Mike Love on Love & Mercy: ‘Poor Brian, He’s Had a Rough, Rough Time’

[Jim V.]

It is obvious Mike hates Brian (and has been hating him for quite some time). Anyone who actually believes ML is sincere with his "my cousin Brian is a genius"-talk must be a flat earther.

Beg your pardon, but the making of such sweeping and idiotic statements is my job, thanks very much. 

Opinions on the article Andrew?

Also, if you have Mike's ear at all (or his wife's), please tell him to rethink whatever it is he's doing lately. Starting with C50, it is so obvious to me that the man could have rehabilitated his image among Beach Boys fans and the world at large if he just used a little tact. If he had stuck with The Beach Boys in 2012 instead of breaking up the group, and even if he didn't, just being a bit more magnanimous in the time since, I think he would gain something closer to what he feels his place in history should be. Instead he seems to be giving Gene Landy the benefit of the doubt and basically trashing everything Brian or his team have done. It seems like you're a reasonable guy Andrew, and it seems like you have had some chances to speak with Mike. Why is he proceeding this way? Does he really think this is gonna get him what he wants? Or is he just sick and tired of the way history is being written?

[Cyncie]

Wow.

With every interview, Mike just sinks lower in my estimation. I love The Beach Boys. I appreciate Mike's contribution. I understand his side of the "Pet Sounds/Smile" debate, and I give props to his work ethic. But, seriously, every time he opens his mouth, I like him less and less. I don't want it to be this way. I don't like snark and ill feelings in the band and among fans. I would like Mike and Brian to be able to get along and be The Beach Boys again. But, unfortunately, Mike can't find any point of empathy for Brian's mental health problems. "No, it's not that. It's the drugs. They caused it all. Brian did this to himself and because of that, and my hard work,  I deserve the band."

That presents a problem for Mike, because Brian's been nothing but honest about the drug use. When Mike focuses on this in interviews, he isn't telling anyone anything that Brian hasn't already owned. And Brian's cachet is very high right now.  People who don't even know him are amazed at his story and how he survived, and have come to care. To continually hammer on Brian's drug problems like this in every interview is only going to hurt Mike. And to show more empathy toward Landy than he does his cousin, just comes across as hateful. And a bully is a bully, whether they use whips, drugs, or words.

The sad thing is, he did a lot during C50 to redeem himself with the public. I think people want to like him. He just won't let them. Unfortunately that ship has sailed for good.

Sail on, sailor.

[18thofMay]

I have a comment to make on this and its not worldly or ground-breaking, but it may upset some established and fresher participants on the board.

This may not be the reality, but it is certainly my perception of what is going on.
The perception I am getting from Mile Love is that he is a cold, calculated, vindictive human being. Who cannot see the damage he is doing to himself by highlighting the perceived failings of others. I respect the lyricist and the part he played in my favourite band, but that respect is fast evaporating and whilst I don't have the capacity to hate, I do have the capacity to switch of and stop listening to whatever it is positive or negative he has to say. Mike your destroying your legacy and tarnishing a brand that gained so much traction in 2012. That is my perception, it may be right, it may be wrong, who am I? I am nobody, just like the millions of other Beach Boys fans out there.

[Lee Marshall]

I'm not really 'big' on 'this..."To see him experience those challenges that were admittedly brought on by his experience with certain drugs and stuff, it’s just kind of saddening to me."

In a sense Mike's sticking to the 'script' but I an going to suggest that the mental illness factor was clearly already there and working on Brian's sense of self and his 'grounding' issues before the "drugs and stuff' entered into the picture and that those 'items' are being called into 'play' as the easy scapegoats by one who's both uninformed and who finds them easy to make help a point which serves an age-old agenda.

That said...there's nothing NEW here from Mike at all/at all.

Those who think he's the cat's ass will continue to post drivel to make that point more loudly and more clearly.  Those who think that Mike is more of a horses ass will do the same.  That, then, will merely tarnish the thread and make it completely unreadable.



What a surprise THAT would be.     And how litterally yawn inspriring.  

[ppk700]

I'm a bit late to the game here, haven't read the thread all the way through, but my big takeaway is this:

Mike would do himself a huge favor by just not talking.

[sea of tunes]

Pretty much.

[halblaineisgood]

Oh god.... I keep quoting my own posts instead of modifying them. ...shoot...

