Mike Interview - Broward Palm Beach New Times 2/25/16

[HeyJude]

Nothing terribly unique or new on this one (songwriting credits, L&M movie, etc.), but it was slightly interesting to read the writer mention:

"We’re warned not to incite his ire by making mention of the rift with Wilson"

Obviously, we don't know who offered the warning, though my first impression is that it was someone the writer had to go through to talk to Mike. I guess he could mean just random colleagues or fans offered the friendly warning, but if any managers/agents/PR people are asking that of writers, that's interesting (not scandalous or nefarious, just interesting).

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/beach-boys-mike-love-on-transcendental-meditation-and-the-brian-wilson-rift-7583461

[CenturyDeprived]

Nothing terribly unique or new on this one (songwriting credits, L&M movie, etc.), but it was slightly interesting to read the writer mention:

"We’re warned not to incite his ire by making mention of the rift with Wilson"

Obviously, we don't know who offered the warning, though my first impression is that it was someone the writer had to go through to talk to Mike. I guess he could mean just random colleagues or fans offered the friendly warning, but if any managers/agents/PR people are asking that of writers, that's interesting (not scandalous or nefarious, just interesting).

So I guess it's gonna be a bit more awkward continually showing big screen pictures of Brian at shows, when Brian is now banished to not even being able to be talked about in interviews. Like he doesn't even exist. Yeesh.

It is so, so incredibly sad that it has gotten to this point.

[Emily]

I personally think it's a very good recommendation on whomever's part. It will serve Mike Love much better to avoid that topic for a while.

[KDS]

Nothing terribly unique or new on this one (songwriting credits, L&M movie, etc.), but it was slightly interesting to read the writer mention:

"We’re warned not to incite his ire by making mention of the rift with Wilson"

Obviously, we don't know who offered the warning, though my first impression is that it was someone the writer had to go through to talk to Mike. I guess he could mean just random colleagues or fans offered the friendly warning, but if any managers/agents/PR people are asking that of writers, that's interesting (not scandalous or nefarious, just interesting).

So I guess it's gonna be a bit more awkward continually showing big screen pictures of Brian at shows, when Brian is now banished to not even being able to be talked about in interviews. Like he doesn't even exist. Yeesh.

It is so, so incredibly sad that it has gotten to this point.

I think he'll still show the images.

But I did notice that, when I saw Mike and Bruce a week ago, Mike mentioned Al, Carl, and Dennis at various parts, but didn't make any of his usual mentions of "Cousin Brian." 

[CenturyDeprived]

I personally think it's a very good recommendation on whomever's part. It will serve Mike Love much better to avoid that topic for a while.

I suppose so, since it doesn't seem like he can muster the inner strength to mention Brian without mentioning drugs in the same sentence.

[HeyJude]

What makes no sense is that while the decision to not talk about the rift with Brian is probably a good idea for all involved (unti or if it can be discussed in a detailed, well-thought-out fashion), continuing to beat the songwriting credits issue to death is pretty much the same thing.

For some inexplicable reason, Mike has REALLY held onto, and seemingly actually has increased his level of anger over the songwriting issue, despite winning his lawsuit.

I'm very curious to know why, even though he has raised the issue on and off over the years, it has become an even more sore subject for Mike in the last couple years. Did digging back into the issue for his autobiography really reignite his anger THAT much? Did he forget he won the lawsuit?

[GhostyTMRS]

This is not uncommon at all. I interview a lot of musicians/celebs and there are always topics that I'm told are off the table (that includes a few Beach Boys I've interviewed). Considering how poorly received that Rolling Stone article has been , that's a publicist doing his or her job.

[SMiLE Brian]

What a bitter guy, can't even mention "cousin brian" anymore.....

[Debbie KL]

Well, that interview was refreshing.  So glad his last TM session that morning worked and he dropped the endless accusations about song credits, he already won, even with minute contributions to the song, it appears. 

Oh wait.  Never mind.

“I was cheated out of writing credits by my cousin and by my uncle, Murray Wilson," Love continues as we broach the subject. "I wrote every single syllable of ‘California Girls’ and nearly all of ‘I Get Around.' I came up with the hook. I wrote nearly all of ‘Surfin’ USA’ and still have not been credited on that song... I contributed the chorus to ‘Good Vibrations.’ That was a true collaboration. People say I had a problem with the [once-lost masterpiece] Smile album. I didn’t. I only had a problem with the lyrics, because I thought they were weak."

"The reason that history has gotten it wrong, claims Mike Love, was because he wasn't credited properly. "That will be gone over plenty when I write my book.”

Wow, that's shocking.  We thought the book wouldn't mention it.

[urbanite]

I'd like to know what Mike wants.  He repeats the same old grievances over and over because....

