In regards to the "Good Vibrations" firehouse video that will be on the upcoming "Pet Sounds" CD/DVD release, I have a question about what seemed to be another "Good Vibrations" video.  I seem to remember on the "Endless Harmony" documentary a shot of a woman cheerleader in a star spangled costume flouncing about while "Good Vibrations" was playing.  I remember thinking this must be a totally different "Good Vibrations" video, but it was only a snippet.  Can you shed any light on this other video for me, Alan?  Thanks.

         Love and merci,   Dan Lega

    I asked Steve Kalinich what he could tell me about the lyrics to Mona Kani, and he said he remembered that there were a bunch of faux Hawaiian words in the song.  I'm hoping there are more lyrics than that written down or sung on tape someplace, but the fake Hawaiian may be all that there ever was.

         Love and merci,   Dan Lega

BTW Is there not a possibility the songs with the DVD, besides are to be got somewhere?

     Yes, at a big membership discount store, ("Sam's", I believe,) I found the Knebworth DVD packaged along with the CD for about $15!  (The CD is in the same case along with the DVD.)  Sure wish it was released like that and for that price originally!

             Love and merci,   Dan Lega

Thanks!  I love how Carl, without a microphone nearby, sounds exactly like Al Jardine on "Cottonfields"!   


Love and merci,   Dan Lega

    I haven't been here in a few days, and the original link is no longer working.  Is it still on YouTube?  Anyone have a direct link so I don't have to search through umpteen million clips?  Thanks!

         Love and merci,   Dan Lega

Unreleased - "adj : not (or not yet) made available for distribution or publication".

I'd say that the British Broadcasting Corporation made it available for distribution. Hmmmm ? 

    I wasn't trying to say that they were using the terminology perfectly.  I was just pointing out that since you and I know that "Rhythm Of Life" was shown on TV then the term "unreleased" must refer to the fact that you can't buy it on DVD or Video.  You can stop banging your head against the wall now!   


           Love and merci,   Dan Lega

and an excerpt from the unreleased BBC television documentary, “Rhythm of Life,” in which Sir George Martin joins Brian Wilson in the studio for a discussion of the album’s musical significance.

This, of course, is complete nonsense - the documentary was shown on BBC in the UK and has also been aired in the US.  Brian watches George remix "GOK" and tells him it's now better than when he - Brian - did the original mix. Yeah... right.

     Andrew, I didn't take this to mean that the "Rhythm Of Life" documentary hasn't been shown on TV, but that it has never been released on DVD.  So, since you can't buy it at your favorite DVD store, it is therefore unreleased?


        Love and merci,  Dan Lega

    Hey, Jon, were there any Entertainment Tonight-type TV cameras and personalities around to catch the procedings on film to show on TV later?  Thanks.


             Love and merci,   Dan Lega

Great pictures!   Thanks, Jon.

This is good news because it confirms what I've believed for sometime: these guys love each other and we are the only ones who don't understand and have our undies in a bunch.  If nothing else happens, I hope they continue to get together even if just for a "pop".

I'm so glad you knew it all along -- even though you and us ("we", as you said above) are the only ones who don't understand their true feelings.(?)

However, I'm not really sure Brian understands why Mike is suing him over SMiLE.  And I'm not sure Al understands why Brian voted against him touring under the Beach Boys name which while making Al happy and generating income also happened to be giving purpose, pleasure, and income to Brian's daughters, Carnie and Wendy, too.

But I'm glad you're congratulating yourself on your brilliant insight even though you had your undies in a bunch because you thought they didn't get along and didn't love each other.

Love and merci,   Dan Lega


PS -- I'm really glad to see all of them hang out together, too.  I'd pay to see them in a reunion concert in such a thing happened.  I also think that if they are going to get together to do Pet Sounds in concert then they might as well do SMiLE in concert, too!

It's bootleggers that present sessions that way for the most part.  Of course, on official releases, they edit the sessions down for time, but in most cases the complete session tape of any given session (assming a session tape exists) does exist in the vault.

