I Never Hated Mike Love Til I Heard This..

[lance]

I think the voiceover is an incredible performance by Mr. Love from a decent script by Mr. Wilson. It is an example of performance actually bringing the a script to a higher level.

[Theydon Bois]

With all due respect and deference to those making a show of yawning about how many times they've had to go over this, I don't think the fact that it was written and directed by Brian makes this recording any less compelling as a document of group dynamics.  Certainly, he wrote the words to send himself up, but he also pointedly put those words into the mouth of the very man often reported to hold not dissimilar opinions.  Why would he write it for Mike, as opposed to one of the others (or himself), if that wasn't part of the joke?

No joke, not even a Brian Wilson one, gets made in a vacuum.  It wouldn't have been funny if it hadn't resonated in some way.  And so I don't think it's completely incorrect to draw inferences about Mike's attitudes from this skit.

But wasn't Brian himself very disappointed that "Heroes & Villains" only made the lower half of the Top Ten, then disappeared off the charts shortly afterwards?  Mike wasn't the only one who had the attitude that the Beach Boys should sell records, especially after the huge commercial success of "Good Vibrations."

Oh, absolutely, but I don't think that that necessarily contradicts anything that I said.  I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to ignite some sort of tedious Brian vs Mike debate here, when I'm just trying to posit the idea that this skit having been written by Brian tells us more about actual group dynamics than if it actually had just been Mike ranting.

You said Mike meant what he said, he didn't, it was acting.

I really never meant to get involved in a bunfight here, but I really didn't say that Mike meant what he said, only that the fact that Brian put these words into the mouth of Mike does invite inferences about the (not necessarily, at the time, current) attitudes of both parties, not just Brian.  Which I didn't imagine would be a controversial point: after all, surely nobody imagines that Mike was chosen out of the Boys at random to deliver this monologue?

[drbeachboy]

With all due respect and deference to those making a show of yawning about how many times they've had to go over this, I don't think the fact that it was written and directed by Brian makes this recording any less compelling as a document of group dynamics.  Certainly, he wrote the words to send himself up, but he also pointedly put those words into the mouth of the very man often reported to hold not dissimilar opinions.  Why would he write it for Mike, as opposed to one of the others (or himself), if that wasn't part of the joke?

No joke, not even a Brian Wilson one, gets made in a vacuum.  It wouldn't have been funny if it hadn't resonated in some way.  And so I don't think it's completely incorrect to draw inferences about Mike's attitudes from this skit.

But wasn't Brian himself very disappointed that "Heroes & Villains" only made the lower half of the Top Ten, then disappeared off the charts shortly afterwards?  Mike wasn't the only one who had the attitude that the Beach Boys should sell records, especially after the huge commercial success of "Good Vibrations."

Oh, absolutely, but I don't think that that necessarily contradicts anything that I said.  I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to ignite some sort of tedious Brian vs Mike debate here, when I'm just trying to posit the idea that this skit having been written by Brian tells us more about actual group dynamics than if it actually had just been Mike ranting.

You said Mike meant what he said, he didn't, it was acting.

I really never meant to get involved in a bunfight here, but I really didn't say that Mike meant what he said, only that the fact that Brian put these words into the mouth of Mike does invite inferences about the (not necessarily, at the time, current) attitudes of both parties, not just Brian.  Which I didn't imagine would be a controversial point: after all, surely nobody imagines that Mike was chosen out of the Boys at random to deliver this monologue?

Again, read what I said; I agree. Mike is and always has been the front man of the band. While many do not believe it, it wasn't until many years later that their relationship became strained. Mike has the wisecracking sense of humor and that, I believe is why he was chosen to record the skit.

[KittyKat]

The weird part of "Lei'd in Hawaii" as the bootlg is called is not so much the Brian-penned Mike piece, but the entire project.  So, they go to Hawaii to appear in concert just to go back to the mainland and re-record it with the most lifeless, eviscerated versions ever of several Beach Boys songs.  It sounds like Brian even coached the vocalists to whisper-sing.  What was he thinking, and did any label, either Capitol or Brother Records, ever have any plans to release it?

[Theydon Bois]

Again, read what I said; I agree.

You seem rather terse!  I bet there's a heart of gold in there somewhere, though.

Mike has the wisecracking sense of humor and that, I believe is why he was chosen to record the skit.

