Billboard: "Beach Boys" Considering Invitation to Perform at Trump Inauguration

[CenturyDeprived]

To the boring BS argument being put out by Trump supporters, i.e "He won, suck it up, they should play it".. He also happens to be the most divisive figure in western politics. It's much more controversial for the band to play for him than Reagan. Also, with the internet playing such a huge part in how the world works these days could completely ruin The Beach Boys reputation and legacy for the sake of Mike Love's political gain.

That would result in the alienation of the largest portion of BB fans, in the long run that would effectively damage future sales of CD's, concerts, merchandise ect. associated with the band.

To be more blunt, why sh*t on their 55 year musical legacy just to make Mike and Bruce happy?

Yep. This is shaping up to be the single worst decision in the entire history of the band, with Murry selling the catalog for pennies on the dollar being a close second.  

It will absolutely, unquestionably hurt album sales, as well as licensing.  Like it or not, Hollywood and music supervisors are by and large left wing liberals, and you better believe that songs by this band, especially ones sung by Mike, will be nowhere near many commercials and movies after this.

It breaks my heart to think that the Hawthorne dedication monument could suffer the same fate as Trump's repeatedly defaced star on the Hollywood walk of fame.  The possibilities for ugliness that may ensue what will happen are many, and all make me utterly and litery sick to my stomach.  I cannot believe that any people are so naïve to think these aren't things that we will have to worry about now.  

I am feeling ashamed to be a fan, and that is the case even if they don't wind up playing. The damage is already starting in earnest on social media. It's not going to go away. 

[HeyJude]

The story has more than legs, it's blowing up on the web. Do a simple Google News search of the Beach Boys, go to any webpage running the story, and read some of the reader comments from people who are not even in the fan universe with message boards, FB groups, etc. It's not good.

If the reactions across the web are any indication, this is beyond a mess and is bordering on a PR disaster. If you have random people not as engaged as those of us who post on boards and groups saying they're going to boycott the band's music over a decision to play or not play a gig, that's beyond a disaster no matter which political "side" someone happens to fall.

Exactly.

[HeyJude]

It won't hurt their legacy at all. The way I see things, they'll be playing for America, not for a political party - that's a huge honor and I don't see why Mike should turn down the offer. People need to seriously lighten up.

I think this completely misses the unique quality of this particular election and this particular guy. Perhaps you're not embroiled in the political and social climate in the US right now. It's not a normal divisive election, it's very unique and very specific this time.

The fact that you would imply it's the *party* affiliation that is the problem with Mike playing the gig indicates to me a lack of understanding what this is about.

The association that makes people want to puke or boycott or whatever is not the Republican party, it's specifically Trump.

The paucity of acts willing to play for Trump should indicate how much most of the industry realizes it's PR Poison. Clearly Mike doesn't care about PR. So I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he did it.

Would be pretty cool if some of the guys in Mike's backing band stood up and said no. I get it, you have to make a living and you usually don't have the luxury of telling your boss no. But it would be heartening to see even one of Mike's guys stand on principle on this one.

[CenturyDeprived]

It won't hurt their legacy at all. The way I see things, they'll be playing for America, not for a political party - that's a huge honor and I don't see why Mike should turn down the offer. People need to seriously lighten up.

I think this completely misses the unique quality of this particular election and this particular guy. Perhaps you're not embroiled in the political and social climate in the US right now. It's not a normal divisive election, it's very unique and very specific this time.

The fact that you would imply it's the *party* affiliation that is the problem with Mike playing the gig indicates to me a lack of understanding what this is about.

The association that makes people want to puke or boycott or whatever is not the Republican party, it's specifically Trump.

The paucity of acts willing to play for Trump should indicate how much most of the industry realizes it's PR Poison. Clearly Mike doesn't care about PR. So I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he did it.

Would be pretty cool if some of the guys in Mike's backing band stood up and said no. I get it, you have to make a living and you usually don't have the luxury of telling your boss no. But it would be heartening to see even one of Mike's guys stand on principle on this one.

For one, I cannot conceive that John Stamos will perform. But I completely hope that others in the band won't either. If there was ever anything worth losing a gig over, this would be it. I'm sure  there would in fact be many job opportunities  and offers for band members who quit over this.

Also, this just occurred to me, this is just another instance of Mike giving no fucks about Brian's well-being and mental health. I can imagine the amount of stress that may trickle into Brian's consciousness and nervous system as a result of his brand name being dragged down like this will not be insignificant, and the repeated questions he is going to be asked about it will keep coming.  Brian doesn't seem to be a particularly political person, yet he is going to be forced to not be apolitical on this in some capacity, and that in that itself is a stressful position to be forced into.

