I think that our culture has finally gotten away from the stranglehold the boomer generation had on the history of rock and pop. This has had some dramatic effects. Disco, which I was somehow taught to despise as a classic-rock child of the 90s, is now rightly seen as a path-breaking genre with a far more lasting impact than hard rock. And bands like the Beach Boys are finally coming out of the shadow of how they intersected with popular taste and being seen as artists defined by how they approached their music, rather than by how audiences received it.

Bingo…hindsight really is 20/20 (and So Tough, and Holland, and…). A lot of artists unfairly derided as square have found a new life with Gen Z. Growing up I was made fun of for being a Billy Joel fan, for instance. He’s another artist popular with the younger set. Those who think stuff like this due to stuff like TikTok and Stranger Things (not referring to you GF…I see this a lot and you reminded me of it!) are only partially correct… this is the first generation that has an appreciation of what came before. My generation (Gen X) wouldn’t mark out if we heard an older song on a tv show or movie! If it wasn’t new, it was lame! One of the side effects of it being easy to distribute music these days is that people are generally more educated musically on a informal basis… if someone wants to learn music theory, instead of going to college and hearing a dry course, bring on Rick Beato!  There’s a far greater appreciation of music now , regardless of what grandpa and grandma are saying on the other board.

The funny this is… those pop culture moments are a great introduction…but notice how the newer fans of things end up gravitating towards other things? Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams went viral…but two years on, “Everywhere” is getting hyped. I found out Christine McVie died when my daughter texted me…they were talking about it in her school. Kate Bush was already popular with the younger set before Stranger Things. I can usually tell now when someone from the past is about to get popular again .

As a  side note, this is why A&R reps being too much older than the artists is a horrible idea on this day, but I digress.
 

This also explains why a certain subset of “fans” are acting like complete douche waffles and making personal attacks on those who worked so hard to bring this to the fans 😒

The biggest revelatory moment was realizing how much of Holland had Brian on backups. I think Sail On Sailor, Steamboat and Leaving This Town are the only ones he’s not present on.

He's singing on Funky Pretty, Mt Vernon, first half of The Trader (his vocal arrangement) and the beginning of California (in the "spend" as well as his lead), but none of the other songs.

Hmm .. I could’ve sworn I heard him in the backups of Only With You. I hear him elsewhere on California too in the backup/track mix , unless those were excised from the released version.

Rooftop Harry sounds like Pacific Coast Highway …and the end is VERY similar (melodically) to one of my recent songs…I swear I didn’t hear this before…promise!

The SOS demo …Brian did ALL the cocaine lol …and man it sounds like Live let Live in this version

Brian on Daddy Dear

And wow that WAS Spark in the Dark I heard somehow years ago via a dearly departed friend.

Body Talk is awesome

The biggest revelatory moment was realizing how much of Holland had Brian on backups. I think Sail On Sailor, Steamboat and Leaving This Town are the only ones he’s not present on.

Just found out she passed. Dammit

Hell yeah! I’m excited af to hear this!

Awesome!

Sounds good to me. Of course we know certain people are gonna hate it just because, but IMHO it’s just fine …

Definitely was a medication change (Brian had put on a ton of weight and drastically lost it right around the same period), but I think Carl’s death also took a lot out of him

Whoa

That is a very good point. And remember, SMiLE was intended to “beat” Pet Sounds (and Good Vibrations), which was an incredibly high bar to clear. It created possibly unreasonable expectations for Brian to overcome

There’s definitely something up, because the enunciation issue is not new… it’s been there (and gotten worse) since about 2016 or so, like he has to force the sound to come out. It’s only relatively recently that it’s been affecting his speech to this extent. Basically when his mobility started decreasing.

Same!

[Whether 1998 Brian really loved the sound of Imagination or was just going through the motions]

Right-that is it exactly-Frank Zappa is that exactly-a quirky guy who just put out what he wanted to put out and sold just enough records to keep being allowed to make more but hardly ever bothered the record charts. Brian, however, was the leader of a very commercial/mainstream group and therefore he could only get away with a truly quirky statement like Love You once. No one around him would allow anything so raw out ever again. So Sweet Insanity was shelved and he was pushed in a more mainstream direction.  The question is whether Brian was sad about that and I guess that may never truly be known.  Whether 1998 Brian really loved the sound of Imagination or was just going through the motions and dreamed of doing wilder stuff like Sweet Insanity -I just cannot answer that.

 Considering what he said about the sessions in his book, along with contemporary interviews he made, Brian’s thoughts on Imagination are pretty much known at this point. I think that lawsuit to end the business relationship with Brian and Thomas probably stemmed a lot from his feelings on the album and (probably even more so) the type of promotion done for it. Once Thomas was gone, you never saw Brian on CMT again, or anything to do with the country scene again. The difference between in demeanor for the earlier shows (and the first incarnation of the band ) and a year later is night and day, and not just because Brian got more comfortable on stage.

