The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi and hello,

I know, it´s all just about the music, and we shouldn´t care too much about background and so on. But, I remember... a couple of years ago, Melinda posted somewhere in the Blueboard, that Brian doesn´t write any new songs anymore and that other songwriters do this for him now... A friend told me now, that he heard from an "insider", that Brian didn´t had anything to do with "That lucky old sun", that they just bought the songs from orhter songwriters and someone else did the production or anything like this. Don´t know If I really want to believe this.

I know that Scott Bennett had a big hand in writing and producing the Album... and it was also reported, that a Band member mentioned, that Scotty did the whole concept for LOS ... so, does anyone know what is the truth or what is myth?

Even if it was true, Melinda would be the last person on earth to say so.....





Since some of the songs were written by Brian in the 70s and 80s, I hardly believe it.




Well, the concept is a totally different thing, than the songs. I don't know about this, but wouldn't be that surprised if Brian just wrote the songs and someone else came up with the concept about L.A. (although Brian himself said that he was inspired when he bought and heard Satchmo's version of TLOS)

Brian and Scotty wrote the songs for the album (except for California Role, which was a tune from the 80s, and various bits like the hallelujah chant, which is from the 70s) in the summer 0f 2006; Brian just showed up with songs to demo in Scott's apartment. Brian was later commissioned to do a long piece by the Royal Albert Hall, and after not coming up with anything specific for the commission, asked Scott about using that previous material for the suite. The sequencing was largely done by Darian and Scotty, who also then asked Van Dyke to provide the spoken bits. Brian wrote several other songs at that time, which are available as bonus tracks.

Yeah, I think the idea of buying songs from other writers is far fetched. I guess that Brian contributed different amounts to each song with some of them being mainly Scott`s. Midnight`s Another Day, for example, is probably 75% Scott`s song.

Probably not true in the fullest sense. Something in me doesn't buy the idea of Brian not writing songs anymore. Well, he might not write songs but I bet he spends a lot of time at his piano just playing around. Songs are typically for when you have some goal and desired end, otherwise it's much more relaxing to just chill and play what you feel.

Personally I don't like the idea of all these Scott Bennett's and whoever's being the shadow men in Brian's musical life. Just imagine if Paul McCartney released a record fully attributed to him but most of the writing and conceptual basis was done by someone else. It wouldn't go over too well. Brian has almost always worked with others but he was usually the center of the operation, now it seems like he's just there on the outside.

I'd be surprised if Brian makes another album. TLOS felt pretty conclusive, whether I like it as a record or not. It has a sense of things being wrapped up and finished.

I'd rather that Brian does as he pleases. I can't understanding why someone of his age would want to spend those years touring playing the hit songs he made in his youth. Seems like Bri's the kind of guy who prefers chillaxing at home with the family. Hopefully he doesn't feel pressured to keep churning out music if he doesn't feel like it. Horrible what the desire for money will do to people.

Perhaps a bit morbid but ... I really hope that when Brian dies it's not from exhaustion due to touring and being away from home.  :(

Huh touch wood...

Ey, but it was also reported by a unnamed Band Member that - in his opinion - Midnights Another Day was the best Song Brian ever wrote.... so I can´t believe it, that it´s really 75 % Scott´s work? But maybe it is. Scott writes good songs himself...

But were all songs written 2006? Because in the Interview for "Lucky old Sun" it seems like... Scott refers pretty often to Van Dyke Parks narratives...

But yeah, it could be that that Brian and Scott wrote the songs and it was eventuelly Scott who cutted the pieces of the pie together into a suite. More or less I would say, that Brian is not so enthusiastic about music these days... the Band Members make suggestions and Brian says if he likes it or not.


Back to Melinda: To be honest, I haven´t read this post myself. Someone posted a bit of it in the German Message Board with a german translation. And If I am not mistaken, it was the same guy who said, that Brian doesn´t write his himself anymore... maybe I should not believe these people anymore, should I :)?

