The Smiley Smile Message Board

Since the big man decided to grace us with his presence, I figured it would be a good idea to have a thread where we can ask him our burning questions.

Will he respond? Who knows!

But it doesn't hurt to at least try, especially now that we know he is officially one of us SmileySmilers.

Fun idea. :)


Here's one:


Hi Brian! (How ya doing, man?)

What's your favorite track from your upcoming album? Really looking forward to its release, sir.

Why isn't Zeppo Wilson on the new album? Is it some kind of message to Mike Love?

Did I really figure out the true meaning behind SMiLE?

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,19408.0.html

Well, I guarantee I'll get a couple eye rolls for this, but...

SMiLE. Any additional thoughts whatsoever? Any sequence ideas that you had back in the day but changed for BWPS? Any tracks, like Dada for instance, that you could confirm or deny would have even made the cut? Any recollections on the missing pieces that have crossed your mind since 2004? Were the Psychedelic Sounds/Comedy Album skits in serious consideration for inclusion--even just the Vegetable Fight and/or George Fell, perhaps? Why the apparent need to work on singles come 1967--what happened that changed your focus so drastically?

Going off that, Smiley Smile is often (rightly or wrongly) considered self sabotage, or a passive aggressive move against the band. Alternatively, and especially these past few years, it's seen more as the logical conclusion to where the 1967 sessions had been heading all along and a valid SMiLE if different from the initial conception. For what it's worth, I think it's a brilliant album, but I wonder if you could talk about it. Anything at all; your goals, if it was a smooth transition from SMiLE, any memories of recording it, what you think of it now, etc.

Ok, I know those are a long shot and I know you're probably sick of talking about it and annoyed at guys like me who won't let it go. But I had to try my luck. Moving on now...

You set out to make the best album ever with Pet Sounds. 50 years later, would you say you succeeded?

You seem rightly proud of Love You. How about Adult/Child? How does *that* hold up for you? Are you unhappy it wasn't released? Would you care to do a big band style again? Will this ever be released, do you think?

What do you consider to be your best solo album?

Will the paley sessions ever see release and would you care to talk a bit about them?

If it's not getting too personal, why are you and Van Dyke Parks not on good terms?

Was I Just wasn't made for these times about Loren Darro Schwartz or Good Vibrations about his wife?

^Someone had to ask that last one, sorry.

Dang, Mujan. Good questions!

Well-done, medium, rare or blue?

I asked this in the "Hi from Brian" topic but I'll ask it again here:

Brian, rumour has it that during the "Can't Wait Too Long" sessions you can be heard singing lyrics off-mic. The words "in the city" have been mentioned by at least one source. Do you remember these lyrics,  or some of them, or what they might have been about?     

What was the original sequence of notes that you intended for  the intro to "I'm Waiting For the Day", that were replaced by the "really great mistake" by the session musician? ???

Did you erase lead vocals that were done in 66/67 for the following songs:

Do you like Worms
Cabinessence
I'm in Great Shape
Look
Child is Father of the Man

Who is Ron Wilson?

Hey Brian.  How you feeling these days?   ???  Happy with the way things are rolling at home and 'at the office' I hope.  :hat

I'd ask him
1)What was his favorite post-Pet Sounds song/vocal.
2) Favorite touring story
3) What's his favorite deli sandwich

Brian, did you get new sneakers for Christmas?

Brian, what's your opinion of caviar?
If you had to pick one of your songs as Obama's theme song, which one would it be?
Have you ever contemplated switching your favorite color to red?

How cool would it be if Brian did a Q&A here. Hey, anything is possible these days  ;D

I would ask if he he wants to do more shows with The Beach Boys

This. :)

I think there is a good chance we're gonna overwhelm Brian here. So I won't ask any questions. :)

Thanks, I tried to cover all the bases. Doubt most of them will be answered but I do have an easier one I forgot to include...

Someone on the Hi from Brian thread mentioned a Love You box set. I'd love one, especially if it includes Adult/Child tracks as well. How about it, Brian? Any chance?

Also, how about a second release of SMiLE rarities, things like more vocal isolations, takes left off the box set, Smiley sessions, Can't Wait Too Long, Little Red Book, the other Jasper Dailey tracks... Be it a second box set or say a 2-disc set or online downloads or ANYTHING, I'd buy it and make good use of it. Pretty please?

When is the Love You box set coming out?

I'd like to ask if Brian intends to tour the UK but it seems churlish to ask for anything else with a new album soon to be released, the film and eventually another book.  I just hope that Brian gets a great welcome here and some questions that he actually enjoys answering.

I hope you lunatics realize that Brian will not answer most of what you have asked.  Expect answers only to things like:  favorite track on new album.

Hey Brian, do you remember if you recorded any sitar overdubs to Heroes and Villains: Bridge to Indian Pak somewhere around 8PM on March 2nd, 1967?

Lunatics? Thanks for flaming the board. Consider this a warning.

Wait, are you that stick in the mud from the Facebook Q&A that whined about questions Brian answered in the past? Be honest now.

Hey Brian.... do you enjoy coming to boards like this or does someone have to egg you on so to speak

Do you like when strangers ask you a bunch of questions?

Based on previous interviews, he's not gonna answer big, long involved questions. It seems like he likes to talk about food and will expound on that if he's in the mood. And of course he wants to talk about the new album.

