Can You Manage Listening To the Album Gettin' In Over My Head While High?

[Mr. Cohen]

Or even Imagine, for that matter? I tell you, after a little weed, there is something very hard to take about these albums. I wish I could put my finger on it and pinpoint it exactly, but I can't.  Usually when I'm high, I can find something interesting in just about anything that has even some semblance of melody to it.  But this....

Well, I guess part of it is that Brian never seems to quite mesh with the songs. He's singing and arranging vocals, but the instrumentals aren't really his arrangements (one could assume), and so it never quite comes together.

And then there's giant sense that everyone is holding back. Brian isn't willing to lead and everyone is desperately trying to figure out what Brian wants as he nods with his eyes closed. Everyone is scared to step out in any way, especially Brian.

Maybe that's it.

I don't know, but no album makes me feel sober faster than Gettin' In Over My Head. That's for sure.

[Myk Luhv]

In a couple weeks I'm going to pick up an ounce and get ripped so I can stumble through The Beach Boys post-Love You catalogue. I would never bother doing this sober. It will probably be horrible...

[Amazing Larry]

In a couple weeks I'm going to pick up an ounce and get ripped so I can stumble through The Beach Boys post-Love You catalogue. I would never bother doing this sober. It will probably be horrible...

It can be pretty horrible, even ripped beyond recognition. KTSA is gonna really harsh your mellow.

[Mr. Cohen]

Naw Discipline Dadd, "Pitter Patter" is my jawn when I'm stoned. f*** yeah, let it rain! Pitter patter of the rain! Drip drop! Easy money, hallelujah! "Hey Little Tomboy", "My Diane", the ending of "Won'tcha Come Out Tonight?" - all fine listening while under the influence of the sweet leaf.

And "Match Point of Our Love"? You've got to be kidding me! Mellow, mellows my high.

Then there's "Sumahama" on L.A. "Suma-effin'-hama". Mike Love goes feudal Japan with his Siamese lover. Listen to the phasers on those guitar arpeggios - mmmhmmm! Tell me, tell me, mama. When the harmonies kick in, it's just too much. SUMA! HAMA! SUMA! HAMA! So stupid, so brilliant. Oh, oh, and "Angel Comes Home". It's like the song that should play when Danny Tanner from Full House reflects on his dead wife. You can feel it, man.

"Good Timin" is a classic, of course.

Then Keepin' The Summer Alive. Let me give you this piece of advice: Listen. To. The. Harmonies. On. "Santa". "Ana". "Winds". Brian cold kills it. This is like some Smile sh*t, the way Mikes low baritone part sounds like a giant wind coming down over the mountains (BLOOOOWIIIIIN'). My God! The album is worth whatever you pay for that alone, like a fire deep inside.

But... but...  will you be able to handle the confusion that the bridge of "Goin' On" will lead to? I don't know. It makes no sense. Our heartbroken lover is suddenly met by a cheery obnoxious '50s doo wop saxophone. Will he survive? Will we? Only Bruce Johnston knows the answer.

And is there any way I can prep you for "Male Ego"? No, probably not. You just have to experience it.

You're in for an incredible experience Discipline Daddy.

[Amazing Larry]

Naw Discipline Dadd, "Pitter Patter" is my jawn when I'm stoned. f*** yeah, let it rain! Pitter patter of the rain! Drip drop! Easy money, hallelujah! "Hey Little Tomboy", "My Diane", the ending of "Won'tcha Come Out Tonight?" - all fine listening while under the influence of the sweet leaf.

And "Match Point of Our Love"? You've got to be kidding me! Mellow, mellows my high.

Then there's "Sumahama" on L.A. "Suma-effin'-hama". Mike Love goes feudal Japan with his Siamese lover. Listen to the phasers on those guitar arpeggios - mmmhmmm! Tell me, tell me, mama. When the harmonies kick in, it's just too much. SUMA! HAMA! SUMA! HAMA! So stupid, so brilliant. Oh, oh, and "Angel Comes Home". It's like the song that should play when Danny Tanner from Full House reflects on his dead wife. You can feel it, man.

"Good Timin" is a classic, of course.

Then Keepin' The Summer Alive. Let me give you this piece of advice: Listen. To. The. Harmonies. On. "Santa". "Ana". "Winds". Brian cold kills it. This is like some Smile sh*t, the way Mikes low baritone part sounds like a giant wind coming down over the mountains (BLOOOOWIIIIIN'). My God! The album is worth whatever you pay for that alone, like a fire deep inside.

But... but...  will you be able to handle the confusion that the bridge of "Goin' On" will lead to? I don't know. It makes no sense. Our heartbroken lover is suddenly met by a cheery obnoxious '50s doo wop saxophone. Will he survive? Will we? Only Bruce Johnston knows the answer.

And is there any way I can prep you for "Male Ego"? No, probably not. You just have to experience it.

You're in for an incredible experience Discipline Daddy.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about Male Ego is awesome, especially while tokin' the ganj.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

Or even Imagine, for that matter? I tell you, after a little weed, there is something very hard to take about these albums. I wish I could put my finger on it and ...

I solved the mystery! It's that they are sh*t!

Getting stoned is the time you want to watch Vanilla Fudge on Ed Sullivan, or the Tielman Brothers footage, or Evie Sands on shindig. Something AMAZING...not Brian Wilson albums you feel you ought to like, but in the grand scheme of things are pretty meritless.

[Myk Luhv]

Okay, okay. Maybe I should just snort some hydromorphone and throw on the Spring album!

[Mr. Cohen]

I solved the mystery! It's that they are sh*t!

