Great stuff man.

A promise kept: the last part of the youTube series PET SQUARES’ exhaustive 7-part look at the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson classic PET SOUNDS is now up.  We take a very long look at “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,” including its intricate chord sequence, plus the title track and “Caroline No.”

I am really glad that this is finished and done.  Thanks everyone for supporting the show, and those who contributed. This has taken a lot of work and effort, but I believe this is the most exhaustive and comprehensive examination of PET SOUNDS currently on youTube.

The channel has taken a substantial hit in viewership and support as releases have slowed while producing the Pet Sounds miniseries. So I just want to say there are links to make donations and to the patreon in the first comment to the video for anyone who wants to help keep the channel going.  It makes a difference and thanks to everyone who has contributed now or in the past.  And thanks to everyone who watches the show.

https://youtu.be/rIGV3LkF6Bc

At long last Part 6 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS’ exhaustive 7-part analysis of PET SOUNDS is up and ready for view. Deep appreciations of “God Only Knows” (including chord analysis), “I Know There’s An Answer,” “Here Today” (with bass analysis) and a side look at how “Hang On To Your Ego” influenced ‘90s alt-rock. Thanks to everyone who has patiently waited and stuck with the channel as I’ve gotten this done. This one comes in under an hour so it’s a little more digestible than recent eps.

I’m encountering some problems with Facebook’s hamfisted AI moderation so I may be posting it on their groups less than usual. If there’s a group where you think it might be of interest, you have my blessing to repost it.

https://youtu.be/N7u_tZ3uCNI

Episode #23 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK’S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up!  This is Part 5 of our 7-part exhaustive look at the band’s and Brian Wilson’s crowning achievement, PET SOUNDS.

In this episode we look at the last half of side one:  “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder),” “Waiting For The Day,” “Let’s Go Away For Awhile” and one of the band’s biggest-ever hits, “Sloop John B.”

Besides the history of the songs, stories about the sessions, analysis, the show also features deep dives into the chord structures and unique instrumental lines of the songs, and personal stories about performing them live.

Enjoy, like, comment, and spread it around!

https://youtu.be/CFHk7jFT6Yo

Adam, your work on these videos seriously compares to "Revolution in the Head" or some of Lewisohn's work on the Beatles. Seriously some of the best I've ever seen.

Thank you so much.  Well, there's so much great scholarship out there and so much good analysis.  And it's a classic album.  So I really feel I need to give it all I have and bring something new to it.  Though I can't wait to get to SMILE and beyond!

Adam, your work on these videos seriously compares to "Revolution in the Head" or some of Lewisohn's work on the Beatles. Seriously some of the best I've ever seen.

Thank you so much.  Well, there's so much great scholarship out there and so much good analysis.  And it's a classic album.  So I really feel I need to give it all I have and bring something new to it.  Though I can't wait to get to SMILE and beyond.

Thanks once more, Adam! As usual the video was very informative and pointed out things I hadn't thought about before.

Although just a small part, I was glad that you talked about the intro of WIBN it it's studio recording and the live arrangement. I certainly mentioned before how interesting I think it would be to analyze the Beach Boys' live arrangements - especially during the years they were the only musicians on stage - compared to the studio recordings and how the Boys made the songs work. It's one thing to play a hard rocking "Surfin' USA" on stage with four instruments. It's a totally different thing to break down "Good Vibrations" or "Wouldn't it be nice" and make them work with four or five instruments while singing those complex vocal arrangements simultaneously. Do you plan to do something like that?

Probably not that per se, but I'm definitely going to talk about it as we proceed through PET SOUNDS.

Episode 22 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up!

It's Part 4 of our exhaustive dive into the classic PET SOUNDS album covering the first half of side one: "You Still Believe In Me", "That's Not Me" and possibly the greatest Beach Boys single of all time (according to us) "Wouldn't It Be Nice."

With credits, musical and thematic analysis, an instrument-by-instrument breakdown of a recreation of "That's Not Me," personal anecdotes of performing the material...at 90 minutes, it's a double-length episode with lots of new information to sink your teeth into!  Learn about the Kooky Bellzouki, see Adam fall on his face with music theory and helping Matthew Sweet, ponder the tracking mystery behind "You Still Believe In Me," and much more.  Join us for music, tons of wonky info, and just a little irreverent fun.

See it here: https://youtu.be/LfZvs4WGxIQ

Part 3 of PET SQUARES' 7-part look at the Beach Boys' and Brian Wilson's magnum opus PET SOUNDS is now up!  "Pet Sounds Part 3 - Why It's Special" tackles the key question of what makes this album one of pop music's best, its varied influence on what came after, and the tortuous road it took to critical respect, with unique personal perspectives on watching that all unfold.  Thanks everyone for watching PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS.

https://youtu.be/vPg7466sYrM

PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS Episode #20 is now up: Part 2 of our 7-part closeup on the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson's classic PET SOUNDS album.

