RollingStone.com Article on “Problem Child” Theme

[guitarfool2002]

We need GF's review of SIP naked!

The stripped down "vocals up" mix of Summer Of Love featuring only Mike's rapping over a Roland drum machine are not to be missed.

The track heard the way nature intended...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I think nature would intend it to be complete silence, minus a  brief interlude featuring Bruce getting eaten by a bear.

[guitarfool2002]

They also dug up some fascinating bits of control room conversations and session chatter that has never been released until now. One overdub session in particular was recently discovered where a mic accidentally left open in the control room recorded Van Dyke Parks saying the phrase "Terry, what the f***?" repeatedly as he was recording an accordion part.

The accompanying booklet also has all new liner notes and session personnel credits, including finally giving proper album credit to the intern who went for coffee and danish during Mike's "Still Surfin" vocal session and can be faintly heard on the talkback asking if Mike took cream in his coffee.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Don't forget the first little bit where Bruce attempts the "Summer of love" rap only for the beta version of Pro Tools to crash and shut down in protest.

[guitarfool2002]

According to one anonymous insider, 50 of the CD packages will contain an exclusive USB thumb drive called "Surfin USB", featuring new remixes of the SIP tracks "Surfin" and "Still Surfin" personally supervised by Mike, Stamos, and Kool Rock-ski from the Fat Boys, with a new video montage created by Noven Jaisi for both tracks.

The inside scoop is that board member "Century Deprived" was contacted but initially refused to allow use of his trademarked term "Surfin USB" until he was promised a band-autographed baseball cap and a surfboard personally waxed by Bruce.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Problem Child stands as one of the worst fucking songs I have ever heard. One of the nadirs of not only the BB's recorded legacy, but 80's/90's music in general. The backing vocals are a travesty. Nice one guys, way to score a hit record.

Typical mahagarbage from myKe luHv and a heartfelt kudos to RS for exposing the jackass that he is. Would appreciate seeing him defamed a whole lot more. Bring it on RS!!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

According to one anonymous insider, 50 of the CD packages will contain an exclusive USB thumb drive called "Surfin USB", featuring new remixes of the SIP tracks "Surfin" and "Still Surfin" personally supervised by Mike, Stamos, and Kool Rock-ski from the Fat Boys, with a new video montage created by Noven Jaisi for both tracks.

The inside scoop is that board member "Century Deprived" was contacted but initially refused to allow use of his trademarked term "Surfin USB" until he was promised a band-autographed baseball cap and a surfboard personally waxed by Bruce.

According to someone who would know, the liner notes were done by Andrew Doe.

[SMiLE Brian]

Payment was the vest Mike wore in the summer of love video.

[MikestheGreatest!!]

For what it was, I found Problem Child to be a catchy little ditty.  I remember seeing the video for it on I think it was NBC Friday Night Videos?

[“Big Daddy”]

I bought the CD single for Problem Child at Strawberries in 1990 in the cut out bin for 49 cents. I still have it. I'm wondering if it's the only thing released by the Beach Boys on the RCA label?

Was this a radio promo single you bought or did “Problem Child�” get a commercial CD single release too?

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

I bought the CD single for Problem Child at Strawberries in 1990 in the cut out bin for 49 cents. I still have it. I'm wondering if it's the only thing released by the Beach Boys on the RCA label?

Was this a radio promo single you bought or did “Problem Child�” get a commercial CD single release too?

It's a promotional copy. There's no cover sleeve with any artwork, but there's information written on the back of the disc cover: Problem Child performed by the Beach Boys. Written and Produced by Terry Melcher. Engineered and mixed by Keith Wechsley. Published by Music Corporation Of America, Inc. 1990 RCA

[CenturyDeprived]

I bought the CD single for Problem Child at Strawberries in 1990 in the cut out bin for 49 cents. I still have it. I'm wondering if it's the only thing released by the Beach Boys on the RCA label?

Was this a radio promo single you bought or did “Problem Child�” get a commercial CD single release too?

It's a promotional copy. There's no cover sleeve with any artwork, but there's information written on the back of the disc cover: Problem Child performed by the Beach Boys. Written and Produced by Terry Melcher. Engineered and mixed by Keith Wechsley. Published by Music Corporation Of America, Inc. 1990 RCA

Are Problem Child (and possibly Forever 1992?) the only BB songs which Stamos performs drums on the studio versions of? Wikipedia lists Stamos as the Problem Child drummer (I assume meaning not just the drummer in the video, but the actual drummer on the recording).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_Child_(The_Beach_Boys_song)

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

I don't think anyone plays drums on Problem Child. That's a drum machine if I ever heard one.

[Lonely Summer]

First time I heard the song - in store at Tower Records - I thought I heard Brian on the bg's. Now i'm not so sure. Was he even at the session for this? Or too busy working on his own masterpiece, "Brian (Thank You)"?

[Matt H]

First time I heard the song - in store at Tower Records - I thought I heard Brian on the bg's. Now i'm not so sure. Was he even at the session for this? Or too busy working on his own masterpiece, "Brian (Thank You)"?

Pretty sure he is not on it.