[KDS]

I'd like to know what Mike wants.  He repeats the same old grievances over and over because....

He stated in the Rolling Stone article that he has anger issues.  He seems to think that TM is helping, but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. 

I think he needs to seek out other methods of getting through whatever issues he has. 

[bonnevillemariner]

For the record, I think Mike's lyrics suck.  Just because some songs became hits does not mean he's a good writer.

[drbeachboy]

I'd like to know what Mike wants.  He repeats the same old grievances over and over because....

Every writer is a different person asking the same old, tired question, so you'll get the same old, tired reply. Would be nice if these interviewers/writers would change up the questions, but we all know that writing about dissension grabs attention. Just look at how the same people in here are jumping on it.

[HeyJude]

I'd be curious to see unedited transcripts of some of these interviews, to see how often Mike raises the issue versus the interviewer raising the issue. That doesn't necessarily explain or justify Mike expanding on that very same topic to the exact same degree every time, but I'm curious how much interviewers are simply re-asking Mike the same stuff he has been asked in previous recent interviews. Because yeah, then you're almost certainly going to get a verbatim repeat of the answer from previous interviews.

For better or worse, I think the RS author asked more follow-up questions and pointed questions (e.g. asking why he's so angry if he meditates every day, etc.) than most authors will ever try to or get a chance to.

[CenturyDeprived]

Well, that interview was refreshing.  So glad his last TM session that morning worked and he dropped the endless accusations about song credits, he already won, even with minute contributions to the song, it appears. 

Oh wait.  Never mind.

“I was cheated out of writing credits by my cousin and by my uncle, Murray Wilson," Love continues as we broach the subject. "I wrote every single syllable of ‘California Girls’ and nearly all of ‘I Get Around.' I came up with the hook. I wrote nearly all of ‘Surfin’ USA’ and still have not been credited on that song... I contributed the chorus to ‘Good Vibrations.’ That was a true collaboration. People say I had a problem with the [once-lost masterpiece] Smile album. I didn’t. I only had a problem with the lyrics, because I thought they were weak."

"The reason that history has gotten it wrong, claims Mike Love, was because he wasn't credited properly. "That will be gone over plenty when I write my book.”

Wow, that's shocking.  We thought the book wouldn't mention it.

Again with the "every single syllable" of Cali Girls. Not writing the chorus means he didn't write every word! It's so exasperating. I admit he certainly got the shaft on that track, but blatantly overreaching on that song just makes people think he is grabbing for things that are false and not deserved. He hurts only himself.

And it's still the same old sh*t with his reputation ALL being the fault of some legit crediting snafus. I do not wish to minimize those snafus in the slightest, but most everyone with a brain has figured out that Mike's reputation is what it is not solely because of some missing credits. His rock-solid defensiveness and blame-shifting-itis has played a very large part in cementing his reputation.

[drbeachboy]

Well, that interview was refreshing.  So glad his last TM session that morning worked and he dropped the endless accusations about song credits, he already won, even with minute contributions to the song, it appears.  

Oh wait.  Never mind.

“I was cheated out of writing credits by my cousin and by my uncle, Murray Wilson," Love continues as we broach the subject. "I wrote every single syllable of ‘California Girls’ and nearly all of ‘I Get Around.' I came up with the hook. I wrote nearly all of ‘Surfin’ USA’ and still have not been credited on that song... I contributed the chorus to ‘Good Vibrations.’ That was a true collaboration. People say I had a problem with the [once-lost masterpiece] Smile album. I didn’t. I only had a problem with the lyrics, because I thought they were weak."

"The reason that history has gotten it wrong, claims Mike Love, was because he wasn't credited properly. "That will be gone over plenty when I write my book.”

Wow, that's shocking.  We thought the book wouldn't mention it.

Again with the "every single syllable" of Cali Girls. Not writing the chorus means he didn't write every word! It's so exasperating. I admit he certainly got the shaft on that track, but blatantly overreaching on that song just makes people think he is grabbing for things that are false and not deserved. He hurts only himself.

And it's still the same old sh*t with his reputation ALL being the fault of some legit crediting snafus. I do not wish to minimize those snafus in the slightest, but most everyone with a brain has figured out that Mike's reputation is what it is not solely because of some missing credits. His rock-solid defensiveness and blame-shifting-itis has played a very large part in cementing his reputation.

Yes we do all have brains, so why are you retreading it up again? You're just as bad as Mike. Isn't there another thread in here where we have been beating this horse to death for weeks, now?

[KDS]

For the record, I think Mike's lyrics suck.  Just because some songs became hits does not mean he's a good writer.

I wouldn't put him up there with Lennon, Waters, or Townsend, but some good examples that come to mind include The Warmth of the Sun, I Get Around, Kiss Me Baby, California Girls, Good Vibrations, and California Saga. 