So you're saying that as far as you know the tapes stored in the archives are not cut up?  That would be great news.  I think Alan said that, too. 

However, I still have my worries.  Because, while most of the SOT discs feature full, uncut up sessions, aren't there a few "SMiLE" sessions that are "cut up"?  I would have thought the bootleggers would not have skimped on presenting all the "SMiLE" material they could have.  Anyway, maybe once the Beach Boy Legal Bootleg store opens then we'll find out for sure.

In the same vein, do you or Alan know the specifics of the "Session with the Big Daddy" Earl Leaf segment from Today and SOT?  There does not seem to be a bit of overlap in the SOT and finished track.  Was the finished track a completely different take or was the finished track snipped out of the SOT session, thereby, no overlap?

Love and merci,   Dan Lega

IMO, if Capitol put this event together, (probably with considerable difficulty) and as they are a commercial organisation with an eye for the main chance, there is no way they would let this event pass without commemorating it photographically or otherwise.  That's the point of these award thingies, isn't it?

     Yeah, we better check out Entertainment Tonight (and those shows of similar ilk) for the real Hollywood scoop!


              Love and merci,   Dan Lega

     False starts don't bother me.  What does bother me, though, are the cut up sessions!  I've asked Alan Boyd and Mark Linett about them before but I've never gotten a definitive answer.  Were these session tapes cut up by bootleggers, or souvenier hunters?  I have to say that doesn't make much sense since many times you get the start and/or the finish of the take.  So if someone was cutting them up wouldn't they have cut out the whole take?  My mind still boggles over this question.  Has anyone ever come up with the reason so many of the sessions tapes survive only in this cut up fashion?  


     Love and merci,   Dan Lega

We are - so far - planning on releasing material...on CD.  And through downloads.

That's excellent news!  I've got slow modem dial-up at home, too, so I appreciate that there will be CD's I can buy.


Thanks,  Alan!


         Love and merci,   Dan Lega

     Regarding "Til I Die", Mr. Desper said he remembered the original verses, or perhaps just one verse, had much more personal lyrics by Brian.  These lyrics apparently were not saved, as was first related by Mr. Desper many years ago.  Alan Boyd did find what is apparently a later version with some alternate more positive lyrics (which seems to be the version Peter Carlin heard.)


       Love and merci,   Dan Lega

    Here's the sort of Holy Grail thing we're all hoping for in this new Beach Boy Online endeavor, a program called UMixIt, which lets you mix up to 16 tracks of an artists song!  This, unfortunately, is probably not the exact thing we Beach Boy fans are looking for because right now it only comes along with an artist's regular CD.  Which means you can play their regular stereo CD release on your normal CD players, but then you also get one song included that you can mix when you put the CD in your computer.  Now we would definitely want more than one song to mix, we want all of the Beach Boy songs to mix!  Also, it seems Alan and the guys are setting up a download system, not a CD buying system, so this wouldn't work that way either.  But it is the kind of pie-in-the-sky thing we would love to have!


      Love and merci,  Dan Lega

----

http://www.umixit.com/index.html



General

Q: What is Umixit?
A: Umixit is an exciting new way for consumers to more fully experience the joy of music. Umixit delivers an artist’s music in a format that provides 8 to 16 discrete channels, allowing the user to mix and remix the individual instruments in a song. Don’t like the keyboard part? Take it out or lower it as much as you want. Want to emphasize the vocal or bass? Crank it up! Plus there are open tracks for you to record new instruments or vocal parts. Create an instant remix by replacing acoustic drums with the included dance loops.
Q: Does Umixit require a special type of disk?
A: The beauty of Umixit is that it works with the same Compact Disks that are in use today. You can even use it with DVDs or whatever media the future brings.

The compact disk will behave like any other disk when played in a home or car stereo. When placed in the computers CD or DVD drive, however, the user will be prompted to install and launch the Umixit content and software.