PET SQUARES #20 (https://youtu.be/Tk5s_puhTH8) "Pet Sounds Part 2: Actions & Reactions" focuses on the timeline of events surrounding the release of PET SOUNDS, deep diving into the Beach Boys' reactions, the mysterious release of a Brian Wilson solo single, evidence that Capitol Records sabotaged the album, and the undertold story of how Bruce Johnston started an avalanche of success for the album and the Beach Boys in England.

PET SQUARES #21 "Pet Sounds Part 3: Why It's Special" will be coming soon and focus on the musical innovations and influences of the album.

Enjoy this series of episodes and as always, thanks to the patrons and donors to the show and subscribers to the channel.  Also (nothing to do with the Beach Boys but hey), my other series, the adventure/travel show ADAM WALKS AROUND (https://youtu.be/rxrNpsRi8iE) will be returning for a new season in May.

The latest episode of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is finally up: https://youtu.be/KD49RHeHiQE

PET SQUARES #19 is the first of a planned 7-part series of eps devoted to what may be the deepest, most comprehensive dive into the Beach Boys' masterpiece PET SOUNDS available on youTube. Even though the album has been analyzed plenty by many, PET SQUARES' goal is (as always) to offer new perspectives on the Beach Boys' classic work.

Part 1 "Finding A Direction" talks about what Brian was (and wasn't) up to in the months leading up to PET SOUNDS, his collaboration with Tony Asher, and the lyrical themes on the album. The next episode will spotlight the band's and the label's reactions to the music, and the episodes to follow will be deep-dive music and song-by-song analysis.

Enjoy, and comments are always welcome...ones on youTube always help goose the algorithm.  My humble little channel just hit 2K subscribers so, many thanks to all who subscribed and also are patrons of the channel.  It has taken awhile to get this up, but the goal as always to do a good job.  The next two episodes are already filmed so hopefully they will follow before too long.  Thanks all!

Hi everyone, pleased to share Episode 18 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS.  I think this is one of the best shows so far, covering side two of BEACH BOYS PARTY and a *very* deep dive into both "Barbara Ann" and the concurrent single "The Little Girl I Once Knew," including a breakdown of song vocal areas and the intro. Enjoy and share!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wht3WCMypoE

PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is back! Been a minute, but now we're ready to tackle (in two parts) the last album the band did before PET SOUNDS: the oddball BEACH BOYS PARTY. PET SQUARES #17 has an overview of the album plus a song by song analysis of side one: what song has perhaps the highest note Mike Love ever hit? What long time auxiliary Beach Boy debuts on this album? And the eternal question of who played bass? All answered here.  Also, patrons and contributors to the channel will be getting a download code for the long-deleted AMCB PARTY, an "official bootleg" we did with Alan Boyd and other rascals with our very own take on the "Party" concept plus a lot of Beach Boys-related studio tracks not released elsewhere.

I also just want to do a quick shout out for my other travel/storytelling show, ADAM WALKS AROUND, which just dropped its 50th episode, "Moving On," (https://youtu.be/rxrNpsRi8iE) filmed in Manila, Philippines. Episodes 47 and 48 have passed 5K views, which is amazing. Thank you everyone who watches my little channel.

Join the PET SQUARES "PARTY" here:  https://youtu.be/-V7aDzjJh9I

Ian, I just want to thank you for doing these. I find them massively informative and interesting to read.

I just released a new single and video, a Beach Boys-meets-Tom Jones cover of the Filipino classic "Ikaw Ang Aking Mahal (You Are My Love)". Filmed all over the Philippines, the video includes English subtitles.

I dedicated the video to Billy Hinsche, without whose help I might never have come to Asia in the first place.

It's here if anyone would like to see it:  https://youtu.be/g8fpiglyxr4

This article is really funny. Good writing.

Been doing a whole series of videos from my "Pop History" run of performances in Cambodia 2022-23. Previous clips have featured songs by Elton John, Astrud Gilberto, Sinn Sisamuth, Neil Young and Don McLean. Finally got around to the Beach Boys...I'm no Carl Wilson (who is?), but it's all there.

There's also a brief parody of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," included partly to show the audience's delight when it pivots to Brian...

https://youtu.be/bxBCyucPpBo

I'm wonderin', has Rio Grande been AI'd yet??

I've probably mentioned this before, but the idea of AI helping create a Pet Sounds-era-sounding Love You album is intriguing to me, and in addition to that I'd love to hear the '88 album given the same treatment (and saying that, I love the synths and production on both of those albums, I'm just intrigued by the idea of making them sound like they were recorded in the 60s with Pet Sounds era instruments).