Maybe my question would be:
Who was your favorite person to work with on the new album?

Or maybe I'd ask him about music from his childhood/teen years, though I can't think of a specific question.

Now watch, he'll read this, and to prove me wrong, he'll give a paragraph-long answer on the lost lyrics of Can't Wait Too Long.  :-D

Great idea, I might ask him about his favorite fast food   ^-^

Hey Brian, what part/parts of Break Away were contributions from your dad? One of my favorites by the way!!

You've got to be kidding...like I was.  Lighten up for f*cks sake.  Save the warnings for the actually offensive crap that goes down here daily.

Honestly no.  I just know that Brian is basically a tough interview in that he is a short answer guy, and he specifically avoids everything but the simplest of questions to answer.  I had the same difficulty with many Hollywood actors during my time with 20th Century Fox doing junkets.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...it's just how he is.

I dunno, but considering what you were suspended for previously, you have to understand how it came across. In any case, I didn't realize you were joking, and in all honesty I feel like sh*t right now and took it the wrong way. In any case, I apologize.

Was Student Demonstration Time, as some ancient aliens theorists believe, written by extraterrestrials?

Hey, fair enough. His FB was quite good I thought, maybe it's because he answered my 2 questions fairly quick  :-D

No worries!

(http://i61.tinypic.com/4pxcvt.jpg)

I realize that. The questions I posed are what I'd honestly like to know, and from him. But I realize he's a notoriously brief and vague interview. I realize even if he were to say "No, Dada wasn't planned for SMiLE" or "Adult/Child was innapropriate and should never be released" he'd probably turn around and say/Do the very opposite the next interview just to mind-f*** me.

But you're right, that's just how he is. It's part of his mystique, and we love him for it. Still, on my end, I mean...a man can dream, right?

Please don't call me a lunatic.

Drummer for the Surfaris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Surfaris

Not, apparently, the same Ron Wilson who wrote We're Together Again. That Ron Wilson remains an intriguing, if minor, mystery.

Gary Usher relayed an amusing anecdote to Stephen MacPharland about this Ron Wilson in his book. I don't have my copy on hand at the moment, but it went something like this: Brian had been acting super-erratically as of late and called Gary up out of the blue, telling Usher that he had discovered "the next Sam Cooke" and that he had to get him on record. Gary reluctantly obliged and brought the Wilsons (Ron and Brian) into the studio to record the "I'll Keep on Loving You" single. Usher basically disparaged the single in the book, saying something along the lines that Ron Wilson wasn't much of a singer and that Brian was acting like he had lost his marbles. I wish I could reprint the story verbatim because it's hilarious and pretty illuminating of Brian's state of mind at the time.

EDIT: Apparently I misunderstood the original question as being in reference to the Ron Wilson that sang "If It Can't Be You" which Brian also produced, not the black soul singer Ron Wilson.

Does Brian have a magnet that attracts Ron Wilsons? What the hell's going on

My name is not Ron Wilson, for the record.

I hope, though, that when everybody asks him questions Monday, that they ask him questions that have long been wondered and resist the urge to ask him things that he'll answer somewhere else.

For instance, don't ask him about the new album!  You'll learn all you need to know about the new album over the next couple months. 

Don't ask him generic questions that you really don't want to know the answer to.  For instance, don't ask him what his favorite song is, or who he likes on the radio.  Who gives a f***, even you don't and you asked the question!

Ask him things like "When you recorded Ding Dang, did you think it was finished and going to be on the album?"

"When you recorded "Breakaway", why did you put your dad on it?"

"When you met Elvis, did he get mad at you, or how did that all go down?"

"In the 70's, we've heard you used to have parties with Ike and Tina Turner.  Tell us more."

"We love your music. You've given us a lot.  Do you feel God put you on earth to make music for us, or do you think God gave you that gift to support yourself and your family?"

"Will you and Mike please make more music for us?"

LOL stuff like that, come on!  The reason he gives b.s. answers sometimes is because people ask him the same b.s. questions!  Ask him something specific, about something specific, and he'll give you a good answer. 


Hell I asked him on the Blue Board one time which songs on Smile were which elements, and he answered it!  Might have been b.s. but he rewards good questions with good answers, and punishes lazy questions with lazy answers. 

This question, carefully worded and asked of him Monday, may elicit the best answer evur. 


"Hi Brian, we love you.  When SMiLE turned into Smiley Smile,  Wind Chimes, and Wonderful from SMiLE made it onto the album, but were kind of weird versions.  Did you make them weird on purpose since you weren't able to put them out the way you liked on SMiLE?"

He may just give a yes or no on that one, though... fascinating question, though. 

Aren't we ALL lunatics here? :) And Billy, stop feeling like sh*t NOW, in case you still do.

Trying...gotta be able to go to work tomorrow. Now I can't call in on Monday!

Mr. Wilson, besides the memory of you and your brothers singing "Ivory Tower" every night, is there another special memory that you have of the three of you growing up in Hawthorne?

Smiley seems so hard to get genuine information on its ridiculous. It's still overshadowed by SMiLE even in that regard. Itd be nice to hear ANYTHING Brian has to say about it. But I do have to agree, it's probably a long shot anything from 66-say, 74 is acknowledged, sadly

Hi Brian,

Howie Edelson told us all to come and work for you for 18 months to get all of our questions answered.

