It's pretty cool...very 60's but I wish it wasn't so Beatles' Yellow Submarine-ish.

Yeah same here. Kind of has the Frank Holmes style but yeah, definitely they were trying to do Yellow Submarine... reminds me of that scene from Walk Hard!

http://new.music.yahoo.com/beach-boys/videos/view/heroes-and-villains--223420574

Got leave from work early! I still got to go in at 4 to teach my class but the mail should be in by then! I am waiting with my window wide open so I can see when the mail truck enters the complex!

Help, I'm freaking out.

Just got home with my boxset, and it happens there's a guy doing work on our basement (bad timing, Mr. Landlord!). So there are workshop sounds galore going on. Kind of appropriate, but...

No sh!t - right as "Fire" was dying down into the water chant, the smoke alarm goes off!!!!!!!!!

Turns out the guy had set it off accidentally with dust from his SkilSaw or something. But for a minute there I was freaking out.

Brian's music starting fires!!!!!!! People, this music is dangerous.

Nothing surprising about that at all.

- Remember what happened when Brian's band started rehearsing "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"?
- The day The Smile Sessions was announced, there was a huge fire that wiped out several houses near where I used to live (cat -- yes, same place you've been to; our old place was spared, though), and I think around the same time there was an earthquake in Japan. (there's your "earth" element.)
- I think when the release date was finally announced, that's when the hurricane was getting ready to wipe out New Jersey and New York.

It was on the exact same day as the Japan quake.

Hmm, I smell a new thread coming on... The Smile Curse List! 

Anyone else still waiting on UPS like me?

Yes, but I had to come in to work so I'll probably get a note saying to pick it up tomorrow... unless I'm lucky and its left on my doorstep!

I went to Walmart this morning. Nope, not there. Which is sad because I probably won't get my 5CD set till tomorrow. I totally would have purchased the 2CD set if it was there. Ok, not too sad. I think Walmart can go without my $30.  

Also, the Brian interview is not bad. Some of the predictable answers about drugs and being "too advanced" are there but there are some nice moments as well, especially his touching answer to a question about music and spirituality, and his humility and respect regarding the Beatles and Paul McCartney. The interviewer and male anchor are both clearly fans, and probably helped make this happen (let's face it, the US media isn't exactly falling over themselves to cover this thing compared to the dear old UK). So, I tip my hat to the CBS early show for covering this, but sitting through the endless segments on the Kardashians and various Republicans running for office was fairly excrutiating.

Yeah, I was kinda of shocked at how boldly he said, "DRUGS".

Of course with a mass media presentation The Beatles have to be mentioned. They played a bit of "Let it Be".

Yes! When they mentioned spirituality my girlfriend, who isn't at all as excited as me, took notice. She asked what that music was... I told her, a little intro to the album... "Our Prayer" was playing. She wants to listen to the album now since its got spirituality-street cred now! 

Yeah, that's obviously how Brian programs his CD releases too; "how much would fit on a 1967 LP?"

Well, no but he obviously wouldn't pack in EVERY H&V piece. Not enough room.

So the 12 songs listed on the original cover would be about the right length

Yeah, approximately. I always make my mixes based on previous and post Beach Boy album lengths:

Summer Days (Side 1): 13:58
Summer Days (Side 2): 12:47

Party! (Side 1): 16:06
Party! (Side 2): 15:00

Pet Sounds (Side 1): 18:43
Pet Sounds (Side 2): 17:28

Smiley Smile (Side 1): 12:56
Smiley Smile (Side 2): 14:41

Notice how short Summer Days and Smiley Smile are. Since it seems that Pet Sounds was viewed as "special" in the boys' eyes it gets a bit more filled out time in there. I would think the same would go for Smile and so I try to make my mixes about 17-19 mins per side.

Still in transit so it will probably be delivered in the afternoon.

Was hoping for the morning but oh well. A few more hours won't kill me.

Same here. Mail doesn't arrive till way past 1pm. I will be at work. I will probably have to wait until tomorrow since I live in an apartment complex and the mailbox isn't big enough to leave in. Gonna pick it up from the Post Office tomorrow. 

I'm also asking via their Twitter account: http://twitter.com/#!/theearlyshow

I'm hoping that's not the case - NBC posts almost all of their morning show segments that same day, within hours of the broadcast. Notice CBS has the political news and Justin Timberlake footage readily available.

Idea: Let's flood them with emails respectfully asking them to post the Smile segment. I'll do it this morning while I can. If they get dozens of people requesting something, it means more ad revenue and network types love that kind of feces. Go to the CBS website and email away, it can't hurt.

Good thinking!

Here is the request form: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php

when does the Smile segment play? in the middle or near the end?

Toward the end it seemed.

Trying to find the segment online... 

Boo.

It kind of looked like there was some H&V session video playing!!

Less than one day away! I think I will got to bed early so that tomorrow comes quicker!

Kinda surprised they didn't include a DVD in the deluxe box set.    No doubt they'll release it separately with official Beach Boys sand--exclusively stepped on by each Beach Boy for a low price of $999.99.

      

That is the best thing I've ever read... ever. And I've read The Da Vinci Code cover to cover!

Oh man! That footage was amazing! Here we go guys... soon... soon...

Wonderful--the missing insert if it existed

I thought the insert to Wonderful was on a bootleg already...the "ba ba ba aghhh aghhh aghhh" thing, right?

I always use "He Gives Speeches" as the insert to "Wonderful". It works wonderful!! No pun intended.

I am trying to extract the audio from the DVD so that I can play the live performance in my car. Is there a free program that someone would recommend to use? The ones I've tried don't seem to work.

Thank you in advanced.

Would it also be wise to posit that this is the version of Vegatables that's going to be on the 45, what with the clean start caveat? Unless, like H&V, they're putting unique mixes on there as well?

I am now very excited that there will be no crossfades between songs. I really hope that is the case as I don't think it would have been done in '67.

Wouldn't it be nice if...once the box set gets released, some radio stations actually start playing the tracks as good music for people to hear, not just as a collectors' oddity or to promote Capitol's latest product for its own sake...

I would just love to be headed down the Sepulveda Pass, and have "Wonderful" or "Surf's Up" come on...

Yes, hearing it on radio would be very awesome. I know I am going to do my share in promoting this music. I am an instructor for Astronomy lab at UTPA and regularly play music for my students while they do their work. All November I will be regularly "spinning" this album.

That session tape is hilarious.  

Yes ("let's make you be the judge") but I got a question. The piano-only chorus, I thought it was tracked together with the verse piano. Were both sections tracked separately or was that just a rehearsal of some sort?

Pretty obviously a rehearsal, I'd say.

Coolio. Man, we are getting some good stuff!

That session tape is hilarious.  

Yes ("let's make you be the judge") but I got a question. The piano-only chorus, I thought it was tracked together with the verse piano. Were both sections tracked separately or is this just a rehearsal of some sort?