Why would anyone be obsessed/so very much into The Beach Boys?

[RangeRoverA1]

Nice topic, Freddie. sidewinder is right: if your father didn't get them, he never will. Here's my fair share. 1st off, The BBs are certainly not your typical rock band. Their history is one-of-a-kind, with lots of funny/weird moments - say, borrowing money from Al's mother to afford to buy lacking instrument; Al joining the band after playing baseball in one team with Brian; the Boys taking their neighbor in the group while Al was absent to study dentistry; the whole "Brian Is Back" campaign, the Smile saga, memorable Hall of Fame speech etc. Then of course we have diversity of musical styles, everyone is singer-songwriter, Brian's advance on Wall of Sound (i.e. more eclectic arrangements, not dull & flat like Spector's), lead-sharing during a song, complex yet tasteful harmonies, unusual melody/chord structure & to top it off, simplistic lyrics. Sure, one would say that each of these facets occur in just about any other group. But altogether? Doubtful. Now, let's not forget that the BBs' music conjures mainly positive feelings, even their darkest stuff is splattered with hidden optimism. And that's exactly what led me to being more than just their casual fan. I can't seem to recall other artists having bigger score of upbeat songs, most went with heavy depressing material. So I agree with Ron on this. Finally, what I like about the BBs is the fact that, according to various stories, they all had been nice to their fans, no ego or scorn but equal attitude. It's another thing that helps for appreciating their music, at least to me.

Analyzing aside though, I feel as if the answer is much simple as to why certain people are obsessed with The BBs.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

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.

This.

[MaryUSA]

Hi all,

I have noticed that in town whenever certain people talk about a group even once they are told they are obsesed.  Yet I have noticed the person who called that other one obsessed for talking about the BB doing that same thing themselves.  To call one obsessed is making a juddgement call.  I like saying deep interest or facsination.  I know that some people in town have also said that they don't like using the word obsessed because it is a very strong word and have been proven wrong after they used it.  If we didn't have any likes or interests life would be boring.   

[filledeplage]

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.

This.

Most did like The Beatles.  Sheep!   ---  I'm only kidding! (I do have a real fondness for a lot of their work, I must admit.) And appreciate their connections as artists, despite the conflicts that appear in hindsight to have been industry-created.  All good guys.

And, a very funny teacher I used to work with used to say that "self-praise is no recommendation." It doesn't make me any smarter, but, maybe just more committed to learning about their art and what inspired the work, whether politics, travel, sport or some philosophy.

But, The Beach Boys are no "one trick pony," which is "part of their charm."  Once you become drawn into the music, there is always something new to discover, whether there was commercial success or not, or taking a second look at some obscure work, and realize how ahead-of-its-time it was, even if it wasn't well-received, which is often a sign of its' future recognition and greatness.

And it is so cool to root for a perceived underdog.  You gotta love their tenacity, even when the deck is stacked against them, they come out on top in the finale.  

MaryUSA made a great point about the pejorative term - "obsessive." I prefer "passionate" as a more positive attribute. 

[alf wiedersehen]

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.

This.

That's self-serving garbage.

[Orange Crate Art]

comment removed

[Disney Boy (1985)]

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.

This.

That's self-serving garbage.

Get a sense of humour.

[alf wiedersehen]

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.

This.

That's self-serving garbage.

Get a sense of humour.

I refuse.

[Dudd]

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.

[Lowbacca]

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.

[CarlTheVoice]

There are a lot of good replies here with many reasons why I also love the Beach Boys so much. I'm 29 in a couple of weeks and although I have friends who like the Beach Boys, none seem overly interested in digging a little bit deeper into their catalogue or into the many layers in each song.

As well as the emotion, voices, harmonies, happy/sad songs (eg Til I Die), for me it's the ridiculous amount of layers in every single piece. The simplest of melodies becomes an outstandingly beautiful song by adding just the right amount of each instrument, voice etc. You have to listen to it 100 times to hear something that you've never heard before or to follow a certain instrument or voice in the harmony throughout the song. I always seem to find something lurking in the background of a song even after years of listening, or on a different audio source! How many bands offer a gift that keeps on giving?!

[Gertie J.]

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

It's Bruce's shorts.

hahahahaha

[Don Malcolm]

I think most true BBs fans understand, even without trying to over-articulate it, that the creative forces in this band were somehow unique, and remained so even as they changed (and often became somewhat contradictory). There was dissonance in the "harmony" almost from the get-go, and even if there are some of us (heck, most of us) who take sides in the internecine aspects of that dissonance, we develop a hypersensitivity to that strange, shape-shifting dynamic the way that the dear little princess was bothered by the pea all the way at the bottom of those mattresses.

The ebb and flow, the rise and fall and rise (and fall) of--a band, an idea, a lifestyle, a simultaneously full-blown and half-assed aesthetic: to those who "get" that, who sense all those dimensions, it is an endless epic tale about life and death, damnation and resurrection, and all of the other mangled dualisms that we embrace and reject. Most bands just have a cycle of success and break up--only a very few actually survive, linger--fester, even. And none of them have done so with the surreal panache of the BBs.

