I've read a couple articles in the past talking about how RSD releases in general are so rushed that quality control is lacking.

I didn't stand in line for my copy of "Holy Man" either. It was still at my record store a week later, as were most of the other RSD titles I was interested in getting.

I'm currently plotting when I can finally go see Avengers: Endgame. Between work schedules, jury duty and raising a five-year-old, I've had to wait.

[They Shall Not Grow Old]

Saw the documentary They Shall Not Grow Old today. I had missed it the other times it had been at our local theater. Luckily it came back again.
This is a documentary directed by Peter Jackson on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. It showed the military experiences of British troops, brilliantly presented.
I knew that it would be emotional to watch. The closest I came to tearing up actually was in the early part when the men enlisting were shown. Some of them were boys, not yet men (but they would quickly become men). The scenes of violence shown later were numbing, showing that indeed "War is Hell."
 If you have the opportunity to see this on the big screen please do so.

I wanted to see that. I haven't seen it at any of the theaters nearby though.

Don't know why they have included Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton, guess it's because so many key players are dead now.

They will probably just be there to comment stuff like "oh yeah, in England we loved the stuff coming out of lauren canyon...Brians a genius, loved the Byrds, etc etc"

I'm just suggesting this to the readers here and overall because it's a fascinating and very educational journey once you take it, and it isn't said with malice or anything of the sort: Take some time and read the history of Laurel Canyon and its key players, and even prior to seeing this film you'll see why Clapton and Ringo are involved in the film, and you'll find a lot more in the way of information and backstory that probably will *not* make it to a widely-distributed film. There is some truly bizarre, fascinating, and sometimes disturbing if not hilarious info to be found about the hills of Laurel Canyon especially in the 60's and the 70's...and also, how a top-secret yet known military intelligence-led film studio managed to co-exist with all these artists and hippie types for a time...

Anyway, to Clapton and Ringo:

One of the most prominent and important players in all of this was Mama Cass Elliot, who had a house in the Canyon which was something of a gathering point for a lot of musicians in the 60's. Mama Cass herself was such a strong personality she also was like the de facto organizer and putter-together of a lot of these musicians who would become friends and bandmates often as a result of one of Cass' parties or introductions. One of the bigger examples of Cass' matchmaking was how she introduced Graham Nash to Crosby, Stills, and Joni Mitchell...Nash having come from England and Crosby, Stills, and Mitchell either having their houses in the Canyon or being regular visitors there.

So Ringo in the late 70's was renting Mama Cass' old house, and proceeded to accidentally set it on fire one day. This was after Ringo was running around LA and the Canyon in the early 70's post-Beatles with the likes of Nilsson, Dolenz, Alice Cooper, etc...the Hollywood Vampyres crew. If you search for it, there are news report videos available of that day the Mama Cass house was on fire, with Ringo there. So Ringo was not only a guest earlier, but eventually a resident of Laurel Canyon.

Clapton was also a frequent guest of those living in the Canyon, like Mama Cass, Joni Mitchell, etc. Look up Henry Diltz, former MFQ member turned rock photographer, and you'll see Diltz's series of photos from a visit Clapton made to a party where Joni, Crosby, and other members of that crew were hanging out. And you'll see Clapton's pink boots...which if you know the story behind that, are pink boots of the sort Clapton was wearing when he and Stills were having a full-volume guitar jam session blasting into the valleys of another famous LA-area "canyon" when the police were called and it turned into a massive drug bust of the people partying there that night. The police took them to jail in a bus, and made Clapton strip down at the jail except for the pink boots, to embarrass this British guy wearing pink boots and get a few laughs at his expense.

And the Beatles/Harrison tune "Blue Jay Way" for the record is one of the "bird streets" around Laurel Canyon, house number 1567 to be exact, and was where George was renting and wrote the song about waiting for Derek Taylor (another Laurel Canyon resident) to arrive in summer '67. Art Garfunkel was another famous renter of that same house, along with other notables through the years.


So that's why Clapton and Ringo are in the film: They were there in and around Laurel Canyon when all these things were happening.

And it's also perhaps why Jan Berry would not be expected to be a main point/topic in such a film, it might make more sense to have his brother Bruce (and other brother Ken), mentioned as one of the casualties of the whole drug scene when heroin got into the mix among some of the musicians. Ken started SIR - Studio Instrument Rentals which is still in business as one of the prime equipment rental businesses today - and Bruce was one of those driving the "Ford Econoline van" for SIR as documented by Neil Young on Tonight's The Night while doing roadie and rental work for the likes of CSN and others. I don't know offhand how involved Jan was in the specific scene or locale targeted by this documentary, I'm sure he was a visitor like almost everyone, but it really wasn't his scene. His brother Bruce had he lived would have had plenty of stories about Laurel Canyon...but the film is more about this specific scene rather than California music in general.