What vacancies do you have going at the moment and can I PM you my resume?  Will work for archive access.

Your humble servant - Al

What if we got Brian to "rickroll" Mike?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling)

This could be funny for all parties involved (Rick Astley included). Of course maybe being sick with the flu and delirious with fever makes it seem funny to me now for some reason and tomorrow I'll wake up and think twice about it.

I really like this one. It would shed some light on the whole "Reggie Dunbar" thing. Who gets Reggie Dunbar's royalties? And whatever happened to the song "Lazaloo" (ahhhhhh) ?

Hi Brian,

When you are alone at home, or taking a shower, or just hanging out in the studio by yourself do you ever sing old Beach Boy songs to yourself in the old falsetto style?

Of all the brilliant tracks you have recorded, what is your favorite vocal performance?

what i'd like to ask Brian: what do you think of Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol?  :police:

Or, what're your fondest memories of Dr. Landy?

Thank you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPbpkM9he38  ;)

I dig.  And I was using the word lunatic in the most Bill Murray-esque way of using it.

I'll need to know the pension and holiday set-up before I'm signing anything.

If the Board has any control over the format and can moderate, then I call for general order and a focused, logical procedure, rather than having Brian scroll thorough all sorts of snickering chaos and silly intrusive "questions." I would prefer to submit questions to the moderator and have them asked . BW is one of the most important historical figures in music. He ought to be given the polite courtesy of an organized, proper, mature series of relevant historical, aesthetic, musical, and cultural questions. Personal and intrusive questions are bound to alienate him,as they would anyone in this setting. "Fan" questions are OK (everyone wants to know if he and Mike will write , record, and preform together soon), but silly anecdotes and things about Landy might be both sensitive and pointless. I would like to see more of a Dick Cavett (David Frost for you Brits) than a Conan Brian vibe.

That's the Professor's  advice.

You think that your inevitable "will the Beach Boys getting back together again soon?" question will be less annoying to Brian than other people's questions? To save you time the answer will be no.
P.S. this thread is full of questions that people aren't seriously going to ask on Monday. You shouldn't be fooled by people's fooling around.

My question is, how did you feel about Capitol putting out Duophonic fake stereo versions of albums you designated and carefully mixed to be mono.

But ultimately it'll just be exactly what it is:  a callow fan-board Q&A...with very little A.

Is there a song you've written that you consider underrated by critics, fans, etc.?

Umadbro?

Not me, I'll forgo all that guff in exchange for a weekend or 10's free access to the bedroom tapes and all those unheard '60s demos that must be under someone's bed.

what are the stories behind "Drip Drop", "Oh Yeah" and "Fig Plucker."?  :lol

Yes!!!

Question for Mr. Brian Wilson: Can you please, please consider a 'Love You' boxset?

He's not a rare butterfly. I say let people ask what they want, within reason. If all these celebrities can handle Reddit's AMAs, Brian can handle us.

If this was to be an open-ended interview, then perhaps that would make sense, but at only 1/2 hour there's barely time. It would be nice if we get answers some meaty answers to good questions.  And typed answers at that. It's a format that will yield probably 10-15 questions at the most, so let's all hope they're interesting ones.
" Brian why did you decide to join the Smiley board/ use this forum for your interview " etal, won't be anything close to what I'd like to hear... 

What would you like to hear, bgas?

Wondering if Monday's BW question thread will be created in the Ask The Honoured Guests section?

Or in SmileySmilers Who make music, now he's got a user name and all

I've never seen Brian make a single comment on subjects like Adult/Child, the Paley sessions, or his relationship with the general 1970s LA scene, so seeing people immediately jump to overly-asked questions like "how do you feel about Pet Sounds today" is really... I dunno the word.

There was a story posted here about Brian attending the filming for Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense and going backstage to ask for Tina Weymouth. I'd like to hear Brian's opinion on 'new wave', why he did not continue experimenting with analog synthesizers, what were his preferred analog synths*, and how he approached Wall of Sound differently when using them. Off the top of my head anyway.

*I've never seen Brian pictured with a Moog, but I have seen him with various ARP synths.

Is somebody here industrious enough to gather all questions that were posted so far and create a poll thread to decide which questions we really should ask instead of randomly cluttering up the thread that will be created on Monday?

Brian, I've read you used to watch Mission: Impossible a lot.  So which one do you like best - Cinnamon, Dana, or Casey? (Truth be told, I'll pick Cinnamon every time.)

I'm the one who asked about how he feels about Pet Sounds today.

I also asked about Smiley, Adult/Child and Paley, which are very hazy, hard-up-for-information areas of his career.

I also asked about SMiLE, which as far as I know he's only talked about in vague terms.

So...yeah. I think I was pretty well rounded in my questions. What saddens me is these other guys asking stuff like how he likes his steak cooked. More so when you consider that THOSE will most probably be the questions that actually get answered. But, it is what it is.

People are allowed to make a joke or 2 in nervous anticipation, Mujie.  I'm sure, on the day, we'll on be on our dweeby aspy fan-boy best behaviour.

Guys, I'm hoping to ask Brian one of the following questions on Monday. Which do you think is my best bet?  Have I got my facts right with question 1 - It was recorded during WH, right?

I know question 2 is a cliche but you never know, he might bite ...


