The Smiley Smile Message Board

Let me explain: a 'musicule' (derived from 'molecule') is a very brief, stunning, beautiful moment of music. It can provide relief in an otherwise rather bland effort, or be the supreme expression of an artist's ability. Dutch radio DJ Frits Spits thought it up.

For me, it's the two seconds in 'I Write The Songs', on Bruce Johnston's 'Going Public', where suddenly a California Boys Choir kicks in, drowned in full echo.

I wish Bruce had showed many more such ideas on the LP. I rarely play it. Saccharine stuff.

(PS: the Radio King Dom thingy on Mt. Vernon and Fairway just doesn't qualify, because it's a tiny bit too long. Dammit, Brian should have made a full 3 minute effort out of that one, with a real verse, a bridge, and a coda. Might have been my all time BBs favourite. In its final form it irritates the hell out of me, because I love it so much AND it's way too short.)

Going Public works in a few places...although of the "new songs" only Rock and Roll Survivor has any merit. Everything else that's good on the album had been done beforehand.

I love that there is now a word for that. Subsequently, I now realise that my enjoyment of the new Gershwin album relies heavily on musicules.

Good call on Radio Kingdom. I also wish this section had been fleshed out into a full song, but I do think its fleetingness adds to its beauty. Can we not stretch the definition a bit so it is the length of the snippet in proportion to the length of the whole song? In this sense, Radio Kingdom must qualify!

Hmm... something to ponder! Thank you for the suggestion.

@Cousin Eddie: BTW, it is a major achievement for any man to be more sickeningly sugary in 'Won't Somebody Dance With Me?' than ms. Lynsey De Paul herself.

Same here with Radio Kingdom snippet. Add that to Brians setlist this year as a filler.

Musicule: middle of He Come Down: a double tracked Carl(I think): ooooooh-oooooh-ooooooooooooh. oooh!

Let Him Run Wild: The double-tracked 'have' in the line "well he can have his freedom".

I like 'Thank You Baby' and 'Dance with Me'. Outside of that, the album sucks!

I like I Write the Songs but it comes with a lot of Manilow and Cassidy-sized baggage - and I like Thank You Baby too - woulda made a nice low key ballad on a mid-late 70s BB album.

"Don't Be Scared" has echoes of Pet Sounds with it's beautiful arrangements. Easily equal or superior
 to anything else the 'Boys were doing at the time. Omit the ill-advised, discofied "Pipeline" and the
nauseating "Rock And Roll Survivor", and Going Public is a strong effort. Love it.

Good call!