Joe Thomas Interview: On Brian Wilson, the Reunion, & TWGMTR

[BJL]

This interview finally clarifies something I've always wondered about - the genesis of Lay Down Burden, and whether it was written before or after Carl died.  It always seemed like for every time someone said the song was written before Carl died, with the intention of his involvement, there was someone else (or the same person, potentially, in Brian's case) saying it was written after he died.  Now we know that Lay Down Burden was written after Carl died, as a tribute to him/ a way to respond to his passing, but that Spring Vacation had been written before Carl died, with the title Lay Down Burden and the intention of Carl singing.   Which is not at all the resolution to that discrepancy I expected, but it's nice to know. 

[runnersdialzero]

Hate to be a downer, but if I sit and really think it out, I can very much hear Carl singing the chorus of "Spring Vacation" and several parts of other songs in my head. Shit hurts, man

[puni puni]

I like how even though Mr. Thomas contradicts pretty much everything everyone has said about anything, people still believe without a shadow of a doubt his testimonial picture of Brian Wilson as a brilliant sociopath that's spent the last twenty-five years pretending to be consistently crazy and burned out for fun.
 
And maybe all this time, he thought Be My Baby was a shitty record. Sure had us fooled.

[D409]

"He was talking about the fact he believed that the toilets flushed the opposite way than they did here above, in the northern hemisphere. And he wanted to know if I had any info on whether that was true or not."  
Brian obviously saw that episode of The Simpsons !

Otherwise, a very revealing interview...

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I like the fact that Mike had to go to the office and meditate to come up with

Spring Vacation
Good Vibrations
Summer Weather
Were back together

Wonder how deep he had to go to find those spiritual gems?*

*not Mike bashing - just funny

[PongHit]

Wonder how deep he had to go to find those spiritual gems?

Hey, did you hear? Bruce LEARNED SO MUCH about songwriting from MIKE (and Brian).

[ontor pertawst]

Wonder how deep he had to go to find those spiritual gems?*

It makes me think of David Lynch's TM-y creativity book. Well, mostly the audiobook. DIVE DEEP, MIKE! DIVE REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL DEEP!

[guitarfool2002]

If you put it into a much larger perspective, Brian's humor has been about the set-up and put-on since he was in school. Take it to the absolute extreme where there are groups of fans analyzing and forming entire theories based solely on one sentence spoken and forgotten decades ago, and a lot of fun could be had if that's your kind of humor. Or as someone said, a lot of inane or silly questions from journalists could be side-stepped by saying things like "I burned the tapes" or whatever. He's a hard guy to read, that Brian. We have to think that's how he wants it.

[Bedroom Tapes]

Exactly, he's been playing us for fifty years!   

[Rocker]

If you put it into a much larger perspective, Brian's humor has been about the set-up and put-on since he was in school. Take it to the absolute extreme where there are groups of fans analyzing and forming entire theories based solely on one sentence spoken and forgotten decades ago, and a lot of fun could be had if that's your kind of humor. Or as someone said, a lot of inane or silly questions from journalists could be side-stepped by saying things like "I burned the tapes" or whatever. He's a hard guy to read, that Brian. We have to think that's how he wants it.

I guess the put on was that Brian told Joe Thomas "Hey, just wait and see what happens if I give Mike the title Spring Vacation."

[Ron]

It very well could have been.  There's really not much explanation for it, it's completely possible that Brian gave that song to Mike intentionally to get it out of Mike's system. 

[Mr. Cohen]

What if Brian when tripped on acid he became convinced he was a glass of orange juice? And this whole time he's been a glass of orange juice pretending to be Brian Wilson?

[Jonathan Blum]

I like how even though Mr. Thomas contradicts pretty much everything everyone has said about anything,

Most of what 'everyone has said about anything" has been a game-of-whispers repetition of alluded-to half-anecdotes and innuendo, with people interpreting whatever fragments they get however they damn well please.

Over the years people here have proved that anything can be spun.  Video footage of Brian being happy and engaged in the studio?  Obviously faked -- not merely restaging the way things actually were for the camera, but faked.  Reports of Brian being heavily engaged in the Gershwin album?  Well, they would say that, wouldn't they.  "Southern California"?  Must be totally written by Scott Bennett and put out under Brian's name (clue: no).  Jeff Foskett saying "Some days I don't know if Brian knows how to tie his shoes, other days he's really on the ball"?  Somehow only the first half gets heard.

If you want a story that has been consistent over the years?  It's this:  Brian has good days and bad days.  Lately, it seems like his good days have been pretty damn good indeed.

Quite frankly, once we knew that Brian had been deliberately and consistently lying in interviews about the reunion, the image of him as this unthinking zombie-shell became a bit harder to sustain...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[PongHit]

the image of him as this unthinking zombie-shell became a bit harder to sustain...

http://youtu.be/TuujTYHCmgs

[puni puni]

Most of what 'everyone has said about anything" has been a game-of-whispers repetition of alluded-to half-anecdotes and innuendo, with people interpreting whatever fragments they get however they damn well please. If you want a story that has been consistent over the years?  It's this:  Brian has good days and bad days.  Lately, it seems like his good days have been pretty damn good indeed. Quite frankly, once we knew that Brian had been deliberately and consistently lying in interviews about the reunion, the image of him as this unthinking zombie-shell became a bit harder to sustain...

Brian has no compunction about lying when 1.) it suits his purposes, 2.) it shuts down an interviewer 3.) it amuses him.

We just realised that Brian is who he is.. He plays us like fools.. He has been planning this for years..