Question 1: On The Smile Sessions box there is a beautiful recording of you playing Surf's Up alone at the piano. This apparently dates from The Wild Honey sessions and features some different chord changes from the released version.

My question is: What were your plans for the song at that point? Were you hoping to work on it for release on Wild Honey?


Question 2: Were you really planning a long A Side, B Side Heroes and Villains during the Smile sessions? If so ... how long?!

Very exciting.

Just a thought, since this a first, when it comes to the actual event,  anybody else think it might be a good to limit ourselves to one concise question? Imagining myself in Brian's place, I'm thinking I might pass on long and multiple questions and go to the to-the-point questions. Just a thought.

Totally agree, Cam. Anyone who posts multiple questions, in my opinion, is gonna get skipped on the day.

Hey, I'd go further. I reckon anyone who asks one *multi-faceted* question is gonna get skipped. Multiple clauses, similarly. I think to have a snowball's chance in hell of getting answered, you need to boil what you want to know down to as few words as possible, and phrase the question such that a similarly concise answer is possible.

In short: if you make answering hard, you're gonna be toast.

But swing Occam's razor like a mofo, and you might get somewhere...!

I think if Brian wants to tell us deep stuff, he will. If he wants to promote his new album primarily, he will. We can't force it. Honestly, I'd guess he wants to discuss his current material the most. You think no interviewers have asked him about Smiley Smile or Love You? He'll probably just tell us those are cool albums.

On the other hand, it goes without saying I suppose, avoid phrasing your questions so that they can be answered with a "yes" or "no". Unless, of course, you are looking for a "yes" or "no" answer.

Then my question will be:

"So, how do you want to run this?"

The reason I suggested a food question is because it seems like talking about food and other mundane topics relaxes Brian somewhat, giving him a break between the big questions about obscure songs and intent behind compositions. I never read such fun answers as in one of his tour books, where he rhapsodized about french fries.

I'm with you, Amy, and got where you were coming from straight away on that - but at the same time, it would kinda suck if he got to answer 15 questions while he was here, and of those, three ended up being about steak and another four about Norbit...   ;)

Completey agree with this and mentioned it earlier in the thread I think. It will be a p*sser if half of the thread is dominated by a single poster asking multiple questions or rambling on for ages.

Ultimately it's up to the mods and I'm sure they have considered this aspect and will comment in due course.



I'm with you Matt. My question below:

Brian - H&V a & b?

The other thing that occurs to me is that, coming in, they must be aware that this is a fan-board that swings towards the more hardcore (at least compared to the blueboard) so Brian may have been given a heads up to expect more in-depth questions. If he only wanted to answer safe questions about the new album he'd stay on his own site (and this a direct contradiction of my initial cynicism, I'm aware).

None of us can no for sure what will and won't be answered. More power to those asking about Love You, Adult Child, Paley Sessions etc. It would be a shame if we all neutered our questions in the hope of getting a reply and missed an opportunity to get BW to open up about his more obscure work.

I really hope he answers as broad a spectrum of questions as possible.

Off the top of my head:

1. Hi Brian. Is there any news on your book? How did it come together? How did you feel recounting past events?

2. (and this upto the Mods to add ;D): Is there anything you want to add to the Smile bootlegs thread?

I'm now going to completely ignore my own advice. I think these are the questions I most want to ask Brian:
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The synth bass all over the Love You album (and in the odd spot here and there on Holland and 15 Big Ones) sounds so cool. How did you get the notion to start using a synth for the bass instead of a guitar? Can you remember how it came about? Were you inspired by the pedal bass used on organs in church? I know you used a pedal bass synth, the Moog Taurus, from time to time, so I wondered...

Can you remember anything about what you had planned for the track 'The Elements' on SMiLE? All we know of is the Fire part. Did the musical ideas you had for the Water, Air and Earth tracks ever get turned into finished tracks called something else? Were any of them released on the SMiLE boxed set?

We can hear you on the SMiLE Sessions boxed set experimenting with arrangements of a couple of classic American standards: 12th Street Rag on Look (eventually released as Song For Children, but without the 12th Street Rag parts) and You Are My Sunshine. Was there ever a version of Heroes And Villains with You Are My Sunshine in it at one point?

Did you ever plan a two-sided 45rpm single with two different arrangements of Heroes and Villains on each side?

You played Surf's Up on piano for the Inside Pop documentary in 1966. Then you recorded a full arrangement of the first part of the song a couple of weeks later. But did you ever make and record a full arrangement of the second part of the song, from the lyric 'Dove Nested Towers' onwards? Before recording it all again in 2004, I mean.
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Yeah, yeah, you're right. I asked multiple questions, each with multiple parts. Exactly what I said was the surest way to be utterly ignored by Brian come Monday. As I'm sure these questions will be...!   ;)

Guess I just wanted to get my 'fantasy questions for Brian' out there. I am under no illusions that he would actually be inclined to answer these, much less remember the answers with any accuracy. In fact, if I remember rightly, he actually HAS been asked some of these questions before in Q&As (the Elements one, I think), and either given answers that can't be right or don't make sense, or said (not unreasonably, nearly five decades later) that he can't remember (I'm pretty sure someone close to him has asked him about the second movement of Surf's Up, and about the two-sided H&V 45, only to be told he can't remember for sure...).

