Catbirdman, your Reply no.298 is irrelevant now with new board creation. Reply no.297 is a bit late since GF/ Craig as you called him brought apology as well.

Please do not advise me anymore on what I should or should not do. I have removed some of my posts, yes, but I did so because my conscience advised it. I did not do so because you asked me to. I hope you understand that. You have no authority over me.

Post #297 is the one I will let stand. I am not saying Craig brought down PSF, and I don't believe that is the case. But I will let the post stand because I believe it to be the truth and I think it needed to be said for at least 4 years now. I am a nobody in the BB universe so I don't care what heat I get for it.

If others decide to remove #297 from the public record, I suppose I have no control over that.

You should remove each post.

I have removed all but one. There are some that are quoted by others; wish i could remove them too. Especially the one that had all the typos (I accidentally hit "post" before I had spell-checked).

I apologize to all for posting before I understood that a) the PSF came down due to the decision of its creator and b) that the new forum was already operational.

People from both boards, now a third, have apologised and moved on.

It’s Christmas Eve for me. Think of ‘the reason for the season’ and do the same.

So far you haven’t posted anything I can see worth a ban. Be a bigger person and leave it that way huh?  

I confess that I hadn't been fully briefed on the situation before I posted, so I went back and removed most of my posts. If you are able to delete my post you quoted, please do.

Merry Christmas to you. Yes, there are bigger and more important things to meditate on. My baby daughter was baptized today, so believe me I understand that!

New board is here(http://endlessharmony.boards.net/), and PSF members are moving on to this place.

Thanks Watamushi. I just registered there, and glad you're there too!

(previous post deleted)

I might as well delete most of this stuff. Much more important stuff in life, after all. Peace to all.

(post deleted)

Craig, your inability to let go of grudges and to ever do any serious self-reflecting is a scourge upon the Beach Boys online fan community and NO ONE is more responsible for the schisms that exist. Truth.

(post deleted)

A few footnotes to my above post:

It was very difficult for me to post that. By nature I dislike personal conflict and I have no wish to be hurtful to Craig or Billy personally. But I did it anyway and I acknowledge that, and I am sorry.

I acknowledge that it is most likely impossible to find new moderators, especially those like I described in my post. They’re unicorns. This isn’t a paid position.  So yeah, I acknowledge that I spoke about a problem without offering a well thought-out or feasible solution.

In spite of those misgivings, I said what I said because I felt I had to. The culture is just so bad now that I felt I had to add my voice, and that reason trumped everything else. Just in case we have any chance of improving things around here. I did what I felt was right. Even if I was wrong.

Finally, because of my first point (about disliking personal conflict), and because I simply don’t spend as much time on this board as many others do, I will very likely not read or respond to PMs or engage much more on this topic past these posts. I acknowledge I am now open to criticism and censure by the rest of you, but I accept that and I’m determined to just let it be.

I would like to see a change of moderators at Smiley Smile, and here’s why:

The Smiley Smile message board is sick for two reasons. First, its content is largely focused on itself, its members, and the drama perpetuated by them. Secondly, multiple voices are missing for various reasons. Some of these are prominent ones (Ray, Andrew, and Lee, to name but three).

When the board is at its best, content is mostly on topic (relating to the music, history, and current events), and all viewpoints and all voices are made to feel welcome. It doesn’t seem likely Smiley Smile will get to that point as things stand today.

The problem I believe is due to the nature of fanatics. Their passion keeps the place alive, but they can also be divisive and stubborn. Viewpoints, and the way in which they are expressed, can become extreme to the point of being hurtful to others and unhealthy for the board. So the passion must be protected but at the same time moderated.

Moderators are so important. That is a nearly impossible balance to maintain, and the only way a person can do it is to always be on the case, and to always be impartial – both in reality and perception. I don’t believe a moderator gets the luxury of having a “moderator” hat and a “regular poster” hat. I also think that really sucks, and I have compassion for Billy and Craig for this reason (not that they asked for it).

In my opinion a moderator should never be perceived to be the one who has an axe to grind. Moderators should negotiate truces with others who are doing the grinding.

I think both Craig and Billy believe in their hearts that they have been impartial and consistent. But in my estimation after reading this thread and many others, that is not the perception of probably half of the active membership. That is not an irrefutable statistical analysis of course, it’s just the way it appears to me.

I will leave aside the controversy of how bans were executed (personally, I don’t believe in any conspiracies). My point is that even assuming nothing improper was done on a procedural level, the perception is still widespread (not unanimous of course, but significantly widespread) that the current moderators have failed in the ways I have outlined.

