gfxgfx
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
logo
 
gfx gfx
gfx
680601 Posts in 27601 Topics by 4068 Members - Latest Member: Dae Lims March 29, 2024, 02:25:54 PM
*
gfx*HomeHelpSearchCalendarLoginRegistergfx
gfxgfx
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.       « previous next »
Pages: 1 [2] 3 Go Down Print
Author Topic: Why would anyone be obsessed/so very much into The Beach Boys?  (Read 12235 times)
Aegir
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4680



View Profile WWW
« Reply #25 on: April 16, 2012, 10:12:23 AM »

Curious-what is your father's age?

I'm going to guess his father is around 60/65.

49  Grin

ohhhhhhh, for some reason I thought oldsurferdude was asking Ian (I. Spaceman) due to the fact that his post comes right after his, oh.
Logged

Every time you spell Smile as SMiLE, an angel's wings are forcibly torn off its body.
Runaways
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2008


View Profile
« Reply #26 on: April 16, 2012, 10:18:20 AM »

Something about the phrase "so very much into" is driving me crazy
Logged
Iron Horse-Apples
Guest
« Reply #27 on: April 16, 2012, 10:27:02 AM »

All of my family are very hostile towards the Beach Boys because they are all fascist Beatles fans. I rebelled against them as a teenager and was met with much scorn and derision which has lasted 25 years.

This is why I am so anti-Beatles.
Logged
EgoHanger1966
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2891



View Profile
« Reply #28 on: April 16, 2012, 10:27:27 AM »

I thought about this some more and I have a new, definitive answer.

It's Bruce's shorts.
Logged

Hal Blaine:"You're gonna get a tomata all over yer puss!"
Brian: "Don't say puss."
Freddie French-Pounce
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1571


A.K.A. mrmoustachioto


View Profile
« Reply #29 on: April 16, 2012, 10:31:07 AM »

Something about the phrase "so very much into" is driving me crazy

I must ask, why?

Also, as a point, my dad is not one to be seen as dis-respecting as he doesn't like music - he really does - like I said, he highly appreciates Good Vibrations, telling me that when he first heard it, it blew his mind (even if it was in Duophonic - which every time he mentions he gets annoyed Grin), but doesn't go much further than that.

All of my family are very hostile towards the Beach Boys because they are all fascist Beatles fans. I rebelled against them as a teenager and was met with much scorn and derision which has lasted 25 years.

This is why I am so anti-Beatles.

Hey, I came from the Beatles - it is what made me pick up the Pet Sounds LP at the bootfair for £1 (actually, I was hesistant, but after buying £11 of stuff off of the guy he told me to take it - best free item ever  Grin)
Logged

Check out the Mono/Stereo Mix Breakdown podcast Mixology here: https://mixology.podbean.com/
guitarfool2002
Global Moderator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 9996


"Barba non facit aliam historici"


View Profile WWW
« Reply #30 on: April 16, 2012, 10:31:55 AM »

I'm going to say The Beach Boys appeal strikes a chord with certain personalities who can relate to them in some way beyond liking their music on the surface. The music is universal, especially in the 60's catalog you can find at least one song that a majority of listeners of all ages would say "I like that". The band itself gets divided into sections and groups so often it has to revert back to the appeal of the music to bring it all together.

I recently saw a TV show that featured an obsessive collector of Dolly Parton memorabilia, and on the same show a couple who collected Cabbage Patch dolls and could name each of their dolls in the collection. In that regard, being obsessed over the Beach Boys is no different than those folks with similar obsessive collections. They gather all the information and all the items surrounding the object of that obsession and it's something that means a lot to them, and often something they like to share with other like-minded folks, which is what boards like this are all about.

It's the combination of everything that leads to this love/obsession of a particular artist or entertainer or doll or whatever - I think it would be hard to pinpoint exactly why Beach Boys or Brian Wilson fans do what they do any more than asking the Cabbage Patch couple why they do what they do.

It's the personal satisfaction of the whole thing that drives it, I think. If it makes you happy, and if it takes you to a place where you like to be, that is all the inspiration you need to continue.

I can't explain it personally, other than certain music by this band touches me in a very deep way, it has inspired me, and it has helped me through some tough times.
Logged

"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
Iron Horse-Apples
Guest
« Reply #31 on: April 16, 2012, 10:35:51 AM »

Best harmonies. Best arrangements. That's why I like 'em. Pretty simple.

They're a musicians band.
Logged
SamMcK
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 584



View Profile
« Reply #32 on: April 16, 2012, 10:41:34 AM »

All of my family are very hostile towards the Beach Boys because they are all fascist Beatles fans. I rebelled against them as a teenager and was met with much scorn and derision which has lasted 25 years.

