I would’ve put this in general on-topic discussions but it didn’t feel right there somehow.

20 years ago this month (meaning April, this is a little late), I discovered a little album called Pet Sounds. It proceeded to change my life forever. I was 19 almost 20, moving back home to Colorado from dreary Washington stare after several months. I was so homesick. Until I got an apartment I crashed with a friend of mine and his mom up in the mountains. I went rummaging through some of the CDs they had and came across the 1990 CD remaster of Pet Sounds, apparently belonging to my friend’s brother. Curious about it (I had heard a couple things about it before. But The Beach Boys? I thought) I put it on and was immediately transfixed by the gorgeous sounds of ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, remembering that I heard it before as a child. I kept going and the rest of the album just threw me for a loop, I had never heard anything like this before, nothing more beautiful and complex and different. I kept playing the album over and over and over for 3 months straight, I must’ve drove my friend crazy with it. But I was obsessed. The fascinating sounds and the feels. I had to know more. The liner notes were very insightful, I read them multiple times. Then I bought the CD of Endless Summer and enjoyed basking in the warmth and joy of the music. I now had a new favorite band. Later than year I discovered so much more thanks to the outstanding 1993 Good Vibrations box set. I was changed irrevocably by this gorgeous and unforgettable music.

I’m 39 almost 40 now and Pet Sounds has remained my favorite album of all time since that day. And The Beach Boys my favorite band. And ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ my very favorite song in the universe. I’m glad to share my love for this band here, all thanks to Brian Wilson’s masterpiece arriving in my life and the exact right time.

Just wanted to share with you all.

How about a little drama, a little humor and a little music -

This scene is from my third favorite film and I think it’s my favorite movie scene ever, with my favorite actress too:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yfuRGVgwpug&t=1s

Though the film it comes from is a talkie, this scene is a brilliant exercise in silent comedy:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT-sy0aLg

I love classic musicals. Here is the queen of musicals, the greatest entertainer ever, doing what she did best:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7d0NRewzW4

I put together an album made up of the better songs from three albums, MIU, LA and KTSA. I posted the front and back covers I did for it a couple of years ago. It’s called Good Timin’ (sorry for the large size of images):

It’s a record.

Al sings the first verse, i.e. “Life supporting waves of bliss...”

Mike sings the second, “Golden auras glow around you...”

I always thought it was Mike on both verses. I’ll be damned.

(is afraid get in this conversation about ‘Caroline, No’ because he prefers the sped up version on the album)

L.A. Light Album would be a damn solid album if it weren't for 'Here Comes the Night' and 'Sumahama'.

Circa 1977, some of the guys wore those matching jackets:



Carl isn't signing on for the jackets in this photo, though his jumpsuit isn't his most flattering look either.

Dennis is the only one in this picture that doesn't look like a dork.

Some of those jackets resurfaced years later at auction apparently:

I WANT THAT JACKET. Somebody should make replicas.

You're a madman chewy. A madman. But i like that! I like that.

'Let The Wind Blow' b/w 'Aren't You Glad'. Double a side.

'Respect', Aretha Franklin. Otis' original is really great but man Sister Re went places with it. I'd also say that about her cover of Elton John's 'Border Song'.

'See You in September' by The Happenings is a big improvement over The Tempos' original.

The Beach Boys' version of 'Hushabye' is way better than the original by The Mystics.

Dunno if it quite counts since it's a standard but The Four Seasons take on 'I Got You Under My Skin' is my favorite, even over Sinatra's.

1. A Hard Day's Night
2. Rubber Soul
3. Revolver
4. Abbey Road
5. The White Album
6. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. Let It Be
8. With The Beatles
9. Beatles For Sale
10. Help!
11. Please Please Me
12. Magical Mystery Tour

All are excellent.

I have been entirely unable to remove these two songs (one is the a-side, the other its b-side) from my head lately, and I don’t mind one bit.

The Blossoms - ‘That’s When The Tears Start’ and ‘Good, Good Lovin'’

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cDb8h2biZw0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XFEPLn4ujww

Darlene Love. One of my very favorite singers.

I had to stop and collect my thoughts.
The staggering amount of records that are beloved to me that he played on, that I tap my feet to, just wow. Most important, most beloved to me out of all is ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, my favorite song in the universe. Brought to life by Brian and Tony, Hal and the other session musicians, the other Beach Boys and the others in the studio that helped it along. It wouldn’t be the musical wonder it is without them. Hal was the heartbeat of my favorite song.

