All things Bruce Johnston

[Ron]

You know what I hate?  I hate how the disco remix gets brought up, because it's become a legend about how bad Bruce is.

It was what it was.  for what it was, it wasn't bad.  Yeah it's a fuckin' disco track but what were you expecting?  IT'S DISCO, PEOPLE.



I'd bet money, good money, that some of the people who talk about how shitty that song is have never heard it. 

[clack]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

[Ron]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

It's a good question.  He has lost his muse, clearly.  I wish we all lived in the old USSR, perhaps we could um... 'convince' him to write again.  It is frustrating seeing these guys who you know are great, not even TRY to write anything.  I think Mike, and Bruce, are both extremely talented songwriters, they spend about 10 hours a day together apparently, but yet never write anything.  Huh?  What the hell is that all about? 

Some people write, I think, just because they enjoy it. 

Some people are great at writing, but write because they enjoy other people making it a big hit. 

So I think Bruce knows, no matter how great a song he writes, it's not going to be a hit so why bother?  People like, oh hell Marty Stuart, or honestly any number of lesser known singers or songwriters write ALL THE TIME, hoping for a hit, but not really caring, beacuse they just enjoy writing. 

Bruce likely doesn't enjoy writing simply for the sake of writing.  Really nobody in the band did, though... Brian desperately wants all his stuff to be a big hit.  Maybe Dennis was the most 'honest' songwriter, but I'm not that familiar with his writings or his mindset about them. 

[alf wiedersehen]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

When he was young, he was probably working hard to get his name out there. He wanted to be somebody.

Then, he made it to The Beach Boys and he kind of accomplished his goals. He produced, he arranged, he wrote some songs, and he's been a part of numerous albums. He probably feels like he's done what he set out to do.

That's all conjecture, of course.

[Kurosawa]

You know what I hate?  I hate how the disco remix gets brought up, because it's become a legend about how bad Bruce is.

It was what it was.  for what it was, it wasn't bad.  Yeah it's a fuckin' disco track but what were you expecting?  IT'S DISCO, PEOPLE.



I'd bet money, good money, that some of the people who talk about how shitty that song is have never heard it. 

I like the disco version because it's ballsy. It's not like "Miss You" which was a Stones song with a disco beat, "Here Comes the Night" is a 10 minute disco opus. It's just so over the top that it deserves respect.

[Ron]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

When he was young, he was probably working hard to get his name out there. He wanted to be somebody.

Then, he made it to The Beach Boys and he kind of accomplished his goals. He produced, he arranged, he wrote some songs, and he's been a part of numerous albums. He probably feels like he's done what he set out to do.

That's all conjecture, of course.

Definately could be.  We always have to remember, too, when he was young he didn't have a family, etc... and as he's gotten older, now he does.  Certainly in almost everybody's life their family is most important, so I think once you have kids, it's quite possible to be content with that and gaining respect and fame and recognition through songwriting or whatever isn't as important to you as it once was.  

[Niko]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

When he was young, he was probably working hard to get his name out there. He wanted to be somebody.

Then, he made it to The Beach Boys and he kind of accomplished his goals. He produced, he arranged, he wrote some songs, and he's been a part of numerous albums. He probably feels like he's done what he set out to do.

That's all conjecture, of course.

Definately could be.  We always have to remember, too, when he was young he didn't have a family, etc... and as he's gotten older, now he does.  Certainly in almost everybody's life their family is most important, so I think once you have kids, it's quite possible to be content with that and gaining respect and fame and recognition through songwriting or whatever isn't as important to you as it once was.  

The worst thing about it (to me) is the fact it's so long. I wouldn't really mind it if it were 2-3 minutes.

[Ron]

It's just strange to me that it holds this mythically bad status, and guys there are HORRIBLE Beach Boys songs out there, I mean there's dozens of songs worse than this one. 

"you think that's bad?  LISTEN TO THIS!!!!!"

lol

[Niko]

It's just strange to me that it holds this mythically bad status, and guys there are HORRIBLE Beach Boys songs out there, I mean there's dozens of songs worse than this one. 

"you think that's bad?  LISTEN TO THIS!!!!!"

lol

There was a HUGE commercial push to get that single and album out there...tons of merch and radio ads. Once people heard how the song DID NOT live up to the hype, the negative reaction was sort of enhanced by all dat hype.

[Ron]

That makes sense... but hell they have HITs that are worse than that song.  Barbara Ann.  Rock n' Roll Music.  God awful songs. 

[smile-holland]

oh really? i heard one of the mods said that three people shared one ip-address. you, sip mike and juice.

yeah, you'll be laughing when read what billy had written in now locked thread about fallacies of mike love.

This thread, yes?
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15868.msg384195.html#msg384195

Get your facts straight Gertie J.. Billy said nothing about SMiLE Brian and Juice Bronston being one and the same person. And the reason is: they aren't. We know who's behind the Bronston and SIP Mike joke accounts, and fyi it's not SMiLE Brian.

And while we're talking: I'm now also politely going to ask you to cool down a bit. Lately your replies towards others are not exactly uplifting. Most of your posts of the last couple of days are getting increasingly annoying, either derailing, or harsh remarks, and in most cases not contributing to a topic. Which makes your accusations of several other members being a troll even more remarkable…

[Gertie J.]

norbit

[phirnis]

You know what I hate?  I hate how the disco remix gets brought up, because it's become a legend about how bad Bruce is.

