Well put.

Thanks Mike for coming out and saying that.I know we've discussed things in the past that I've kept in confidence as I have with others...you're not the only one who's had some bad experiences.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...for those who think that this is all just empty conjecture, keep this in mind...what would any of us have to gain by saying such things?Nothing. It's not like I enjoy knowing some of the things I do. Quite the opposite, in fact. Makes one feel dirty.
Why doesn't Brian do something about it? Ironically, it was David Leaf who said that "Brian turns the other cheek so much he's got whiplash". It seems like everyone who has to deal with Brian's people gets burned by them, and the line's getting longer.I do wish Brian would DO something, but the fact is, he just doesn't really care. In a way, this is comfortable for him, because this is the only life he knows.

Now you know who strikes me as  real, decent, actually caring people, that actually care about Brian? Peter Reum. Brian's band. Al. Mark Linnett.  From the sounds of things, David Marks. THOSE are the people who genuinely care for Brian.

It's just pop music, and you have all the albums. You'll be okay.

True, but it offends me on a human level.

I don't think "Brian" has posted there for over a year now.

Well, if that's the case, he sure as hell needs to slow down.

Even if everything is as benign as they are saying, and Brian is fine and wants to tour, they need to realize that we are now going beyond even the normal problems of the last 8 years of Brian seeming ill at ease on stage and prompting questions of whether he wants to be out touring. Whatever is really happening, they have to realize that the appearance to some is now not only that he may not be as enthusiastic about touring as one would hope, but that he may not be best served by being out there touring in terms of his health. Again, I'm talking about what the appearance is, as we obviously cannot know the details of what his health actually is. But even taking all of the "official" statements as totally accurate, I'm surprised they are not more concerned about how this all appears to fans and outsiders.

Exactly.

I think part of the reason why this whole "Lucky Old Sun" thing is such a big deal to me is because I have a feeling this may be the last new work from Brian. And really, if it means his health, then it should be.

Ok I am going to come right out and say that I think the wife and biographer have turned into the people they once said were "abusing" Brian. Damn at least Murry, Mike, Carl , and the others cared about him before there was any money to be made. Landy was worse, and Brian does have great musicians with him, but even they seem to be "on leave" more and more often. I am tired of people not stating what is obvious. Does Brian have to die before certain people stop buying the party line? There are Beach Boys mags and message boards (not this one) that would have you believe Brian is cured, Melinda is wonderful, Leaf is a godsend. ENOUGH!!!! Brian is a unique and kind individual but as he has perminant damage on certain levels that allow others to take over his life. Perhaps he enjoys that in a perverse way but I feel strongly that he is not loved in the unconditional manner we all need. What he does in professinal life should be his call and if it's nothing then god bless him for 46 damn years of gracing all our lives with his wonderful music.

Then I'm going to say something that I've held back on saying for a while. I think Brian's marriage is the biggest sham of all. I think at one point he & Melinda did love each other, but at this point...I think it's nothing more than a business arrangement. A bad one at that, too.

Granted, "Smile" was special, but the rest of those shows were oldies.  The ticket prices were fairly high, too.

Yep. Notice how he's been basically doing the same setlist now for quite a while? Compare that to the first few years of touring.

Also..notice how much more outgoing Brian in 1995-1996. Compare that to now. Yeah, some of it is due to age, but...

Hmm...I wonder if Al leaving, Brian's episode, and the selling of all his homes are connected some how...

I haven't either. My wife was going to go with me a 3 years ago, but miscarried earlier in the week.

For me, regardless of Al, I am most concerned about Brian in all of this. I really hope the fainting spell wasn't him protesting his lot. Because if it is -- well, I have a lot less sympathy for those around him.

I think you're on to something. There's something rotten in the state of Denmark..

Oh yeah...I forgot the name of the song in the intro, too.

Maybe it's my cookies...?

I don't see no picture :/

Surf's Up Cover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Byw3szid3s


And possibly the weirdest "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr_Cexr-5BI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr_Cexr-5BI

Now, bear in mind, Dennis sings this line AFTER the point that the song probably was supposed to be faded out...but he sings "She got it hard, and now it's a big...."...well, it rhymes with "election".  But he's not singing about voting, so use your imagination...

Until my old computer died, I had a version on my hard drive where somebody had spliced in the closing part of All I want to Do immediately after.