Check out some of the history even before seeing the film, it's an amazing ride.

Is there a good book about this?

I'd try Harvey Kubernick's "Canyon Of Dreams" for a start - Harvey is one of the best authors and historians in the business, and actually lived in the Canyon, so it's often a firsthand perspective. I'm posting an Amazon link to Harvey's book, and in the suggestions and related titles you'll see other books about Laurel Canyon with some different focal points on the history related to the music community. Check them out:

https://www.amazon.com/Canyon-Dreams-Magic-Music-Laurel/dp/1402797613

Thanks! Amazingly my local library has a copy. I just put in a request through their website.

Don't know why they have included Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton, guess it's because so many key players are dead now.

They will probably just be there to comment stuff like "oh yeah, in England we loved the stuff coming out of lauren canyon...Brians a genius, loved the Byrds, etc etc"

I'm just suggesting this to the readers here and overall because it's a fascinating and very educational journey once you take it, and it isn't said with malice or anything of the sort: Take some time and read the history of Laurel Canyon and its key players, and even prior to seeing this film you'll see why Clapton and Ringo are involved in the film, and you'll find a lot more in the way of information and backstory that probably will *not* make it to a widely-distributed film. There is some truly bizarre, fascinating, and sometimes disturbing if not hilarious info to be found about the hills of Laurel Canyon especially in the 60's and the 70's...and also, how a top-secret yet known military intelligence-led film studio managed to co-exist with all these artists and hippie types for a time...

Anyway, to Clapton and Ringo:

One of the most prominent and important players in all of this was Mama Cass Elliot, who had a house in the Canyon which was something of a gathering point for a lot of musicians in the 60's. Mama Cass herself was such a strong personality she also was like the de facto organizer and putter-together of a lot of these musicians who would become friends and bandmates often as a result of one of Cass' parties or introductions. One of the bigger examples of Cass' matchmaking was how she introduced Graham Nash to Crosby, Stills, and Joni Mitchell...Nash having come from England and Crosby, Stills, and Mitchell either having their houses in the Canyon or being regular visitors there.

So Ringo in the late 70's was renting Mama Cass' old house, and proceeded to accidentally set it on fire one day. This was after Ringo was running around LA and the Canyon in the early 70's post-Beatles with the likes of Nilsson, Dolenz, Alice Cooper, etc...the Hollywood Vampyres crew. If you search for it, there are news report videos available of that day the Mama Cass house was on fire, with Ringo there. So Ringo was not only a guest earlier, but eventually a resident of Laurel Canyon.

Clapton was also a frequent guest of those living in the Canyon, like Mama Cass, Joni Mitchell, etc. Look up Henry Diltz, former MFQ member turned rock photographer, and you'll see Diltz's series of photos from a visit Clapton made to a party where Joni, Crosby, and other members of that crew were hanging out. And you'll see Clapton's pink boots...which if you know the story behind that, are pink boots of the sort Clapton was wearing when he and Stills were having a full-volume guitar jam session blasting into the valleys of another famous LA-area "canyon" when the police were called and it turned into a massive drug bust of the people partying there that night. The police took them to jail in a bus, and made Clapton strip down at the jail except for the pink boots, to embarrass this British guy wearing pink boots and get a few laughs at his expense.

And the Beatles/Harrison tune "Blue Jay Way" for the record is one of the "bird streets" around Laurel Canyon, house number 1567 to be exact, and was where George was renting and wrote the song about waiting for Derek Taylor (another Laurel Canyon resident) to arrive in summer '67. Art Garfunkel was another famous renter of that same house, along with other notables through the years.


So that's why Clapton and Ringo are in the film: They were there in and around Laurel Canyon when all these things were happening.

And it's also perhaps why Jan Berry would not be expected to be a main point/topic in such a film, it might make more sense to have his brother Bruce (and other brother Ken), mentioned as one of the casualties of the whole drug scene when heroin got into the mix among some of the musicians. Ken started SIR - Studio Instrument Rentals which is still in business as one of the prime equipment rental businesses today - and Bruce was one of those driving the "Ford Econoline van" for SIR as documented by Neil Young on Tonight's The Night while doing roadie and rental work for the likes of CSN and others. I don't know offhand how involved Jan was in the specific scene or locale targeted by this documentary, I'm sure he was a visitor like almost everyone, but it really wasn't his scene. His brother Bruce had he lived would have had plenty of stories about Laurel Canyon...but the film is more about this specific scene rather than California music in general.