In retrospect that was a very strange period.

What did he say about the sessions in his book?

Basically said he “wasn’t sure” about the production choices Thomas did, and how he heard more of him (Thomas) than himself and how he felt control was taken away from him.

[Whether 1998 Brian really loved the sound of Imagination or was just going through the motions]

Right-that is it exactly-Frank Zappa is that exactly-a quirky guy who just put out what he wanted to put out and sold just enough records to keep being allowed to make more but hardly ever bothered the record charts. Brian, however, was the leader of a very commercial/mainstream group and therefore he could only get away with a truly quirky statement like Love You once. No one around him would allow anything so raw out ever again. So Sweet Insanity was shelved and he was pushed in a more mainstream direction.  The question is whether Brian was sad about that and I guess that may never truly be known.  Whether 1998 Brian really loved the sound of Imagination or was just going through the motions and dreamed of doing wilder stuff like Sweet Insanity -I just cannot answer that.

 Considering what he said about the sessions in his book, along with contemporary interviews he made, Brian’s thoughts on Imagination are pretty much known at this point. I think that lawsuit to end the business relationship with Brian and Thomas probably stemmed a lot from his feelings on the album and (probably even more so) the type of promotion done for it. Once Thomas was gone, you never saw Brian on CMT again, or anything to do with the country scene again. The difference between in demeanor for the earlier shows (and the first incarnation of the band ) and a year later is night and day, and not just because Brian got more comfortable on stage.

In retrospect that was a very strange period.

As much as Mike can be a dick, I don't think any Wilson would have a problem with that crappy country party drinking song. No point looking for extra thing to bash Mike with, there's plenty already.

I don't think anyone is looking for anything extra to bash Mike with. Whether or not the Wilson's would think it's a fun party song, the point in bringing up the LoCash song is that Mike seems to bring up the pitfalls of drug use anytime he's asked a question even remotely relating to modern-day Brian. We're bringing up the LoCash song because it's insanely hypocritical to judge Brian for drug use 40 years ago whilst promoting a song in 2022 that promotes excessive drug use.

"promotes excessive drug use" - It's kind of a spring break bro country song. Stop making it something it's not.

70,000+ were killed by opioids last year in America. 80,000+ were killed by alcohol alone last year in America. Call the song whatever you want, but alcohol is a drug, and it's abuse does kill millions of people worldwide each year. Just because it's marketed and legal doesn't make it any less lethal than the drugs that Mike constantly crusades against (when it comes to Brian).

And with those statistics in mind, the repeated line "drink em down down drink em down" "Instead of Jack D, shoot some Cuervo. Mix up some rum" is promoting excessive drug use.

And to top it all off, it's just churlish to promote such a song when Dennis Wilson died due to his problems with alcohol.

Again, I'm not making up these statistics. I'm not "making something it's not". The lyrics are there, the facts are there.

You should consider a career in politics. You're reaching far too much. I agree alcohol is a dangerous drug but that song is still just a dumb ass party song.....nothing more and means nothing re:Dennis Wilson.

Dennis Wilson drank all day every day in his last years. Big difference than binge drinking at a party or whatever this song is talking about.

Look, I am really not trying to reach too far. If I am then I will concede my point. But logically in my mind, alcohol is a drug that leads to death for many people (whether or not your an alcoholic). I've had a good friend die because of drunk driving, I've seen it destroy families, I've seen more people die of the long-term effects of it. Billy shared his story above as well. And it's not really subjective when the numbers show 3 million people die of alcohol related incidents a year....be it drunk driving (which you don't need to be an alcoholic for), or fights that lead to deaths, or just alcoholism in general.

Again, my point is that if Mike is on some crusade to fight the evils of drugs, then he shouldn't be promoting/singing on a song that promotes the use of alcohol (a drug that you yourself admit is dangerous). Even if it is just a "dumb party song" - it is a song promoting the use of a drug that kills people.

I don't see the logic behind that being something akin to a political stunt. Sorry if you see it that way, and if you care to pick apart my logic I'd be happy to concede my point.

Sorry to hear you have lost someone. There are a hell of a lot of songs out there about drinking/drugs and partying to excess. Do we condemn them all or just Mike Love associated ones?

Tbf I've already picked apart your logic and again you're doing what I referred to in my last post. As is the nature of the internet, we can continue to post endlessly but tbh I've yet to see you concede a point on this board so.....

It’s one thing for Motley Crüe to sing about getting wasted: they never claimed to be choirboys or any kind of role models. But Mike buddied up to Nancy “Just Say No” Reagan and routinely brings up his cousins’ histories of substance abuse. And then turns around and sings on a song about partying and drinking only because the song uses the hook to I Get Around and is called “Beach Boys”. If Mike never, ever said a word about Brian’s or anyone else’s drug abuse and still did this song, no one would care. Literally. You would get eye rolls, yes. But other than that, nothing. Whether it is fair or not, Mike makes himself an easy target when he does stuff like this.