No, you should not.

Wow, I had no idea that one of the band members is totally deaf.

Perhaps they meant the most emotionally moving. The "made me feel so alone" bit is extremely touching knowing Brian's history. I was sort of let down when I found out that Scott wrote the lyrics. Like I said before, Tony Asher writing lyrics for Brian on Pet Sounds or Van Dyke Parks for SMiLE is totally acceptable because we know Brian was the central source inspiration ... but I get the feeling that Brian may have had the song but no ideas lyrically and Scott came up with it himself, acquired permission, and basically wrote out Brian's emotions for him. The point doesn't come across well in writing because that's pretty much what Tony seems to have done on the Pet Sounds songs, but you know what I mean.

Same situation. The differences are just the mythologies we create. A professional composer hires someone to help, mostly with lyrics. You feel touched, hey, great collaboration, really hits the soul. You don't, it's a bunch of bullshit, all for the money, leeching off the reputation, or whatever else. Myths built to make your story work.

But I can still feel touched even while having the nagging feeling that it really was a bunch of bullshit, all for the money, leeching of the reputation, and whatever else. See Midnight's Another Day.

Luther do you wear g-strings?

Yes. Constantly.

:lol

He needs autotune  :)

Scotty wrote the intro and outro (and the lyric, of course) - the rest is Brian's work.

Didn't it start off as an uptempo song?

If I am not mistaken, Scotty stated that he didn´t write the lyircs for "Midnight" about Brian, he wrote it about his own life. Didn´t he mention this on the Lucky old Sun DVD...


I don´t have any problem if anyone from the Band writes lyrics for Brian. Sure, he might not longer be the center piece of the songs, but I am sure, his Band-Mates know HIM and now how and what to write for or about him. Gosh, they are together for 10 years right now. They started back in March 1999 and they didn´t even celebrate the... "First 10 years"....


Yesterday, on my way to Achil Island (is a 3 hour trip) I only had "Lucky old Sun" in my car, so I listened to it twice. After two years, it still sounds fresh and good. Still love it... hope Brian and Scott team up again.

Yes, Scott has said himself in an interview that he slowed down the original tempo and also changed the notes around. If, as AGD says, that he also wrote the intro and outro as well as all of the lyrics then 75% seems a fair estimation.

If Scott didn't write the music for the verses and chorus and the vocal melodies, than 75% is way too much credit.

Well, I don`t see the point in debating a few percent here or there Clearly Scott wrote the lyrics which is half of the song right there. Then the music was obviously a collboration between the two of them with Brian coming up with the original tune but Scott doing all that has previously been mentioned.

No, you should only trust me.....





Slowing down the tempo doesn't make you a 75%-writer of the song.
Let's see, he wrote the intro, the outro and, at least, some of the lyrics. I'd say it wouldn't be too crazy too call it a 50-50 collaboration

Nobody said it did.


I may have missed something but every comment from Brian`s camp that I`ve read has stated that Scott wrote all of the lyrics. If he did then that is obviously 50% right there.

The music was a collaboration but it doesn`t really serve much purpose to debate exact percentages I guess.

Sorry, misunderstood your last post.







I don't know if he wrote all of the lyrics or just most of it, therefor I was just careful how to say it.
I just think that lyrics are not that important to a composition that they alone would take 50%. Mike wrote all the lyrics to "California girls", but it still is a Brian-song to me. Anyway, we might make a more important thing out of it, as it actually is or should be

My Gosh, percentage... Scotty also mentioned that Brian wrote the whole songs and most of the lyrics for "Oxygen" and "Mexican Girl"... but they are also mentioned at 50/50 collabs. I say it doesn´t really matter who makes what, both were included so you can share the credit...


But I am wondering know.. .you said that Brian wrote most of the songs in the 70th? Huh? Which one? I only know "California Role" was wirtten in the 1980th but the other ones?


