Want to know the funny part? I liked that disc because it had some songs I hadn't heard before (like the Ronstadt song)! Apparently, I had either blocked it from my mind completely or, more likely, saw it in the running order and skipped it, going with my impeccable instincts...

By the way, on Chuck Kelly's luxuriamusic show yesterday, Nelson was a guest. He said something to the effect that "Brian is just doing demos on his own and along with Scott. I don't know of any actual recording going on for an album with the band soon." I thought that was interesting. Now, maybe Nelson just doesn't know about it, but I wonder if all this talk of a new "album" is really just demos...

Well, Come on Feel the Illinoise is. And I'll leave it at that.

The background sounds more like Jeff than Brian to me. At least more like Jeff than modern-day Brian.

By the way, I hadn't heard that song before--Grief Never... I must say, I think it's atrocious. I know it's for a good cause, but that song is awful. Brian's singing is fine, but it was wasted on that song.

I admit I'm not much of a fan of it. I've heard a small handful of songs, and while I've bopped my head to it now and then, that small handful is enough for me.

Alright...now I've got to throw in The New Pornographers. Go ahead and slam me, Luther 

Sorry, I'm just a peace-loving guy; I'm not slamming anybody! I disagree, of course, but hey, I disagree with something on everyone's list but my own...

What's wrong with Brian doing all the vocals himself?

I assume you've heard GIOMH? We all love him, but his voice has really, really deteriorated, and unless he's really into it (and possibly has someone driving him to do a great job), Brian-only vox are terrifying.

I've posted a cover tune on my band's myspace site (although it is actually just me on the recording...as is a bit too common on that page!). It isn't a Brian or Beach Boys song, but I think some of you will recognize it. Think my hometown: Minneapolis. I didn't post the real name of the song, as you're not supposed to post covers on myspace. It's the one titled "Shhh."

Let me know what you think!

www.myspace.com/thebeaumondes

Is it possible that Brian is acting to lower the expectations all around? No big studio, no major, expensive sessions booked, no large groups of musicians to manage (or not manage, as the case may be), etc. Maybe the whole thing is just a way to relax and record with a friend he's comfortable with--and inexpensively, at that. Could be, couldn't it?

I appreciate that some on this board have access to sources closer to Brian, and that they may have a responsibility to keep this information secret. What is the point of alluding to this top secret info then? It's worthless to the average poster like me, and surely you're compromising the integrity of your sources? The only purpose it serves is to fuel the rumour mill imo.

Excellent paragraph. But here's the value I see in those posts--and it is something I've discussed before. Some people just like to make sure everyone knows how much they know. "Look, I'm an insider...I could sure tell you stories...I WON'T, but I could. Glory be unto me." That's the vibe some people give off, anyway. The same sort of vibe comes up whenever discussion of boots, newbies or anything else comes up.

TO BE CLEAR, I am not talking about anyone specifically at this point--I have no intention of going back and figuring out who, specifically, may have made vague references, or what those references might be, or whether I (or any other fan) could back them up. The point of my post is just to say sometimes there is a reason for people to make those sorts of posts described above, and I think it's a bit sad.

I failed to mention:

The Shins
Wilco
Radiohead

And Rogue Wave is gaining...

Sober and looking at this, I realize it ranks among my stupidest posts ever. So I was loving Zeppelin...big fucking deal.

Of Montreal
Belle & Sebastian
Fiery Furnaces
The Flaming Lips
Eels
The Delgados
Half-Handed Cloud

Then I'd have to include three older artists for making major contributions to pop music in that range: Tom Waits for his Alice and Blood Money; Brian Wilson for Smile; and Bob Dylan for both of his albums this decade.

Personally I think the Paley sessions backing tracks are great and when put all together are really cohesive. 'Some sweet Day' should be resurrected!

I agree with that, for the most part. Some Sweet Day and Marianne are, to me, the style of thing that would have made the "rock n roll album" (so often discussed for the past eternity or two) fantastic--that style is great for Brian, and those recordings were really cool.

As for what we'll get...we'll see. I just hope Brian sings on key...or even sort of on key. (PLEASE bring in a few others to help, Brian...or at least TRY when you sing.)