A fair point, though presumably Mike's propensity towards wisecracking in his public persona may also give us some clues as to ways he might have behaved in private.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

The weird part of "Lei'd in Hawaii" as the bootlg is called is not so much the Brian-penned Mike piece, but the entire project.  So, they go to Hawaii to appear in concert just to go back to the mainland and re-record it with the most lifeless, eviscerated versions ever of several Beach Boys songs.  It sounds like Brian even coached the vocalists to whisper-sing.  What was he thinking, and did any label, either Capitol or Brother Records, ever have any plans to release it?

It's just the same Smiley vocal style that they had been using.

[SIP.FLAC]

I don't think this clip is a very good justification for hating Mike - as has been said, although there's no denying the relish with which Mike speaks the words, Brian wrote 'em! There are however numerous other far more genuine reasons for disliking Mr Love...

He performs it almost as beautifully as he sung "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field"

[Autotune]

Or does it show that Brian wasn't as precious about and in love with SMiLE and Parksian lyrics at the time as we have wanted to make him out to be and he dumped it/them for his own very straight forward reasons he claimed but we don't want to believe.

You know, the BW-VDP creative relationship and its aftermath has never been analyzed in depth. It's always been asumed that Brian was always supportive of VDP's verse, but it may be that his support for VDP's lyrics waned. The "love is chicken" lyrics probably didn't really make it for him anymore.

In the mid 1990s Brian himself was extremely harsh on some of the OCA songs he sang on, so probably his regard for VDP is more complex than we've been allowed to witness.

[SIP.FLAC]

"Van DYke Parks is the biggest butthead in the world".

[Newguy562]

I don't think this clip is a very good justification for hating Mike - as has been said, although there's no denying the relish with which Mike speaks the words, Brian wrote 'em! There are however numerous other far more genuine reasons for disliking Mr Love...

He performs it almost as beautifully as he sung "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field"

when mike sings "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field" it leaves me lost in the music it's perfect

[Chris Brown]

I agree with Theydon in the sense that the skit does give a good insight on the group dynamic at that time.  Maybe Mike was chosen to be the messenger for a reason, although it's just as likely that he just had the right delivery and tone that Brian wanted.  Still, you can't really imagine any of the Wilson brothers saying any of that, so who knows?

What I find more interesting is why Brian chose to do the skit in the first place.  Even if on the surface it was "all in fun," I think it originated from a much darker emotional place.  Can you imagine having a huge hit like "Good Vibrations," everyone is calling you a genius, and then you release your months-in-the-making follow-up single and it doesn't end up lighting the world on fire like you'd hoped?  That has to sting, badly, especially for someone as competitive as Brian was at the time.  I think this skit was his way of trying to hide the fact that the failure of "Heroes" and of Smile absolutely devastated him, and the best way he knew how to deal with that was to use self-depreciating humor as his defense mechanism.

[drbeachboy]

Hard to top Good Vibrations. Does anyone here think that The Beach Boys released a single that was better after the release of GV?

[oldsurferdude]

If you want to read on with even more disgust, go to Man vs Clown and see what Myke's bro Stephen has to say about things like the royalities lawsuit among other tidbits.

[KittyKat]

If you want to read on with even more disgust, go to Man vs Clown and see what Myke's bro Stephen has to say about things like the royalities lawsuit among other tidbits.

Why would anyone take the word of Stephen Love, who was once arrested for embezzling from the Beach Boys?  Funny how Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, and David Marks all deposed for the song-writing trial in favor of Mike.  Brian himself also admitted that Mike's name was improperly left off those songs. Not to mention the fact that Mike proposed an out of court settlement for only $700,000, which Brian's lawyers rejected.  I read that dumb, idiotic blog entry, and scanned the comments, including some from Ambha Love, Mike's teenage daughter.  These folks don't deserve to have to read the really ugly constant hate over things that happened years ago, when they themselves have obviously moved on.

[Newguy562]

I don't think this clip is a very good justification for hating Mike - as has been said, although there's no denying the relish with which Mike speaks the words, Brian wrote 'em! There are however numerous other far more genuine reasons for disliking Mr Love...

He performs it almost as beautifully as he sung "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field"

when mike sings "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field" it leaves me lost in the music it's perfect

Exactly!

that outro has to be one of the best in the bb's catalog..it feels so mystical

[Newguy562]

I don't think this clip is a very good justification for hating Mike - as has been said, although there's no denying the relish with which Mike speaks the words, Brian wrote 'em! There are however numerous other far more genuine reasons for disliking Mr Love...