If only AI could re-write Landy's contributions to '88

I know this wouldn’t happen either way, but I’d rather have someone like Darian, perhaps with or without contributions from Brian and Al, handle this sort of a thing. Brian’s band knows how to recreate this stuff to a T, and maybe with Scott Totten and John Cowsill no longer with Mike, something magical could happen. After all, Al did tease a possible Brian album next year. Darian and the band could handle the arrangements and help Brian and Al (if they chose to contribute) with lyrics. Obviously, I know this is extremely unlikely, especially potential input from Brian and Al, but as Lonely Summer said above, I don’t want to listen to AI stuff and justify its existence/support future creations. I’m sure those of us here are doing this with good intentions and a lot of hard work, but this stuff is too dangerous to me. Someone wanting to attack any of the band members could create deepfakes audio instantly, and that could spread fast. I think AI should be left to demixing, as HeyJude has said, and if Mark Linett, Alan Boyd, and Howie Edelsoj could get a hold of that (type of) technology (for a reasonable/fair price), that could be interesting for attempting new mixes of 62-63 and 65 material (LDC, Today, SDSN, etc) if they ever receive archive releases down the line.

Darian already did this back in the '90s on his version of "I Wanna Pick You Up," and it was revelatory. And as good as you'd expect which is to say very good.

The latest PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS, covering side two of SUMMER DAYS (AND SUMMER NIGHTS!!) is now up and ready to be viewed. Thanks everyone for watching!

https://youtu.be/JAUbaMEafgI

Absolutely brilliant stuff, Adam--thanks so much. Incredible articulation of concepts and ideas that might have been frustratingly opaque or simply glossed over by others, and it's now clear how crucial it is to the continuing evolution of this series--which soon heads into much deeper and more widely-covered territory--that you set up that path with your look at Bruce and what he brought to the band in the studio (carrying over perfectly from the video devoted to him). We can now see that everything was evolving all at once, in differing degrees, and that the evolution Brian was continuing to undergo was radiating outward to (almost) all of the other band members.

The question that I suppose will be answered soon is where to place "The Little Girl I Once Knew" in all of this. I could see a shorter standalone episode for it, or an extended standalone section appended to a discussion of the PARTY! sessions.

That background mishegas with images in the frame behind you was hilarious--waiting to see what you do with all that when it comes time to discuss "George Fell Into His French Horn." 

Hoping that your viewership will continue to rise, and perhaps some cross-pollination with the newly formed wing-formation of David Beard, Steve Lewis and Giggens would bring over some of their viewership so that they can get into the really meaty material you're providing to us.

Oh, thanks so much Don! The show has been doing well lately. I guess I have a unique perspective in being a working musician close to the Beach Boys' world but that long ago accepted I would never draw a paycheck from them.   As we get into '66, the through line for me is trying to explain the schism developing between Brian and the band in a semi-objective way...because it's hard just from a fan's perspective to see how scary this ride must have been for the other guys.

I love that everyone has picked up on the importance of "The Little Girl I Once Knew".  It's a key and often overlooked track.

Phew! It's up. The latest episode of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS.

We return to the album deep dive format with part one of a more than two hour, two part look at the 1965 album SUMMER DAYS (AND SUMMER NIGHTS!!).

Though long, it's fast paced and we go down a lot of rabbit holes: Carl's emergence as a lead vocalist, Bruce's impact in the studio and especially the infamous Murry Wilson meltdown that took place during the recording of "Help Me Rhonda". And best of all, there's new and better sound quality for this and all future episodes.

Enjoy PET SQUARES #15! PET SQUARES #16 (Summer Days Side Two) has been filmed and will follow soon.

https://youtu.be/21kpMU9po1Y

The new episode of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS is up! Episode 14 is all about The Bruce! Before he Wrote Ths Songs, he witnessed a murder, helped originate surf music, and nearly broke up The Who.  Enjoy "Bruce! The Bruce Johnston Origin Story."

https://youtu.be/LpqpGH6o6WQ

Thanks Mark. Another drummer pointed out something similar. That may have been an error that got by us all.

Until we got the session tapes I assumed it was Hal on drums on FFF.

We still should have caught that. Let me know if you find anything else.

Thanks Mark. Another drummer pointed out something similar. That may have been an error that got by us all.

Love all your YouTube content, Adam - this one included!
It was fun on this latest one to hear the background music as each song was discussed - just enough notes changed to keep it legal! 
Looking forward to your next one.
Bob

Ha well one of the songs I had never actually learned before and in doing the soundalike I inadvertently played the correct chord progression! I ain't saying which one though...