[Autotune]

I'm a big Mike Love fan. I also enjoy his sense of humor and his bravado. I believe that he knows that no matter what, there's always someone willing to write him off as "the eternal asshole" (as a movie critic wrote). He knows that, and it won't change. Thusly, he'll say what comes to mind all the same. Nevertheless, it is puzzling that he won't speak more strongly against Landy. He was very vocal in interviews and TV specials back in the day. He even appeared in the Prime Time program that was crucial in the demise of Landy. There is no way, I think, that Mike can sympathize with Landy.

[halblaineisgood]

Do you have some favorite mainstream films, especially soundtracks?

BB_A(1) This sounds self-serving, but you know the movie It’s Complicated? It’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s wonderfully acted. But guess what? They play “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” from our Pet Sounds album in the film. I was caught by surprise because I didn’t know “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” was going to be in It’s Complicated. I was sitting in the movie theater and here comes our song. So I was amazed and delighted and thrilled that people are still using our songs in movie soundtracks. And before that it was 50 First Dates, with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. So that’s a very evasive way to answer your question, or not answer it. You could even say it’s a “fun, fun, fun” way to answer. [Laughs]

Gosh Darnit [*not censored my actual choice of words]
, Mike Love is a funny guy.  

Anyone else the only one in the theater laughing at Mike Love. he's btiching at Brian about the fiddle parts? Lol

[RubberSoul13]

What an awful interview...there is truly nothing positive out of the thing except for the plug for his book which he didn't even seem positive on since he wasn't even positive as to what the title is!?!

It has to be frustrating to be in Mike's shoes...but sometimes I wonder if maybe he should buy a new pair...

[lostbeachboy]

Great buckets of bullshit! Mike Love could fart and you people would crucify him for that. Man o man if you despise the guy so much here's an idea.. Don't listen to the group he's in or see him in concert. There.. all better now we all can sleep tight now.

[CenturyDeprived]

Great buckets of bullshit! Mike Love could fart and you people would crucify him for that.  

So you agree with Mike that Landy was only "probably" going too far? Landy's actions include nearly drugging Brian to death and all sorts of other abuses. "Probably" implies this is not a certainty.

What is uncertain about the Landy having gone too far (or not having gone too far) question?

The criticism comes from the unexplained softness for Landy/shoutout to Evan (which are bad enough in and of itself), coupled in the same sentence with an unflinching absolute hardline answer about if he charged too much money, and if he wanted to write songs with Brian. No "probablies" from Mike about those questions! It is that inexplicable and bizarre dichotomy which is what is being talked about. I do not understand and cannot make sense at all of that dichotomy whatsoever; can you? If you think criticizing the interview is out of line, I'm assuming you agree with Mike then?

I do get that people want to give Landy credit for saving Brian's life initially. That much I can understand the mindset of. It's just that it must also be said that he absolutely without doubt went too far and was a scumbag of unimaginable proportions, which both Mike and Evan Landy both seem to sidestep for some very odd reason. That is not a falsehood in any way, shape or form! If Mike said that Landy saved Brian's life, and that Mike's very glad that happened...but that Landy also absolutely then went too far, and was an epic creep, I for one would not find anything critical to say about that.

Dumbass alliteration, Dr. Love.

[18thofMay]

Not this time guys! Mike has f***ed up big time on this one and your not going paint the picture any differently.

[CenturyDeprived]

Not this time guys! Mike has f***ed up big time on this one and your not going paint the picture any differently.

True dat. Some of the usual suspects defending Mike are suspiciously quiet in this thread. Could it be that they know that Mike f***ed up big time on this one, but they don't want to admit it? Hmm. People who don't like to admit when the typically-defended subject/person is doubtlessly wrong, who just happen to be defending (or passively defending, via their silence) a man who seems to have an epically hard time admitting when he himself has screwed up. Is there a subset of super-defensive people who just love defending other super-defensive people? Maybe Landy himself might have known the medical way to term such a bizarre phenomenon.

[RubberSoul13]

Great buckets of bullshit! Mike Love could fart and you people would crucify him for that. Man o man if you despise the guy so much here's an idea.. Don't listen to the group he's in or see him in concert. There.. all better now we all can sleep tight now.