But I am still laughing about Scott telling us how this collaboration started in the first place (if I got it right)... "Brian called me like every day... Hey Scott, you have a home studio, haven´t you..."..."Yes...?"... "Can I come over and record some stuff...?"... .."Well, should I say no?" ;D... so I wonder if it really happened that way...

I like these things... Melinda stated somewhen, over 10-15 years ago (was it in the I just wasn´t made for these times doku?) ... that Brian said: "Hey, I have an idea for a song, let´s go to Andy..." :)...



BTW... I asked a question here about Debbie and Debbie answered. I asked a question here about Beach Boys Manager and ... I got a real unexpected email.... So this is a question about LOS, Brian and Scotty.... so just in chase..... ---> jamesdavid_martin@yahoo.ie  ;D

Who said so?

I think the mumma-yumma-glory chant was referred to as originating from the 1970s.

@Rocker: I think I meant the plural you and not the singular "you"...  ;D

I'd guess so, but where did anyone say that most of the songs were written in the 70s ? Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember.

Maybe I imagined it but I thought a guy wrote it on page 1... gosh... I should stop drinking the irish milk.. or the water...

By the way - ireland. "Hurrican" Brian hit Ireland by the start of september. The tickets were daylight robbery (250 Bucks) so i didn´t go there.. but I got a nice Video and some pictures...  ;D

Lyrics are not half of a song.

That absolutely depends on the song in question (or really, the listener's taste). In many cases, lyrics are far more than half a song: Bob Dylan, Lou Reed/VU, or the Mountain Goats would be examples when at least sometimes the music is entirely unremarkable except for the lyrics. For most BBs-related music, I'd agree that the music is more interesting to me, and so "more than half."

YOU ARE SCUM.

Hmm, in this thread I've now been called scum and been asked by a drug-ranter whether I wear women's underwear. Perhaps it's time for me to bow out.

Actually, it just makes you sound like you must be Lou Reed.

Good post, I agree with Luther here, although he is a bounder and a cad [there, add those!].

To me, even titles are bigger than the actual lyrics in some cases, including a lot of the Beach Boys' classic stuff. Once you had "Good Vibrations" or "California Girls" or "I Get Around" the idea is there and the rest falls into place. "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?"- there's a classic, but can many people hum the whole thing or give me a lot of the lyrics beyond the memorable title?

Something like Peggy Lee's hit "Is That All There Is" is overwhelmed by the lyrics, and even a lot of  older songs like Johnny Mercer's "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and Nat King Cole's "Straighten Up And Fly Right" seem to get more bang out of the lyrics than the melody. "Who Let The Dogs Out"- I'm going with the lyrics. "Whoomp! (There It Is)"- ditto. The 1966 "Batman Theme"- tie.  "Tequila"- ditto. Most of Beethoven's stuff, I'm going with melody.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water"- both. "The Macarena"- neither.

Off hand, I don't know if there's ever been one Brian Wilson song that truly had stronger lyrics than melody. There must be one somewhere.

I prefer the H&V lyrics to the melody. So if co-writes count, I'd vote for that. And of course I, a cross-dressing cad/scum/bounder (I don't even know what a bounder is, actually), say this at the risk of being called a thief or rapist or something...

Oh, and I was going to vote for Speed Turtle, but Brian didn't write it.

That's a decent call, you sheep-stealer.  I would agree that that one's a better lyric than melody, just because it's one of the best lyrics ever put to a Brian Wilson song, in my opinion, and also, it's much more of a production/arrangement than melody. So yeah, but it's not a real big disparity, like so many are going the other way.

On second thought, make that "horse thief".

G-strings aren't really women's underwear. Well, they are but not exclusively. Do you find it sexy when you see the strings over a girl's pants, Luthy? I think I developed a fetish for that due to being in school classrooms before schools issued a ban on any visible underwear. Those were the days. Thongs everywhere. Total distraction. My 10th grade science teacher (female, mid 30s, quite sexy) used to wear a tiny white g-string every single day and it would always make itself known at some point every day. I didn't learn a thing.

