Happy Mother's Day to all you MILFs out there! 

I remember before it came out, BWPS was like a child finally being born into the world. Everyone waiting, hoping, all kinds of stuff. Now before BWPS came out, I had not really heard anything from it minus Heroes and Villains and Vegetables. Hearing this record blew me away. Holding something that took 37 years to get to that moment. What a incredible feeling. Then it seemed like almost the next day everything was wrong with it. People I think they  took it apart maliciously in some cases. I understand some people do not consider it the real Smile or not like the band behind Brian etc. but to trash it in the ways that is has just bothers me. It makes me think back to the Beautiful Dreamer DVD and what it took to get to even accomplish that project. Yes some of it was probably staged but I believe it tells an accurate story of all the hard work and effort it took for them to get it to where it is. Darian Sahanaja should be praised for all of his efforts in helping Brian kick his demons and create this album  and here we are all these years later, basically kicking dirt in his face on how everything is wrong with it?? And yet quick to be praising Scott Bennett for TLOS? Hypocritical maybe? BWPS is what it is to each of their own. But to me, it is a fabulous record and I have still have fabulous memories getting the record and seeing it done live twice. For those that do diss it to this day, you can always play something else.

I agree with you =)

This is a great thread! Keep it coming! 

Hello Jake, welcome on this board and thanks for your openhearted introduction. I hope you'll enjoy hanging around here.

And, nope, we don't mind an argument now and then...

Thanks!  I've spent on night reading and checking out the photo section. I'll probably spend the rest of my life on this forum now, lol.

Hello everyone!!!

My name is Jake. I'm 22 years old. I live in New Hampshire. I have a girlfriend, Jessica, and a son, Gavyn. Gavyn was born on November 30th, 2007. Jessica and Gavyn are Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fans. Gavyn smiles and laughs, even if he's crying, when he hears the intro to Rainbow Eyes, it doesn't matter if it's the GIOMH or Sweet Insanity version. He just loves that song so much.

How did I become a Beach Boys & Brian Wilson fan? It all happened in 2006....

Jessica moved to New Hampshire in late 2005. She practically moved in with me on May 12th, 2006 (so, our 3 year anniversary is coming up). Well, she lived in California for 9 years before moving to New Hampshire. Her mom is a Beach Boys fan and at her job, the Beach Boys music plays while the caller is on hold. Anyway, Jessica left behind her entire album collection including her Beach Boys albums. I knew who The Beach Boys were and I've heard of Brian Wilson being a bit "insane"... but I only basically knew the big hits, you know? Well I didn't know who was who, but one day Jessica bought the Sounds Of Summer compilation album and told me she's a fan of The Beach Boys. I decided to listen to it, and the sound I loved most was of Brian's falsetto on 'Getcha Back'... I became so obsessed that I told Jessica that I'd of liked that song even if there were no lead vocals by Mike Love. I played that album over and over and over again, especially Getcha Back.

A month later, Jessica goes out and buy's "Brian Wilson Present's SMiLE"..... I thought it was a work of genious, very odd musically, all sophisticated, yet catchy at the same time... and that's hard to come by. So I went and did research on the net about The Beach Boys, and of course Brian interested me the most, as at the time, I had just had a mental breakdown earlier in the year, and I read Brian had a few, and had anxiety and depression problems as well, so I thought he was very interesting. I went on Youtube and watched the music video of 'Love And Mercy' and I loved it so much, I bought a promo single of it on eBay. I played the song over and over. (I also bought the single to Getcha Back at the same time). But it was Love And Mercy that I'd wake up and play, all day long. Always in my head, that song. Then I bought all of Brian's solo albums (except the live ones). And I bought more singles... and a lot of Beach Boys albums. Then I managed to get ahold of 'Sweet Insanity' and a ton of other unreleased stuff. I play Brian Wilson songs more than The Beach Boys songs, as I'm a fan of him more. After my parents realized I'm a fan of The Beach Boys, my Dad told me he attended a Beach Boys concert in the 70s, in Massachusetts. I haven't a clue if Brian was there, but I somehow doubt it.  I am obsessed with Brian Wilson, and The Beach Boys. My favorite vocalist is Freddie Mercury of Queen, BUT, Brian is more interesting. There's a lot of things in his life when he was younger that I can relate to.

I also play piano and sing and hope to some day, do it full time. I also have anxiety problems. Back in early '06, I had a mental breakdown and I, ended up in bed for months. I'd be fine for a week, then be depressed and withdrawn for three weeks. Jessica had just started dating me a few months after all this happened and when she first saw me withdrawn and never wanting to leave my bedroom, she didn't know what to do. I was scared to the point that I'd only go places at night, and I'd refuse to go anywhere if there were many people. Basically we only went swimming or to the WalMart or the music store to get CDs. I'd piss in cups, because I was too nervous to leave the bed. I'd get day-long panic attacks that I couldn't get rid of. I'd pace back and forth in the house when I was out of my bed, and if I was out of the house, I'd pace back and forth on the lawn. Lots of vertigo and dizziness, uncontrollable shaking as I was so nervous and I couldn't even really sit down, but as soon as I laid down in a dark place, I'd be fine. In about June, I put up a tent outside and stayed in that until late August/early September. I didn't eat much, I weighed like 220 lbs (I'm only 5'8") and from like June thru September, and when I went to the doctors in late August/early Sept, I weighed about 140, due to all of that. I went to the doctors as my whole family was going to Vermont for a weekend, to a fair, and Jessica said she was going whether I go or not and she said I need help. Everyone said I needed help. I knew I had anxiety, as I'd been on meds for it before, but that year it was far worse since I had that nervous breakdown in February. So, Jessica brings me to the doctors and they fix me right up. Ativan, my friends. It got me out of the house and gave me a high I will never forget.