For those reasons I believe that new moderators should be elected/appointed. At the least, I believe Craig should be replaced as moderator. I do not believe that he has the ability to heal the board and what’s more I believe he has added to the sickness for the reasons explained above. I say this with pain, as I have long admired and been in awe of Craig as a “regular poster.”

To summarize: I believe that the board should be more heavily moderated by new people with consistency to ensure that content stays on topic and healthy, and done so in a manner where the majority of folks (at least a heck of a lot better than it is right now) perceive this to be the case.

Um, did something happen? I just now saw this and clicked on the link and there's not much in this interview at all. Really short, safe stuff. No references to the Doors or other stuff people seem to be referencing. Certainly nothing as interesting as the "outtakes" posted by Howie in this thread. Gee, I'd like to see what I've missed.

I clicked here: http://www.jambands.com/features/2016/05/16/brian-wilson-looks-back-on-pet-sounds-at-50/?1

AGD and Lee Dempsey are both gone? I also saw a reference that Mujan no longer posts.

Truly sad. The board will surely suffer as a result.

Summertime Blues

Apologies if someone posted this already, but I didn't see it after a pretty thorough search. Pitchfork has this bit of news on the Phoenix version of "Alone on Christmas Day":
http://pitchfork.com/news/62151-bill-murray-and-phoenix-putting-out-christmas-single/

They give almost every detail you could think of except one: who the composer is.

I like the song a lot, and wish it could have been recorded back in the day. But since it wasn't, this is a more than respectable substitute. The production is fantastic Adam. I would buy the full album without hesitation in whatever format it gets released. Thank you and cheers.

 "Kustom Kar Show" WAS released in 1964 on the A&M label by Dave & the Marksmen as the flip side to "Cruisin'" (A&M 730):

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/dave_and_the_marksmen/cruisin___kustom_kar_show/

Both promo copies and store stock copies were pressed.

It was also reissued by Sundazed Records a few years ago on colored vinyl:

http://www.amazon.com/THE-SHERIFF-NODDINGHAM-KUSTOM-SHOW/dp/B00AOAG2G2

Lee

Oops, sorry for that, I forgot/hadn't realized about the Marksmen version. That particular statement was mostly a response to what I read upthread about how cool it would have been if the BBs had recorded it for the Little Deuce Coupe LP...  In any case my only motive for posting was to show support and encouragement for Adam and Carrie/Dave, because I listened to the track and thought it was rad. Simple as that.

I like the song a lot, and wish it could have been recorded back in the day. But since it wasn't, this is a more than respectable substitute. The production is fantastic Adam. I would buy the full album without hesitation in whatever format it gets released. Thank you and cheers.

[bgas]

It's discussed here, tracklist courtesy of bgas:  http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,8214.msg541471.html#msg541471

Also, it's briefly mentioned on page 61 of the pdf that bryand posted in the "BEACH BOYS’ PARTY! Uncovered and Unplugged" thread:

Found this:
http://rpmdistribution.ca/docs/86042_newreleasebook_universalmusiccanada___________72.pdf?LanguageID=EN-US

Ah, thanks for the reply. I'm not surprised at all this has already been scooped, dissected, and dealt with before I ever had a chance to see it. I did do a search before posting, but didn't see it, and I have trouble keeping up with all the threads here. Sorry for the distraction, everyone.

I'm bumping an ancient thread, having just searched Amazon US for latest BB releases (looking for the new Party comp, which is there), finding this:

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Album-Paper-Sleeve-CD-Deluxe--Replica-Limited/dp/B014YP1I0M/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1445362901&sr=1-2&keywords=beach+boys

My main question is what will be on this disc? Just the original 12 tracks? In stereo? In mono? Or (crossing my fingers this is the case) both mono and stereo? Any bonus material? Or is this just yet another annual ho-hum reissue of this album?

The artwork they have on the site shows just the original track listing on the original back cover, but it is after all an LP-replica sleeve so the full contents may not be listed. And it does say "Deluxe" in the product name after all...

Anyone in the know at liberty to say more?

Certainly America's Greatest Band is worthy of a comprehensive Lewisohn-esque treatment of their unparalleled musical career. 

You would be the man to do it.

wow there's a lot of songs listed, some twice ("Good Vibrations").

I notice the ones that are listed twice tend to be the ones performed by both the Beach Boys and either the "Love & Mercy Musicians" or Paul Dano - so we'll get both versions. And in the case of Good Vibrations, might we get some isolated vocals like we heard (to our amazement) in the movie? Note this blurb in the second listing: "Contains voice excerpts of Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Chuck Britz and Hal Blaine"....intriguing.