Shhh. And don't call me Luthy.

It is quite an interesting debate I guess and I would say that in nearly all cases that music and lyrics are equal contributions (obviously if a song contains almost no music or lyrics then that changes things). With The BBs I think that the lyrics are just as important as the music in terms of songwriting (production and vocal arrangements are a different thing of course). For example, if those early songs had been about anything other than surfing or cars then I don`t think they would have been hits. Also, the words to California Girls, whether they are good or not, are crucial to the song as if it had been about any other subject then it would never have become the group`s anthem.

On some of the lesser songs this is even more apparent. Match Point of Our Love is musically not too bad but it`s the lyrics that have led to it being almost universally panned. And if the lyrics of Summer of Love were combined with any music then I can`t believe that a good song would materialise.

I think if you're Cole Porter, the lyrics are as important as the music. If you're Brian Wilson, not so much.

That's a fascinating question. I guess it's true across the board, including all artists/musicians, but especially with Brian Wilson.

I can only think of a couple of songs, and I don't feel particularly strongly about these, but maybe "Your Summer Dream", "Add Some Music To Your Day", and "Take A Load Off Your Feet".

Amy, I agree, and I have always disagreed that the early stuff rode the coattails of the surfing and car genres.  There were a ton of bands doing that stuff at the time, and the Beach Boys emerged from the pack.  I think they could have taken Murry's suggestion and written about yellow roses and had hits with songs and vocal arrangements that were that good.  They were going to happen no matter what. That being said, the lyrical subject matter and the lyrics are sort of different discussions. 

Sheriff, interesting picks- especially "Add Some Music".  Brian Wilson's stuff has had a wide variety of quality in the lyrics, ranging from the brilliance of Parks, which fully answered Brian's genius, to the awfulness of some of the stuff like "It's Over Now" and "That Same Song" and a lot of other mid-seventies "Johnny Carson" era material that I find really frustrating, though some people seem to find a great camp value in that period.

I never thought "It's Over Now" had "bad" lyrics.

Who wrote the lyrics to Stardust?  We remember the composer....but the lyricist?

It's Over Now --

The flame of love we had has finally died
Can't take this emptiness it left inside
It's over now

And though I played the role I lost my soul
It's still within your heart
It's over now
It's over now
Shades of blue and purple haunt me

The noise outside my window carries on
Like distant bugles love is very gone
It's over now

It took a part of me, the heart of me
To watch it fade away
It's over now
It's over now
Shades of blue and purple haunt me

Heaven
Heaven is far away
Angels no longer play

I need to take this fear and force it down
And just pretend that you are not around
It's over now

I'll put a Frank Sinatra album on
And cry my blues away
It's over now
It's over now
Shades of blue and purple haunt me

Now that is a terrible line but the rest of it is ok.

It's not the line, it's the way he tells 'em.

Johnny Carson is brilliant...

That Same Song almost brilliant...

That surprises me. That piano intro is very "Brian-y"

Well done Mr. Bennett!

Agreed. I hope Scott becomes a permanent collaborator for Brian. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Scott is Brian's best collaborator since Van Dyke Parks during the original Smile album. Can you imagine if Bennett today could work with the Brian of the late 60s-early 70s?

Who did Brian work with doing tracks like Sail On Sailor? I think that sort of thing was another peak in his collaborations. I dunno if Scott has the depth to offer up any profound words, no offense to him.

My mistake- I meant "Still I Dream Of It"- good melody, godawful lyric.  

Forgive me if this next thing sounds harsh; I'm just throwing this out here for discussion.   And I know this puts me at tremendous odds with a lot of folks in the next generation of Brian's fans, too, but I've never gotten the pretending that "Johnny Carson" and stuff like that is "brilliant".   To me it's sort of demeaning to him and what remains of his dignity. That material is the product of some dark problems he was going through, and I'll always hold it a little against the whole band for letting it get out there in that form. If Brian had actually died as a result of that period- coked himself to death, or dug his grave and leaped from the roof into it-  I wonder if we'd find his unraveling so cool. I don't know, maybe it'd be more so.  