Brian, of all people, certainly doesn't need to deal with this crap at this point in his life. And it's not for a brief moment, this will never go away; certainly not in any of the bandmembers' lifetimes.  Well hey, at least Mike's lyrics to California Girls can become the anthem for the grab them by the p*ssy crowd.  Thanks to Mike Salieri for finally ruining my favorite band. Don't know if I will ever wear a T-shirt with the BB logo again.  I am beyond glad I didn't give a red sent to this horse's ass for his crappy book.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

If the #notmybeachboys do unfortunately do this gig, it could possibly equate to the genesis of the removal of the license. The only downside for that would be I'd have to tip my hat ever so slightly to Trump for a split second however painful it may be.

[CenturyDeprived]

 The best thing that could happen is if Brian got added to a bill like this to counter the damage that Mike is going to do:



 Apparently this is not a real bill, but I'm sure that a bill of similar nature could happen.

 

[KDS]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage. 

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy. 

 

[AKA]

The best thing that could happen is if Brian got added to a bill like this to counter the damage that Mike is going to do:



 Apparently this is not a real bill, but I'm sure that a bill of similar nature could happen.

 

Unfortunately, this is fake, though I do hope a concert like this happens. Very convincing-looking poster, though.

[CenturyDeprived]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage. 

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy. 

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

[guitarfool2002]

I'd like to get down to brass tacks on this, temporarily put aside all political feelings pro or con whoever or whatever. The Beach Boys as a name and as a legacy is not Mike Love. This current situation is ripping the fanbase apart internationally, and it definitely wasn't helped by news articles using photos of Beach Boys other than Mike and Bruce who have no involvement in this at all. I'm glad at least a statement was issued to help clarify that, but I'm distressed that the news outlets are not picking it up as they should be.

What will happen next is unfortunately still unknown, but the fact there are already people around the globe saying what they are saying about The Beach Boys - not Mike, but The Beach Boys and their musical heritage - is as disturbing as any recent event with this band I can think of. I hope the point gets across that there is a lot at stake beyond playing or not playing a show in January.

[KDS]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage. 

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy. 

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

[joshferrell]

I think that this thread should either be closed or moved to another section because I think that it's important for fans (in general) and newbies (who are checking out this forum for the first time) to be able scroll through the Beach Boys (General On Topic) section and not have to read vulgarity and arguing.. In fact maybe ALL threads involving Politics should have their own section away from the main "On Topic" section... So Please Mods consider this for this thread and other future threads that are political in nature...

[CenturyDeprived]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage.  

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy.  

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

At minimum, racism and homophobia being legitimized is already happening. So, respectfully, you don't know what you're talking about.

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

[guitarfool2002]

Unfortunately anyone who sees "The Beach Boys" today in a news feed or search will get worse commentary and reaction than is on this board.

I agree to a point, that the politics being posted and argued on this board in recent weeks had gotten tiresome and was reaching a point where it was just too much to check in here and see constant back-and-forth on politics instead of music content.

But this, I'd say, is news that has blown up internationally and which fans obviously want to discuss. Even if you remove everyone's political leanings from this, it is still an issue when talk of people boycotting the legacy records from 50 years ago is coming up around the web, and it's all because of a naming license. Actions have consequences, this is one of the worst so far.

My opinion.

[KDS]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage. 

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy. 

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

To equate this with the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson is an outright insult. 

[CenturyDeprived]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage.  

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy.  

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

At minimum, racism and homophobia being legitimized is already happening. So, respectfully, you don't know what you're talking about.

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

To equate this with the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson is an outright insult.  

Regardless of how you feel about it, those will be the three most infamous days in the history of the band.  Even with Trump's fans, find me anything else that will bring as much sorrow to legions of fans of this band.  I'll be sitting here waiting. I don't think you'll find any other than the tragic deaths of those two gentlemen.

[KDS]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage.  

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy.  

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

At minimum, racism and homophobia being legitimized is already happening. So, respectfully, you don't know what you're talking about.

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

To equate this with the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson is an outright insult.  

Regardless of how you feel about it, those will be the three most infamous days in the history of the band. Even if not everybody agrees about Trump, find me anything else that will bring as much sorrow to legions of fans of this band. I don't think you'll find any other than the tragic deaths of those two gentlemen.

Forgive my lack of actual dates:

How about the deaths of anybody else associated with the band (Murry, Jack Reiley, etc)?