I don't identify with either "camp" and it usually bites me in the ass, but here I go again.....what statements could possibly be defended in a positive light from the self-proclaimed "Mr. Positivity" this time?

[Jim V.]

Not this time guys! Mike has f***ed up big time on this one and your not going paint the picture any differently.

True dat. Some of the usual suspects defending Mike are suspiciously quiet in this thread. Could it be that they know that Mike f***ed up big time on this one, but they don't want to admit it? Hmm. People who don't like to admit when the typically-defended subject/person is doubtlessly wrong, who just happen to be defending (or passively defending, via their silence) a man who seems to have an epically hard time admitting when he himself has screwed up. Is there a subset of super-defensive people who just love defending other super-defensive people? Maybe Landy himself might have known the medical way to term such a bizarre phenomenon.

I know. I'm waiting for the one sentence question from Cam that turns everything on it's head. Seems he's got nothing as of yet.

[CenturyDeprived]

Not this time guys! Mike has f***ed up big time on this one and your not going paint the picture any differently.

True dat. Some of the usual suspects defending Mike are suspiciously quiet in this thread. Could it be that they know that Mike f***ed up big time on this one, but they don't want to admit it? Hmm. People who don't like to admit when the typically-defended subject/person is doubtlessly wrong, who just happen to be defending (or passively defending, via their silence) a man who seems to have an epically hard time admitting when he himself has screwed up. Is there a subset of super-defensive people who just love defending other super-defensive people? Maybe Landy himself might have known the medical way to term such a bizarre phenomenon.

I know. I'm waiting for the one sentence question from Cam that turns everything on it's head. Seems he's got nothing as of yet.

  He is currently MIA, busy consulting with noted experts in defending defensive people, on how to craftily word a defense strategy for the term "probably". Might this be the moment where he finally admits Mike screwed up?  I'd Love Just Once to See Him Admit That Mike Screwed Up.

[Pretty Funky]

Brian did drugs? Tell us something we don't know Mike. Perhaps your shortfalls and demons such as your multiple wives and Shawn? Didn't you have a breakdown? Your fellow bandmates have more or less kept a dignified silence on those very personal details. Nice if it could be reciprocated.

 

[CenturyDeprived]

Brian did drugs? Tell us something we don't know Mike. Perhaps your shortfalls and demons such as your multiple wives and Shawn? Didn't you have a breakdown? Your fellow bandmates have more or less kept a dignified silence on those very personal details. Nice if it could be reciprocated.

 

Can you imagine if in every interview, another BB mentioned those sensitive things about Mike, under the guise of that BB member proclaiming their own personal view that family values are of primary importance, and thus, Mike's personal matters need to be drudged up in interview after interview so that the world can learn from Mike's mistakes, and know how important it is to be a good father and husband? Yeah, that would be icky and inappropriate for another band member to do... and bringing up the drug thing again and again and again and again has approached a similar icky level. Yep. This is like the infamous Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous Interview, Part II.

[Komera]

Poor, poor, Mike.  An alpha dog personality with a faulty brain/mouth filter living in the shadow of an immensely talented introvert.  That can't be a comfortable place to be.  Always missing out on the adoration an alpha dog personality thrives on.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Great buckets of bullshit! Mike Love could fart and you people would crucify him for that. Man o man if you despise the guy so much here's an idea.. Don't listen to the group he's in or see him in concert. There.. all better now we all can sleep tight now.

I've defending Mike many many times here. Can't do it over this.

[Empire Of Love]

It could be that with nearly 30 years after the dust has settled, Mike just doesn't get as worked up about the Landy situation as he once did. He does seem to have emotionally detached himself from the whole thing somewhat, going by his comments in the interview.

Since Mike and Brian don't have, it seems, any relationship these days, he probably doesn't care that much anymore about stuff that happened to Brian thirty years ago. Also, he still thinks Brian is controlled and medicated, so he probably thinks what Melinda is doing to Brian today is not much different than what Landy did. In his mind, they are all controlling Brian with drugs.

Where in the world did you come up with the slanderous notion that Melinda is giving Brian any drugs at all, much less controlling him via drugs?  Where does this non-sense originate?

