I like the idea of humming the beginning of California Girls--the intro before the staccato-y keyboard / cowboy-ish bass part is 23 seconds long.

Compare the intro of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes with "Take it to the Limit" by Eagles.

Whoa I know both songs but never made the connection! Great find, Lonely Summer!

My classic example concerns Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon"... and the BB's "You're So Good To Me":

Hey, jk! Thanks for replying, and fabulous example, especially since it involves a BB song

As I was listening to a rerun of Sirius XM's '60s on 6 "Getting Together with Tommy James" this afternoon, I heard a few familiar drum beats at the beginning of a song. My brain instantly thought "The Letter" by the Box Tops, but it turned out to be Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman". For a more contemporary example, (if you can call songs from the '80s contemporary) I would always momentarily get "Hells Bells" by AC/DC mixed up with Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by virtue of the sound of bells tolling at the beginning of each song.

So out of curiosity, what's a song that you briefly mistake for another due to the similarities in the way the song starts out?

I was listening to Sirius XM's '60s on 6 this weekend and caught a small portion of their "100 best love songs of the 1960s as chosen by the listeners" show. I love '60s music in general, so this was a nice treat. "Don't Worry Baby" was #32, "Be My Baby" was #30, and "God Only Knows" came in at #7. The top 3 were "Cherish" by the Association, "Unchained Melody", and Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" was #1. Probably the standout song to me, that I had heard a few times before (but never knew what it was) was "To Sir with Love" by Lulu. The host of the show mentioned that Lulu had opened for the Beach Boys at some point, which I thought was cool. There is so much great music from this era that I didn't know about up until recently -- and when I hear it, it feels like finding buried treasure.

"The unstable animal never has been changed so rapidly.
The motor and the plane and the great war have gone over him..."
~ Robinson Jeffers "The Beaks of Eagles"

And now trophy hunters, too. 


Mike, if ever you believed that poem that was important enough to be included in the Beach Boys' music, please don't do this.

Usually dislike when actors sing, singers star. Respectively, rarely spectacular than their main line. But, Anthony can sing! Beautifully. Didn't suspect it, hearing speaking voice.

I agree, with all of the above, RR! Just checked out Anthony Perkins on YouTube and thought he did a great job on "Never Will I Marry."

Another actor with a great singing voice that comes to mind is the late Jim Nabors. I recently watched a Gomer Pyle, USMC episode when my spouse said, "You know Jim Nabors could sing, right?" No, I didn't. So when I brought up a clip of him singing Amazing Grace, my mind was blown Never, ever would I have guessed it was the same man!

Hey, beachcat. Been long, can you answer question I did ask to you in Favorite Instrumentals thread in general music? Thank thee.

Hi RR, sorry about the loooong delay! I just recently got back to these boards after a hiatus because of, well, you know, life, but in case it was missed, I responded to your request recently. Glad to be back

Here's another '80s duet, JK. "What Have I Done to Deserve This," by the the Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield. Great song. I remember watching the video when I was a kid and being enamored of the dancers' glittery costumes and big feather headdresses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn9E5i7l-Eg

Can't say I've ever been a Culture Club fan, but that duet you posted really nicely showcases George's voice. But that Gaye/Terrell song you shared was gorgeous!

I don't recall the first BB song I ever heard, but as a child of the eighties I grew up listening to my parents' Endless Summer 8-Track on a big wooden floor stereo. It seems to me it was on constant play every summer at home. I do remember thinking as a kid that "In My Room" was one of the most beautiful songs I had ever heard... and I still feel that way.

If I must limit my choices to one each:

Brian: Don't Worry Baby

Carl: I Can Hear Music

Dennis: Slip on Through

Mike: All I Wanna Do

Al: Honkin' Down the Highway

Bruce: Tears in the Morning

]I read about Rush in RS. Weird band. Which album to try? Any recommend?

For starting with a studio album, I would recommend "Moving Pictures", their most successful album. Released in 1981, it contains probably Rush's best known song, "Tom Sawyer."

For an overall taste of the band's work from the years '74-'89, I like "Chronicles."

This is fascinating. We could probably do a thread of hand-me-down clothes that the band wore/share over the years.

That would be a fun little research project!

