On the whole the likenesses are amazing, although Al looks a little wooden ...

Mike's stirring again ...

Hey guys,
               So, yeah, I decided to have these commissioned....it got me wondering... Whats the weirdest Beach Boys thing you own/have seen? Have you ever commissioned something done about the Beach Boys and how did it turn out?

These are so great!

Puts me in mind of some of my favourite BB songs:

Wooden It Be Nice
Scoop John B
Had to Spoon Ya
Add Some (1tbsp) Music To Your Day
Ladel Lynda
I'd Love Just Once To See You (etched onto the back of a wooden spoon)

I think what strikes me most here is that we have some real learned (and in some cases old school) smile devotees posting, yet when it comes to subjects such as the contents of The Elements Suite or whether Dada is/isn't water, there is very little hard evidence and the arguments get pretty subjective.

I, for one, was pretty convinced that Dada started life as a song about a baby, but it's only from reading this thread that I realise the sole 'hard evidence' for that is the Marilyn quote in the Smile box book. The rest is subjective, based on the fact that fatherhood was a subject BW revisited in other songs, namely When A Man Needs a Woman, but also the baby sounds in Child suggest it was a fascination at that particular time. In fact the idea of babies (and the blurring between adults and babies) crop up quite a bit, especially the Love You period. I think this tells us a lot about Brian's psychology but that's another topic for another day ...

And, you're absolutely right. The evidence and arguments can be/are subjective. So, I'll add another one!

I also believe that "I Love To Say Dada" started out as a song about a baby. And, I'm aware that some of Brian's song titles were working titles. "I'm Grass And You're A Power Mower" comes to mind, although that's an extreme case, but you know what I mean. Anyway, with "I Love To Say Dada" you have the story of Marilyn Wilson and the bottle of milk - AND YOU HAVE THE WORKING TITLE! I'm sure somebody can come up with another guess, but I can only think of one meaning for Dada or Da Da or DaDa - on an album with other song titles like "Child Is Father Of The Man" and other "child/children" references in various songs.

Yes you're right - that is two pieces of evidence. I have seen it argued that dada is a reference to the art movement but I think that's less likely given the bottle of milk anecdote.

If it is a song about a baby, then does it belong with Child Is Father Of The Man? That is another song that contains a baby reference (the trumpet cry). This sets me up to explain another pet theory   ...

The slow piano and bass section of Child represents a father's anxious wait for the arrival of his new baby. The bass sounds just like a ticking clock to me. Then of course it breaks with the trumpet wail as the baby arrives. I'm sure the sections of this song are designed to clearly illustrate something and I suspect the baby plays a significant role given Brian's exclamation in the sessions: "There's our baby!".

Was it AGD that suggested Country Air may be a reworking of the Air Element? Not sure if he still stands by that but I always loved that idea.

Interesting thread.

I think what strikes me most here is that we have some real learned (and in some cases old school) smile devotees posting, yet when it comes to subjects such as the contents of The Elements Suite or whether Dada is/isn't water, there is very little hard evidence and the arguments get pretty subjective.

I, for one, was convinced that Dada started life as a song about a baby, but it's only from reading this thread that I realise the sole 'hard evidence' for that is the Marilyn quote in the Smile box book. The rest is subjective, based on the fact that fatherhood was a subject BW revisited in other songs, namely When A Man Needs a Woman, but also the baby sounds in Child suggest it was a fascination at that particular time. In fact the idea of babies (and the blurring between adults and babies) crop up quite a bit, especially the Love You period. I think this tells us a lot about Brian's psychology but that's another topic for another day ...

As for Fire, I'm in the 'Workshop is rebuilding after the fire' camp. Again, outside of the Carol Kaye quote, this is subjective. I remember reading Priore making the case for it in his post BWPS smile book. I was in the airport at the time and I could just about reshuffle the pieces on my iPod so that Workshop immediately followed Fire. Talk about an 'a ha!' moment. Never have two Smile fragments flowed so effectively to my ears. Not only did the two pieces flow musically, but they also create a very effective joke in the contrast from dark and scary (Fire), to the arched eyebrow humour of the loungey vibe of Workshop. It just seems exactly the type of gag Brian was into at the time. I think Brian used humour as a defence against the darker aspects of himself so it fits that he would create a very dark, serious piece of music and then flip on his head with a gag as if to say  "No need to get bummed out - I'm just messing with you folks!"
I'm a big fan of BWPS and support whatever revisions the team chose to make when they put it together. However I do feel a trick was missed in not grouping Fire & Workshop. By following Fire with the water chant it becomes a very heavy, dour section of the album and that fabulous joke is lost.

Okay boss, I'll try to explain it.

Sunday afternoon, I'm bored and playing music from 1964 on youtube, just because I'm wondering what 1964 sounded like.  Skeeter Davis finishes "End of the World" with an impatient band hustling her along, and then "Don't Worry Baby" comes on, the Dick Clark clip.  Brian's in the middle and he opens his mouth and all the angels fall from heaven.  No actually my mouth drops open and I am spellbound.  Not only that, they close-up on the big guy, he smiles, I'm gone.