So basically, the only way to get proper answers to these questions is to befriend Brian in 1966, like in 'Glimpses'. There you go! All we need is a Hot Tub Time Machine! Simples...!

And his answer will be "yes". Sooooooooooooooooooooo......................... ;)

Now that you gave us the release date for the Love You box set, when are the Friends sessions going to be released?

Regarding the multiple questions point, what if we had some teamwork? Designate someone to ask about SMiLE, about Smiley, Adult/Child, etc?

That way we might have a better chance?

So in other words, can other people ask all your questions for you?

Umm...no. it just seems like a lot of us are interested in the same subjects and there may be a better chance to get some of them answered. Less overwhelming for him too, a bunch of us asking 3 or 4 questions of the same topic.

Why does everything I say get taken the wrong way?

I don't think Brian would know how to answer that.

 :lol

I'm just waiting for ghost to come out of nowhere during this Q&A.

I think we all want that.... :lol

It saves time.

They've set up a special forum on Brian's site where folks have been posting their question this afternoon in anticipation of Monday's visit.  It's been named the 'Ask Brian' forum.***  He and his site co-ordinator, Michael DeMartin, have been in and out over these past few hours checking the place out.  I am wondering what the heck is goin on there I have to say.  I posted my question...and when I went back there just to confirm the name of the forum a minute ago...while typing THIS***...my question/thread had been removed.   :o  I assure you it wasn't a controversial question.  I wonder why?  ???

Anyway...it's a different board over there than it was when I witnessed Brian's LAST visit and this format makes sense.   The point is...THIS ask Brian thread may have inspired them a touch. :hat

Did I miss something???

Hey Brian, what are your favorite cable and broadcast TV shows?

I think you'd be great on Portlandia (Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein) because it has got a very wacky sense of humor!

Brian have you seen these new box set releases?

Of all the worthy obscure Beach Boys albums to release a box set for, why Wild Honey? Give me Sunflower, Love You/AdultChild and Smiley (with the rest of the SMiLE rarities that were left off the last set as a bonus)

That said, I'd kill for a poster of the cover.

Hi Brian,

Would you ever consider doing a "Reimagines Gershwin"-type album for the music of Frank Sinatra?

OK...I am NOT saying that it'll go the same HERE as it will THERE...but...what they have requested on the Blue Board is that questions be posed as the title of a new thread in the special forum they created for this 'Q and A Session With the Big Daddy' on Monday.  [and no it won't, subsequently, be included as an added track on the new album as a 2 foot cup is now WAY TOO SMALL for jumping into from any height for almost all of us here.]

This does 2 things...it get's Brian right to the question at hand and avoids his having to deal with duplication.  And as title boxes will only accept X-number of letters and figures it will force questions to be asked economically...thus keeping them all on point. :police:

That's the latest.  I would well imagine that requests were made here as well in order to facilitate Monday's visit so that Brian can have printed contact with as many people as possible. :hat

Dylan has one coming out next month -- with Al Schmidt mixing, too.

Wirestone, any tips on asking BW questions? ;D

Yes, don't make eye-contact.

That wild honey box set just might be the most beautiful thing I've never seen.

1) One of my favorite tracks on the Made in California box set was the extended version of "Meant For You" from the great Friends album featuring the lyrics about ponies and their mothers and puppy dogs and their brothers, do you recall anything about why that was cut?

2) What was the intent for the multiple versions of Old Man River that were recorded during the Friends era?

Hah! As I've recounted here a few times, after interviewing him, I was blown away by his speed and ability to avoid answering anything he didn't want to. Believe me, I avoided the yes/no questions, and asked about food -- all the usual tips. Didn't matter. He was very polite and said some interesting things, but a few strategically placed I don't knows and I haven't thought about thats can take the wind out of you.

Brian, is there any chance of another Australian tour? Saw you in Melbourne with The Beach Boys in 2012, would be amazing to see you live again!

Do you often/ever go back to Hawthorne, just cruisin' or maybe going to Pizza Show? When was the last time you went?

Maybe this has been asked already, but how do we ask Brian our question?

No, sometimes posts originating from a parallel universe make it through the dimensional barrier.

Ya snooze, ya lose… the MIU Sessions box is still in stock though…!

Just had a quick look attune Blueboard's question for Brian forum.

Strikes me that some of the questions are a tad simplistic, and their answers will be forthcoming whether Brian chooses to answer them or not: stuff like "how many songs will there be on NPP?" and "will you be touring?".

I kinda hope we'll seize this rare opportunity to gain a little deeper enlightenment about stuff that we might not otherwise have chance to find out.

Details will follow. Hopefully tomorrow.

I'd REALLY like to have that Wild Honey box set above!

Yes a cruel bit of photoshopping that! If only ...

I'll wait till the price drops a bit more, though. ;D

Anyone have suggestions for my proposeed question for Brian?

Subject: Solve a mystery: “The Elements” SMiLE 1967

or

Subject: 50,000,000 fans want to know

Post: What did you intend and actually record for the 1967 SMiLE album track "The Elements"?

or

Post: What do you remember about the form and recordings intended for the 1967 SMiLE album track "The Elements" track?

Needs work.

As we all know that Brian will skip over most any question relating to SMiLE, Why not just ask>> Brian, Is there a color of socks you like better than red? <<

So you suggest "no". Noted.