I imagine that, being brothers and growing up in a family without lots of expendable income, that the Wilsons probably wore lots of hand-me-down clothes, pre-BBs, so it was likely something they were very familiar with already.

I agree. Plus, I often got hand-me-downs from my cousins as well, so maybe Mike was part of the sharing too

[Dare!]

Another favourite duet of mine is "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League from their superb album Dare! (every track a winner).

Excellent choice! It immediately reminded me of another of one of my favorite '80s duets, "Obsession" by Animotion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIs5StN8J-0

Which do you prefer? For me, it's classic all the way

Brian and Carl must have both liked this yellow shirt...I wonder how often they wore each other's clothes 

Happy New Year to you too, JK!

I'm listening to a countdown on the 60s satellite channel. The top 600 songs of the 60s as voted on by listeners.

Me too! Having a great time listening. Didn't hear the entire program, but listened for a few hours here and there. Darlin' was in the upper 500s, and I think that Don't Worry Baby was right around the 100 mark. The highest BBs' song was California Girls, at number 5.

Moody Blues - The Day Begins
Pink Floyd - One of These Days
Rush - 2112 (Overture)
Jethro Tull - Bouree

Dick Dale -Misirlou
The Lively Ones - Surf Rider
(Thank you Pulp Fiction for the introduction to those)

And, of course, all the Beach Boys' instrumentals, particularly,

The Rocking Surfer
Let's Go Away For A While

Yes! My Monday just improved dramatically

Didn't see "Dr. Who". Is it really good that many say? Wiki description seems dull.

Like anything, it depends on your tastes, RR. I've been a lifelong fantasy/sci-fi fan, and a casual fan of British TV, so when I was introduced to Doctor Who over a decade ago, it was a natural fit for me. I find the basic premise of a quirky, long-lived character who travels through time and space in a box having adventures and doing good appealing. Of course, the show is decades old, and has had many actors fill the role of the Doctor over the years. Most fans find they have a favorite iteration or two. Mine happens to be the 4th Doctor, played by Tom Baker. In my circle, people seem to either love the show or hate it.

Older shows:

Classic Era Doctor Who
Star Trek Original Series
Hawaii Five-O

21st century shows:

Sopranos
John Adams
House of Cards

Quadrophenia - The Who

I bought it long ago because I loved Tommy, but I just could not get engrossed in Quad's story. I remember thinking, that's it? Gosh, I feel guilty even now admitting it!

[The American Metropolitan Circus,]

On this subject, here are six tryouts of The American Metropolitan Circus, Lang's Metropolis synchronized with the self-titled 1968 album by The United States of America:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChFhIz948EdMaVCbftisLNQ

This is fantastic, thanks! I've watched Metropolis thrice with different soundtracks each time, but this one is my new favorite...

Hi JK, sorry this response is so late in coming.

For me, the saddest Pink Floyd song of all is "Cirrus Minor".  

Oh my, yes. How could I have forgotten "More"? I remember buying it as a teenager and shedding tears when I heard this track and "Crying Song." "Cirrus Minor" seems so strange to me because it starts with nearly a minute's worth of happy, bright sounds of birds singing, only to give way to vocals and organ in a minor key, making the song sound sorrowful. The first word that came to mind upon listening to it again just now was 'dirge'. Interestingly, the lyrics themselves don't seem to contain any subject matter that would be cause for this sad feeling--they are neutral, simply describing the writer's surroundings--a churchyard, grass, a yellow bird, a weeping willow in water, the sun, moonlight. Then, towards the end of the song, the organ gets even more despairing, as you mentioned, with the wailing sound, but then at the very end that fades out and we are left with birds chirping again. Brilliant.

Your feeling about it being a cry about Syd is an interesting interpretation I had never considered before, but it fits, doesn't it? Though, I wonder what was going on in the movie "More" when this song played...I have never seen the film and don't know much about it.

Yeah, most of Waters' stuff is depressing. But it's so compelling I can't stop listening to it.

[WYWH]

I think I might have preferred it if it had been about animals.

But seriously, bc, the album left me cold. Too much guitar for my liking and too little keyboard. So WYWH marks the end of my Floyd fandom. Sorry about that! 

Aww, sorry to hear that! But at least you gave Animals a try. Though I love the album, I find I have to be in a rather dark mood to listen to it, myself.