Nate Ruess on collaborating with Brian Wilson

[“Big Daddy”]

Bumped into this podcast appearance with Nate Ruess where he briefly discusses his experience working with Brian back in 2015 (on No Pier Pressure and Brian’s SoundStage special). Thought I’d share it here, Nate has some nice things to say about Brian (while not seeming to be a fan of some other BB band members).

Starts around 32:00 on https://soundcloud.com/fortune-kit/49-nephew-uncle-excellence-ft-nate-ruess

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

This is great. Very sweet story where Brian directs him on harmonies. Thanks for the tip!

[Sam_BFC]

Fantastic. So, Nate sang not only the lead on Saturday Night...but also at least some of the background parts, directed on the fly by Brian Wilson.

Side note: I accept that there will be other opinions on this, but to hear professionals talk that way about Mike Love towards the end of the segment I found a little offputting.

[Robbie Mac]

Fantastic. So, Nate sang not only the lead on Saturday Night...but also at least some of the background parts, directed on the fly by Brian Wilson.

Side note: I accept that there will be other opinions on this, but to hear professionals talk that way about Mike Love towards the end of the segment I found a little offputting.

Why? Nate is just being honest about Mike’s rep.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

What they said about Mike Love helps to validate what I've been saying about him for years. Act like a dick, you get called a dick. 

[guitarfool2002]

What Nate describes with the NPP sessions is a pretty common story from people who have interacted with Brian in the studio: As soon as the music starts, as soon as the creative recording process kicks in, Brian is literally in his element and he comes alive with ideas. You can see bits of it in various video docs from his solo years, but it's like turning a key and the engine starts revving up when the ideas start flowing. There is a reason why musicians want to work with him in the studio, I think they want to be a part of something which I'd call the magic that happens when Brian gets going in the studio. It's a different person and vibe than the impressions you get from media interviews with him, and I think that's what Don Was even described as what he wanted to capture on film. Linda Ronstadt described a similar scene when Brian was doing backing vocals for one of her projects, once he got in his zone he started putting down all of these complex vocal parts on the fly like they were pouring out of his creative mind. Very cool.

As far as Nate working with Brian on NPP, there is yet another case of a guest artist who was a fan and who knew and loved the music beyond the hits, and that fact again goes against the detractors who tried to suggest these artists didn't know Brian and vice versa, and the whole thing was forced together by labels, "handlers", etc. Nate doing "Hold On Dear Brother" with Blondie and Ricky on stage was one of the highlights of that Vegas PBS live video.

Agreed with RJM, if someone is giving their opinion in an interview, what's wrong with that? And are they not allowed to give it?

I like how they segued into the Buddy Rich "Bus Tapes"...as they say in the interview, if you haven't heard those tapes you have to listen at least once.  

[Sam_BFC]

No big deal, I just think a professional talking about a fellow professional is different to fans talking.

And yes Hold On Dear Brother was a highlight. Shame it is only on the DVD and not on the CD.

[feelintheflows]

Sounds like these guys are the dicks. They sure sound like they are. Yea I’m pretty sure they are.

[B.E.]

I agree with you, Sam_BFC. I enjoy the firsthand recollections and insights of meeting and working with Brian and his band. I find that very interesting. The Mike bashing? Not so much. Reminds me of the old saying, "it's not what you say, it's how you say it."

[SMiLE Brian]

Mike Love regularly trashes “fellow professional” Brian Wilson...

[CenturyDeprived]

That was a really cool interview, thanks for sharing.

I think the way they spoke about Mike really just goes to show how people feel about him. Yes it's incredibly sad, but that reputation did not happen for no reason. This is how I imagine a large amount of professional musicians feel about him but might not say it publicly. People who are truly deep, experimental artists, avant-garde people, and most particularly, people who detest egotistical, tyrannical behavior as a general thing, are usually not fans of Mike Love.

None of this means that Mike is Satan, but he is severely disliked by many people for some valid reasons. And he finds a way to cement that reputation on a regular basis.

[juggler]

Personally, I don't hate Mike Love.  I've never met the man.  I'm a fan of his singing, particularly on the classic '60s tracks.  I even read ML's autobiography, and found his perspective and anecdotes quite interesting.