Q: How much room does this take up on the disk?
A: The amount of space used depends on the length of the original song. For example, 100 megabytes of space equates to about 10 minutes of music. This is roughly the same amount of space that a music video or interactive multimedia would require.

Q: What’s included as part of the Umixit content?
A: A Umixit disk will contain, in addition the artist’s original audio tracks, an 8-track version of a song, a 16-track version (where available), a collection of royalty-free ACID-format loops, and the Cakewalk Media Mixer application.

Q: How do I use the included Umixit content?
A: Simply place the disk in your computer’s drive and you will be prompted to install the included song and application. Once you agree, the material will be installed and automatically launched inside the Cakewalk Media Mixer. Here you can rework and remix a song in a replica studio environment, including a mixer, effects processing, editing and recording tools.

Q: What's the difference between UMixit and Media Mixer? Are they the same thing?
A: UMixit is the name of the company which puts the technology and artist content onto disks. Media Mixer is a component of this technology which allows you to mix and edit the content.

Q: What specs does my computer have to have?
A: To run the included Media Mixer software, you will need:
*Windows Media 10
* Windows 2000 or XP
* 1 GHz processor (Intel or AMD)
* 256 MB RAM
* 200 MB free hard disk space
* 1024 X 768, 16-bit color
* CD-ROM drive (for installation)
* Windows-compatible sound card

Q: Can I share the songs from my disk with a friend?
A: Umixit songs use secure licensing so that only the owner of the disk may install and use the included songs.

Q: Can I download new songs from the internet?
A: At this time, Umixit songs will only be available as part of commercially released CDs and DVDs.

Q: What if I want to share my remix with a friend or burn it to a disk?
A: Finished songs can be exported as 128 KBPS Windows Media files to be played Media Player, portable devices, or burned to a compact disk.

Q: This is fun, I want to get deeper. What’s the next step?
A: For users who want to get even deeper, an upgrade is offered (where available). By taking advantage of the upgrade, users will receive access to the 16-track songs on the disk, and also receive additional effects for processing tracks. In addition, genre and instrument based loop libraries are available, allowing the user to bring in new instrumentation like drums or synthesizers.

Didn't Salieri make more money than Mozart did?  Yet, whose music do we listen more to today?

Van Gogh barely sold a painting in his life, yet today they sell for millions.  If you only judge Van Gogh's paintings by how much they were worth in his lifetime you're missing the whole story.

What about the story that, I believe, Mo Ostin tells about a disc jockey who says he really likes one of the Beach Boys' new 70's songs.  Mo then asks him if he's going to play it on the radio, and the disc jockey tells him no way, because the Beach Boys aren't hip anymore.  Where is the qualitative musical decision in this?  There is none.  He won't play a Beach Boy record he thinks is great because he thinks as soon as people hear that it's a song written The Beach Boys that they automatically won't like it.


Again, it's as easy as pie to see there is absolutely no way that sales accumulated soon after the completion of a piece of art can be the best and ultimate judge of its worth.


Love and merci,   Dan Lega

I remember back in 1972, here in the UK, buying an import double LP, I can't remember from which country, it comprised of Shut Down vol 2 & Today.
Both albums had two tracks missing, Shut Down 2 missed 'In The Parking Lot' & 'Cassius Love vs Sonny Wilson and Today missed 'In The Back Of My Mind' & 'Bull Session With Big Daddy'.
That version of Today would have suited some of these people.
The album was called 'FUN FUN FUN / DANCE DANCE DANCE. wonder if anyone else remembers it?

     They had that type of thing here in the US, too.  They were single LP's, though, and every one of them had two tracks missing.