When Beach Boy associate Charles Manson's "family" committed murder in Terry Melcher's house

Mike's RNR HOF speech

The whole dark Landy era

[guitarfool2002]

For all the talk of "protecting the brand", KDS, the only item on your list that comes close in terms of threatening the legacy that the band created with their records over 50 years ago would be Mike's HOF speech. Even then I wasn't aware of a backlash that included long-time fans threatening to boycott and dismiss the music over a single event. That is the tragedy of all this, and it could have been averted easily and diplomatically.

Alas, that didn't happen. And now we have photos from C50 being sent out with this news story when at least two of the people in the photo have no involvement in this decision or process whatsoever.

[CenturyDeprived]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage.  

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy.  

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

At minimum, racism and homophobia being legitimized is already happening. So, respectfully, you don't know what you're talking about.

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

To equate this with the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson is an outright insult.  

Regardless of how you feel about it, those will be the three most infamous days in the history of the band. Even if not everybody agrees about Trump, find me anything else that will bring as much sorrow to legions of fans of this band. I don't think you'll find any other than the tragic deaths of those two gentlemen.

Forgive my lack of actual dates:

How about the deaths of anybody else associated with the band (Murry, Jack Reiley, etc)?

When Beach Boy associate Charles Manson's "family" committed murder in Terry Melcher's house

Mike's RNR HOF speech

The whole dark Landy era

This is a self–inflicted wound ( even if  they don't even play, the damage is already happening) , and is basically the Hall of Fame speech on steroids. It's Mike using the brand name to tell the world that he (and the brand by association) give no fucks about homophobia, has no qualms with supporting a candidate who is beloved by the KKK,  and perhaps unsurprisingly doesn't blink an eye at the grab them by the p*ssy comment.  So in terms of single dates, this will be an especially infamous one for the brand to be associated with.  

Oh, and I don't think Mike would agree with you about Jack passing away being a very notable date, seeing as he didn't even make a social media mention about it, in contrast to his regular mentions of people passing away.

[KDS]

For all the talk of "protecting the brand", KDS, the only item on your list that comes close in terms of threatening the legacy that the band created with their records over 50 years ago would be Mike's HOF speech. Even then I wasn't aware of a backlash that included long-time fans threatening to boycott and dismiss the music over a single event. That is the tragedy of all this, and it could have been averted easily and diplomatically.

Alas, that didn't happen. And now we have photos from C50 being sent out with this news story when at least two of the people in the photo have no involvement in this decision or process whatsoever.

CD didn't ask for events that threatened the legacy of the band.  He asked for tragic events, such as the deaths of Dennis and Carl.  

I'm sorry that I don't agree with the hysteria on here, but I don't think the legacy of The Beach Boys will be tainted come January 21, 2017.  

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I would agree that the deaths of Carl and Dennis were much more tragic.

The legacy of the band was already ruined long before this.

[KDS]

Oh my god, Bruce Springsteen is playing an anti Trump concert?

He'll never get a dime from me again!!!  I might chuck my copies of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town in the garbage.  

I hope he knows the damage he's doing to his great legacy.  

 

If you are a heterosexual man, and Bruce Springsteen supported a candidate who was down with conversion therapy to force you to be homosexual, I wonder how you would feel about him.  Or if members of your family might wind up in internment camps, I wonder how you'd feel at that point. The ilk of Trump and his moronic cabinet is miles below anything ever seen in modern US elections in terms of trying to strip people of their rights.

So yeah… It's completely, completely different than the sarcastic analogy you are attempting to make.

Not really.  

Trust me, January 20, 2017 is going to come and go, and all of these awful, scary things that people think that Donald Trump is going to do will NOT happen.  

At minimum, racism and homophobia being legitimized is already happening. So, respectfully, you don't know what you're talking about.

12/28/83
2/6/98
1/20/17

The three worst days in the history of this band.

To equate this with the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson is an outright insult.  

Regardless of how you feel about it, those will be the three most infamous days in the history of the band. Even if not everybody agrees about Trump, find me anything else that will bring as much sorrow to legions of fans of this band. I don't think you'll find any other than the tragic deaths of those two gentlemen.

Forgive my lack of actual dates:

How about the deaths of anybody else associated with the band (Murry, Jack Reiley, etc)?

When Beach Boy associate Charles Manson's "family" committed murder in Terry Melcher's house

Mike's RNR HOF speech

The whole dark Landy era

This is a self–inflicted wound ( even if  they don't even play, the damage is already happening) , and is basically the Hall of Fame speech on steroids. It's Mike using the brand name to tell the world that he (and the brand by association) give no fucks about homophobia, has no qualms with supporting a candidate who is beloved by the KKK,  and perhaps unsurprisingly doesn't blink an eye at the grab them by the p*ssy comment.  So in terms of single dates, this will be an especially infamous one for the brand to be associated with.  