With that said, ML's reputation and status in the music business and this sort of ML-bashing aren't the result of some sort of accident or unjust persecution.   I know that ML has long been controversial and there was strife within the band almost from the beginning (hell, they were bickering during the Surfin' sessions), but the way I see it, ML's public reputation really took a nosedive in the late '80s when his antics started to generate wide notice.  To what antics do I refer?   The R&R HOF speech in which ML trashed the Beatles, Stones and the Hall itself.  ML now says he was having an "off" day due to getting out of his meditation routine, but I'm sorry, if your band is getting an award like that, and instead of just saying 'thank you very much' and spinning a few stories about the old days, you act like a jerk and start trashing people, don't be surprised if people start to think you're a jerk.  And then there was, as the guys in the interview mention, ML finagling appearances for the BBs on multiple cheesy TV sitcoms during that period.  There was a feeling that ML was degrading the legacy of the band by bringing his shtick to every braindead sitcom that would have it, including not one but rather two different Stamos sitcoms.  And, last but not least, there were the lawsuits.   Brian Wilson isn't a saint or a perfect person, but his reputation in the music industry is that of an incredible genius, a once-in-a-generation talent.  When you have likes of Leon Russell and Hal Blaine and various members of the Wrecking Crew contingent describing BW as one of the most talented people they ever worked with, it means something.  And then when you combine that with public knowledge about Brian's struggles with mental illness and addiction, well, Brian has a well-earned special status.  Now, if you're Mike Love and you're constantly suing Brian, dragging him into courtrooms and depositions, don't be surprised if people think you're a jerk.

[rab2591]

Agreed with CD and Juggler.

Many professionals have called out Mike Love publicly, if memory serves me correctly both VDPs and David Crosby have shared their negative opinion about the guy publicly on Twitter. Bob Dylan (at the R&R Hall of Fame) took a shot at Mike after Mike’s little tantrum. I am pretty sure others in the business have called him out publicly (but I can’t think of any specific examples). Brian himself (in a video easily found on YouTube) is on camera saying he doesn’t like Mike at all and that you can’t be around him “for more than 5 minutes”.

And perhaps none of that makes it right, but it goes to show just how prevalent that opinion of Mike is in the music business. And as others have said, it’s not an unjustified opinion.

___________

I want to point out just how awesome Nate's story about recording 'Saturday Night' is. Transcript:

Nate Ruess: But when I went in and did this song with Brian Wilson, like they reached out, they were like "Brian Wilson's gonna do an album and he's asking all these guest singers to do it. We wrote this song and we think you'd be really good if you came and sang it." So I came and met with Brian's co-writer - he was much more talkative and Brian was sitting right there and obviously I read enough Beach Boys books and was like a Beach Boys diehard so, I was like, whatever, Brian Wilson, you don't need to f***ing say a thing. Then they put me in the booth and they're like "ok you know the song like start singing the song" and I start singing the song, and Brian Wilson's just like "you're flat". And I'm like "F*** this guy, I'm gonna show Brian Wilson what the f*** is up.". So I start like, I'm like "Okay I'm just getting warmed up, Brian Wilson", like let's do this. So then I started singing and he got really into it, and he stood up, and the next thing you know Brian Wilson is writing like 20 different harmonies. And he's having me sing every single one of them, and he's singing into the talkback mic being like "can you do this?" "can you do this?" "can you do this?" and I'm the worst person ever with harmonies but I have never tried so hard to listen to someone in my entire life. And it was just so amazing to hear what Brian Wilson, like once the music started I've never seen anyone so engaged and also so good at what they do.

That last part highlighted in yellow is incredible to me. We have heard from people like Ray Lawlor that Brian is totally engaged when it comes to studio work that he is passionate about. But it's great to hear about specific moments where Brian is totally in his element...and this shouldn't be surprising to anyone, but the amount of disinformation that has been spread about Brian Wilson over the years (including Mike Love who just around 5 years ago claimed that Brian is still being controlled by drugs) has indeed tarnished Brian's reputation. It's just so great to hear someone completely shatter those unsubstantiated opinions.

[guitarfool2002]

Mike Love regularly trashes “fellow professional” Brian Wilson...

I think that's the bottom line. It's been several decades of public statements from Mike calling out Brian (and his brothers) and basically airing out dirty laundry that has nothing to do with the music, not to mention the lawsuits against his bandmates, yet when opinions are offered and critical of Mike, it's somehow different? Maybe a lot of the negativity would not exist if not for Mike's history of negative public comments directed at his family and bandmates.

And after all, it's people expressing their opinions on public figures. I think that's still allowed.

[guitarfool2002]

Personally, I don't hate Mike Love.  I've never met the man.  I'm a fan of his singing, particularly on the classic '60s tracks.  I even read ML's autobiography, and found his perspective and anecdotes quite interesting.