           Love and merci,  Dan Lega

     It's easy to come up with a scenario that proves you can't judge a song's worth based solely on it's sales.  Imagine if Brian had written a song back in the sixties that he never played for anyone.  Finally he brings you into his home and says, "Listen to this!"  You hear it and you think it's the greatest song you've ever heard.  He gives you a copy telling you that you can never let anyone else hear it.  So for the rest of your life you get to listen to this song over and over, and you never get tired of it and you never get over the feeling that this is the best song you've ever heard.  However, no one else has ever heard it, it never appeared on any charts, and it never sold a single copy.  Does that mean you have to say to yourself that there is no possible way this could be the greatest song ever written?

     Sales and chart action are definitely things that can be helpful in some cases, but they can't possibly be the final word because things like promotion, and radio playlists, and availability for purchase are things that are not uniformly equal across the whole spectrum of music.

     I believe SMiLE would have sold better in its first week of release if there had been more copies of it in shops.  I think it may have charted much closer to number one for the week if that had happened.  (It was number one at Amazon.com in it's first week, wasn't it?)  It charted where it charted though, but because it didn't chart higher doesn't mean it's any less good than it is. 

     "Mony, Mony" never got a bit of airplay when it was first released.  A couple of years later some disc jockey starts playing it, and eventually it becomes a big hit.  The song didn't physically change over those years from when it was first released until it became a hit.  The only thing that changed was that someone in power liked it and promoted it. 

      The lesson in all this: all things are not equal in record promotion, therefore you can't base artistic conclusions only on sales and chart action.

     Love and merci,   Dan Lega

I'm in the "Today" camp myself.  I rate it and "Friends" as my favorite Beach Boy albums.  Yes, even over "Pet Sounds".  (Of course, if "SMiLE" had been finished I'm sure that would have been my favorite Beach Boy album.  Why even in it's unfinished state it's still my favorite.)

But back to "Today"... I love that album so much because it has the best of both Beach Boys' worlds: the great fun-party-upbeat-dance tunes and the achingly beautiful songs and melancholy of "Pet Sounds".  Granted, it does have the clunker of the Earl Leaf track, and I've never really gotten into "In The Back Of My Mind", but the rest of the album is super tight.  It just all fits and flows together until those last two numbers.  "Summer Days", on the other hand, comes across as a bit more loosely recorded overall to me.  Undoubtedly there are absolutely great tracks on there, but I just get the feeling that overall the album wasn't as well thought out or put together as "Today" was, or "Pet Sounds" (or "Friends" or "Wild Honey" or even "Smiley Smile") would be.

Love and merci,   Dan Lega

http://app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060526/ENT/605260314&SearchID=73245733614831



*************

Wish they all could be California guys

The Beach Boys get a headstart on summer in New Jersey

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/26/06

BY ED CONDRAN
CORRESPONDENT

You can be sure the Beach Boys will be playing "Good Vibrations" this morning when they kick off the unofficial start of summer 2006 at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach.

Couldn't get up in time to catch the 6 a.m. show? (It's Scott & Todd's Summer Blast Off for radio station WPLJ.) Don't worry, baby: The Beach Boys also are scheduled to perform their feel-good hits tonight at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.

Unfortunately, the vibes haven't been so good between Mike Love, who still fronts the Beach Boys, and ex-bandmate Brian Wilson.

Last year, Love filed lawsuit No. 3 against his celebrated cousin; Love accused Wilson of promoting his 2004 album, "Smile," in a manner that "shamelessly misappropriates Mike Love's songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the "Smile' album itself."

It was a curious move from a performer who named his subsequent solo-album project "Mike Love, Not War."

Don't expect Love and Wilson, who performs these days as a solo artist, to get together any time soon.

"It's a shame," Love said in an interview conducted late last year prior to the group's engagement at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. "Brian has . . . problems. He's been controlled his whole life. His father controlled him and then Dr. (Eugene) Landy controlled him. And now the people surrounding him are controlling his life. I would welcome the opportunity for Brian to be in this band, but I can't imagine him ever having control and him getting over his paranoia."

So, the Beach Boys continue to crank out their classics such as "California Girls," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" — even though the acrimony between Love and Wilson remains.