This is why I am so anti-Beatles.

It's a shame that you can't like the Beatles because of that since they did make some very good music, my Mum worked with a guy who she didn't like that much that was a massive Bob Dylan fan and that put her off his music for good. She sometimes goes out the room if Dylan's being played! Grin

Anyway if I had to say the main reason why I like the Beach Boys so much it would have to do with the intricate melody's and harmony's, its almost unbelievable how good it sounds when it all comes together. Also their life is unbelievably interesting at times, its almost like a long running soap opera! LOL
« Last Edit: April 16, 2012, 10:44:03 AM by MaccaBeatles » Logged
Wild-Honey
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 359


View Profile
« Reply #33 on: April 16, 2012, 10:42:03 AM »

I think my Beach Boys obsession comes down to two things:

1. The feeling I get when I listen to Beach Boys music. It's able to move me in many different ways. Brian especially was every good at conveying all kinds of emotions in his music. When you add the knowledge of the back story to those songs, it really enhances the experience. Of course it's great pop/rock music that you can bob along to while you're going about your day, but if you really listen to almost any Beach Boys song, there is so much going on, so much being expressed, that I can't imagine someone whose really listened to the music not getting enraptured and wanting to get deeper into the music.

2. My brain is wired in such a way that I am prone to obsession, and probably everyone else here is the same way. People whose brains don't work that way, won't understand it at all. This is probably the root of other people thinking we're all a bunch of weirdos, not that they think it's weird to like the Beach Boys specifically. They just can't understand that obsessive drive to know, have and listen to everything.


Well pretty much all of my friends think I'm a weirdo for loving them so much,  they like their songs but think they are old fashioned and all about the surf/car songs,  None of them, not one,  knows anything after  good vibrations and then later Kokomo.  I had Carl and the Passions playing and my housemate asked who it was, when I answered the BBs he said "bullsh**!"   Smiley
Logged
SMiLE Brian
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 8432



View Profile
« Reply #34 on: April 16, 2012, 10:44:59 AM »

All of my family are very hostile towards the Beach Boys because they are all fascist Beatles fans. I rebelled against them as a teenager and was met with much scorn and derision which has lasted 25 years.

This is why I am so anti-Beatles.
Quite the story about the madness of beatlemaniacs.  Cool
Logged

And production aside, I’d so much rather hear a 14 year old David Marks shred some guitar on Chug-a-lug than hear a 51 year old Mike Love sing about bangin some chick in a swimming pool.-rab2591
guitarfool2002
Global Moderator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 9996


"Barba non facit aliam historici"


View Profile WWW
« Reply #35 on: April 16, 2012, 11:14:20 AM »

At some point it comes down to hearing the music, liking the music, and wanting to hear and learn more. I was trying to remember what it was exactly that made me cross that line where it goes from, say, really liking the first Boston album or a Michael Penn album and taking it to where I went with the Beach Boys - and I still have no answer. I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to the question "Why The Beach Boys?", and if some look back in retrospect and say it was the backstories, the triumph over tragedy, the trials and tribulations of these guys, that may explain a few steps beyond just liking the music. But the question becomes were those issues front and center in my/your mind as you first listened to Pet Sounds or Good Vibrations or whatever other song was the gateway into full-blown fandom? Or was it a case of that music, that one album or one song touching you in such a way that you wanted to hear more, and whatever backstory was connected to the music followed but wasn't as vital as the music itself?

I'd be curious to hear what similar obsessed fans of other artists may say when asked "Why Elvis?" or "Why Hank Williams? or "Why Beethoven?". I think the main similarity would be the love of the music across the board. If the music didn't move you in some way, the history and the drama behind the artist wouldn't mean as much. For me it was and in some ways still is the music of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Monkees that I always return to and those three artists still occupy the most space in all of my collections.

Elvis has been the classic case in sheer number of fans, Beatles a close second as far as obsessively devoted fans. The M.O. of Beach Boys fans has not yet reached the level of making a pilgrimage to Graceland or having a photo taken crossing the Abbey Road zebra crosswalk: I think the music is still the driving force with this group. It either hits you or it does not, and if the music has no appeal I don't know how reading a history of the band would override the emotional attachment of having a song or album affect you - but that's what makes us all different!
Logged

"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
Aegir
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4680



View Profile WWW
« Reply #36 on: April 16, 2012, 11:39:18 AM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.
Logged

Every time you spell Smile as SMiLE, an angel's wings are forcibly torn off its body.
Freddie French-Pounce
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1571


A.K.A. mrmoustachioto


View Profile
« Reply #37 on: April 16, 2012, 11:45:06 AM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.

