Don, I think you should stop watching The Hour of Power on Sunday...

  I just p*issed myself, dear SMiLE-Holland... let's get back to normal then!

I thought MY scripture parody was the funniest in this thread. Humph! *walks out of thread, tripping on his own feet*

Mommy! He said bootleg!

They weren't saying bootleg, they were saying boourns!

Every once in a great while, there is a posting on a messageboard that is so brilliant that words fail to respond to it. The above quote is one such statement. That is one of the funniest things I have ever read on a message board. I doubt that very many people here understand that reference, and just how hilarious it is. I tip my hat to you, sir. 

Let us all quote from the Holy Book, to repent for our sins:

And on the sixth day The Old Master Painter emerged from his Barnyard, with a big bag of Vega-Tables to pass on to his disciples, whom partook in the consuming of the Holy Vega-Tables. And the Vega-Tables were good. And on the seventh day The Old Master Painter rested; for the Surf was Up.

This is definitly the work of a depraved and deprived sick soul who obviously gets his kicks stealing from geniuses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UidK_3EIGyg

I have the original hand written lyrics to a BB '85 song. Beat that. 

You guys are nerds  

[I]

Well, I thought it was cool.  

I'd been saying for years that these Induction ceremonies needed to be released on tape. I said the same when DVD's first came out. I think that every single Induction needs to be released on DVD, in order.

Not to be overly mean, but isn't their some kind of law against somebody with a long history of mental issues adopting a child?

One of the most interesting Brian-bass moments for me is the big sing-a-long at the tribute show from 2001. He's up with the bass, and the band launches into Fun, Fun, Fun -- which is not a song he ever plays bass on onstage (he has practically always limited himself to Surfer Girl and Barbara Ann). And you can see that he spaces out from the crowd and is just focusing on the bass, and actually plays the Fun, Fun, Fun part (well, part of it, at least). You can see that the bass actually interests him most at that point, because it's this somewhat unexpected challenge, but he also remembers what to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND6hjCsbpXQ

Make sure to watch through till the end -- everyone is dancing around, and he's watching his fingers.

That clip is a good example of why I think he should be the bass player in his backing band. He looks a lot better standing up and being at center stage, he seems a lot more comfortable, and just looks really cool with a bass. 

Post that on the Bloo Board...it just might happen...or you just might get banned for daring to make a suggestion to management! 

I follow Taylor Mills on Twitter, perhaps I'll tell her. She's already responded to one of my messages.

And goodness knows, YouTube commenters really are the authorities on Brian's instrumental contributions.

Bob Lizik is also playing bass onstage in that clip, and I assume that his part is what you mostly hear. But Brian is clearly playing something and concentrating on his part, even if not much of it made it through the final mix.

I love how at the end you can see Carnie watching him with a big smile on her face.

One of the most interesting Brian-bass moments for me is the big sing-a-long at the tribute show from 2001. He's up with the bass, and the band launches into Fun, Fun, Fun -- which is not a song he ever plays bass on onstage (he has practically always limited himself to Surfer Girl and Barbara Ann). And you can see that he spaces out from the crowd and is just focusing on the bass, and actually plays the Fun, Fun, Fun part (well, part of it, at least). You can see that the bass actually interests him most at that point, because it's this somewhat unexpected challenge, but he also remembers what to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND6hjCsbpXQ

Make sure to watch through till the end -- everyone is dancing around, and he's watching his fingers.

That clip is a good example of why I think he should be the bass player in his backing band. He looks a lot better standing up and being at center stage, he seems a lot more comfortable, and just looks really cool with a bass. 

Other than what others have said, I have a few things to add about MP3's. The more compressed the file is, the more you are likely to hear a very annoying and slightly shrill sounding "metallic", or "mechanical" sound. Also, it is impossible to remaster a recording that is MP3 sourced. I have consulted a professional music engineer friend of mine about this. He told me that when a file is compressed, it also removes essential data needed to remaster or "clean up" a recording. My friend's final thoughts on MP3's was "avoid MP3's like the plague".

Isn't that just spaghetti with meat sauce? I had no idea it inspired such strong emotions.

Some people get naked and roll around in money. I do it with pasta.  Needless to say, I will eat virtually any type of pasta ever created.

Same here. Incidentally, it is spaghetti bolognese, which officially has minced meat, tomato sauce, celery, leek or onions, chili pepper, a tiny bit of soy sauce, italian spices, preferably a bit of paprika powder on the meat before frying it, and cheese on top. But it's really a fantasy dish open to everyone's imagination. It needs a fine salad to go with it. Delicious and not pricey.

Take out the leeks, onion's and celery, and I could probably live on that for the rest of my life. 

Mike seems to have misplaced his feet. Hmmmm....I hate when that happens.

I remember that when Get The Boot came out, quite a few people were irritated. I'm also curios to know the whole story.

Here is another one.

Interesting thread, and nice photo... Can't identify everyone there though...