He performs it almost as beautifully as he sung "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field"

when mike sings "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn field" it leaves me lost in the music it's perfect

Exactly!

that outro has to be one of the best in the bb's catalog..it feels so mystical

It IS one of the best moments in The BB's catalog! And I absolutely agree with your description, i.e. "mystical". I have exactly the same thought about that outro.

it was like his voice was perfectly made for that part..the way the instruments come in and feel like they are becoming louder when they are actually fading away is spectacular

[mabewa]

I find it perfectly believable that Mike is reading from a Brian-written script.  But I do find it odd that Mike still claims, to this day, that H&V only reached 48 on the charts.  I wonder whether he might not have a false memory deriving from the script?

[Newguy562]

I find it perfectly believable that Mike is reading from a Brian-written script.  But I do find it odd that Mike still claims, to this day, that H&V only reached 48 on the charts.  I wonder whether he might not have a false memory deriving from the script?

I wonder why Heroes & Villains and Do You Wanna Dance both reached 12 on the charts but more people know Do You Wanna Dance or Little Deuce Coupe (which was a 15 on the charts) over H&V
I showed my parents Heroes & Villains and neither one of them knew it..my mom told me to turn off that crazy music and my dad wanted to hear Smile because he's heard talk of it for decades and asked me "Is Pet Sounds or Smile their magnum opus?"  I said Pet Sounds was their magnum opus and Smile was the lost masterpiece
So I got my dad to finally hear Smile and he was swept away and ordered me to put it on his ipod asap lol) It's funny that my mother referred to it as  "crazy music" because I think Wild Honey(the song) sounds a little crazier than H&V and she loves that song from hearing me play the f*** out of it in the house so much...lol

[runnersdialzero]

The weird part of "Lei'd in Hawaii" as the bootlg is called is not so much the Brian-penned Mike piece, but the entire project.  So, they go to Hawaii to appear in concert just to go back to the mainland and re-record it with the most lifeless, eviscerated versions ever of several Beach Boys songs.  It sounds like Brian even coached the vocalists to whisper-sing.  What was he thinking, and did any label, either Capitol or Brother Records, ever have any plans to release it?

This is how the performances were, though, and I think the re-recording was an attempt to go for a similar style but have the vocals a bit tighter and not sound *so* stoned out of their friggin' minds. It'd be odd to say "Here are the recordings of the shows we did in Hawaii!" and have them suddenly sound like the '64 Concert album when anyone who was there would know they didn't play a traditional Beach Boys rock show sorta thing.

Honestly, these takes of "California Girls", "God Only Knows", and especially "Surfer Girl" are some of my favorite recordings the band ever did, especially "Surfer Girl", which I very much prefer to the original (the bootlegged take, not the officially released take from the "rehearsals").

And yeah, as someone else said, you can definitely compare it to Smiley Smile, sonically. The premise alone of a Smiley Smile-esque take of "Surfer Girl" is so cool, and is perfectly executed.

[Justin]

I Never Hated Mike Love Til I Heard This..

This should make you love Mike again:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5y7G8RQQ8&feature=youtu.be

[runnersdialzero]

I Never Hated Mike Love Til I Heard This..

This should make you love Mike again: I can't find a YouTube link to "Wrinkles" or "Oh Those Girls". You've failed me, internet ;(

[rn57]

The Man vs Clown blogger put up a followup post last year -
http://manvsclown.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/i-still-hate-mike-love/
It has attracted fewer comments than his best-known Mike-hating screed, but one of them is from none other than Adrian Baker. He implies that Mike's wife was the prime mover behind getting him kicked out of the BBs, though he doesn't get much into specifics.

[Jason]

That site is populated by a bunch of morons who don't know sh*t about the Beach Boys. Ignorance is bliss.

[AndrewHickey]

The Man vs Clown blogger put up a followup post last year -
http://manvsclown.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/i-still-hate-mike-love/
It has attracted fewer comments than his best-known Mike-hating screed, but one of them is from none other than Adrian Baker. He implies that Mike's wife was the prime mover behind getting him kicked out of the BBs, though he doesn't get much into specifics.

If Jacqueline Love was responsible for the 'ridiculous production decisions' that turned Mike's band in the space of a couple of years from a band doing horribly off-key doo-wop covers with an incompetent drummer and a falsettist who was less competent to sing those parts than I am (I am not competent at singing those parts, as my wife will attest) into one of the very best live acts I've ever seen, then I can think of a few other bands I'd like to see her get involved in...

[Paulos]

I Never Hated Mike Love Til I Heard This..

This should make you love Mike again:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5y7G8RQQ8&feature=youtu.be

That was great, thanks for sharing!