But is it always the same portion..? I personally like Summer In Paradise (If anyone has a vinyl copy I would love to own one!), but can be quite selective of the others.

Curious-what is your father's age?

I'm going to guess his father is around 60/65.

49  Grin

ohhhhhhh, for some reason I thought oldsurferdude was asking Ian (I. Spaceman) due to the fact that his post comes right after his, oh.

Just to back anything else up here, I'm 17, which probably makes most of you go :| and ignore me  Grin
Logged

Check out the Mono/Stereo Mix Breakdown podcast Mixology here: https://mixology.podbean.com/
guitarfool2002
Global Moderator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 9996


"Barba non facit aliam historici"


View Profile WWW
« Reply #38 on: April 16, 2012, 12:11:52 PM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.

No different at all than Elvis fans choosing some material over others, or Beatles fans having every second of music available from the 60's on a hard drive or on CD/vinyl but not owning a single copy of Gone Troppo or Rotogravure or McCartney II or some other solo album. And more than a few diehard Beatles fans are like that - you like what you like unless you're a collector who wants a complete collection of albums - not necessarily to play them but just to have them.

Every artist has less-than-stellar releases in their catalog: If you love and collect Elvis, you'll own all the soundtracks. If you love and collect the BB's, you'll try to grab all their albums. But that doesn't mean you'll like or even regularly listen to every disc they put out. I try to listen to Elvis' soundtrack albums with an open mind, listening for a Glen Campbell smokin' guitar solo or something good to latch onto, but some of the songs are just not my cup of tea and some are just hard to listen to, even if it's Elvis singing them. I do the same with the Beach Boys - but some of that late 70's/80's music just doesn't appeal to me. And I'm a fan.

I'm suggesting what puts it over the top from liking to really getting into these artists is rooted in the music first and foremost. The rest of the factors follow the connection to the music.
Logged

"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
drbeachboy
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 5214



View Profile
« Reply #39 on: April 16, 2012, 01:35:37 PM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.
While I do have my favorite eras and albums, I can honestly say that I do not dislike any portion of the catalog, and I am a diehard fan.
Logged

The Brianista Prayer

Oh Brian
Thou Art In Hawthorne,
Harmonied Be Thy name
Your Kingdom Come,
Your Steak Well Done,
On Stage As It Is In Studio,
Give Us This Day, Our Shortenin' Bread
And Forgive Us Our Bootlegs,
As We Also Have Forgiven Our Wife And Managers,
And Lead Us Not Into Kokomo,
But Deliver Us From Mike Love.
Amen.  ---hypehat
Dave in KC
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 630


View Profile
« Reply #40 on: April 16, 2012, 02:09:53 PM »

My dad sang lead in a really good barbershop quartet and they practiced all the time in our knotty pine basement and bar. I loved the sound. This was before there was any Beach Boys. As the band developed and I aged into the rock era, it was a natural mix. Just like Jimi Hendrix said. "A barbershop quartet on acid." Sure there was Pet Sounds, but 20/20 sealed the deal for me.
Logged
hypehat
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 6311



View Profile
« Reply #41 on: April 16, 2012, 02:21:43 PM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.

Not really related, but in my group of friends I am 'that guy who loves The Beach boys' and I legitimately shocked some of them by going 'Man, I was listening to a beach boys album and it SUCKED' (MIU, I think) because I guess the popular conception of severe fandom is that THEY/IT CAN DO NO WRONG. But I don't think me hating MIU or Summer In Paradise makes me any less of a Beach Boys obsessive? Like, I don't think anyone's an idiot for legitimately liking Summer In Paradise, but it makes me want to kick Mike Love in the nuts. Am I somehow 'less' of a fan?

I'm on a massive 'over-thinking' stretch today, so feel free to ignore  Grin
Logged

All roads lead to Kokomo. Exhaustive research in time travel has conclusively proven that there is no alternate universe WITHOUT Kokomo. It would've happened regardless.
What is this "life" thing you speak of ?

Quote from: Al Jardine
Syncopate it? In front of all these people?!
Iron Horse-Apples
Guest
« Reply #42 on: April 16, 2012, 02:28:00 PM »

I think most diehard Beach Boys fans dislike a portion of their catalog, though.

Not really related, but in my group of friends I am 'that guy who loves The Beach boys

I was once that guy, but now I have no friends.