Landy was a despicable human being, and a crap-ass shrink, but he really missed his calling as a dietician/makeover guy.Call it Extreme Makeover:Schizoid Edition.

We've heard the Criteria Rough Mix tape with Calendar Girl, Santa Ana Winds, California Feeling, etc.

IMHO, those songs should have been on there. Drop Going South and Full Sail, use the single version of HCTN, and the mid-70s version of Shortnin' Bread, and the album would've been 1000x better.

Here's the thing, though..."Matchpoint" from a year earlier had a rather "disco-lite" type feel, so it wasn't that much of a shock. Of course, maybe 5 people total bought MIU when it first came out

Speaking of MIU, though, am I the only one who notices a rather strange transition in sound from MIU to LA? I'm not talking songs, rather, the actual sound .  LA seems much more current  and a lot "brighter"(as MIU sounded rather thin, although I actually prefer MIU), yet lifeless too at the same time. Am I alone in thinking that the whole of LA sounds cold? Comparing it to KTSA...LA has better songs (although Going South is terrible), but  the production IMHO is as sterile as Imagination was later.

Also, can anyone please explain to me why Looking Down the Coast was left off, because to me it sounds more vibrant than most of that album...

Well the hospital story was only told by Gaines and Gold so I reserve judgment as to if it really went down that way.

Brian's more active in the outtakes for the album, so it makes me wonder. He did look great when he came out. Sadly he gained about 100 pounds over the next year...

I never understood why they didnt put the radio edit on the album, and used the albums version as a 'club' cut...

I've often wondered the same thing.

Also, I've often wondered why the BeeGees got away with it, but the Beach Boys didn't. After hearing the Bee Gees earlier material for the first time several years ago (yes, I know...I'm late as hell), I can no longer stomach most of their disco material.

Yeah, I know. I'm strange.

Here's a little quickie of a demo of "The Night was so Young". Still using the webcam mic for recording. I'm going to add vocals to this eventually, and when I do I'll post the actual recorded version here. This is just a little sample. The snyth part playing the melody will be replaced by vocals.
http://download.yousendit.com/29FD4C837DB29CF8

http://download.yousendit.com/6FC88F0D13AC6F4F

Well shoot...the file's blank. WTF?

I'll try reuploading it later...

Ever wanted to hear me sing backup and/or play bass? Me either.
Anyway, here is a track called "Pale Blue Sky" I recorded with some folks in college about 7 years ago. Sorry about the horrible sound quality, as I had to use my webcam to record the sound...the original sounds much better.

this was for a college project.
I'm the backup vocalist on this, and also the (replacement) bassist. The singer, this dude named Bree (yes...that was his real name)...let's just say pitch correction was used. The drummer was actually a guitar player playing drums because the guy who was originally the drummer quit the morning of the session. The guy who played synth (Kevin Rue) and wrote the song just so happened to be the lab assistant at the college and this was his band. Bree quit the group two days later. I had to redo his bass part because, well...   Honestly, Kevin wanted me to replace Bree's vocals, too! I snuck in the backup vocals, as since this was for a grade, and I was supposed to just be producing and mixing, I wasn't supposed to actually BE on the track.

The actual recording sounds pretty good considering the limitations. When I transfer this track to cd, I'll let you guys hear the "real" version.

Oh, I got an A, by the way.

http://download.yousendit.com/0AB1C74F523D2BF5

Wonder if he'll use his "grinch" voice for the narration?

Taken from this here site...

    The thing Brian Wilson seemed most excited about, when I interviewed him last week, was a new studio project— another concept album. He has been working over the past year with Van Dyke Parks on what he called a “narrative album” based on the classic children’s book The Little Prince.

    “I’m doing the narration,” he said. “It’ll be a bunch of songs interrupted by a narrator who tells the story— the idea is to present a complete narrative.”

    He explained that the narrator is named “Lucky Old Sun,” and asked if I remembered the old song. He sang a few bars: “That lucky old sun, he’s got nothin’ to do, but roll around heaven all day.”

    Wilson reminded me that he had released a children’s album along with Holland in 1973. I replied that it seemed to me that much of his work has a childlike quality to it; Smile, for instance, has both lyrical and musical references to children’s songs. “Yeah,” he said.

    I asked: What’s that about? Where does that come from?

    “From my heart,” he said. Simple.

A children's album?!

VDP writing the lyrics?!

I like it too. It's dumb as hell, but enjoyable.