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Author Topic: Small Addition to SMiLE Website  (Read 4986 times)
Bill Tobelman
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« on: July 10, 2017, 04:48:19 AM »

Added a few things to the Good Humor SMiLE page: some quotes from a couple of books. They're near the bottom of the page, mostly in light orange.

http://www.goodhumorsmile.com
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JakeH
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« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2017, 08:11:03 AM »

Interesting stuff; thanks
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Bill Tobelman
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« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2017, 06:06:44 PM »

The additional material potentially presents a new reason why SMiLE has never been fully explained.

The book, The Magic of Believing, cautions against revealing one's goals and it's very possible that Brian was using the techniques outlined in the book to obtain a successful outcome with SMiLE.

Brian had, after all, held prayer sessions for Pet Sounds where they'd prayed for a hit.

The "Heroes & Villains" Humble Harve session preamble seems to indicate that Brian may have used the visual techniques from The Magic of Believing to get a hit with "Good Vibrations." So it seems very possible that he, especially in light of the success of GV, employed The Magic of Believing to achieve SMiLE's goals, & would've had to keep it all a secret.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 10:11:12 AM by Bill Tobelman » Logged

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SMiLE Brian
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« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2017, 06:21:08 PM »

Nice! 
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And production aside, I’d so much rather hear a 14 year old David Marks shred some guitar on Chug-a-lug than hear a 51 year old Mike Love sing about bangin some chick in a swimming pool.-rab2591
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« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2017, 08:05:21 PM »

Good work, Bill! I have always enjoyed your take on the Brian and SMiLE. The Arthur Koestler connection is extremely interesting!
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Bill Tobelman
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« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2017, 07:29:05 AM »

The self-help books Brian was reading almost belong in the same category as the source of Brian's vegetable obsession, that being radio evangelist Curtis Springer. Self-help books & miracle cures are products often pedaled by hucksters.

One of Springer's elixirs, called Manna, may be the major catalyst behind Brian's obsession as it's "a blend of ten different fruits and vegetables."

You can read more & listen to a 1961 broadcast by Springer at the following link.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/zzyzx-revisiting-doc-springers-boulevard-of-dreams
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 08:02:04 AM by Bill Tobelman » Logged

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Bill Tobelman
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« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2017, 05:13:39 PM »

Here's a copy of a list found online of Curtis Springer's products. You'll see that some of the items are vegetarian.

http://www.goodhumorsmile.com/page24.htm
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Bill Tobelman
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« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2017, 02:14:25 PM »

Here's the latest minor addition. David Anderle's revelation regarding Brian's view on humor & violence (found in the SMiLE box set book) is supported by Brian's fave book, The Act Of Creation. Don't know if anyone else has made this connection before.

Quote
"The key word for Brian was humor. He would see the solutions to all problems in terms of humor. If people could laugh about things or feel good about things, you wouldn't have violence. You can't have humor and violence, really. I think that's the essence of Brian. It starts with humor, happiness, love."
~David Anderle

"When we laugh...the pleasurable relief does not derive from a consummatory act which satisfies some specific need. On the contrary: laughter prevents the satisfaction of biological drives, it makes a man equally incapable of killing or copulating; it deflates anger, apprehension, and pride."
~ Arthur Koestler from The Act of Creation

http://www.goodhumorsmile.com
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Very Extremely Dan
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« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2017, 08:06:22 AM »

Amazing stuff Bill!  What a list!!!  Seems right up Brian's  '66/'67 alley.  The "I know you'll feel better when you send us in your letter....." lyric/section of "Vega-Tables" has always seemed to me like a line from a snake oil salesman/game show host....

And the notion that Brian wanted to keep the purpose behind SMiLE a secret instantly makes me think of Brian's "Smog" recording.  Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was recorded during the "Love to Say Dada" sessions and thus the final sessions for SMiLE..... 

“Air pollution is something that has become increasingly more of a threat to all of us over the last ten years, especially in the last five years since the growing industry demands……and when I hear things like that it makes me want to get involved in this thing in some way, do my best. Ok. We, the way we can help is to make a record, and more or less present the facts in some interesting manner, not boring but in some way that people can retain these facts, and to sort of set up in their minds a goal to get rid of this sh*t!"

It seems like at that moment, in light of THe Magic of Believing, he was either confident that SMiLE was finished and could finally share his goal for it or, more likely, SMiLE was "finished", Brian was throwing in the towel, giving up on The Magic of Believing and thus free to reveal SMiLE's purpose during it's last sessions, knowing he was going to put it away on a shelf in a tape vault where he expected no one would ever hear the music or his goal for it. 