I’ll miss his insights and his humor. Thank you good sir. RIP.

'409', 'Shut Down' and 'Little Deuce Coupe' were originally released on the Surfin' Safari, Surfin' USA and Surfer Girl albums respectively. They were repeated on the Little Deuce Coupe album because that record was all about cars. They needed to  make another album for the holiday market of '63, so Brian put that album together. To save time, he reused those three songs to fit the concept.

H E L P! is in the way

I was listening through Eli and the Thirteen Confession for the second time all the way through when I posted about it above so I have heard it before. I've listened to a handful of Nyro's other albums but that one, her second, is her best. Stunning singing, lyrics and music. She mixes soul, Brill Building pop, jazz and folk to brilliant effect. Uniquely beautiful.

There are albums that come along every now and then that make you wonder, "where has this been all my life?". This album is certainly one of those:



Most underrated artist ever?

My vote is for 'Help!' again.


'If I Fell' is the best early era Beatles song in my opinion and I'll be severely disappointed to see it go. So stop voting for it

I could totally hear that, B.E. Al and Carl doing the lead vocals. Replace one of the lesser tracks on KTSA. Yeah.

Of all popular music, my two favorite visionaries are Brian Wilson and John Lennon. Plus The Beach Boys and The Beatles are (in that order) my two very favorite bands.

While there are those who abstain and love each member equally, most of us have a favorite member of The Beatles. John is mine. He is one of the artists that is on my personal Mount Olympus of songwriters. Most of my top 10 favorite Beatles songs were his.

It's popular today to either place John high on a pedestal or say that he was a complete asshole. Though I understand the reasoning for both views, the reality is somewhere in the middle, which is where I'd like to be. Does he deserve all his massive praise? I don't know about all of it, it is seriously massive, but he deserves heaps of it. Does he deserve tons of criticism for the way he went through life? Some criticism, sure. He did do some pretty bad things, though later in life he spoke about how he greatly regretted his actions and tried to be better. His life was a journey of constant pain and triumph and everything in between. I judge much of John, not all of him, by his music and I think there we can largely agree that he wrote some astonishing, timeless, unforgettably beautiful songs.

My three favorite Beatles songs are his: 'Strawberry Fields Forever', 'If I Fell' and 'In My Life'. My three favorite solo John songs are: 'Jealous Guy', 'Real Love' and 'Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)', all of these songs so beautiful, only Brian's best, most emotional music like Pet Sounds can surpass it in my heart.

John is always with me. When my mother died almost 7 years ago, I listened to 'Julia' and 'My Mummy's Dead' expecting to cry but instead my heart was lifted (I think if I listened to the heart wrenching 'Mother' I would've drowned in my tears). He influences what I write (poetry and songs without music since I don't play an instrument yet.....lyrics really). I was listening to a lot of John's more searching songs like 'Imagine' when I, about 18 years ago, proclaimed myself an atheist after a long time of just being an apathetic agnostic. While I couldn't say whether he was an atheist or what, he was definitely leery of religion (which you could just chock up to his dislike of authority) and it was good to hear somebody whose music I respected seemed to feel the same as me. I was pretty alone with my atheism.

John Lennon is a complex figure and that seeped into his songwriting. Aside from Brian, there's nobody out there like him when it comes to truly great music.

Sorry for rattling on so long.

Help...

JK - thanks for the new link. And i forgot how good 'Peace Like a River' was.

As for my own stuff, as I said I don't yet play music so they're just words...lyrics really. But the stuff I write that I like the most tend to have an implied melody in my head when I read them back. I really got to learn guitar. I can't believe I never did, but life has often gotten in the way. Still, I love writing, even if I'm not actually any good.

There are a lot of superhero movies that I really like or love, but these are, in no particular order, my favorites:

Superman the Movie (1978)
Logan (2017)
Superman Returns (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Wonder Woman (2017)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Thor Ragnarok (2017)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Avengers (2012)
Black Panther (2018)

My favorite is the great granddaddy of superhero films, Superman the Movie from 1978.

When it comes to the comics, even though I love love Marvel, I prefer DC. I love the characters. Therefore I want to watch them done well on the big screen. As such, I think if I could only watch three superhero movies for the rest of my life, those three would be Superman the Movie, Wonder Woman and The Dark Knight. Gotta love the trinity.