A Q&A with Brian Wilson

[The Cincinnati Kid]

That's my point.  The one time he was asked about Mike with Melinda, he was completely dismissive about Mike.  Any other time he always has nice things to say.  Not sure what Mike says in interviews has to do with that...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

It could've been just how he was feeling at the time too.

[37!ws]

THIS:

"Well, they influenced me … well, I don’t believe I was influenced."

[HeyJude]

That's my point.  The one time he was asked about Mike with Melinda, he was completely dismissive about Mike.  Any other time he always has nice things to say.  Not sure what Mike says in interviews has to do with that...

It appears you're trying to imply that either Melinda forces Brian to hold back positive comments about Mike, and/or Brian doesn't feel comfortable saying positive things about Mike if Melinda is in on the interview. I don't think you have enough data to work with (e.g. ONE interview where Brian is not even negative about Mike but, *debatably* dismissive and more likely simply blunt and brief.)

I'm pretty sure Brian had shown a similar amount of brevity in discussing Mike in other interviews as well. I don't think there's a pattern here. I don't think he has been resoundingly positive with copious amounts of compliments of Mike in *every* interview he has ever done sans Melinda. Whereas, there simply aren't enough joint Brian/Melinda interviews to even indicate a pattern.

[SMiLE Brian]

BW is human and has mixed feelings like anyone would on a day to day basis. Now Mike seems to be constantly negative about BW these days.

[HeyJude]

It could've been just how he was feeling at the time too.

I think that's it. Brian is pretty unfiltered in these interviews for better and worse (e.g. weird, funny responses, insightful responses, sometimes little response at all), so I'm guessing he was probably thinking that at that time he literally was not giving much thought to Mike. He was/is promoting a series of projects with which Mike has no connection.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

It could've been just how he was feeling at the time too.

It could have.  And believe me, I'm definitely not one of those "wifeandmanagers" people.  I just found it very interesting that the only time in recent memory that he was negative about Mike was when he was with Melinda.  Look at our past pm discussion for where my mind is at on this, even if it's not as extreme.

[Wirestone]

The answers aren't contradictory. Just because Brian might not want to think or talk about Mike, doesn't mean he dismisses his lyrical contributions.

[SMiLE Brian]

Now take Mike's interviews, it reeks of a man obsessed with BW.

[Toursiveu]

Here's Mike's answer to Brian's comment, posted on his Facebook page :

"I was awaken by a phone call this morning regarding Brian's recent Q&A...I just wanted to say, Thanks Cous!! Right back at you."

Awaken by a phone call? Like someone had to wake him up to tell him that "Cousin Brian" had nice things to say about him? Anyway, that's it : Mike's the most brilliant lyricist in the world. It's official. Forget about Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash or... Brian Wilson. Mike "Summer of" Love is the man...   

[PhilSpectre]

Now take Mike's interviews, it reeks of a man obsessed with BW.

Just like most people around here then  .

[ForHerCryingSoul]

The bit about Sweet Insanity is interesting...   

Aside from your most masterful work, you’ve made some really interesting forays into exploring different sounds. Can you talk to me a little about “Sweet Insanity”?

“Sweet Insanity” was never really released. You’ve got bootlegs, but it was never released. And I thought some of the stuff was pretty good. It wasn’t the best album I ever wrote. We just didn’t think it was good enough.

Were you intending it for release, or were those pretty much just demos?

They were just like demos. We recorded about 10-12 songs, and we decided not to put it because we thought that maybe people wouldn’t like it, so we junked it.

Part of the record ended up on “Getting In Over My Head.” Did you just take what you thought were the best tracks — what you felt were the best tracks — from that session and kind of rework them?

Yeah, we took “Let It Shine.” I think I wrote that with Jeff Lynne from ELO; he and I wrote “Let It Shine.” And, you know, I can’t remember those songs, you know?

There was song in particular that I thought was kind of the anomaly in your entire catalog called “Smart Girls.” Was that just you fooling around and having a good time?

Yeah, we were just having a good time. Yeah, it was fun. We were just kidding.

[Pretty Funky]

The answers aren't contradictory. Just because Brian might not want to think or talk about Mike, doesn't mean he dismisses his lyrical contributions.

This.

[Pretty Funky]

"Well, Mike Love is probably the greatest lyric writer in the world. I think he’s my favorite lyric writer. He just wrote a lot of good songs."

Elephant in the room.

Forget the elephant. Brian and Mike should write in Mike's "room".

[SMiLE Brian]

"The room" is just Mike's buzzword for total control.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Expanding on that, it would be total control in the "Vibe Room". 

[Pretty Funky]

If the catering is good, Brian would be in!

[sea of tunes]

I always come back to this...