[CenturyDeprived]

I'd be curious to see unedited transcripts of some of these interviews, to see how often Mike raises the issue versus the interviewer raising the issue. That doesn't necessarily explain or justify Mike expanding on that very same topic to the exact same degree every time, but I'm curious how much interviewers are simply re-asking Mike the same stuff he has been asked in previous recent interviews. Because yeah, then you're almost certainly going to get a verbatim repeat of the answer from previous interviews.

For better or worse, I think the RS author asked more follow-up questions and pointed questions (e.g. asking why he's so angry if he meditates every day, etc.) than most authors will ever try to or get a chance to.

Well, if his lyrical writing tick of repeatedly going back to the well of mentioning old song titles is any indication, it's probably a tick of his own doing.

Brian Wilson unfailingly continues rewriting the Shortenin' Bread riff, while Mike unfailingly seems to continues rewriting history, stay mad at old stuff, while having blamed Al Jardine for the same. It's very sad. It really seems like a desperate attempt to get any sympathy, because the songwriting issue is basically the only issue which Mike should ethically in fact garner legit sympathy from all corners, regardless of BB political affiliation. He's tried every other tactic to try and not be vilified for a host of things which people very understandably have issue with, and nothing has particularly worked, because people see through the BS and assign blame where it obviously should go. For example: fire Brian Wilson, or make him feel like he's fired, and karma's gonna get you.

Denying he was even a partial contributing factor in Smile's demise is also calling Brian a liar (see Beautiful Dreamer DVD for reference).

I don't blame him for playing his actual ace in the hole, but as usual he overreaches with the lyrical contributions, which probably just makes people doubt how big those contributions actually are. I don't really doubt them, but I'm sure people who figure out the math, like I've done below, can see how there's some egregious falsehoods here.

Mike's contributions to Good Vibrations are the chorus/hook (which he understandably sees as a big deal), yet when Cali Girls comes up, he wrote "all" of it, omitting Brian's contribution of that song's chorus/hook, which quantity-wise in relation to the song is the exact same portion of GV that Mike says was such an important part of that song.

Stealing away Brian's lyrical contribution to Cali Girls is not a way to correct a past wrong in anybody's book.

[Pretty Funky]

This is not uncommon at all. I interview a lot of musicians/celebs and there are always topics that I'm told are off the table (that includes a few Beach Boys I've interviewed). Considering how poorly received that Rolling Stone article has been , that's a publicist doing his or her job.

Mike Love has a publicist?

What a sorry existence that poor person must lead.

[CenturyDeprived]

Well, that interview was refreshing.  So glad his last TM session that morning worked and he dropped the endless accusations about song credits, he already won, even with minute contributions to the song, it appears.  

Oh wait.  Never mind.

“I was cheated out of writing credits by my cousin and by my uncle, Murray Wilson," Love continues as we broach the subject. "I wrote every single syllable of ‘California Girls’ and nearly all of ‘I Get Around.' I came up with the hook. I wrote nearly all of ‘Surfin’ USA’ and still have not been credited on that song... I contributed the chorus to ‘Good Vibrations.’ That was a true collaboration. People say I had a problem with the [once-lost masterpiece] Smile album. I didn’t. I only had a problem with the lyrics, because I thought they were weak."

"The reason that history has gotten it wrong, claims Mike Love, was because he wasn't credited properly. "That will be gone over plenty when I write my book.”

Wow, that's shocking.  We thought the book wouldn't mention it.

Again with the "every single syllable" of Cali Girls. Not writing the chorus means he didn't write every word! It's so exasperating. I admit he certainly got the shaft on that track, but blatantly overreaching on that song just makes people think he is grabbing for things that are false and not deserved. He hurts only himself.

And it's still the same old sh*t with his reputation ALL being the fault of some legit crediting snafus. I do not wish to minimize those snafus in the slightest, but most everyone with a brain has figured out that Mike's reputation is what it is not solely because of some missing credits. His rock-solid defensiveness and blame-shifting-itis has played a very large part in cementing his reputation.

Yes we do all have brains, so why are you retreading it up again? You're just as bad as Mike. Isn't there another thread in here where we have been beating this horse to death for weeks, now?

The other thread was about the RS article, which turned into a discussion about the 2000 film and the 2005 lawsuit. This thread is specifically about an apparently new article. Should people just not discuss it if it deals with similar topics? I truly don't mean to beat a dead horse, honestly. I'm just sharing my opinion. I sincerely wish Mike to in fact be known/praised (if that's what he's seeking) for writing these songs he feels shafted over.

I just think he misses the point of why his reputation is what it is in THIS NEW ARTICLE, blaming it all on Brian and Murry. I happen think a blanket statement like that is hogwash, and I don't feel like not saying so, though I'm sorry if I'm repeating some of the same points.