EoL

[petsite]

For So long this has been going on. The fights are never going to go away. And everyone wants to pick sides. I really disliked Mike up until 5 years ago. Then I realized that it wasn't right for me to think that way because guess what, I don't know a damn thing about what went on. I don't know all the back stage machinations that thread throughout the Beach Boys story. I have just heard from both sides which are biased in their tellings. So many of my best friends wanted Mike gone. But I think that is wrong headed. I know alot of people who (when he was alive) thought Carl was a d**k and that Brian should have never had any further contact with him. And so it's been since I became a fan back in 1973. As I said elsewhere, the SMiLE crew around Brian was lauded for SO long that I am glad they are shown for who/what they truly are. So things change.

I do remember something I read by Don Was that has been repeated several times by others. He thought that Mike would be the most evil man in the world, but found him ok to deal with. And here is the part that so many others that have talked to Mike and the other Beach Boys have repeated. They were/are just tired of being referred to as Brian Wilson and the four assholes. I know I have heard that for far too long. Before you say well that's true, stop for a moment. That means Dennis is a no talent asshole. Carl is a no talent asshole. Mike is a no talent asshole. Jon Stebbins said it best. If you think Brian would have been as big as he was w/out the other guys, you are dreaming. Much as we would want to believe it, he needed them, just as they needed him.

Bob

[CenturyDeprived]

For So long this has been going on. The fights are never going to go away. And everyone wants to pick sides. I really disliked Mike up until 5 years ago. Then I realized that it wasn't right for me to think that way because guess what, I don't know a damn thing about what went on. I don't know all the back stage machinations that thread throughout the Beach Boys story. I have just heard from both sides which are biased in their tellings. So many of my best friends wanted Mike gone. But I think that is wrong headed. I know alot of people who (when he was alive) thought Carl was a d**k and that Brian should have never had any further contact with him. And so it's been since I became a fan back in 1973. As I said elsewhere, the SMiLE crew around Brian was lauded for SO long that I am glad they are shown for who/what they truly are. So things change.

I do remember something I read by Don Was that has been repeated several times by others. He thought that Mike would be the most evil man in the world, but found him ok to deal with. And here is the part that so many others that have talked to Mike and the other Beach Boys have repeated. They were/are just tired of being referred to as Brian Wilson and the four assholes. I know I have heard that for far too long. Before you say well that's true, stop for a moment. That means Dennis is a no talent asshole. Carl is a no talent asshole. Mike is a no talent asshole. Jon Stebbins said it best. If you think Brian would have been as big as he was w/out the other guys, you are dreaming. Much as we would want to believe it, he needed them, just as they needed him.

Bob

Mike doesn't have to be labeled as an "asshole" to say that he gave some highly questionable, borderline repugnant answers in an interview, and that while he may be perfectly ok to deal with in some or even many circumstances, he is nonetheless digging a hole for himself by saying some pretty unconscionable stuff. It's been an ongoing problem. If anyone else in the BB universe gave an interview like this, they'd be just as swiftly crucified.

[18thofMay]

For So long this has been going on. The fights are never going to go away. And everyone wants to pick sides. I really disliked Mike up until 5 years ago. Then I realized that it wasn't right for me to think that way because guess what, I don't know a damn thing about what went on. I don't know all the back stage machinations that thread throughout the Beach Boys story. I have just heard from both sides which are biased in their tellings. So many of my best friends wanted Mike gone. But I think that is wrong headed. I know alot of people who (when he was alive) thought Carl was a d**k and that Brian should have never had any further contact with him. And so it's been since I became a fan back in 1973. As I said elsewhere, the SMiLE crew around Brian was lauded for SO long that I am glad they are shown for who/what they truly are. So things change.

I do remember something I read by Don Was that has been repeated several times by others. He thought that Mike would be the most evil man in the world, but found him ok to deal with. And here is the part that so many others that have talked to Mike and the other Beach Boys have repeated. They were/are just tired of being referred to as Brian Wilson and the four assholes. I know I have heard that for far too long. Before you say well that's true, stop for a moment. That means Dennis is a no talent asshole. Carl is a no talent asshole. Mike is a no talent asshole. Jon Stebbins said it best. If you think Brian would have been as big as he was w/out the other guys, you are dreaming. Much as we would want to believe it, he needed them, just as they needed him.

Bob

Nice story mate... = Mike love is still a complete fucking arsehole!! At least that is my perception of him based on everything that has emanated from his mouth in the last say 47 years.