In about 1990 there was an independent label tribute CD with some good stuff on it, but one band turned in a mocking version of "Johnny Carson".  Some tribute to Brian. That's what they got of his career?  Really? I hated 'em for that.

I just can't stand seeing the guy who wrote "Caroline, No" mock-revered for the lunatic emotional-problem stuff like "Johnny Carson".  The stuff that makes non-Beach Boys fans cringe makes me cringe even more. There, it's always bothered me, I said it, have at me.  I'm a spoilsport. Bring on the rotten tomatoes. Just one guy's opinion, anyway.

I don't think Johnny Carson comes from a particularly "dark period." It was written when Brian was cleaned up for the first time by Landy. He wrote a song about something that he liked. And I don't think Brian is an idiot -- it's not like he thought the song was a potential single or anything, or that it wasn't a least somewhat silly. Brian had written humor songs before -- Vegetables, for instance. I give him a little credit for knowing what he was doing.

Edit: I also don't know about it being brilliant, necessarily. It's peculiar. But it really encapsulates a certain vibe of "Love You." It's the farthest Brian went in a certain direction, and that's why folks dig it. I find much to enjoy in it personally, but not all the time. It's like a particularly pungent cheese. Good for a few bites every so often. Not a daily nosh.

In another thread or maybe this one or somewhere tonight there was some discussion about a tape with Brian playing piano with some friends or whoever around. He played some Ding Dang I think and someone asked which record it was from. "Beach Boys Love You" Brian said, then said something like "that thing was great" and everyone shared a knowing laugh.

That's a fair enough point.  As to whether that was a dark period, though, read the Rolling Stone article around that time, or any other stuff- he was in awful shape mentally.  To me the song is the sound of a guy that's gone around the bend, but to compare it to "Vegetables" or "Bugged At My Ol' Man" is a fair point.

Well, "dark periods" for Brian have varying degrees. At the time of Love You he was at least up and around and coherent. He wasn't permanently in bed thinking Satan was coming out of the shower faucets.

Now, the questions as to whether or not the band should have put it out -- that's an entirely different issue and matter of debate. I think many of Brian's releases since the early 70s could have been rethought and issued differently. But that's another story.

I think he was under control with Landy in 1977, and living a healthier and more productive existence, but not really in a better place mentally beyond that.  Just an opinion, of course.  As to the rest of your comment, obviously, I agree.

I love it, but then again I'm a fan of Daniel Johnston, so that may be a part of it.

I always think of Love You as a collection of songs one might sing playfully with one's child or something like that. "Solar System" is just waiting to become someone's favorite childhood song. Perhaps if I sire children I will play them Love You a lot and see what they think.

My 2 year old likes it.

I like Love You. No, it's not his best, but I get the feeling Brian enjoyed making the songs, even if it was a dark period in his life. I think making those songs were, for the most past, the happier moments Brian had during that period - listen to the emotion he sings with on "Let's Put Our Hearts Together", or on the tag of "Roller Skating Child". It meant something to him. I don't think it's doing Brian a disservice to like the songs. Even during the famed SMiLE period, when he was at the height of his powers, he was recording songs like "Teeter Totter Love" (comparing love to a teeter totter) and using the raspy voiced Jasper Daily to sing it. Love You is a part of who Brian is, even if it's slightly exaggerated. It's only demeaning to Brian if you want to make him out to be something he's not, that fable about the guy wearing black-framed glasses and a pea coat and composing Pet Sounds. Yes, he was that for a year or two, but I don't think that represents who he is any more than the Love You period does.  Some fans want it to, but that doesn't make it the truth. Love him for who he is, not what you want him to be, and there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

Brian may have messed around on side projects and joked around with the band in the studio, but until Smile Brian was almost always trying to grow up musically and right about more mature subjects. I think that`s the very reason he wanted to move away from the fun in the sun stuff and even songs about childhood like When I Grow Up were mature.