Correct, I have NO suggestions as to your proposed questions(s); but I can see I erred in my alternate, in that I should have proposed> what color socks do you prefer to red ones?<

Aww, crap. Sorry Cam, I just asked that question (or a version of it, anyway) in the official thread. I swear I wasn't trying to 'steal' it from you - I've been planning to ask it myself for a few days (as you can see from further back in this thread), and didn't realise you were posting about how to formulate the question here, just as I was posting my version to the Q&A thread...

To bgas: I thought the 'embargo' on asking Brian about SMiLE had expired with the various releases of SMiLE since 2003, so I just thought I'd go for it. However, he may well choose to skip it, of course, and I expect he will; I'm guessing SMiLE is way down his list of priorities right now. And even if I *am* lucky enough to get an answer, I'm not sure it will help SMiLEophiles much...!

My sentiments exactly. I don't expect he'll answer mine either, not in any definitive way, but I just had to try. I'm sure others will ask about Adult/Child and a Love You boxset and whatever else. But I don't think anyone is as perplexed by Psychedelic Sounds and how if at all it fits into the puzzle as me! Some might say I wasted my question, but it's the #1 thing I'd like confirmation on right now.

(Raises hand...) I am!  ;D 

Those spoken word sessions have been one of my biggest questions as well as one of my favorite parts of the Smile mystery as well. We can post theory after theory as to what they may have been (and I've done a fair share of that), but how great would it be to have the answer come right from the source!  ;)

Not suggesting there's an embargo, and I'd also love to hear about the Psych Sounds, but to my mind( and of course, to be clear now and forever, each of us posts our own thoughts, not what someone else is saying)  I just think Brian is >done> with SMiLE and will pass over those questions for those he's more of a mind to answer.
That's presuming that he actually chooses. I think it's just as likely he'll have one of his posse preload his choices fro him, so he doesn't have to bothered with reading them all. As much as it would be nice to have free rein here, with only 1/2 hour here and 1/2 hour on his own board, he's going to address his own agenda first and then mop up with any extra time.
 I'd love to be wrong and see him answer many of the questions posted thus far that would give all of us some greater insight, but...  we shall see.
And as I won't be available to watch it live, it won't matter in the instant. 

Agreed. It's all good and it takes a village etc..

Glad I'm not the only one. Itd be nice to hear Brian confirm or deny if they were important, or just throw away experiments. I don't think they'd have been included on the box set if the latter.



Now, if someone would just ask about AdultChild, I'd be a happy camper  :hat

Somebody asked the Jeff Foskett question. Well done, sir.

I really, really hope this is a Jeff-free album. I've been wanting one for too long now. Sorry, but I'm not a fan. ;(

http://imgur.com/7IN84nH (http://imgur.com/7IN84nH)

Also, the first troll.

Be nice to me.

My name is Talky Tina, and I love you very much.

Brian, Does Melinda hate your Nike Crosstrainers as much as my wife hates mine?  saw you wearing them in some pics the past few years.   I felt vindicated seeing my hero wearing these most comfortable of shoes.  

Is anyone going to ask about Pleasure Island?

I like that someone finally asked about Adult/Child.

And that someone asked about SIP and whether he listens to any SMiLE mixes. Really wanna see those answered too :afro

Seriously tho, great questions everyone! I think we gave him a really solid pool to pick from. I'm really curious whether he'd ever release a box set of solo material as well, but didn't even consider asking that. Good stuff all around

I really wanted to ask him a Kill-Marry-Screw style question about Kacey, Zooey and Lana, but I figure the mods would not be cool with it, and Brian probably wouldn't answer it. He'd probably just screw & marry all 3, I know I would.  :hat


So instead I just asked if we're ever going to hear the long-rumored album known as Pleasure Island.

As Craig mentioned earlier.

REMINDER: Please, post only one question per person. We're trying to be fair and give everyone equal chance to post their question and hopefully get an answer. It's spelled out so clearly in the guidelines which were set up for this event there can be no misunderstanding. Please be fair to everyone and follow the guidelines of one post per member, as 99% of those posting have done so far.  

Yes there can, that's why I asked for clarification in the other thread. I see you underlined the "one" now so it's a bit clearer now. Still good you adressed this again here - this time no misunderstanding possible. :)

You can blame sweetdudejim on the error of my ways. Or blame me for not reading the entire Welcome thread in that forum.

Either way, I'm very excited Brian decided to grace us with his presence and will be answering some of our questions in advance of this new album we will hopefully be getting to hear sooner rather than later.

Was gonna post this alongside my question but thought the mods might prefer not to…
(http://content.sitezoogle.com/u/62750/686360d4d6a52bbc32c1efa80de399f56a7e1479/photo/1784118.jpg?1380109075)

Not sure I should ask this but is there some way of reversing the list of "question" topics for Brian so that he sees them in the order in which they were posted?

Just a thought...   

Would be good if possible (given mine is one of the early ones  ;)) but I imagine it might be a bit of a ball-ache. Mods?

Just checked the settings of this board. As far as I can see the default setting is that the newest posts are shown first. I can't find a setting to reverse that. One can reverse the order though by clicking on "Last Post" on the first row of the overview.

And we will extend the number of topics on one page, so that they will be visible on one page.