I believe along with The Beatles travelled their 'wives and girlfriends'...

Anyone any ideas who accompanied Mike on his trip/stay in India?

I vauguely recall some article where Mike explains that he and his girlfriend were educated in India with respect to being vegetarians... Who would that girlfriend be...?

Looks like Donovan in the middle, and Mia Farrow on the far right. Or maybe that was Mia in the middle next to Donavan...I'm not 100% sure.

I'm not Donovan afficianado, but unless he's left-handed, this image is reversed.

I believe that the person in white standing next to him is Paul Mccartney. In which case you're correct....the hair is parted incorrectly.

Ok, let's break it down like this: In 1963-4ish, the average fan knew that Carl was the lead guitar player, Mike was the singer, Al was the rhythm guitar player, Dennis played drums, and Brian was the bass player. That is what the credits read on the original albums(at least I think so), and this is how the band looked on the front cover of their 1964 concert album. So, to the fan that doesn't know any better, Brian "used" to be a bass player but has seemingly given it up for good.

This is a bit of a myth, as C-man alludes to in his post below. Yes when they announce the band's instruments before Little Deuce Coupe on the Concert LP and in the Lost Concert film, the lineup you state is what is put forth. But the reality is Al didn't play much guitar(if any) on those first five LPs, and Brian doesn't play much bass after the first two. Dave(not Al) played guitar along with Carl until the fifth LP... Brian played way more piano than bass, and Al played way more bass than guitar. Brian's primary instrument has been piano all along, Al's primary instrument was bass in the studio until about ASL and he still played bass after that quite a bit. I think he was a much better bass player than Brian.  And Al also played bass live in '63 when Brian stayed home, which was often, with Carl and Dave playing the two guitar role. But when Brian did play, Al sat out the concerts entirely until Dave left in late '63. I think the main reason Brian played bass live in the early days was to get his voice out in front and so he could lead the band from the front of the stage, i don't think it had anything to do with his ability or desire to play bass.

Thanks for the info! Highly detailed, as always. I often wonder if your posts on topic such as these are directly from memory, or if you have to reference a book or two. 

I rememebr reading in Carlin's book that Brian wanted to play bass in the later 70s but Carl wouldn't let him.

Which is weird, because Carl would actually call on Brian(through the microphone) to play bass. He did it at the Maryland 1977 show, for one example. I believe he also did it a year later in Lakeland, Florida.

Interesting point, claymcc. 

Ok, let's break it down like this: In 1963-4ish, the average fan knew that Carl was the lead guitar player, Mike was the singer, Al was the rhythm guitar player, Dennis played drums, and Brian was the bass player. That is what the credits read on the original albums(at least I think so), and this is how the band looked on the front cover of their 1964 concert album. So, to the fan that doesn't know any better, Brian "used" to be a bass player but has seemingly given it up for good.

The situation is more complicated.

On Surfin', he played the drums. Al played bass. Live until 1964, and on the Chicago shows in 1965 and one Ann Arbor show in 1966, he played bass. In Hawaii, he played mostly keyboards but did play bass on Sloop John B. In 1970 he played keys. In 1976-77 he played mostly keys, usually getting on bass for Back Home and Surfer Girl. By 1978 he played bass for most, if not all of the shows. By the end of the 1970s, he was strictly on keyboards until 1983, when he alternated again. Of course, nowadays when he's live, neither his bass nor his keyboard is plugged in. And you can tell he's not playing the correct basslines either - note the constant strumming of the root.

Ok, I'll alter my question slightly. Sometime 1983, it seems that Brian has just stuck to keyboards, MOST of the time. Why is that? Is he just more comfortable sitting behind a piano/keyboard? A few years ago, I read somewhere on the internet that Brian no longer has the ability to "actively" play the bass(i.e. something other than rudimentary strumming). I know that in the 1980's Brian would play bass on occasion, but he seems to have decided on piano or keyboards as his main instrument.

I was wondering if anybody knows why Brian quit playing bass onstage. Or rather, "regularly" on stage. He played bass as his main instrument up untill 1965-6, when he quit touring.   Then played  keyboards when he joined the group in hawaii in 1967. I'm not sure, but I think he played piano when he briefly took over for Mike in 1970.   He played the keyboards when he joined the group for the Whiskey shows. I think that when he rejoined the group in 1976, he sat at a keyboard for the first half dozen shows. But then, the bass was his "main" instrument again untill I think about 1979. Since 1979, the piano and keyboards seem to be his "main" instrument for live concerts. Well, today the keyboard that he sits at for shows is most likely unplugged, but the average fan doesn't know that. I was just curios why it seems that Brian has gradually given up the bass. I mean, he began his career primarily as a bass player. My other question is, does he ever still play bass in the studio? What was the last studio recording that Brian played a bass on?

out of focus..?   NAH..   stoned maybe..            

I meant the actual photo is out of focus.

The only thing I ask is please, dear God, use REAL imtruments.