And I too stop at Love You, and traverse no further. Your review of Summer In Paradise convinced me to never listen to that album. Though I fully respect and support those who love SIP, and always give generously to the mental health charities that support them.
Logged
kookadams
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 656


View Profile WWW
« Reply #43 on: April 16, 2012, 02:29:14 PM »

I don't see it as something that needs an explanation. They made more memorable great songs than any other group in history, the harmonies and arrangements were amazing and no other can compare. Rock n' Roll at its finest; it never got better than the Beach Boys, the Ramones were the closest.
Logged
rogerlancelot
Guest
« Reply #44 on: April 16, 2012, 03:01:24 PM »

I thought about this some more and I have a new, definitive answer.

It's Bruce's shorts.

Damn it, you beat me to it!

My obsession with the Beach Boys is directly linked to the very tight shorts that many of the band (especially Bruce) wore frequently in the 1980's. They really give me a tent-like bulge in my trousers!
Logged
SamMcK
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 584



View Profile
« Reply #45 on: April 16, 2012, 03:14:53 PM »

I thought about this some more and I have a new, definitive answer.

It's Bruce's shorts.

Damn it, you beat me to it!

My obsession with the Beach Boys is directly linked to the very tight shorts that many of the band (especially Bruce) wore frequently in the 1980's. They really give me a tent-like bulge in my trousers!

Not that unlike Brian...

Logged
southbay
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Online Online

Gender: Male
Posts: 1482



View Profile
« Reply #46 on: April 16, 2012, 03:29:47 PM »

Because anybody can like the Beatles. It takes a little more work, a little more intestinal fortitude, a little more self esteem, a little more brains to be obsessed with the Beach Boys.
Logged

Summer's gone...it's finally sinking in
Freddie French-Pounce
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1571


A.K.A. mrmoustachioto


View Profile
« Reply #47 on: April 16, 2012, 10:48:29 PM »

I thought about this some more and I have a new, definitive answer.

It's Bruce's shorts.

Damn it, you beat me to it!

My obsession with the Beach Boys is directly linked to the very tight shorts that many of the band (especially Bruce) wore frequently in the 1980's. They really give me a tent-like bulge in my trousers!

Not that unlike Brian...



I thought I'd escaped that image for life!!!!
Logged

Check out the Mono/Stereo Mix Breakdown podcast Mixology here: https://mixology.podbean.com/
Micha
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 3133



View Profile WWW
« Reply #48 on: April 17, 2012, 01:52:54 AM »



I thought I'd escaped that image for life!!!!

Great chin line there, and that was before photoshop! LOL

But I don't think me hating MIU or Summer In Paradise makes me any less of a Beach Boys obsessive? Like, I don't think anyone's an idiot for legitimately liking Summer In Paradise, but it makes me want to kick Mike Love in the nuts. Am I somehow 'less' of a fan?

Hey, you don't have to justify yourself, you know? Smiley
Logged

Ceterum censeo SMiLEBrianum OSDumque esse excludendos banno.
Micha
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 3133



View Profile WWW
« Reply #49 on: April 17, 2012, 01:54:37 AM »

Okay, before I start, let me make this clear - this is not my question, but it is more something my dad asked (not quite the same wording but ah well), and I couldn't quite answer. What is it that draws us in so much to this band when, on the face of it, as my dad says, songs like little Deuce Coupe are more secondary in the music world, coming down more as 'bubble Gum Pop' according to him. I also tried the later stuff he knows - 'What about Sail On Sailor?' - apparently that still counts as typical Radio 2 fodder - a station that, judging by his reports, plays Sail On Sailor and Lady Lynda on loop with the odd 'I Can Hear Music' thrown in. He does, however, indicate that 'Good Vibrations' is an incredible piece of musical everything (not quite his words), but from what he has heard he doesn't like Smile (No-one I know does!)

(On a side note, he does also like some stuff he has heard from Pacific Ocean Blue, and Forever, along with a few off of Summer In Paradise, which, according to him, sounds very AOR-ish)

But after all that, I was still stuck. Conversation moved on, more food was consumed. But the question stayed in my head, and it's really bugging me. So I figured the guys (and Gals) here at the Smliey Smile Message Board (my goodness that sounds cheesy) may help me out here - explain to my dad what it is that makes us delve so deeply into the Beach Boys' history and recorded sound, when they are at heart a typical radio pop band?

Tell him it's because we all suffer from Asperger syndrome. Grin
Logged

Ceterum censeo SMiLEBrianum OSDumque esse excludendos banno.
gfx
Pages: 1 [2] 3 Go Up Print 
gfx
Jump to:  
gfx
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines Page created in 1.092 seconds with 21 queries.
Helios Multi design by Bloc
gfx
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!