Just received the book and browsed for 5 minutes. At first glance, this is an AMAZING book. Everything I had hoped for and more. The research is exhaustive, annotated thoroughly, and details are presented fairly. If it's a known fact, it's supported. If it's speculation, or if there is conflicting evidence of what occurred, it's explored thoroughly and honestly. This is the Beach Boys history I have always dreamed of.

I only hope it's just volume 1.

I can't wait to devour this over the next few weeks, and I dream of the next installment (The Beach Boys In Bloom: 1964-1965?).

We're not supposed to say this now, especially with the biopic portraying Melinda as the savior, but yes, I do get the Landy vibe. She seems very controlling - or maybe Brian just likes having someone to hide behind, someone to keep away the people he doesn't want to see, without having to say so himself.

It always does set off alarm bells, and rightfully so, when Melinda is compared to Landy. But I submit that the similarity you mention - control - might be true, AND might be a very good thing. It might be possible that, yes, Melinda does exercise a good deal of control and influence over Brian, mainly in his career decisions and interacting with others, as you mention. It's possible that Brian wouldn't have been touring regularly for years. Ray and others can shed insight on that of course.

But Melinda should NEVER, in my opinion, be compared to Landy because there is a HUGE difference in the type of control exerted by someone who truly loves Brian and by someone who was by all accounts nothing more than a self-glorifying leech. Landy would have driven Brian to his grave and would have inherited his estate. Melinda, on the other hand, loves Brian and has his interests at heart. I do believe that. For example, she knew, yes, how much Brian might struggle, and go through pain, to go out on the road on a regular basis. But she also knew how much it would mean to him to experience the applause and the appreciation from fans, and how that would bring him greater happiness in the long run. Am I close, Ray?

Quick reality check:

OK, so everyone is assuming Van Dyke Parks is asserting that he was instrumental in arranging/influencing the music of Smile, and not just the lyrics. Did he actually say that, or clearly imply it? I'm honestly asking. He may very well have and I missed it; I have only done quick scans of this thread as time allows. But all I have seen from the source himself - VDP - are comments on the cello part in Good Vibrations. The only time I saw it mentioned clearly in print that VDP has long gone uncredited for his influence on Smile music at large was in the blog article linked to earlier in this thread. But note that those statements came from the blogger. I wonder if the blogger, based on VDP's comments about Good Vibrations (which let's face it, he has been saying for years), made a bit of a leap in logic there.

Just want to be careful, because you know how message boards are - one person says something and it gets chewed on and thrown around and blown out of proportion and becomes something else entirely.

So I humbly ask we take a real close look again at what came from the source - is it entirely clear that Van Dyke himself is claiming he contributed musically to Smile, beyond that cello part, and to what degree?

In any case I have to say that Van Dyke Parks is coming across very poorly in these tweets. It's sad to me because I have the utmost respect for his talent and unique artistry. Don Malcolm, I LOVED your post - very speculative on what might be going through Van Dyke's head, so probably not totally on the mark, but VERY possible and very compassionate and fair-minded all around as to likely scenarios.

I also think there's something in the TLOS thing - I remember hearing that announced as a BW/VDP collaboration at first too, and remember being disappointed when that didn't pan out, and I remember thinking to myself "I wonder what happened and how does VDP feel about it..."

Wow that is weird. I just so happen to have read this very passage earlier today and then I see this post. From the Stephen J. McParland chronicling of the Usher/Wilson sessions in 1986, The Wilson Project, page 27, August 20 1986 entry (Gary Usher is narrating):

One night Brian was in his favourite chair in the living room (he just loved to go there and sit) and in walked Braden [my note: Usher's youngest son] with some golf clubs. So Brian picked up a golf club and my wife happened to be sitting in the living room in the dark strumming a guitar and she said, "Hi Brian, what are you doing?" and he said, "Oh, I am just sitting here in the chair with a golf club in my hand." Then a few minutes of silence went by and he said, "Now there is no golf club in my hand." My wife looked over and he had put the golf club down. Anyway, she went back to strumming the guitar and then a couple of seconds later she happened to look over and Brian had inadvertently picked up the golf club again and she stopped and said, "And now you have the golf club back in your hand." Brian looked at her and broke up laughing. It really broke him up. It was a good example of how they played back and forth the entire time Brian and I were working together.

Am I the only one that thinks the OP was being completely satirical?