Check out some of the history even before seeing the film, it's an amazing ride.

Is there a good book about this?

[Releasing Gettin' Hungry as a single]

Too many to count
...
. Releasing Gettin' Hungry as a single
...

Hey!

I just bought my tickets for the Aug. 11 date in Ohio. Feeling giddy!

I just finished My Friend Dahmer, a graphic novel about Jeffrey Dahmer by Derf Backderf, who went to high school with the serial killer. It was a pretty interesting read, and it also has some local interest for me as the events of the book take place not far from where I live.

I'm also in the middle of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers, and Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus.

I think that poster looks cool!

I agree for the most part, although something looks off about the pic of young Brian

They mirrored it from the original

Caught that, but whatever type of image filter was used did some strange things to his eyes. Think it's because the whites of his eyes now blend in with his cheeks. It's so minor yet it's throwing me off

I think they also tilted the image up, so his eye line seems odd. But you're right about the filter making his eyes look slightly demonic.

It's always nice to hear a Beach Boys song in a movie.  But a surprise is when I heard Feel Flows at the end of Almost Famous! Or songs from Brian Wilson's Imagination in Orange County! Those are not expected!

I actually just watched Orange County for the first time recently and was also surprised by the Brian Wilson songs included. Not what I would have expected from that movie.

That said, I got a little teary when God Only Knows started playing in the trailer. Having a kid has made me sappy.

I saw him multiple times in Cleveland in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I recently found a copy "Surfer's Choice" on vinyl. I was thinking I should go see him next time he was in town. I dug out my threadbare "I'm a Dick Head" T-shirt to wear in his honor yesterday and played his records. What a loss.

Here's a link to the IMDB bio of the guy playing Dennis: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4453322/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t19

I'd say it looks like the guy pictured above from the trailer.

Best in Show was spot on , in my opinion. It's hard for me to watch real dog shows since seeing that film.

Agreed. Netflix has a documentary series called "7 Days Out" about various big events and what it takes to prepare for them. One episodes features the Westminster Dog Show, and some of the owners/handlers could have come right out of "Best In Show."

That's Christopher Guest's style. He makes "mockumentaries" (aka fake documentaries), and Best In Show was basically about the people and dogs that participate in the Westminster Dog Show. It does poke fun at competitive dog show owners. But if you've seen real-life dog show people, it's not all that off-base. I thought it was funny, but obviously not for everyone. Guest also made Spinal Tap, all-time cult classic.

Wow! What a great collection. I'm envious. I especially love that Smile T-shirt. I was looking at a fan-made version, but I was skeptical of the quality.

Does yours have the blue vinyl? I agree that someone may have removed the signed postcard and resealed it.

Aside from the BBs and Phil Spector albums, and I can't leave out A Charlie Brown Christmas either, my top Christmas records are:

1. Johnny Mathis
2. She & Him
3. Brian Setzer

My LEAST favorite is Barbra Streisand. Her "Jingle Bells" gives me the fits.

I got one too! I thought it was nicely packaged.

I was fan of Paul Dano before I saw Love & Mercy, so maybe this won't be of interest to all. But about 20 minutes into this interview with Terry Gross, he talks about playing Brian Wilson and learning the music.

http://www.nhpr.org/post/paul-dano-wildlife-and-different-anxieties-acting-and-directing#stream/0

Today's song is Goin' Home  (not TLOS ver. but early ver. recorded circa '95):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHt_LQBfZ-Y

Thanks for the YouTube link, but can you include where "Goin' Home" appears in this 1 hour, 15-minute video?

This sounds like a mix between surf instrumental and lounge music ... SURF LOUNGE! I like it ... a lot ... gave it a 5.

Yep.

https://www.stereogum.com/2018351/kanye-west-kid-rock-donald-trump-music-modernization-act/video/

FYI for the video embedded at the bottom of that article, you need to skip ahead 30 minutes before the actual video starts. Mike Love comes on at 44:15. 

The vocal phrasing and inflection are a little goofy to me. I ranked it at 3, perhaps a bit too harshly.

Thanks for that update. I had heard rumblings of "Postcards" getting a vinyl release. It makes sense that they'd capitalize on RSD.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I was in my local record store and found a signed copy of the Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin. From what I read, only the first 200 copies ordered were signed, and I was just trying to determine if this one is legit. I wasn't a member here when this came out, so I'm trying to play catch up on this eight-year-old album. The number is 1646. The autograph is in silver, which seems to match the others I've seen online. Is there a way to verify its authenticity?