This is what makes me just love the guy.  There is a method to his madness and is extremely unmovable otherwise.

He said he burned the Smile tapes too, and then had that moment of truthfulness on a chat (in 2000? 2002?) where he reassured the fans that he knew where the tapes were and that Smile would come out in time. So how long had he planned THAT? Who knows what's really going on in his head?

A hurdle to me represents lots of mental effort and extreme mental stress. It’s like a woman having a baby. What stress! To go through that! And for that big baby to come out of that little vagina. NOBODY KNOWS HOW THAT’S DONE! Someone can try to explain it, but you see the woman afterwards and she’s cool.

[absinthe_boy]

We just realised that Brian is who he is.. He plays us like fools.. He has been planning this for years..

This is my impression.

Brian has no compunction about lying when 1.) it suits his purposes, 2.) it shuts down an interviewer 3.) it amuses him.

Barely 10 percent of his interviews these days are worth anything. And even those contain big swaths of untruth.

I think that my be why Brian's stock response to the question "what come next" is the old line about the rock 'n roll record.

There IS no rock 'n roll record. But it shuts up interviewers and keeps the fans happy. Then Brian can actually go away and do whatever it is he wants to do. Which probably isn't a whole record of rock 'n roll.

[rab2591]

We just realised that Brian is who he is.. He plays us like fools.. He has been planning this for years..

This is my impression.

Brian has no compunction about lying when 1.) it suits his purposes, 2.) it shuts down an interviewer 3.) it amuses him.

Barely 10 percent of his interviews these days are worth anything. And even those contain big swaths of untruth.

I think that my be why Brian's stock response to the question "what come next" is the old line about the rock 'n roll record.

There IS no rock 'n roll record. But it shuts up interviewers and keeps the fans happy. Then Brian can actually go away and do whatever it is he wants to do. Which probably isn't a whole record of rock 'n roll.

I think others in Brian's camp have said that Brian's big wish is to record a rock 'n roll record. So if it's a lie, it's one that (a) Brian's camp believes or (b) it's a lie they go along with for the hell of it.

Songs like 'Goin' Home', 'Morning Beat', the arrangements on 'We Belong Together', 'You've Got A Friend In Me' really tell me that Brian loves rock n roll and that he wants to record more of it.

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

[Sheriff John Stone]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

[startBBtoday]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

Agreed. I would LOVE that.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

That's the Beach Boys album I'd want.  I mean, really, I'll be thrilled if they release anything new at any point, but I'd love to hear them do the "rock and roll" album.

[rab2591]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

Oh no doubt! Me too! (Did you see my post in the demands for the next Beach Boys album??? I want every song with moog synths and crazy chords haha)

I'm saying that you're average Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan is not looking for that. They love songs like 'I Get Around' and 'California Girls' - Brian knows that most Beach Boys fans have never heard of 'Love You' - So when Brian says he wants to record a whole heavy RnR album I really doubt he's trying to please the majority of his fanbase.

[startBBtoday]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

Oh no doubt! Me too! (Did you see my post in the demands for the next Beach Boys album??? I want every song with moog synths and crazy chords haha)

I'm saying that you're average Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan is not looking for that. They love songs like 'I Get Around' and 'California Girls' - Brian knows that most Beach Boys fans have never heard of 'Love You' - So when Brian says he wants to record a whole heavy RnR album I really doubt he's trying to please the majority of his fanbase.

You wouldn't consider I Get Around Spector-esque Rock & Roll?

[rab2591]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

Oh no doubt! Me too! (Did you see my post in the demands for the next Beach Boys album??? I want every song with moog synths and crazy chords haha)

I'm saying that you're average Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan is not looking for that. They love songs like 'I Get Around' and 'California Girls' - Brian knows that most Beach Boys fans have never heard of 'Love You' - So when Brian says he wants to record a whole heavy RnR album I really doubt he's trying to please the majority of his fanbase.

You wouldn't consider I Get Around Spector-esque Rock & Roll?

I think you're missing my point

[startBBtoday]

And seriously, most BW fans probably don't want a whole album of Spector influenced, heavy moog, heavy guitar songs - so why he'd say that to keep the fans happy is beyond me.

I'd love to hear a BW album like that! Actually, if there is another Beach Boys' album, with Mike Love and David Marks on board, I'd like nothing more than that.

Oh no doubt! Me too! (Did you see my post in the demands for the next Beach Boys album??? I want every song with moog synths and crazy chords haha)

I'm saying that you're average Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan is not looking for that. They love songs like 'I Get Around' and 'California Girls' - Brian knows that most Beach Boys fans have never heard of 'Love You' - So when Brian says he wants to record a whole heavy RnR album I really doubt he's trying to please the majority of his fanbase.

You wouldn't consider I Get Around Spector-esque Rock & Roll?

I think you're missing my point

Care to explain rather than "rolling your eyes?"

[KittyKat]

I like the fact that Mike had to go to the office and meditate to come up with

Spring Vacation
Good Vibrations
Summer Weather
Were back together

Wonder how deep he had to go to find those spiritual gems?*

*not Mike bashing - just funny

According to Joe Thomas, Brian Wilson wrote those words, not Mike Love.  Joe said in an interview that Brian wrote the chorus and Mike wrote the verses part of that song.  Since Brian is in charge of music and Mike is not, I assume Joe was referring to the lyrics.  Brian also came up with the phrase "easy money," which was the first set of words he had to go with "Spring Vacation," the title of which Brian also thought up.  Although I'm not sure why it would take a meditation session to come up with Mike's verse lyrics, either, which aren't much better.