Now, as time has gone by, my panic attacks rarely happen, and if one starts to happen, within 10 seconds I can basically get it to stop. I'm on three different medications for my problems and I have severe anxiety, panic disorder, ADHD, OCD, and depression. I'm glad things are a lot better. You guys all notice a change in Brian Wilson's social behavior after 1983, and I tell you, it's not as rare as you think. I'm a lot different than I used to be. While I'm no longer depressed as much, I'm not going to jump for joy. It's technically being drugged up, I guess. Ativan is a tranquilizer, so you can see how that goes. I'm fully able to drive and function, and I do landscaping for a job (own my own business and equipment), but you know, my sense of humor is very different now and I'm not as outgoing as I used to be. Medications can actually make you kind of lazy, socially speaking. I can go anywhere I like now, without getting a panic attack and retreating. And I do go places. But one thing you must remember is that, I'm just content.

I don't have many friends as I'm not afraid to say the truth, and can be a cold person sometimes when it comes to that. I actually lost a lot of friends after going to the doctors in '06, due to my rapid change of behavior. I'm not the same insane and out-going Jacob Britt anymore. Nope, totally different, and plus I have a girlfriend and son, and my old friends are still figuring their lives out.

Well I guess I have said too much. I'm happy to join this forum, and I was on I think the official Beach Boys forum, but they were too boring to me and didn't really discuss anything personal on The Beach Boys, and it was endless praise... I like a little arguing here and there. So I'm here. I hope you don't mind!

- Jake Britt

PS - if you'd like to contact me, you can either go to...

My Myspace
http://myspace.com/jacobbritt

My Blog (in which I discuss everything, including a music section for music I like, and I review songs, and a personal section about my life, and photos, etc)
http://www.blogger.com/profile/03864760119870761597

If you'd like to e-mail me... my e-mail is jakebritt01@queenzone.com OR nightboy@comcast.net

I'm with Dada and Luther that while Brian showed signs of mental illness beforehand, Landy left him mentally damaged the second time around.  As Sheriff John Stone points out, there was just something so different about Brian after '82.  In interviews not too long before that time, when Brian was at his worst - like the Les Chan interview - Brian is lucid (I agree, MBE), consistent, and sometimes even funny (in a good way).

But in interviews from '83 through the next decade or so, Brian seems like he's rattling off coached lines or his answers are just awkward.  He sounds like he's saying what Landy has programmed him to say or parroting Landy catchphrases - not so much what he really thinks and feels.  He seems better today, but the change is still there.  For the longest time after '82 it seemed almost like an Invasion of the Body Snatchers kind of thing, and the real Brian would only peek through in the music or in rare interview moments.

Once someone gets on medications for those kinds of things, they usually always become a different person. \

Brian's breakdown on the plane in 64 or 65 (whenever it was) isn't a sign he was mentally ill? I wonder if your understanding of a mental illness requires it to be incapacitating to qualify. There are plenty of people going to work every day and functioning perfectly well with mental illnesses. Doesn't mean they don't have the problems. I'd say if you get to the point of breakdowns, you're mentally ill. That's safe to say.

I think being stressed out about being responsible for your entire family's fortunes and being unsure whether you can continue to pull it off, along with feeling lonely and missing your sweetie, can make just about anyone crack up. That goes double if you are a very sensitive 21 year old. I know it's fashionable to push prozac on anyone these days and say they are 'mentally ill'. Show me someone who is NOT mentally ill according to your definitions. I guess you've never had a breakdown, or a feeling of hopelessness. Yes, Brian's breakdown happened in public. That sucks, but doesn't qualify as mentally ill.

Hello! This is my first post here... and I must say... a nervous breakdown IS a sign of mental illness. I am 22 years old, and I've had like three or four in the past five years.

Anxiety happens months or years before a nervous breakdown... Brian's worrying about things such as if he music will make it, and wanting to continue to do music only in the studio earlier on yet still touring, are signs.

After a nervous breakdown, well, at least in my case, and Brian's... the anxiety seems to never go away. It's chronic anxiety, sort of like a panic attack that lasts all day and night, when most panic attacks seem to last 5 - 15 minutes or so.

I was diagnosed with anxiety a long time ago, but my first nervous breakdown happened in early 2006 after an argument with my Dad. Trust me, a nervous breakdown changes everything in one's life. From like June to September, I stayed in my room and would piss in cups due to the fear of leaving my room. It's frightening.

When a nervous breakdown happens, it lasts for a little while, if it lasts for a day, the next day, while you aren't having a nervous breakdown, you'll feel weird, de-realization (a dream like state), and sort of hung over, while not having a clue why. It'll lead to panic attacks and you'll become withdrawn, etc.

God it's horrible.