[Cam Mott]

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/beach-boys-mike-love-on-transcendental-meditation-and-the-brian-wilson-rift-7583461

[HeyJude]

The idea with starting a new thread for a new article is a simple one: Simply so it doesn't get lost on page 875 of some other thread.

I only tend to post about new articles if there's something interesting or of note. There are dozens of articles like this one published in the last however many months, all done to promote Mike's tour stops. They're mostly puff pieces, with the writer asking Mike hard-hitting questions like "What's it like to be on stage singing those songs?" and whatnot.

I only singled this one out because it offered one possible slightly interesting tidbit (the idea of someone prompting a journalist to *not* bring a subject up), and I suppose a bit because it's one of the first post-RS article interviews Mike has done.

I'm always prepared for such threads to die a quick death. But I figure, if someone finds it repetitive or feels "so what else is new?", they always have the option to not read it and not post.

[Debbie KL]

Well, that interview was refreshing.  So glad his last TM session that morning worked and he dropped the endless accusations about song credits, he already won, even with minute contributions to the song, it appears.  

Oh wait.  Never mind.

“I was cheated out of writing credits by my cousin and by my uncle, Murray Wilson," Love continues as we broach the subject. "I wrote every single syllable of ‘California Girls’ and nearly all of ‘I Get Around.' I came up with the hook. I wrote nearly all of ‘Surfin’ USA’ and still have not been credited on that song... I contributed the chorus to ‘Good Vibrations.’ That was a true collaboration. People say I had a problem with the [once-lost masterpiece] Smile album. I didn’t. I only had a problem with the lyrics, because I thought they were weak."

"The reason that history has gotten it wrong, claims Mike Love, was because he wasn't credited properly. "That will be gone over plenty when I write my book.”

Wow, that's shocking.  We thought the book wouldn't mention it.

Again with the "every single syllable" of Cali Girls. Not writing the chorus means he didn't write every word! It's so exasperating. I admit he certainly got the shaft on that track, but blatantly overreaching on that song just makes people think he is grabbing for things that are false and not deserved. He hurts only himself.

And it's still the same old sh*t with his reputation ALL being the fault of some legit crediting snafus. I do not wish to minimize those snafus in the slightest, but most everyone with a brain has figured out that Mike's reputation is what it is not solely because of some missing credits. His rock-solid defensiveness and blame-shifting-itis has played a very large part in cementing his reputation.

Yes we do all have brains, so why are you retreading it up again? You're just as bad as Mike. Isn't there another thread in here where we have been beating this horse to death for weeks, now?

The other thread was about the RS article, which turned into a discussion about the 2000 film and the 2005 lawsuit. This thread is specifically about an apparently new article. Should people just not discuss it if it deals with similar topics? I truly don't mean to beat a dead horse, honestly. I'm just sharing my opinion. I sincerely wish Mike to in fact be known/praised (if that's what he's seeking) for writing these songs he feels shafted over.

I just think he misses the point of why his reputation is what it is in THIS NEW ARTICLE, blaming it all on Brian and Murry. I happen think a blanket statement like that is hogwash, and I don't feel like not saying so, though I'm sorry if I'm repeating some of the same points.

There was the same old interview response, and we expressed our same old annoyance with that response.  At least we had some fun with it.  If he stops, so will we.

[Debbie KL]

The idea with starting a new thread for a new article is a simple one: Simply so it doesn't get lost on page 875 of some other thread.

I only tend to post about new articles if there's something interesting or of note. There are dozens of articles like this one published in the last however many months, all done to promote Mike's tour stops. They're mostly puff pieces, with the writer asking Mike hard-hitting questions like "What's it like to be on stage singing those songs?" and whatnot.

I only singled this one out because it offered one possible slightly interesting tidbit (the idea of someone prompting a journalist to *not* bring a subject up), and I suppose a bit because it's one of the first post-RS article interviews Mike has done.

I'm always prepared for such threads to die a quick death. But I figure, if someone finds it repetitive or feels "so what else is new?", they always have the option to not read it and not post.

Sorry HJ - I actually found that interesting as well.

[AndrewHickey]

Mike's contributions to Good Vibrations are the chorus/hook (which he understandably sees as a big deal), yet when Cali Girls comes up, he wrote "all" of it, omitting Brian's contribution of that song's chorus/hook, which quantity-wise in relation to the song is the exact same portion of GV that Mike says was such an important part of that song.

Stealing away Brian's lyrical contribution to Cali Girls is not a way to correct a past wrong in anybody's book.

Mike wrote the whole lyric to Good Vibrations except the "good, good, good, good vibrations" vocal part (and presumably some of the bops and oohs).