Exactly

On the other hand, HeyJude's "It's Brian did drugs o''clock" made me spill my coffee. Brilliant!

I gotta use that for a lyric. It's sure to sell a couple of copies in January!

Mike is an old zebra, he's not going to change his stripes this late in life.  I don't know why some of us expect him to. Mike and Brian are better off without each other. Mike has his team - Bruce, Scott, Cowsill, Ike, etc. Brian has his team - Melinda, Al, Darian, Blondie. Brian fans should be thankful that @$$hole isn't with Mike.

Did you *seriously* refer to Brian as an asshole?! Well at least you’re open about your feelings about Brian now.

I misspoke - i meant the one and only greatest asshole of all time, Mike Love.

Got it. In all honesty from your recent posts it looked like you were trolling. Glad we’re on the same page. Course that’s the issue with online communication…intent isn’t always clear

The sad part is, I have always championed him on an artistic level and feel he’s unjustly maligned on that level. But when he belittles Brian publicly (for issues he contributed towards!) , or makes a tasteless LGBTQ joke before a song, for instance, it immediately overshadows that. He blames everyone else, but he is his own worst enemy. And I were Brian, I’d tell Mike what he can go do with that piano in that room.

Thing is, few people see alcohol for what it is. Having seen both of my parents die of liver failure due to years of alcohol abuse, having had certain things happen to me as a child due to alcohol, well , I’ve seen first hand what could happen. Everything in moderation. Mike is just showing his hypocrisy. Again , I wish someone would bring up his idiocy in 1988 directly to his face .

Truth be told, I think Mike’s the second craziest person in the band, Bruce being first (anyone who’s seen his mood swings know exactly what I mean). I have a strong feeling that had he and Brian’s childhoods been switched, Mike would never have gotten out of a facility once admitted. The fact that he harbors such hatred and malice towards Brian shows what a sad, pathetic sh*t he’s become in his old age.

I would love it if just once someone brought up to Mike his own psychiatric incident in 1970, or how he was drunk off his ass during his hall of fame speech, or the fact Mike wasn’t exactly clean in the 60s to early 70s all the time either.  I absolutely despise people who act like they’re without faults while dogging others out. But hey, what’s basic human decency when you got all that money, right Mike? It seems like people like that go through life so damn easy, and the more you care about others vs yourself the more life kicks the sh*t out of you. I just don’t understand how Mike has no compassion , and if anything it seems like he’s enjoying seeing Brian not doing so well lately. If karma was a thing that applied to everyone , he’d be in for it.  But it doesn’t, so he’ll continue on badmouthing the cousin who was his meal ticket , and if he outlives him, will then cry fake tears talking about how much he “loved” Brian and blah blah blah room and piano blah blah blah. Unlike others, I dont hate Mike or wish ill on him , and in fact I pity him, to be that truly pathetic to actually hate one of the few decent people left in this shitty world .

Billy, that’s quite a political statement for someone not getting political.  To classify all conservatives the way you did is pretty biased.  I’m conservative but don’t support Mike Love or racism or ridiculing those with challenges, or those different than me.  I think Mike is a POS and have personal reasons for feeling that way. 

Should’ve clarified the more extreme right , but in all fairness I was pretty steamed having dealt with that type of garbage in person yesterday, because some freaking idiot still thinks the civil rights movement hadn’t happened , and that my interracial marriage is an abomination 🙄. I wish more people where I live were like you. Unfortunately, nothing will ever change here and barring a minor miracle I won’t live long enough to move. Then I read that garbage by Lonely Dickface  and I lost it.

What baffles me is that every time fans get enraged by these statements, you, Kreen, and the peanut gallery elsewhere rush to defend Mike with either one-liner drive-by sarcastic jabs, or these arguments that aren't based in any sort of reality.

Honestly, it’s because those people are assholes. At least LS is open about it now. Not to throw politics in there but not so surprisingly many of those same people support a certain political party that believes in mocking the disabled, supports racism and homophobia (hell that’s why that piece of sh*t Mike’s Bitch was banned), and just a general hatred and disdain for anyone not like them.  So , of COURSE they’re going to defend Mike being a dick to Brian, because they think like that themselves.

Mike is an old zebra, he's not going to change his stripes this late in life.  I don't know why some of us expect him to. Mike and Brian are better off without each other. Mike has his team - Bruce, Scott, Cowsill, Ike, etc. Brian has his team - Melinda, Al, Darian, Blondie. Brian fans should be thankful that @$$hole isn't with Mike.

Did you *seriously* refer to Brian as an asshole?! Well at least you’re open about your feelings about Brian now.

Couldn’t agree any more