And for those tempted into the cloistered world of the aesthetic, there is no one more compelling (and confounding) than Brian Wilson. There is virtually no one in popular music who conjures up the image and reality of someone with such potentially unlimited composing, arranging, and visionary musical talents. For a brief time, Brian was that god-like figure, and we know that those around him--those who worked and lived with him--had the exact same sense of that than we do.

Of course, Brian's talent/genius had a dark source, which is what's made his life so, er, "interesting." Great success and even greater excess. But somehow (who knows how) he managed to survive against all odds. That part of the story is icing on the cake for those who track the ebb and flow of his musical career.

People who love/obsess over the BBs quite probably have a weakness for the epic mode, even when it demonstrates a strong tendency to devolve into soap opera. A family saga (the Greek tragedy allusion is more than just a little appropriate...), where the heroes and villains are seemingly interchangeable.

[Cyncie]

For me, it's all about the music. The band's history and personal stories are interesting, and Brian's story is particularly moving. But, there are other band stories just as tragic and even inspirational, but their music doesn't resonate with me.  My love of the Beach Boys starts and ends with the music.

Why does anyone obsess over anything? Because, in some way, it catches your imagination. People who aren't "into" the same things won't get it. A friend of mine spends his summers taking a Dodge Charger to car shows. Someone once asked him why he spent his time doing this. He replied, because it's fun to spend time with people who love what you love. The other guy thought he was obsessive. Of course, he spends his weekends watching sports on TV. 

We all have our obsessions. Just pick the one you like, and don't worry about the others.

[JK]

For me, it's all about the music. The band's history and personal stories are interesting, and Brian's story is particularly moving. But, there are other band stories just as tragic and even inspirational, but their music doesn't resonate with me.  My love of the Beach Boys starts and ends with the music.

My feelings entirely.

[The Shift]

I don't understand my own obsession.

In understand that I like Pet Sounds (I can't explain why) but I don't understand why I have to have 20+ copies.

I understand that I enjoy a good concert but can't understand why I had to go see Brian Wilson more than 10 times in 2004.

I think there's something about surrounding yourself with familiar things, and the comfort that brings.

A psychologist would doubtless put it down to something to like some of us having a mild touch of autism or even Asperger's or some other condition; if so, so be it.  I've had similar obsessions throughout my life, and there are other artists I also collect (John Martyn, Neil Young…) but nothing ever on a scale like it's been with The Beach Boys. It can make things… ummm… tricky!

[filledeplage]

I don't understand my own obsession.

In understand that I like Pet Sounds (I can't explain why) but I don't understand why I have to have 20+ copies.

I understand that I enjoy a good concert but can't understand why I had to go see Brian Wilson more than 10 times in 2004.

I think there's something about surrounding yourself with familiar things, and the comfort that brings.

A psychologist would doubtless put it down to something to like some of us having a mild touch of autism or even Asperger's or some other condition; if so, so be it.  I've had similar obsessions throughout my life, and there are other artists I also collect (John Martyn, Neil Young…) but nothing ever on a scale like it's been with The Beach Boys. It can make things… ummm… tricky!

When one listens to their work, it isn't just them, but the ways in which Brian (Mike, etal) connected-the-dots with "their" influences, whether it was Gershwin, Four Freshmen, Doo Wop, Elvis, Kingston Trio, etc. They added to an amalgam with their own vocal strategies and experimental instrumentation.

Is it "obsession" or an extreme "focus" because it inspires some awakening of a dormant interest?  I feel badly for those who never find anything that brings them to life, as music or art does.  You just meet the greatest people at their shows, who are alive, have a sense of humor ( you'd need one to be a 60's -70's fan!  ) and, you "could do worse," as far as negative "obsessions" are concerned. 

And, you've got 20 Pet Sounds album versions! Good for you! If you've heard something and it feels "like home," I think you're a wealthy person.  It took Flaubert 5 years to write Madame Bovary, because he was searching "obsessively" for "le mot juste" - the exactly precise word to fit his enduring masterpiece, tweaking it all the time.  Worth it? I guess so.  Does it mean we are perfectionists, too? I don't know.  On each "listen" you hear something different. 

But, one of the skills that teachers look for in small children is "task completion" or watching whether they flit from one activity to another? A psychologist might judge a child, without focus differently, and overlook that the kid is "destined for genius" while staring out the window, day-dreaming, apparently inattentively, but "taking it all in" on some level, and taking Robert Frost's "road less traveled."

And, I'm not sure we know enough about the brain and the mind to allow value judgments or armchair web analysis to second-guess what our own personal intuition dictates.

You saw Brian ten times! Bravo, in my book! That just rocks!   

[job]

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.

This.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

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.

This.

I obsess over everything. It's crazy. My wallet hates it.

BUT I LOVE IT.

[donald]

Someone mentioned the gift that keeps on giving over the years.  I'd say its like that with an artist who is prolifiic and gifted.  There is always some aspect of one of the many pieces to go back to without becoming satiated with the form for very long.