that you mention Joey Ramone. The side of punk that worships the BB don;t even try to emulate Brian, Carl or even Dennis. They emulate Mike's singing which (despite my dislike of him) I've grown to appreciate and even love on occcasion.



Wow! That's really a good point that I hadn't ever really realized! It's so true!!!

Patrick Stewart is another cool bald guy (who's fashion mishaps were no fault of his own) the pics didn't offend at all!!!!

Quoting.

Just glanced at this thread but can't bare to read it because I fear someone actually compared Mike Love to Freddy Mercury. I so hope that I am wrong.