I don`t think a healthy Brian would ever have recorded some of the songs on Love You and I don`t think that a healthy group would have released that album (I think that inviting Brian back in the mid-70s to be the sole producer was the biggest mistake that the band made). There are certainly some songs on Love You that I like but not things like Johnny Carson, Solar System, I Wanna Pick You Up etc. People might say that these are Brian being Brian but I think more accurate is to say that they are a mentally ill man being mentally ill. Plus the fact that Landy was involved at the time and possibly contributing to the songs further erodes the innocence.

Agree and disagree. :police:

I don't think the Love You songs wre too far removed from the songs that Brian had been writing since 1967 - "I'd Love Just Once To See You", "Be Here In The Morning", "Games Two Can Play", "Mt. Vernon And Fairway", and "Child Of Winter" to name a few. They were songs that Brian just sat down and got off his chest if you will. I'd bet they came to him very quickly and he cranked them out very quickly. He'd always done that to some extent. What was different about Love You was that were SO MANY OF 'EM TOGETHER ON ONE ALBUM! For the ten years previous to Love You, Brian was contributing a song or two or three to each album, so the effect wasn't as in your face. Love You can blow you away (which is what I like about it BTW).

Where I do agree with you, Nicko, is that the band should not have released Love You in that state. As you noted, the band was not healthy at that time. Actually, I think they were confused; they didn't know what to do with Brian. The group got a lot of critical backlash after 15 Big Ones. I think they were debating - do we intercede or just let the guy do his thing. And they let him do his thing. Can you imagine how Love You would've sounded without Carl's aid? I don't want to sound too oversimplistic (is that a word?), but if they would've done just a few more vocal takes, maybe on a better day, or overdub an additional voice/harmony here or there. Still, I love Love You anyway.....

I agree that Mount Vernon wasn`t too far removed from Love You but I think that song was another sign of Brian being unwell.

I don`t disagree as well that some of those songs needed vocal overdubs but I think the other BBs should have been even more involved in writing and production. Some of the lyrics (Solar System, Love is a Woman etc.) badly needed to be rewritten imo and other songs (I Wanna Pick You Up) just shouldn`t have been included at all. As a fan of the other members contributions to the band, I find it faintly depressing that they agreed to release this and 15 Big Ones and had lost confidence to such an extent that they were forced to perform some dismal material in concert.

Breakaway is better than anything in TLOS. So, Murry Wilson is a better collaborator than Scott.

Ok, enough of Monthy Python for today.  ;D

But, then it wouldn't have been the Love You that we all know and love, would it? I mean, that's part of Love You's charm, the adult/child aspect of Brian's personality. It was an honest picture of Brian Wilson at age 33 in 1976-77. For me, and many other BB/BW fans, that will always be welcomed. I miss that actually, but that's for another thread.

In some ways, Love You was a concept album, and by mixing in contributions from others - productions, compositions, lyrics - that concept would've been compromised. And Love You's vibe would've been lost. But, Nicko, I understand where you're coming from. Hey, I bought Love You the day it was released, and I've read the criticisms for 32 years. I understand the criticisms, and, after many years, I guess I'm beginning to accept them. No problem....

That's no surprise. Murry rules. Without Murry there'd be no Beach Boys - fact! (well, very logical assumption!).

And Brian doesn't deny his dad's musical influence. It's not odd to me at all that together they churned out a good song. I find it touching, actually. Can anyone shed more light on the story of Breakaway? I was aware that Brian and Reggie are credited for it but don't know how they came to work together, why they did, how it went, etc. Personally I think of Murry as a big softy, a deeply insecure man needing lots of love, who puts on a thick coat of hardness to survive in the world and to appear important. Of course I could be wrong - maybe he was the monster he's made out to be, but when I hear him criticizing the boys at the Rhonda sessions, things like that, I hear only concern in his voice. After all, he didn't say "don't sing from your hearts", did he? And Murry's 'yelling' seems to be more a thing of him having one of those loud and distinct voices and using it to rise above others. I've known some people like that, they're not that bad if you give 'em a playful poke in the belly or a tickle.  :)

We don`t all love it by a long way though. There are plenty who dislike it, plenty (like me) who like some songs and hate others and plenty who couldn`t care less. I agree that it paints an honest picture of Brian at that time as a mentally ill man who wants to regress into childhood to escape the adult world. But to hear some of the other band members sing on those songs sounds slightly demeaning to them if that makes sense.