"We can't let the people down who love this band," Love said. "Our fans love our music, and we love having the opportunity to perform."

Don't expect to hear obscure album tracks in Point Pleasant Beach and Atlantic City this weekend. It is Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey Shore, after all.

"Some songs are just a little too esoteric to do at shows," Love said. "They're great songs, but we can't play them all. We recorded so many great songs from the early years. I have great memories of those times."

Despite his situation with Wilson, Love is more than happy to reflect on their early years.

"What Brian and I had was really special," Love said. "We started singing together at an early age. We're a year apart. We were 11, 12 years old. We had a great relationship, but it didn't take long for things to get weird."

In 1964, Wilson quit touring with the Beach Boys. Love later was demonized as the cancerous Beach Boy, which he says is erroneous.

"I'm known as the bad one in this band, but it's not true," Love said. "I was just different from the Wilsons (Brian, Dennis and Carl). . . . It's a shame how that all went down.

"But fortunately, the Beach Boys are still here and we're valid."

Does this DVD show the BBs buying a firehat for Brian?

No, it doesn't.

      I took your suggestion and posted my revised review on Amazon.com.   The only significant thing added is the line from the back of the DVD...   

On the back of the DVD case it reads, "This film does not contain music, the film is presented as it was filmed."  But that's apparently not true, since it was originally filmed with sound according to people who have seen the footage beforehand.

       
          Love and merci,  Dan Lega

-----------------------


"The Beach Boys: In London 1966"  A "Sound" Opportunity Missed!




     I received the new DVD, "Beach Boys: In London 1966", by mail yesterday.  It's nice to have, but quite a bit disappointing, too.  The most disappointing aspect?  It has no sound!  None whatsoever.  I've been told by a Beach Boy archivist that he saw the original film recently and it all had sound on it.  Hewas very surprised to hear that DVD has no sound.

     In one sense I can see why they left off some the sound, it probably would have cost them a fortune to get the rights to have the Beach Boys music on the soundtrack.  Also, the concert shots with sound would have turned out horribly because there are no shots of whole songs, only a snippet here and a snippet there. 

     One more thing on the sound -- didn't they mention in early descriptions online that it was going to be narrated by Keith Badman?  Well, it most certainly is not.  And they mention in the sparse liner notes that 18 minutes of the film was originally edited into a piece that was narrated by Marianne Faithful back in the day.  Why couldn't they reproduce that?  I guess it had music on it, and that's why it was going to be newly narrated by Keith Badman, without the music.  But, that didn't happen.  On the back of the DVD case it reads, "This film does not contain music, the film is presented as it was filmed."  But that's apparently not true, since it was originally filmed with sound according to people who have seen the footage beforehand.

     Another weird thing, I can't quite figure out why one portion is originally shown in black & white, and then later most of that, if not the whole portion, is shown in color.  Weird. 

     I thought I recalled while reading the Badman "The Beach Boys: A Definitive Diary" day-by-day book that Peter Whitehead filmed the Beach Boys in many places.  Yet it seems to be only a few different locations shown here.  And all the concert footage looks as if it comes from the same venue.

     Oh, well, it is nice for me to have, despite its flaws.  But it's certainly a missed oppurtunity.  I can only recommend it for very hard core Beach Boy fans.

       
            Dan Lega

I'm confused.

If there's no sound, no music, and no Keith Badman or Marianne Faithful narration, what is it? A completely silent movie? Did they just put MIDI BB's sound-a-like music on it?

      Yes, it's completely silent.


               Love and merci,   Dan Lega

The only place I can find the disc is on eBay but I don't want to spend $25.  Any place else I can find one? Amazon doesn't have it for some reason.

    As I said, the cheapest I found online was at Newegg.com, and it was right around $25.  So it doesn't look like you can find any cheaper, right now.  Maybe in a few months the price will go down considerably?  Or maybe it will go out of print and you'll have to pay an exorbitant fee?  


          Love and merci,   Dan Lega