Mike Love's Nelson Mandela Facebook Post

[roll plymouth rock]

This centurydeprived guy has got to be trolling 

Mike Love actually wrote a song addressing the Sun City issue, but then decided to switch it to be about Dallas at the last minute. The original lyrics went "...and I'll never play Sun City again" thus totally denouncing their appearance there (this version confirmed on FB by someone who has heard the uncirculating demo). The rhymes he had for Sun City just weren't quite as good as his awesome new rhymes for the word Dallas -- palace & chalice, so the song got changed last minute (kind of like Bells of Paris>Bells of Winter or whatever)

[Cam Mott]

I think Mike's "Cool Bread, Bad Aparteid" made his feelings clear in retrospect.

[Autotune]

I think that once it is acknowledged that playing Sun City does not equal endorsing apartheid, coming up with a 30+ year old "screw the UN" quote from an interview almost no one knew about, and backslashing Mike for it, seems unforgiving to a degree no poster would tolerate upon themselves.

[CenturyDeprived]

This centurydeprived guy has got to be trolling  

roll plymouth rock – No, I’m not trolling, just expressing my honest opinions on the matter.

I think that once it is acknowledged that playing Sun City does not equal endorsing apartheid, coming up with a 30+ year old "screw the UN" quote from an interview almost no one knew about, and backslashing Mike for it, seems unforgiving to a degree no poster would tolerate upon themselves.

Dr. Lenny – while a 32 year old quote may be “ancient history”, the fact that “almost no one knew about” the quote is of little consequence to me. It happened; the quote isn’t hearsay. Am I overanalyzing it? Perhaps. We’re on a BB message board; that’s what we nerds do – overanalyze minutia related to our favorite band. The quote was shared by well-respected BB authors (and they called it out as being “crass”, which it absolutely is) in a recently-published BB book. I have never accused Mike of “endorsing” apartheid, but I have accused him of speaking in a particularly despicable, wholly unempathetic manner about a very sensitive topic. I’m not quite sure why I (or anyone else) should be “forgiving” to the man for speaking in that manner.


As soon as I read the quote a few months ago (after reading the BB In Concert book from front to back), the crassness of it disgusted me to a pretty major degree – but... I saw no reason to start a thread about it here, because it was something in the past, unrelated to present events, albeit something that marked a low point for him, in my eyes.

It is only when Mike has a set of cojones big enough to casually mention Mandela last week on FB in a long post (presumably having long forgotten the 1981 interview/quote) that the hypocrisy got me bugged enough to mention it here.  However, I’d be somewhat forgiving if he ever owned up to it, even a smidgen. But I'm not holding my breath; owning up to past personal mistakes/regrets (at least in a public capacity) isn’t exactly one of Mike’s best-known attributes. If he tried doing so from time to time, even just a little, methinks that many people would go easier on him on a great many issues. To give Mike possible credit: maybe his 2013 FB posting is Mike's own way (without fessing up) of trying to do/say something positive to counteract his previous quote (which he currently may not exactly be proud of).  But I have no idea. My guess is that the 1981 quote is, to him, long out of sight/long out of mind.

[roll plymouth rock]

its the beach boys dude. they are hypocritical and inconsistent. get your point. no need to go on a million giant rants about it, you made your point the first post.

[Cam Mott]

Is it hypocritical to admire Mandela and object to a UN blacklist?

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Excuse my ignorance but is this quote attributed to Mike on tape or is this one of those heresay deals where someone said Mike said yada yada?

I heard Mike interviewed that he never actually said, "Don't Fu@k with the formula".

[CenturyDeprived]

Excuse my ignorance but is this quote attributed to Mike on tape or is this one of those heresay deals where someone said Mike said yada yada?

I heard Mike interviewed that he never actually said, "Don't Fu@k with the formula".

Jon and Ian's book attributes the quote to a newspaper (The Oklahoman) and a specific reporter who interviewed him (Gene Triplett). That's all I know, but that's enough for me to presume it can be substantiated.

[CenturyDeprived]

its the beach boys dude. they are hypocritical and inconsistent. get your point. no need to go on a million giant rants about it, you made your point the first post.

Glad you got the point. Not trying to sound like a broken record, which I'm sure I do at this point. Thing is, if people find the need to try and defend something I find especially indefensible, I feel implored to to respectfully disagree, and to say so. </rant>

[bgas]

its the beach boys dude. they are hypocritical and inconsistent. get your point. no need to go on a million giant rants about it, you made your point the first post.

Glad you got the point. Not trying to sound like a broken record, which I'm sure I do at this point. Thing is, if people find the need to try and defend something I find especially indefensible, I feel implored to to respectfully disagree, and to say so. </rant>

sure, I bet everyone gets it by now. once, twice three times MAX. But going on and on and on is way overkill.

[Robbie Mac]

Is it hypocritical to admire Mandela and object to a UN blacklist?

http://artbyshirzad.com/art-and-censorship-paul-simon-vs-artists-against-apartheid/