Basically I think that after the other band members had proved themselves on Sunflower, Surf`s Up and Holland, no album should have been produced solely by Brian again and no album should have been solely written by him. All of the albums from 15 BO through to KTSA had potential if the band members could have pulled together (which they did to an extent on LA) but I think this period led to them losing confidence and interest.

The album was "all Brian" because the thinking goes that Brian is the goose who laid the golden egg.  This thinking has tormented Brian and the band for most of their history.  Brian must contribute to the album, whether he wants to or not, whether he's well or not, whether he has good material or not.

I can't shed any light on any of that, but it's a hell of a song.  And it's probably one Brian's most autobiographical songs ever ("I heard voices in my head", "the more I thought of it, I had been out of it", "found out it was in my head", etc.).   In retrospect, it's kind of sad that Brian seemed so hopeful that he had recognized and overcome his problems and was on his way to better things.  In fact, as we know, things would go from bad to worse as he entered the '70s and '80s.

Small problem - Murry wrote those lyrics.  :)

Not a problem at all.  Autobiographical lyrics from Brian Wilson don't have to be his own words.  The lyrics clearly reflect some knowledge that Murry had regarding Brian's mental state at the time.

That would make them biographical rather than autobiographical though wouldn`t it? And I would say that it`s far from certain that that`s what Murry was thinking about.

No,  Mike Love's "Brian's Back" and the Barenaked Ladies' "Brian Wilson" are examples of biographical songs about Brian.  When, as in the case of Breakaway, Brian was the song's co-author, composer, producer and singer (at least originally) it can be safely classified as autobiographical.  Do you think that all autobiographies you see at Barnes & Noble are written solely by the person named on the front? 



Murry was Brian's father, for cryin' out loud.  By 1969, he couldn't have been unaware of the mental problems that Brian was having.

Going back to lyrics and music, according to copyright law the royalties are split EVENLY between the composer of the melody and the lyricist.  Doesn't matter if you think one is more important than the other, legally it's a 50-50 split unless the composer and lyricist make a separate arrangement (i.e. the lyricist helped write the melody, so would be entitled to more than 50%, or the composer came up with the titles and the chorus lyrics, for example, so would get more than 50%).  Lennon/McCartney split everything 50/50 no matter who came up with what, as they had previously agreed upon.

Even if the composer writes the song without lyrics and lyrics are added by someone later, that lyricist is given a 50% royalty stake in the song publishing and mechanical royalties (interestingly, even if only the lyrics are purblished, the composer gets 50% of the publishing royalties).

that's why I find it so touching

Murry may have been a jerk but jerks don't sit down to write songs with their son. it almost seems like Murry is channeling Brian's emotions a little bit, or trying to help him out in a way. plus, Murry also had his share of depressed episodes so it's not like he doesn't know the territory. how does Brian reflect back on Break Away these days? he likes it, right? must've been a good experience with Murry that day. maybe there was no arguing or bad words spoken, just love. maybe they went for lunch and talked about everything. it's sweet.

Agree.  "Caroline, No" comes right to mind.  Did Asher once say something to the effect that Brian had more to do with lyrics, and he (Asher) more to do with melodies on Pet Sounds, than people thought? "Caroline, No" and others clearly seem to be linked to thoughts and feelings of Brian's around that time. And didn't Brian often offer titles to start with?

In this video Brian says that he wrote MAD and i took him a week.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=42599209