I had no idea he was Brian Wilson, I didn't know he WAS The Beach Boys.  I knew diddly squat about them and their music, although I have semi joked for years that Sloop John B will be my funeral song (don't ask, really). 

The next morning I wait until the house is empty and start my journey of discovery.  With two minutes of googling, I discover Pet Sounds, start playing it, just to hear a few bars, and it just all comes together for the first time in my head.  Woah.  I can hear the music all day, and then all this weird synchronicity stuff starts happening, and when I go to bed that night I can hear Brian's voice, singing, and boy is he loud!

It was like unlocking a door - or maybe several.

Now you think I'm mad?  Nothing like that has ever happened to me before, I'm boringly normal otherwise.

 Lots of good things have come out of this, every single day since that day, actually. 

Lovely anecdote, and a nice overall vibe to this thread (makes a change). Welcome, Bella!

Just a head's up, HDTracks has released Pet Sounds (M&S) & Holland (S) today. Though these are not mastered by Kevin Gray, Holland is sporting We Got Love as the last track. Also, there is a 15% off code out there; it is HDSEPT11. This code may only be today only, not sure, though. Both albums are in 24/192 and 24/96.

Please excuse my ignorance but does this mean the vinyl mono and stereo Pet Sounds (when/if they finally materialise) will not be mastered by Kevin Gray either, or are the HD tracks a separate thing?

The 200 gram vinyl will be Kevin Gray. There is no release date yet. Just a "Shipping 2015". So, hang tight. Some of the HDTracks releases are Kevin Gray and some are not. You need to check the notes of each album on the site to find out.

Thanks for this info - much appreciated.

Just a head's up, HDTracks has released Pet Sounds (M&S) & Holland (S) today. Though these are not mastered by Kevin Gray, Holland is sporting We Got Love as the last track. Also, there is a 15% off code out there; it is HDSEPT11. This code may only be today only, not sure, though. Both albums are in 24/192 and 24/96.

Please excuse my ignorance but does this mean the vinyl mono and stereo Pet Sounds (when/if they finally materialise) will not be mastered by Kevin Gray either, or are the HD tracks a separate thing?

Let's each choose an obscure song and pledge to make Centurydeprived's dream a reality. I claim Crack At Your Love.

Have a newborn ejaculate? That is a pretty sick thought.

reread the bit about "for 34 years" you managed to miss

A skittles-only diet severely retards the ageing process.

Have a newborn ejaculate? That is a pretty sick thought.

Love You era Brian could probably write a song about it.

Agree to a point, but in addition to his singing, the intro is reminiscent of WIBN/Little Girl I Once Knew and the big vocal build-up nails the BB sound.

"Scheherazade" from Tomboy is another.  Reminds me of Our Prayer but in a far more queasy fashion.

I love panda bear and animal collective - for me this is the true legacy of the beach boys taken in a creative and progressive (I.e relevant in 2015) direction. Thinking more of animal collective here, but anyone who can simultaneously sound like the beach boys and Lee scratch perry is alright in my book.

If only we could get a vinyl release of MIC though. A truncated version would be fine by me. Maybe 3 or 4 discs like they did with the vinyl version of Dylan's Basement Tapes last year.

I think the BBs or are in dire need of a comprehensive vinyl greatest hits that includes the deep cuts. There's just nothing out there for me.

  The sound is a more little disturbing, a bit like the wail at the end of George Harrison's Long, Long, Long from de Beatles, or the wail of someone trapped in a typical european basement.

  love it.

Nice to know it's not just my copy with this spooky sound. Interesting theory - it does sound like the sound of a child's voice to me though, but perhaps just my imagination playing tricks.

Love it or hate it, Mike Love's one of rock n roll's less loveable artists.

I'm assuming the title of the OP's article is tongue in cheek (given that he's trying garner support for a vinyl release of Unleash the Love), but nevertheless the question does get to the very heart of Mike's essence really. Why does the guy ruffle so many feathers?

I think a lot of people here are taking this thread far too seriously.

Ha - you guys!

Seriously though - I'd be interested to know if this was on the original pressing and, if so, what/who the sound is.

Welcome to the board Iain! I'm presuming you're the comedian/presenter Iain Lee? I thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Brian you did a few years back.

If you're not familiar with Mike's feature on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, it should give you plenty of material for your article. Good luck!

http://youtu.be/dlL7-j-IvVA (skip to 3.10)

Listening to the 80s reissue of Wild Honey with a volume up I can hear what sounds like a child's voice in the runout groove of side one, and possibly a bit of the same sound on side 2 too.

Anybody else noticed this? Am I going insane?

Disc 3 is my favorite (of any bb comp cd) but disc 4 runs a close second. Great sequencing - these two are never far from my car stereo.

Thanks for sharing, Filledeplage.

I love this exchange. VDP's epitaph from hell:

Q: How did his lyrical ability compare to Joe Thomas?

A: He far surpassed him. His lyrical ability has never been touched by anyone I have ever known, except for Mike Love.