[HeyJude]

There was a promo CD single for "Problem Child" with a full-on front and back cover and everything. I had it for awhile, and eventually sold it because it's an awful, awful song and recording and it sat on my shelf untouched for literally over a decade. Their cover of "Crocodile Rock" is a friggin' masterpiece compared to "Problem Child":

[CenturyDeprived]

First time I heard the song - in store at Tower Records - I thought I heard Brian on the bg's. Now i'm not so sure. Was he even at the session for this? Or too busy working on his own masterpiece, "Brian (Thank You)"?

Pretty sure he is not on it.

DRUM MACHINES (AND UNCLE JESSE) HAVE NO SOUL

[HeyJude]

I'm not making this up, this is the last line of Wiki's plot synopsis for the "Problem Child" movie:

The film ends with Flo in the truck looking out from the suitcase, only to be met by a pig's rump, and the title track to the film, performed by The Beach Boys, plays over the closing credits.

[joshferrell]

even though the song is bad you still gotta love John Ritter,,,

[SMiLE Brian]

First time I heard the song - in store at Tower Records - I thought I heard Brian on the bg's. Now i'm not so sure. Was he even at the session for this? Or too busy working on his own masterpiece, "Brian (Thank You)"?

Pretty sure he is not on it.

DRUM MACHINES (AND UNCLE JESSE) HAVE NO SOUL

BW stage banter 2017!

[guitarfool2002]

I'm not making this up, this is the last line of Wiki's plot synopsis for the "Problem Child" movie:

The film ends with Flo in the truck looking out from the suitcase, only to be met by a pig's rump, and the title track to the film, performed by The Beach Boys, plays over the closing credits.

As fitting of a closing-credits use of music as "All Summer Long" was for American Graffiti. 

Perfect visual...this wretched song and the image of a pig's ass on screen as it plays.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

[CenturyDeprived]

I'm not making this up, this is the last line of Wiki's plot synopsis for the "Problem Child" movie:

The film ends with Flo in the truck looking out from the suitcase, only to be met by a pig's rump, and the title track to the film, performed by The Beach Boys, plays over the closing credits.

While I will admit that's a very embarrassing scene transition for the film to introduce the song,  and while the production value and production choices of this song coincidently remind me of a pig's rump... I have to say that I like this film somewhat as a guilty pleasure.

I saw in the theater… As well as the seque! I was a kid back then, and although I'm sure I was aware of this band's existence, I have zero recollection of them doing a song for the movie, or having anything to do with the film whatsoever in fact.  It was only many years later when I started becoming a hardcore geek of this band that I became aware that they had done this song, which came as a big surprise to me. That shows what a big impression the song must've left on me.
 
I hope that somebody somewhere has this song on shuffle, and it comes on directly after the song Surf's Up.  Their facial expression would be priceless.  That would be a prank on the level of the pranks pulled by the kid from the film.

Problem Child is Father of the Man!

I actually re-watched both films a couple years back.  They are surprisingly quite mean-spirited and crude, in a very unique way that is bizarre and sometimes offputting because it involves a child.  Somewhat shocking for its time, considering how many years ago these were made.  That said, it is black comedy of the darkest variety, and it does have its moments - the sequel less so!   The kid who plays Junior is very good in the role, and John Ritter elevates the material tremendously.

The only thing that would've been more embarrassing for the band is if they had done a follow up song for the sequel.  Actually, I had almost forgotten, there is a really bad second straight to video sequel with all different actors, except Gilbert Gottfried who perhaps not surprisingly returned for even that one.

A side note of trivia for anyone who is curious, the kid Michael Oliver who played Junior is the half brother of Danny Ponce who was one of the sons on The Hogan Family (he played Jason Bateman's brother).  And after Oliver agreed to do the sequel to this film, his mother essentially backed her son out of the deal for the sequel a couple days before it was supposed to go before the cameras, effectively forcing the studio to pay her son something like 10 times what was originally agreed upon.  

The studio went ahead and filmed the sequel, and then promptly sued her for extortion, and won. That basically killed this kid's career because his mother/manager was blacklisted.  

Somebody needs to track down Michael Oliver and get his recollections on what it was like to do that music video.  I hope they were all really nice to him.  I'll be willing to bet that he was probably most excited to meet John Stamos, being that Oliver was the exact age of the target audience for Full House.

[GhostyTMRS]

I wonder if this song is getting some belated attention because of the popularity of Gilbert Gottfried's podcast. He's sung this song multiple times on the show and has talked about making the video.


For the record I like this song WAY better than a lot of other stuff they released around this time (early 90's). Carl's vocals save it , and no I've never seen the movie (thank God).

[CenturyDeprived]

I wonder if this song is getting some belated attention because of the popularity of Gilbert Gottfried's podcast. He's sung this song multiple times on the show and has talked about making the video.


For the record I like this song WAY better than a lot of other stuff they released around this time (early 90's). Carl's vocals save it , and no I've never seen the movie (thank God).

Movie is not quite as bad as you might think! Part of that might be nostalgia talking, but the first one is surprisingly not all *that* bad, particularly if you have a fondness for oddball material from that era.