Power shift here we go, I'm taking you on a desert drive, young man. It's just that usually I can find hidden layers in anything when I'm high, but somehow those two Brian albums have a force field around them. There's no soul. Even commercial crap has some kinda soul - the people behind believed in what they were doing and put all their energy into it. This... it's a travesty. If they would've given Brian a joint he would've never let this stuff get released like this.

[EgoHanger1966]

I like the title track. Maybe one of the more blatant "updates" of the Pet Sounds formula but I think it works and Brian's vocals are good - which can't be said for the majority of that album.

[Jukka]

Somehow GIOMH feels like a charade, an expensive Broadway musical that's supposed to be Brian Wilson's new album. The stage is elaborately set, guest star's are there, ready to play their stereotypical roles... And then Brian arrives, sees through all the phony BS and proceeds to passive-aggressively ruin it all with his couldn't-give-a-toss vocals. That's the impression I get, and when you think of the album that way it becomes much more interesting. The destruction of an image that was carefully groomed by people other than Brian.

[Lonely Summer]

I think the only way I could enjoy Love You is to be totally ripped on something very powerful and strong. But I don't wish to die just yet.

[Loaf]

GIOMH is a plastic frankenstein. When in an altered state, the stitches and false nature really come to the fore.

However, when sober, there is stuff to enjoy.

[AndrewHickey]

If they would've given Brian a joint he would've never let this stuff get released like this.

No, he would probably have ended up in a psychiatric hospital instead. Cannabis use and Brian's mental conditions really, really, *really* don't mix well.

[Mr. Cohen]

Eh, I doubt weed was Brian's problem. Probably speed and coke were far worse for him, possibly LSD (I say possibly because I haven't known any people who have had truly "bad" or damaging trips, but it appears that it does happen).

[AndrewHickey]

Eh, I doubt weed was Brian's problem. Probably speed and coke were far worse for him, possibly LSD (I say possibly because I haven't known any people who have had truly "bad" or damaging trips, but it appears that it does happen).

Whether it *was* his problem, it certainly *would* be were he to try it now. Cannabis and psychotic illnesses do not mix well.

[Mr. Cohen]

 

Eh, Brian has smoked more pot in his life than either of us could if we smoked constantly for the rest of our remaining lives. Even Landy let Brian toke. Again, I doubt pot specifically caused him problems, except for maybe making him lazy.

[Aegir]

aside from the abundance of guest stars (which I am not a fan of on any album), i actually really dig this album. one time I listened to fairy tale for hours and hours on loop.

[Mr. Cohen]

Aegir, that is frightening! But really, I do like the songwriting on the album most of the time. In fact, I really enjoy hearing covers of Brian's songs from the '80s and onward. When Brian's songs are given a more organic and natural treatment, the good in it usually comes out. Just listen to Darian's cover of "Do You Have Any Regrets?": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ndMltIVTJc. That's classic Brian, but you'd never quite get that listening to the Sweet Insanity outtake.

Brian has had a tough time figuring out how to "update" his music from a production standpoint, when in reality he'd probably be better off going with his gut more often.  The Wondermints helped him in that sense, but I think they're so good at aping Brian's classic sound that Brian probably tends to rely on them a bit too much for filling in the gaps. For him, it's probably both more expedient and it takes the pressure off of having to be the one responsible for the decisions.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

Eh, Brian has smoked more pot in his life than either of us could if we smoked constantly for the rest of our remaining lives.

Speak for yourself

I might be imagining this, but I thought I heard a 'much more recent than Landy era' Brian getting high story from someone who's friends with the band.

I mean, obviously it can't be true because pot is a gateway drug and it always worsens mental illness ALWAYS, but it still rings a bell.

[Myk Luhv]

I wonder if Brian and Carnie ever smoked up together. Good ol' father-daughter bonding!

[AndrewHickey]

I mean, obviously it can't be true because pot is a gateway drug and it always worsens mental illness ALWAYS, but it still rings a bell.

People who talk about gateway drugs are, of course morons, but no-one said that, nor indeed that it always worsens 'mental illness'.
Cannabis does, however, have a very, very damaging effect on people with psychotic symptoms such as those Brian has. That's not any kind of anti-drug puritanism talking (I'm actually a supporter of drug law reform), but the experience of working on a psychiatric ward for several years. For most people cannabis is no more harmful than many, many other activities that people do every day. But for those with psychotic illnesses it *will* make them worse.

[Myk Luhv]

Considering people who don't otherwise have mental illnesses can get paranoid or anxious when they smoke weed -- and sometimes on not even a lot of it -- you'd think grasping that this might increase where pre-existing (and especially already-diagnosed) mental illness occurs would be uncontroversial.

[MBE]

Never thought to put on anything like a mediocre Brian Wilson solo LP after grass. I don't think it would freak me out though as pot never has been anything but nice for me. Now Today-Holland...well 

To be honest I have a digestive issue that it helps immeasurably so I am pretty pro pot though funny enough I didn't get into it until my issue didn't respond to normal scripts.

[Mr. Cohen]

Right Myk, but Brian's issues seemed to stem from LSD and speed + coke. Never was weed the culprit. He took acid and heard voices. He took speed and later coke and got paranoid and delusional. Never heard of Brian having any problems from smoking pot.  Pot can be bad for people that allow the paranoia weed can create to overtake them, but Brian seems to be one of those people that doesn't have that problem (judging by the crazy stories of his pot indulgence). For example, there's an interview in Holland where there are many indicators that he's smoking weed, but there doesn't seem to be any real difference in his behavior.

I'm not buying this one.

[Gabo]

Just listened to the horrendous first track of this album... don't think I'm gonna waste pot on it.