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| March 29, 2024, 04:43:07 AM |
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126
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Non Smiley Smile Stuff / The Sandbox / Re: Pet Sounds and Race
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on: September 29, 2016, 09:48:32 AM
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My response to the article was very critical, so don't misunderstand where I'm coming from, either. Just saying the righteous fury against Big Bad Eggheads and the Great Satan of Political Correctness gets pretty tiresome when its not actually specific or on point, but just gnashing of teeth.
I take your point, but have you considered that the gnashing of teeth that you find tiresome might be, in part, a response to the gnashing of teeth from the SJW side? To be clear, I'm all for honest discussion. Questions should be asked, but that's not what I see happening. I see an aggressive, veritably religious movement that is less interested in honest dialogue than converting the masses to their faith. Articles like this (yep, read it) are symptomatic of that movement. What you see as tiresome fury is actually resistance to that movement. And while I too would prefer thoughtful, non-knee jerk discussion, the onus for this is on the movement, not the resistance.
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127
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Non Smiley Smile Stuff / The Sandbox / Re: Pet Sounds and Race
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on: September 29, 2016, 08:34:00 AM
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"Pet Sounds and Race." God Almighty. Where/when will this end?
Unfortunately, it won't. Everything can be, nay, MUST be viewed through the racial prism until it's finally clear to you that you're a horrible person and everything you hold dear is evil and racist. And probably sexist, too.
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128
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Non Smiley Smile Stuff / The Sandbox / Re: Pet Sounds and Race
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on: September 29, 2016, 08:21:01 AM
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I just think it's a thing to define just about everything as either Marxist or Fascist. It's a way of dismissing rather than engaging. Also, when someone comes along who demonstrates actual fascist tendencies, it's now easy to dismiss people who point that out as just labeling that person based on the tendency to do so, without engaging.
Playing the race card, be it outright calling somebody or something racist or implying that there is some malevolent racist element to a perspective, is also a way of dismissing rather than engaging. Nothing ends a discussion quicker than calling somebody a racist. SJWs get a lot of criticism because, despite their generally noble intentions, they seem to view everything through a ridiculously narrow prism-- be it race, gender, etc. and usually out of context. Their zeal is uber-religious and completely intolerant of other views. Somebody earlier mentioned the parsing of everything into terms of race, and that a racial element will soon be part of every Beach Boys conversation. We're already there. I'm a public school teacher and students tell me all the time that I'm racist for liking the Beach Boys. Awesome where we're heading, eh?
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134
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Dennis Wilson Clues
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on: March 31, 2016, 11:55:20 AM
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Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.
Maybe I'm being naive. How could someone just choose to sit on the bottom and drown? If you try it the next time you are in the water you would find how difficult it is to curl up at the bottom without floating back up. Then there is the body's natural reaction to scramble for air and try to get to the top. I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe Dennis just 'gave up'. The eyewitnesses said he was in good spirits that day. He had overcome far worse than his financial problems at the time and losing the boat. It was a tragic drowning accident. I drowned when I was 4 years old. No, not near-drowned-- drowned. Drowning does not always result in death. In this case, it was close. I obviously can't say what happened to Dennis, but I can recount what happened to me and I think I can make some fairly educated assumptions. It happened in a hotel pool in Anaheim, CA, and it's one of the most vivid memories I have. I fell off a float into 3 feet of water. Unable to keep my mouth above water, I was unable to breathe and my autonomic response kicked in. Panic. Utter fear and violent struggle. Whether I knew what was happening or not didn't matter; my nervous system did. I kicked my legs and flapped my arms but to no avail. I remember these movements becoming less erratic as the seconds passed, surely due to the lack of oxygen to power my muscles. I have no idea how long this lasted. When I could no longer move, the panic left completely and gave way to a sense of complete relaxation and comfort. I remember giving up trying to breathe and coming to some warped notion that it wasn't necessary. That I could just float there underwater, completely relaxed, in perpetuity. No air needed. I even thought to myself, "How dumb of me to think I need air down here!" Aside from that, there was no emotion at all. Just a keen sense of the water on my skin, in my mouth, in my eyes, and the sounds of the water. I tilted my head as if to rest. Not a muscle in my body contracted. I'm not sure how long I remained in this state, but it continued until I heard loud voices and was yanked from the water. I have no memories of the event after being pulled from the water, but apparently my dad was able to resuscitate me poolside. Given my own experience, I believe Dennis did not "just let go" in the sense that some of you believe. I believe his autonomic response kicked in and he fought for life until his body gave up, at which point he felt the same sense of relaxed euphoria that I did. He did give up-- not because of some my-life-sucks-and-I'm-tired thought process, but via a physiological coping mechanism designed, perhaps, to make the victim's inevitable exit less traumatic. At that moment, his tense muscles relaxed and he rested. Not romantic at all, given the terror that precedes the calm. But if his experience was anything like mine, his last few seconds maybe weren't so bad.
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Al's album is gone
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on: March 30, 2016, 07:12:45 AM
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It's perhaps somewhat like Netflix (or Amazon Prime Video), where movies come and go due to the licensing duration.