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CenturyDeprived
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« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2017, 03:20:30 PM »

Amazing stuff Bill!  What a list!!!  Seems right up Brian's  '66/'67 alley.  The "I know you'll feel better when you send us in your letter....." lyric/section of "Vega-Tables" has always seemed to me like a line from a snake oil salesman/game show host....

And the notion that Brian wanted to keep the purpose behind SMiLE a secret instantly makes me think of Brian's "Smog" recording.  Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was recorded during the "Love to Say Dada" sessions and thus the final sessions for SMiLE..... 

“Air pollution is something that has become increasingly more of a threat to all of us over the last ten years, especially in the last five years since the growing industry demands……and when I hear things like that it makes me want to get involved in this thing in some way, do my best. Ok. We, the way we can help is to make a record, and more or less present the facts in some interesting manner, not boring but in some way that people can retain these facts, and to sort of set up in their minds a goal to get rid of this sh*t!"

It seems like at that moment, in light of THe Magic of Believing, he was either confident that SMiLE was finished and could finally share his goal for it or, more likely, SMiLE was "finished", Brian was throwing in the towel, giving up on The Magic of Believing and thus free to reveal SMiLE's purpose during it's last sessions, knowing he was going to put it away on a shelf in a tape vault where he expected no one would ever hear the music or his goal for it. 



The "send us your letter" line definitely has a game show vibe about it.

I wonder… Were there any game shows during that era which specifically might have inspired that line?  In the 1980s, I can recall there was a game show called Press Your Luck, which had a home viewer contest where people could send in poems about the money-hungry animated "Whammy" character that was part of the show. I'm sure there must've been some similar type of letter – sending contest/audience participation thing during the 1960s.
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« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2017, 03:22:44 PM »

Amazing stuff Bill!  What a list!!!  Seems right up Brian's  '66/'67 alley.  The "I know you'll feel better when you send us in your letter....." lyric/section of "Vega-Tables" has always seemed to me like a line from a snake oil salesman/game show host....

And the notion that Brian wanted to keep the purpose behind SMiLE a secret instantly makes me think of Brian's "Smog" recording.  Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was recorded during the "Love to Say Dada" sessions and thus the final sessions for SMiLE..... 

You mean the sessions that were recorded after Smile was canceled, for a song that was never part of the Smile track list?
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Very Extremely Dan
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« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2017, 01:26:19 PM »

I was always under the impression that Love to Say Dada was considered the final session for SMiLE.  The boxset refers to it as such. 

Does anyone know if Brian's "Smog" recording was made during the Dada sessions?  The Keith Badman book, referring to May 1967, states, "Some time during this month Brian records a spoken commentary regarding his thoughts on smog."
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Bill Tobelman
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« Reply #12 on: August 24, 2017, 06:44:00 PM »

Just heard that VDP said that the threesome of himself,  Brian & Frank Holmes formed; 'a triumvirate in freeform flight.'

How true!

Those who claim that Frank Holmes wasn't down with, or on board with Brian & Van Dyke's creative process are fooling themselves.

Thanks to Ang Jones for the 'triumvirate' quote.

There was a working method for SMiLE that was employed in an attempt to anticipate the next big trend. The attempt was similar to those employed throughout the history of art. It combined a new philosophy with the art form to forge something entirely new.

It didn't work out for SMiLE's participants and nobody else at that time had the same idea-----that's why SMiLE is a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Brian said that it's hard to anticipate trends but his attempt to do so in 1966 jumped fences higher than anybody knew existed.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2017, 06:47:13 PM by Bill Tobelman » Logged

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blueeyedtreefrog
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« Reply #13 on: September 08, 2017, 11:48:06 AM »

Hey, I am sorry if this was answered before, but what is this Brian's fiction piece for Beat magazine in 1966? There are some amazing quotes from it on the Good Humor website, and I, in my ignorance, didn't have the slightest idea such a thing existed. Is it a fiction article written by Brian? - and, if not asking much, where can I find it? Thank you so much in advance.

Now I see it's "Brain Wilson" - who is it?
« Last Edit: September 09, 2017, 11:55:14 AM by blueeyedtreefrog » Logged
onkster
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« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2017, 04:57:40 PM »

I just have to hop in and say what a wonderful site this SMiLE website is...it goes so much deeper than mere music fandom/record collecting. If you enjoy creativity and spirituality and different ideas in general, there are some great directions pointed out here. Thanks for creating this.
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