I got the xm disc when I bought the "special edition" version of the album at my local indie record shop. Cosmic, I am very willing to bet you could find a copy... (pm me)

I'm really interested in this--of course--but while I appreciate the smaller (less intimidating?) scale from a basic tracks perspective, I really would have preferred an ensemble vocal approach. I've said often that I wish he'd use his current band the way he did the Beach Boys, not only using them for backing vocals but to dole out leads to. This, one assumes, means that won't happen.

it's the more offbeat obscure older works too. And finally, I believe the incredible quality of the live shows also have a big impact.

No question about those two points. I said all along I think people view the bands differently, and go for different reasons, and the first of your two points quoted above is why. As for the second above, I'm 100% behind you on that one.

Mark, I didn't say his new releases aren't new (except BWPS, which isn't new), I said they're nostalgic. I said they're in the style of old BBs stuff. That's all.

I also didn't say the audiences for BW and BB are identical. I said they're both primarily people interested in some amount of nostalgia, primarily people interested in hearing 30-to-(almost)50-year-old songs. They are interested in slightly different songs, and different aspects of the songs, but still in old catalogues.

As for the percentage of people who went to Brian's SMiLE shows knowing the material ahead of time? I'd guess pretty significant. Of the general public, not much. But who went to those shows, probably pretty high.

BWPS may be a new release, but 90% of the material is old and has been known to the fans who go to see Brian Wilson shows for years. Hardly cutting edge in the temporal sense, anyway. And most of Brian's other materials was, or could have been, written in those same years as the Beach Boys material. Let's be realistic, GIOMH (for example) isn't some kind of modern work, regardless of when it was released--it's nostalgic, meant to appeal primarily to Beach Boys fans. The others are the same, albeit with slightly different slants ("modern" synth sounds on 88--which suck by the way--and adult contemporary sh*t on Imagtination).

I've got to say Dancing Bear is correct--they're all pretty much nostalgia shows. And whichever you like best is a matter of subjectivity, so you are wrong there, Mark H. In fact, liking it or not is the definition of subjectivity!

Now, as to using some criteria to say which band is BETTER, that would be a whole different thing, and might be less subjective. I would not hesitate to say Brian's band is the most technically impressive, which you might consider the criteria for best. (I like them the best, but that is again subjective.)

Carl did leave the Beach Boys. So did Brian, more or less, although who can really exactly tell (considering his fade-away from them). And Dennis, well, he did when he got fired, anyway. And as for their returns...$$$. Job.

Well, we'll just disagree. I did as you said, and while I will give you that a person can find moments of similar sounds, I don't believe those moments are representative of the two albums' moods and sounds on the whole.

I don't think that Bruce's honesty about treating his job as his job should count against him being a real member. Especially when none of us knows how the others felt about the band. Oh, I'm sure we can find quotes about them discussing how special it is to them, etc., but it obviously wasn't all that different for them than for him, considering every other Beach Boy (except Al) left to do other things to apparently satisfy them artistically--things they couldn't do in the Beach Boys.

OK, Mike didn't do that...but then he's the most likely after Bruce to say it's just a job. The commercial aspects of the band have always been more obviously key to Mike than the artistic. Brian? Dennis? Carl? Solo albums to satisfy themselves...

SMiLE, Pet Sounds, Today, and the Elephant 6 Recording Company are all tossed around within the indie hipsters community. 

I think there is always a fascination with the history behind Brian, but most of them seem to stick with the music, Pet Sounds is the definitive college album, pure and simple, that record was built for college.

jlaird, you've just given me hope for humankind. Long live E6! (Oh, and BW/BB...)

They are? By WHOM? Their TV shows? Their tributes and album sales...please...not true. Sorry, but no. Not true. They sell the same old songs to the same old people who have been buying this version or that for 30 or 40 years. It isn't as if 16 year olds are banging down the door for new product.

I'm with you, Mark H. And it isn't $50 to see what's left of the Beach Boys. f***, it isn't to SEE much of anything. It's to HEAR the best musical performance of Beach Boys material. I don't care that Brian sings Mike's parts, or, as I said earlier, that he is easily the worst member of his own band. His band is BRILLIANT. Every one of them is an absolutely wonderful musician. Their singing and playing is absolutely spot-on. The Beach Boys' band isn't. It is really that simple. If you like them, fine. If you want to see them, fine. If you think it's more original members, original members who are better, etc., fine, but they aren't a better band.

I guarantee you this: if Mike were given Brian's band at the same price of his own (or, at least if he could have before they became Brian's band), he'd have jumped at the chance to use them.