That may well be the case, but I've used Spotify since it was first available here in the US several years ago, and of the 400+ albums I've bookmarked and listened to over the years, I've only ever seen two disappear from the offerings: Still Cruisin' (partial) and Postcard.
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Al's album is gone
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on: March 29, 2016, 11:44:49 AM
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I purchased Postcard from iTunes but I do most of my playlist organizing on Spotify, and I too noticed that the album had been yanked from that service. So while I still have access to my purchased download, my Spotify playlists are all jacked up now. I've always been curious about why albums come and go from those services. Still Cruisin' was yanked a few years ago too, and last time I checked, only the partial album remained available. Aside from me and the OP, I guess nobody here knows (or cares) why this happens.
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138
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Sir George Martin RIP
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on: March 09, 2016, 01:05:38 PM
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I've just started on my Beatles journey, so I'm sure I'll feel the weight of this more as time passes.
Off topic kinda though... I know why the British dub people knights, but I've never really liked it. The guy was a genius, but a knight? Really? I always chuckle a bit when I hear musicians mentioned with their "Sir" title.
Let the flaming begin.
Back on topic, it's interesting how we collectively have some sense (and maybe a misplaced) sense of assurance when people we admire and love are still with us-- even if they very old or very ill. Then there's such a sense of loss when they ultimately pass.
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Now on Spotify...
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on: February 25, 2016, 01:03:58 PM
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Orange Crate Art - most splendid !
Um, Orange Crate Art has been on Spotify for at least couple years already. Yeah, I Spotified it a few years ago. Absolutely hated it, but revisited it today, because with all the love for it here, I figured I must be missing something. Couldn't even get through the entire album. Maybe I'll fall in love with it after a few years. Which makes me wonder- what makes a good album? One that hooks you on first listen? One that, like No Pier Pressure, I come to love after a few weeks? How good is an album that takes *years* for you to fall in love with? What am I missing about OCA that has y'all so enthralled?
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Was there any evidence \
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on: January 29, 2016, 07:27:15 AM
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You know, as much as I love Smile (to the point of spending countless hours making my own mixes of it, which hours a reasonable person might allocate to, say, spending quality time with family and forwarding a career), I have approximately zero interest in the whole elements mythos. I couldn't care less if "Wind Chimes" was Air. But... I'm glad that so many of you do, and it's way interesting to read you're back-and-forth.
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Brian's Voice Change
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on: January 28, 2016, 12:59:58 PM
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So even though the falsetto wasn't as youthful and powerful as it once was, Brian still possessed the soaring falsetto for all these years if he chose to use it.
Depends on how you define falsetto. (Not the dictionary definition of the word, but rather how you define it personally). If falsetto to you means hitting high notes here and there, well, I guess Brian retained it for quite some time and still does. I don't define it that way. In fact, hitting high notes is only one component. Is it smooth? powerful? Clear? Retainable over several measures? I think the "60's Brian Voice" that we love was gone for good by 1970. He does not possess that soaring falsetto, and he hasn't possessed it for roughly 40 years. So what if he can hit that high note on "O Holy Night?"or nail three notes on a concert in '83? I think Brian sounds better now than he has since the 70's, and I actually think he can approximate his 60's voice when he sticks to non-verbal vocals (oohs and ahs). Words are slurred and very labored these days, but oohs and ahs are still silky smooth. I completely disbelieve the tired claim that he still has that 60's voice and and times has been caught switching between the two willy-nilly. Bullcrap. His thyroarytenoid muscle and other physical vocal components are no longer capable of producing that sound in a clear, sustainable way. Non-verbal oohs and ahs are the closest we're going to get. And honestly, I'm cool with that.
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Smiley Smile Stuff / General On Topic Discussions / Re: Brian Wilson plays Primavera Sound 2016
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on: January 21, 2016, 08:17:31 AM
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For somebody who apparently hates touring, Brian sure is on stage a lot these days. I know touring trumps writing/recording for most posters on this board, but here's to hoping this fairly rigorous schedule leaves the man some time to work on and record new music.
That's where the money is for artists these days. I understand why touring appeals to artists. What I'll never understand is the overwhelming prioritization of touring over recording by a lot of posters here. We're not making any $$ off Brian touring, and only a sliver of fanatics will be able to see some of these live performances. So why on earth do we care so much? Is a video of a gig shot on an iPhone really more thrilling and enduring than a studio recording? Or is there some sort of mystic draw to touring that the artists among us find so appealing? I really don't get it.
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Non Smiley Smile Stuff / General Music Discussion / Re: Celebrating David Bowie - what are your favorite songs?
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on: January 12, 2016, 08:04:01 AM
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That was actually David Bowie performing with the entire band Queen on "Under Pressure."
Were there two versions of "Under Pressure"? I have the Queen CD, which I bought years ago just for that song. But I could swear I once heard a different version of that song that sounded somewhat different. A different Queen version? There might be a remix or single edit. Maybe a live version, which wouldn't have included Bowie. I know there was a cover done in, I think, 2003 by The Used and My Chemical Romance. It definitely wasn't a live or cover version. It definitely featured Bowie, and I would have heard it around 1995. I was driving through a remote part of Utah and heard it on an obscure community radio station. Bought the Queen cassette tape as soon as I got home and was sure there were differences.
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