I understand the concerns, but the "newest first" will be the easiest way to keep the actual replies to each question at the top of the screen. This is actually good so that from our side and from Brian's side, we'll all be able to see which posts have been answered, and it will help prevent opening topics which have already been replied to. And those going back to read the session later will see all the replies from Brian right at the top.

And to refresh the page, just hit F5 on the keyboard to get the latest, updated view of the page so you can follow the new posts as they come in.

Hope that helps!  :)

Yes indeed. I understand the logic of having the answered posts at the top. Thanks for the info!

(Personally I think the questions should be listed in order of who's made the most posts in the past, to reward board loyalty…










… and age).

 ;D

Thank you. All sounds great.

We need more "love you" questions, this may be our only chance.

Let's delete all the questions and post the 10 questions we'd most like answered and hope Brian doesn't skip those! ;)

I really wish people (especially longtime, learned, superfan posters on this board) would have refrained from asking "easy" questions like "is there going to be a NPP tour", etc. That's a question that will OBVIOUSLY be answered in due time regardless of this Q&A. From a newbie, maybe I could understand the desire to ask a question like that, but from longtime posters with hundreds/thousands of posts on this board? Why?? And questions like those are likely most of the questions that get chosen too, thus wasting an opportunity for more unusual questions to get chosen (that would otherwise likely never get asked/answered in a capacity like this). Urgh.

</rant>

Super geeky questions only, please.  :)

Yeah. Not to sound like a jerk, but I must agree. Plus, those will surely be asked on the blue board anyway. Wasted opportunity, if he only answers those questions.

Not to mention the number of Yes-no questions. Open ended questions elicit the best responses any time.

Well, I'm ready ...  ;D

(http://i60.tinypic.com/7306zp.jpg)

Now please behave you all, so we (the mods) can relax a bit as well   ;D

Have to say these questions are all very intriguing -- a nice mix of some "soft" ones and some deep ones.

What a great day!!!!!

Not one question about the movie..

Probably a good thing, I doubt he knows much about it  ;D

...I'm psyched!!!

Ha! Got one of those waiting for me in my garage for the right moment----but not tonight.

This is so cool. The best thing is that this will generate probably zero publicity, Brian is just doin' it for the fans. What a guy.

Hmm, well, that went about as well as can be expected. The odd nice nugget of info in there, nothing Earth-shattering, but it was all good!

Interesting that he still rates VDP so highly...

And "Cheese Pizza" gets my vote for the most, well,  *Brian-like* Brian response...   ;)

Right. Cheese pizza? Just saw on his board that he prefers apple pie over cake. We've been had.

Wow, it went by so fast; glad he stopped by though  :).  Time to go back to class  :(.

Not that I was expecting much, but all the same, if I'm being honest...kinda disappointed :-\

Honestly, I didn't think he'd answer all the hard,  in-depth, super fan questions. This isn't really the kind of format for that. It was pretty much what I expected.: a fun time with the fans.

Strangers in the Night demo, favorite chord, the pizza mystery solved. Not bad for a monday morning!

Murry singing bass, "Breakaway" inspired by the Joey Bishop Show, the Baldwin organ possibly in storage...not bad at all.  :)

Hell yeah! That was an amazing Q&A, nothing to be disappointed about!!

The BW.COM Q&A is a bit of a dud, at least here we got some interesting questions answered.

Brian board q&a's blah

Who is your current favorite classical composer? Thank you for your wonderful music, Brian.
Joann Sebastian Bach - I liked Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. 

Why you wearing glasses during the Pet Sounds era only ?  I want thoses glasses, I need thoses glasses,  I love thoses glasses
They were just for effect - I didn't need glasses. Just to be cool!

Hi Brian. I always thought Male Ego was the undisputed highlight of the Beach Boys' 1985 self-titled and a forgotten gem that wouldn't have been out of place on The Beach Boys Love You. On the same token, Rio Grande from your 1988 solo album was a lost classic I'd put among your best work. Any memories of recording those two songs?
I remember working with Andy Paley and Lenny Waronker. Had really good lyrics.

Good morning, Brian. Cake or pie?
Pie - Apple

If you could only listen to one or two instruments for the rest of your life, which would they be?
Piano and organ.

Did you ever get chance to meet Walt Disney while filming The Monkey's Uncle with Annette?  If you did meet him, Can you explain your experience with him?
No I never did - just a Disney cruise!

What is your definition of artistic success?
Number one records on the charts.

What did you think of (Love and Mercy)?
Oh, fantastic. It's very well done and the actors were really good. Paul Dano really captured me in the Pet Sounds period.. Paul G. was very well casted. John Cusack and Elizabeth Banks were great. All in all it's factual. I'm really excited about it. We're going to Berlin to see it in the Berlin Film Festival in Feburaruy.

Hi Brian! Let me know what do you think about which band is the best of all time. Also i want to say  that i love all of your songs!
At the moment, it's the Rolling Stones are my favorite band. The Beatles too of course. The Bee Gees and I met them once at my Hall of Fame trip. They inducted me.

Were you always a confident singer? Or did it take a lot of practice?
Confidence - being the best I can, you know? I always was a confident singer.

Are you a fan of Motown? I mean, you did a lot of uptempo songs in the 60's, just like Motown. Any favorite Motown songs?
I heard it through the grapevine, reflections by diana ross, superwoman by Stevie Wonder.