Oh, and I don't think Mike would agree with you about Jack passing away being a very notable date, seeing as he didn't even make a social media mention about it, in contrast to his regular mentions of people passing away.

Keep on living in the world of hysteria, believing that Trump's presidency will be detrimental to woman, homosexuals, and minorities.  

All I know is, by summertime, this will have blown over.  Both Mike's and Brian's shows will be well attended.  Sounds of Summer and Pet Sounds will experience their usual bump in sales, and come December, Little Saint Nick's going to be all over the radio again.

Life goes on.  

[guitarfool2002]

For all the talk of "protecting the brand", KDS, the only item on your list that comes close in terms of threatening the legacy that the band created with their records over 50 years ago would be Mike's HOF speech. Even then I wasn't aware of a backlash that included long-time fans threatening to boycott and dismiss the music over a single event. That is the tragedy of all this, and it could have been averted easily and diplomatically.

Alas, that didn't happen. And now we have photos from C50 being sent out with this news story when at least two of the people in the photo have no involvement in this decision or process whatsoever.

CD didn't ask for events that threatened the legacy of the band.  He asked for tragic events, such as the deaths of Dennis and Carl.  

I'm sorry that I don't agree with the hysteria on here, but I don't think the legacy of The Beach Boys will be tainted come January 21, 2017.  

KDS, the hysteria on here is only a grain of sand on the beach compared to what's happening around the web. If you don't believe that, then you haven't been reading the comments posted on the dozens of news articles that picked up this story. Remove the political opinions pro and con from this, and whether it agrees or not with one's political leanings, you have fans ready to bail out on the Beach Boys entire legacy of music over a single decision by Mike, whatever that decision will be. And ultimately it's not "The Beach Boys", but people outside the fan universe potentially are unaware of the inner workings and licensing except that they see a photo from C50 this morning attached to these stories.

I cannot recall a single event related to this band that created such division among the fans and now the public at large, and again I'll say there was an easy and diplomatic solution that wasn't done. Whether someone agrees with the reasoning and politics of the reactions, the fact remains it is a near-disaster from a PR standpoint when fans are this upset.

[KDS]

For all the talk of "protecting the brand", KDS, the only item on your list that comes close in terms of threatening the legacy that the band created with their records over 50 years ago would be Mike's HOF speech. Even then I wasn't aware of a backlash that included long-time fans threatening to boycott and dismiss the music over a single event. That is the tragedy of all this, and it could have been averted easily and diplomatically.

Alas, that didn't happen. And now we have photos from C50 being sent out with this news story when at least two of the people in the photo have no involvement in this decision or process whatsoever.

CD didn't ask for events that threatened the legacy of the band.  He asked for tragic events, such as the deaths of Dennis and Carl.  

I'm sorry that I don't agree with the hysteria on here, but I don't think the legacy of The Beach Boys will be tainted come January 21, 2017.  

KDS, the hysteria on here is only a grain of sand on the beach compared to what's happening around the web. If you don't believe that, then you haven't been reading the comments posted on the dozens of news articles that picked up this story. Remove the political opinions pro and con from this, and whether it agrees or not with one's political leanings, you have fans ready to bail out on the Beach Boys entire legacy of music over a single decision by Mike, whatever that decision will be. And ultimately it's not "The Beach Boys", but people outside the fan universe potentially are unaware of the inner workings and licensing except that they see a photo from C50 this morning attached to these stories.

I cannot recall a single event related to this band that created such division among the fans and now the public at large, and again I'll say there was an easy and diplomatic solution that wasn't done. Whether someone agrees with the reasoning and politics of the reactions, the fact remains it is a near-disaster from a PR standpoint when fans are this upset.

Oh believe me, I've seen it, and I agree with you that what's posted on here pales in comparison to the internet and social media. 

Once January comes and goes, and people realize that there was really nothing to be afraid of, it'll die down. 

[guitarfool2002]

In some ways this is a lot of the issues of the past decade or so coming to a head, only with this it's playing out internationally instead of being confined to fans talking on forums and social media groups. I'll repeat again, actions have consequences. And, stewardship over a brand identity and legacy dating back half a century should involve some responsibility over how the public views it, including trying to avoid anything that will create a negative perception of that brand and identity and instead focusing on things like optics and PR when it comes to the general public. That often involves biting one's tongue and checking personal feelings or desires at the door, and avoiding things that would divide the fan base in a negative way.