It was what it was.  for what it was, it wasn't bad.  Yeah it's a fuckin' disco track but what were you expecting?  IT'S DISCO, PEOPLE.



I'd bet money, good money, that some of the people who talk about how shitty that song is have never heard it. 

Nothing wrong with disco per se as far as I'm concerned, in fact after the BB it's pretty much the only kind of pop music I'm truly interested in.

HCTN is not great by any means and it does sound somewhat forced, to my ears anyway. Still I agree it's "not bad" overall, for me it doesn't even disturb the flow on the Light Album. I rarely skip it.

[Nicko1234]

I think Bruce did some great work in his early career and the Bruce and Terry compilation is excellent.

His songwriting for the group started well I think and The Nearest Faraway Place, Deirdre and Disney Girls are all strong songs.

From then on it became patchier but I like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDXqI8XlnMs

I also think his songs for the Doris Day album show him to be a technically gifted craftsman.

It is a shame he hasn`t written more in recent years.

[SonicVolcano]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAzvRZKju80

Love this performance. Starts @ 0:30.

[smile-holland]

k, but it's still his idea, or as he has said the mastermind of situation. doesn't that count?

SMiLE Brian + a few others decided to play along when those joke accounts occurred. So if S-B was to blame in any way, then there were more. Which is why we decided to close the topic.

[TonyW]

Little known fact:

Bruce is now the king of Australia thanks to his sons marriage

Just what 'strailya needed ... King Bruce of 'strailya

this 'eres a wattle
the emblem of our land
this 'eres a microphon
ya move it with ya hand
this 'ere is Queenie Gina
she belongs in a dunny can

[Gertie J.]

norbit

[smile-holland]

k, but it's still his idea, or as he has said the mastermind of situation. doesn't that count?

SMiLE Brian + a few others decided to play along when those joke accounts occurred. So if S-B was to blame in any way, then there were more. Which is why we decided to close the topic.

yeah, smile brian told me that sip mike is joke profile he and a couple other posters made, in addition asking me, 'don't tell anybody this'.

My conclusions were drawn from what I read in those topics. As I don't check someone else's personal messages for no reason, I can't verify or confirm what you just mentioned. What we (the moderators) did, was checking IP addresses, and S-B's IP wasn't linked to one of the joke accounts.

[Gertie J.]

norbit

[smile-holland]

but that's true, that is what exactly he wrote me. i dunno why you don't wanna believe me.

This has nothing to do with believing you or not. If you say he told you, fine, then we know that now. Btw, even if you apparently have a reason to do so, be careful with openly sharing personal/private messages. If you decide not keep those private, don't expect that others will keep your PM's private either.

And I now suggest that this topic goes back on-topic... if that's even possible at all (this one begs for being locked asap)

[J.G. Dev]

Bruce gave his father "the talk"

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Late 60's early 70's, Bruce seemed to display a gift for writing well-crafted, if cheesy, pop songs. But how many songs has he written in the 43 years since Surf's Up? 6 or 7? And has he written anything at all in the last 25 years?

Is he just a flash in the pan? Is it laziness? Lack of ambition? The guy was the arranger on a top 10 record as a 16 year old, was a producer at 18, and was producing, arranging, playing keys and singing on million selling records as a sideline while still in college. What happened to all that drive?

This is an excellent point.  I forget what thread it was on or who wrote it, but I remember reading someone saying that Bruce was at once the weirdest and least talented member of the band.  Perhaps he is the weirdest (or most difficult to figure out, anyway), but I think both his pre-Beach Boys work and the handful of songs he contributed between 20/20 and Surf's Up (with the exception of "Tears in the Morning") are evidence of his talent.  But then after his return at the end of the seventies, he began contributing bad or mediocre songs and encouraged some of the most embarrassing things that The Beach Boys ever did (the disco version of "Here Comes the Night" much less than, say, "Problem Child").

Which reminds me: maybe it's just ignorance on my part, but I've never been able to figure out how Bruce found his place in the hierarchy.  When Alan quit and returned in the early '60s, he was screwed over contractually by not being permitted to be a full-fledged band member until the early '70s, and even then didn't have as much clout in the band as any of the other original members.  Bruce joined in '65, took five years before he even got his first lead vocal on an album, and quit for most of the seventies, but when he returns he suddenly seems to have more clout than anyone except Mike Love.  How did that happen?

[Lowbacca]

[... ]but when he returns he suddenly seems to have more clout than anyone except Mike Love.  How did that happen?

I guess Mike made that happen to strengthen his own position in the band. Bruce is his trusted henchman & sidekick until the present day, after all.

[Mike's Beard]

Bruce has to be one of the luckiest people on the planet.  I don't think he's all that talented.  His songs are unbelievably cheesy (Tears in the Morning is awful, a black mark on Sunflower).  I don't even think he sings all that well.  He had what one lead in the entire C50 show?  Total lackey.  He is one reason why at times it is embarrassing to be a Beach Boys fan.  I wish him no ill will though.  

I understand Bruce's stuff can be an aquired taste and if you don't like his songs, fair enough. However to claim Bruce has little talent is baffeling, when he joined the band he was easily the most talented member of the group at that time after Brian. I do feel Bruce never pushed himself as much as he could have in the Beach Boys but then maybe he realised that no band can really handle six songwriters, (they'd simply implode) and chose to be more of a supporter.