In Priore's Smile book there's a Darian quote iirc that suggests the 'new' clarinet melody on Look/Song For Children is a vintage melody heard in a headphone bleed during the preparations for BWPS. It certainly sounds more like a vintage melody than any of the other new ones to my ears. However I've never seen/heard any other evidence to support this claim. Somebody must ask Alan Boyd about this the next time he's on the board.

Carol's reaction is extreme - she'd do well to temper this stuff as she does more harm than good to the reputation she's trying to defend. She should also be more considerate of the actress portraying her - Adamghost makes some very valid points.

However, I can understand why some of those portrayed in the film in smaller roles might feel aggrieved. I'm presuming those such as Carol Kaye are not paid to be portrayed in the film, right, or am I mistaken? If the only plus is 'exposure' and you feel you are being misrepresented on screen then you'd have every right to be pissed off about it, especially if you have worked hard to build up a professional reputation.  

I'm not a writer but it's clear in fiction that smaller characters are often written to reveal an aspect of the main character, rather than function as characters in their own right. I think when those smaller character parts are actually based on real people then problems are sure to occur.

In Love & Mercy the Carol Kaye character's main function is apparently to portray the anecdote of the hardened pros' bewilderment at the young wizkid producer's eschewing of rules. It's unfortunate that Kaye perceives this exchange as a 'dizzy blonde not understanding the music she's being handed' rather than her character representing the wrecking crew at large and its shared bewilderment at Wilson's methods. I'm sure Kaye constantly had to struggle against sexism and probably has a large chip on her shoulder about it. Viewing the scene myself I can see how she could misinterpret it that way. (I'm not criticising Teresa Cowle's acting btw - My point is we see a pretty blonde questioning something and that has certain inevitable associations). Personally I think it might have been better had one of the male wrecking crew members questioned the sheet music to avoid this ambiguity.

On a similar note, I wonder how the other Beach Boys feel about the portrayals? With the exception of Carl, they really are reduced to caricatures. Again, I think it's necessary for a movie like this to function, but I don't think that means the subjects have to grin and bear it.

**Mild spoiler alert**

I finally saw the movie last night at my local picture house.

Initially I feared I might struggle to 'suspend my disbelief' as, like many here, I'm very familiar with the stories surrounding the band, and the characters themselves - Brian Wilson in particular. Although physically a good resemblance, I found it difficult to reconcile Dano's portrayal with the BW I've seen and heard on sessions reels and in interview clips. Dano is very effective in portraying the fragile, sensitive, childlike sides of the younger BW, but I missed the goofy, humorous aspects that strike me as a central part of the young Wilson - BW the clown. I sense a lot of BW's clowning was a defence to hide his sensitivity, whereas the sensitivity in Dano's portrayal was a little too overt for my tastes. That said, it was clearly necessary to portray Wilson that way for the purpose of the narrative.

I had to remind myself that Dano's performance was never going to be a carbon copy of the real thing and once I could accept his performance on its own terms, I began to enjoy him and the 60s sections of the film very much. The strengths of those portions for me lay in all the period details, the sets and clothing. I'm no expert, but from what I've gleaned from Guitarfool's posts, they'd done their homework. It was beautiful to see photos we're all so familiar with (Brian leaning over the control desk, Brian's red velvet shirt, the Surf's Up piano performance, The Smile tape racks) brought to vivid, animated life! And the music!! The studio sections are wonderful and both my friend (moderate fan but big fan of Pet Sounds) and I were nodding in awe as those breathtaking melodies took shape on the screen.

So my advice to anyone approaching this movie expecting to see their Brian Wilson reproduced perfectly on screen, it may be worth dumping those expectations in the foyer and trying to appreciate each portrayal of BW more on its own terms.

Ironically, I found Cusack's lack of resemblance to Wilson made it much easier to accept him as the 80s incarnation. I could tune in to the performance itself much easier than with Dano, and Cusack's performance is fantastic. I thought Elizabeth Banks was also excellent in these sections of the film. Paul Giamatti did veer a little too close to cartoon villain at times (I cringed when he screamed "Or else!" at Brian)  but I think with this type of biopic subtlety is inevitably sacrificed at times to forward the story.

Despite my few minor criticisms, I found myself emotionally very involved in the story and the actors managed to create versions of Wilson that were believable characters in their own right, rather than just exercises in capturing likeness.

Finally, when cast shots were originally released I made some slightly idiotic posts about how the actor playing VDP had swooshy boy band hair and that this may potentially torpedo the movie for me. In retrospect I think I was overegging things a bit. Anyway, it's a moot point now  because I was relieved to see the VDP character's hair was absolutely fine and in keeping with other period details. I LOVED the smile sections of the film - The closest I will get to climbing inside a time machine and stalking Brian and the Vosse Posse c.1966!

My personal favorite and a very adventurous album in many ways. It's very obvious that Brian cared a lot about this one. To me it feels a bit like Smile part 2, the 'laid-back edition'.

Yes I agree about the smile vibe. The production is really detailed, but subtly so. One of my faves by the band also. Can't understand those that decry Friends - arguably one of the more cohesive BB albums - and then go on about how great 20/20 is.