[HeyJude]

Here's Mike's answer to Brian's comment, posted on his Facebook page :

"I was awaken by a phone call this morning regarding Brian's recent Q&A...I just wanted to say, Thanks Cous!! Right back at you."

Awaken by a phone call? Like someone had to wake him up to tell him that "Cousin Brian" had nice things to say about him? Anyway, that's it : Mike's the most brilliant lyricist in the world. It's official. Forget about Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash or... Brian Wilson. Mike "Summer of" Love is the man...   

I would indeed like to know who woke Mike up phoning him to tell him about a random Brian interview, and why.

Are there different ringtones for different scenarios?

Ring Tone 1 for complimentary Brian comments.

Ring Tone 2 for negative reviews or commentaries from journalists.

Ring Tone 3 for actionable Al Jardine comments or press releases.

In all seriousness, I love having all of the guys reunited so much, I actually wouldn't mind if a bunch of mutual fawning comments got them to get back together.

Al needs to post to Facebook too, pointing out how he thinks *everyone* is a genius. "Okay Brian and Mike, you're both geniuses too. Now syncopate....."

[Autotune]

"Well, Mike Love is probably the greatest lyric writer in the world. I think he’s my favorite lyric writer. He just wrote a lot of good songs."

Elephant in the room.

Mike just posted a link to the interview on his FB, including a commentary on it and quoting Brian's answers. He seems to be happy about it, and it's nice that both acknowledge each other. And I think he's right about Mike (as Brian's best lyricist during their peak). Expect more bile from other camps though.

Isn't posting about expecting 'more bile from other camps' before anybody has even said anything derogatory a bit biluous  itself?

I may be 100% on team Brian,  but I've ALWAYS said Mike was Brian's best lyricist,  pet sounds aside.

You may be right. But I don't believe Van Dyke reads my posts.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

If the catering is good, Brian would be in!

That's a fairly huge "if" based on myKe's bare bones, stripped down state of mind these days. Maybe he could spring for a bag of pretzels or chips...with a receipt of course. 

[CenturyDeprived]

"Well, Mike Love is probably the greatest lyric writer in the world. I think he’s my favorite lyric writer. He just wrote a lot of good songs."

Elephant in the room.

Quite a turn around from the answer he gave when Melinda was with him.   

Brian also said quite complimentary things about Landy as well. The Larry King interview comes to mind.

I think Brian, far more than most people on this Earth, has an ability to see the positive things in people, and block out/avoid the negatives, which when it comes to a wealthy, kind and generous person, can (and has) led to instances of exploitation.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

"Well, Mike Love is probably the greatest lyric writer in the world. I think he’s my favorite lyric writer. He just wrote a lot of good songs."

Elephant in the room.

Mike just posted a link to the interview on his FB, including a commentary on it and quoting Brian's answers. He seems to be happy about it, and it's nice that both acknowledge each other. And I think he's right about Mike (as Brian's best lyricist during their peak). Expect more bile from other camps though.

Isn't posting about expecting 'more bile from other camps' before anybody has even said anything derogatory a bit biluous  itself?

I may be 100% on team Brian,  but I've ALWAYS said Mike was Brian's best lyricist,  pet sounds aside.

You may be right. But I don't believe Van Dyke reads my posts.

I beg your pardon?

[Komera]

When I saw the thread title, I thought it meant Brian was going to come back to the forum for another Q&A.

[Cyncie]

Here's Mike's answer to Brian's comment, posted on his Facebook page :

"I was awaken by a phone call this morning regarding Brian's recent Q&A...I just wanted to say, Thanks Cous!! Right back at you."

Awaken by a phone call? Like someone had to wake him up to tell him that "Cousin Brian" had nice things to say about him? Anyway, that's it : Mike's the most brilliant lyricist in the world. It's official. Forget about Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash or... Brian Wilson. Mike "Summer of" Love is the man...  

I would indeed like to know who woke Mike up phoning him to tell him about a random Brian interview, and why.

Are there different ringtones for different scenarios?

Ring Tone 1 for complimentary Brian comments.

Ring Tone 2 for negative reviews or commentaries from journalists.

Ring Tone 3 for actionable Al Jardine comments or press releases.

In all seriousness, I love having all of the guys reunited so much, I actually wouldn't mind if a bunch of mutual fawning comments got them to get back together.

Al needs to post to Facebook too, pointing out how he thinks *everyone* is a genius. "Okay Brian and Mike, you're both geniuses too. Now syncopate....."

Well now that Stamos is going into rehab, Mike might have to rethink his "them=addiction, us=clean" stance and let some former bandmates back into the sacred camp.

Nice separation between "inspiration" and "influence" for Brian where the Beatles are concerned. I do see how they inspired Brian to reach higher, but musically, I don't think they really influenced him that much.