The Beach Boys covered The Beatles a number of times, but The Beatles never covered the Beach Boys. What song of yours do you wish The Beatles had covered and why?
They could've covered Girl Don't Tell me because it sounded like them!

Your vocal collaborations with Stephen Kalinich on his early 70s spoken word albums are truly sublime.  What are some of your memories of working with Stephen? Do you still keep in touch?
We wrote A Friend Like You. A great guy.

I was wondering who are your favorite newer bands or solo artists? Are there any recent songs that you really enjoy or identify with?
Yeah, Nate Reuss from Fun and the others from my new album

What are your favorite musical pieces of Gershwin? I love your Gershwin tribute album very much. I especially like "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin" and my favorite is "Nothing But Love". I really love your musical and singing style.
My favorites are I loves you Porgy, Someone to watch over me.

Do you think music should be used more in nursing/health care?
Music is good for your brain, a good experience - you're right.
Thank you, Dr Wilson!!

Hi Brian,  Did you ever do a version of Guess I'm Dumb ?
I thought Glen did a great job. The horns I produced were really great. A departure from the Beach Boys

How old were you when you discovered your gift of harmony?
I was 12 years old and listening to R&B music. I Liked the Great Pretenders, Rock Around the Clock, Earth Angel.

What song did you expect to either get more or less praised once it was released? For instance, “This Whole World” and “Rio Grande” are the most underrated songs in my opinion, and I know you think "Lady Lynda" is underraterd. Which others are overrated or underrater in your opinion?
The Little Girl I Once Knew  was underrated I thought.

Which of the collaborations on the new album surprised you the most? What made you go "wow, I didn't expect that!" -- who would you want to work with again?
Nate Reus - he surprised me the most.

Hello Brian! Do you have any plans to make an album specifically geared at young children? Thank you!
I thought about it, but I haven't. Voice and piano would be a cool trip too.

Did you ever keep up with the accordion? Heard that you had a few lessons as a kid, but do you ever try to play it now?
When I was 14 years old! I took lessons for a month but never was very good at it!

Not a question as much as a comment. The version of There's No Other (Like My Baby) from the Beach Boys' Party album was truly superb. I suggest that version to anyone who wants to hear perfect harmony. Hope you feel the same.
I thought it was a great track! Three part harmony was very close. Best part was the harmony!

Brian, what are  you thoughts on Jan Berry.  Do you believe that Jan & Dean should be inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Jan was a kick - real good with music and I wrote Surf City with him. It was my first #1 record.

Do you remember the Crenshaw Apartment's where you had a studio and you were doing pre-production on pet sounds or recording new artists on your record label Safari Records? If so do you remember the little girl riding her red tricycle around and is she a long lost relative to your family? Was her name Sandy or nick named Sissy ? and if so is the Wilson family looking for her?
I had a studio there - I do remember that!

He answered my question. I'm still gobsmacked.  :thud

His favorite is F sharp seventh. What a revelation!  :afro   ;)

I gotta say the questions and answers on his board were quite a bit better than ours.

I'm pretty sure he meant F sharp Maj7. I recall him answering that question before somewhere.

No, they kinda sucked.

With one certain exception.

That was fun, and about what I expected in terms of in-depth answers (or lack of).  Hopefully he'll come back and address some excellent questions he didn't get to.

Reading this, though, makes me a little sad:


 If that's still truly his measurement of success, he's almost certain to be disappointed.

He probably didn't really 'get' the "artistic" part of the question.. ;)

He has always been clear that he attaches the greatest importance to chart success.

:shrug :shrug :shrug

An extremely bizarre question entirely shrugged off by Brian's response of "I remember that - I had a studio there!"

Musta been a helluva studio in that apartment.  Let's see, a Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder, a microphone, three blank 3M tapes, a table, a chair, a lamp, and a mattress on the floor....

I didn't want to further clog the What Did We Learn thread, but I couldn't resist putting this somewhere.

The question I posted:


The response I fantasized:

I love that, thanks for asking!  I remember I was up in the Sierra Nevadas with Michael Vosse and some other friends – AGD can tell you who was there and the exact dates, and what kind of pizza we ate for lunch – and we were up on a mountain and Michael said “take a breath of that country air.”  I said, “Wow, country air…that’s a GREAT idea for a song!”  And this tune came to me right then and I started humming it and they were knocked out by it.  KNOCKED OUT!  Then I thought, I should do a whole thing about the elements for SMiLE, you know, air, fire, water, earth.  Yeah, the Elements!  I figured that would scare some people.  The air part was gonna be a piano piece like the humming part of “Country Air,” with some blowing and whistling over it.  We never finished that, but I have a copy of the unfinished track at home…I’ll put that up on my website after I finish answering all these great questions.   Well, on second thought it's not lossless so you guys wouldn't want to hear it.  Anyway, I used the tune for “Country Air” when we did the ‘Wild Honey’ album.    By the way,  the earth section of The Elements was...

The response I expected:

NONE.

The response I received:


So, the vision of Brian happily singing a line of “Country Air”...very cool!

I thought ?-n about favorite ELO song/album was right up Mikie or stockey's alley. But it was MrRobinsonsFather.

It lost me too Lee!  Thankfully Brian knows how to answer those curveball types of questions.  ;D

Something like: "Knowing Sandy is like liking a Phil Spector record." ?  ;)