With that said, ML's reputation and status in the music business and this sort of ML-bashing aren't the result of some sort of accident or unjust persecution.   I know that ML has long been controversial and there was strife within the band almost from the beginning (hell, they were bickering during the Surfin' sessions), but the way I see it, ML's public reputation really took a nosedive in the late '80s when his antics started to generate wide notice.  To what antics do I refer?   The R&R HOF speech in which ML trashed the Beatles, Stones and the Hall itself.  ML now says he was having an "off" day due to getting out of his meditation routine, but I'm sorry, if your band is getting an award like that, and instead of just saying 'thank you very much' and spinning a few stories about the old days, you act like a jerk and start trashing people, don't be surprised if people start to think you're a jerk.  And then there was, as the guys in the interview mention, ML finagling appearances for the BBs on multiple cheesy TV sitcoms during that period.  There was a feeling that ML was degrading the legacy of the band by bringing his shtick to every braindead sitcom that would have it, including not one but rather two different Stamos sitcoms.  And, last but not least, there were the lawsuits.   Brian Wilson isn't a saint or a perfect person, but his reputation in the music industry is that of an incredible genius, a once-in-a-generation talent.  When you have likes of Leon Russell and Hal Blaine and various members of the Wrecking Crew contingent describing BW as one of the most talented people they ever worked with, it means something.  And then when you combine that with public knowledge about Brian's struggles with mental illness and addiction, well, Brian has a well-earned special status.  Now, if you're Mike Love and you're constantly suing Brian, dragging him into courtrooms and depositions, don't be surprised if people think you're a jerk.

Just for the discussion I'd also add Mike's seed money given to Tipper Gore's PMRC in the 80's, basically helping to found and fund the PMRC along with Joseph Coors, when you had an overwhelming majority of well-known musicians very much against the PMRC's labeling and censorship of music and albums. For those unfamiliar, there are several videos on YouTube of musicians like Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver giving testimony to Congress giving their opinions against the PMRC, and most musicians were lined up with them against its goals. And then there was Mike who donated seed money to the PMRC, which put him on the side of the PMRC and against most of the music and creative arts community. I'm not sure who else besides Mike was taking the side of the PMRC, other than J. Coors. At least in the music and arts community, supporting and helping to fund the PMRC was not a popular stance to take and I'm sure some of that carried over through the years.

[juggler]

You're absolutely right.  I forgot about that one.  April 1985, ML chipped in five grand to help launch Tipper Gore's group.

Here's an NPR story about it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2010/10/29/130905176/you-ask-we-answer-parental-advisory---why-when-how

The music industry very much opposed warning labels on its products, and there you have ML alone lining up on the other side.  On the one hand, it's a free country, and if ML was on board with Tipper Gore's views, he certainly had every right to bankroll her organization.  At the same time, if essentially the entire music industry is lined up in opposition, don't be shocked if other people in the industry start to dislike you.

I was a teen in that era, and remember the whole Tipper thing very well.  It was a subject of discussion on radio and print media, and the overwhelming consensus among musicians and fans was that Tipper and her gang (other politicians' wives) were a bunch of rich-lady moms who didn't like the music their kids were listening to and instead of dealing with that at home, had turned it into a pet cause since they had nothing better to do.

[Sam_BFC]

Brian and Mike's relationship is far deeper than that between Nate and Mike, so doesn't quite compare (I don't know if the latter have even met), although that is not a defense of past Mike comments or actions.

I agree that Nate is allowed to make any comment he likes and I prefer people to be their authentic selves. It is just my opinion that those particular comments were not very classy, insightful or constructive.

Compare for instance to Darian, no stranger to what Brian has gone through over the years, a true champion of Brian and his music, and a true hero to all of us I think it is fair to say:
https://youtu.be/RljRp1JgaBQ?t=123
I know that is a promo video but I think he is a pretty genuine guy.

Anyway, this wasn't my main takeaway from the conversation. The anecdote was brilliant and the Mike part didn't diminish my overall enjoyment of the interview, nor will it diminish my enjoyment of Nate's work with Brian.

[guitarfool2002]

You're absolutely right.  I forgot about that one.  April 1985, ML chipped in five grand to help launch Tipper Gore's group.

Here's an NPR story about it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2010/10/29/130905176/you-ask-we-answer-parental-advisory---why-when-how

The music industry very much opposed warning labels on its products, and there you have ML alone lining up on the other side.  On the one hand, it's a free country, and if ML was on board with Tipper Gore's views, he certainly had every right to bankroll her organization.  At the same time, if essentially the entire music industry is lined up in opposition, don't be shocked if other people in the industry start to dislike you.

I was a teen in that era, and remember the whole Tipper thing very well.  It was a subject of discussion on radio and print media, and the overwhelming consensus among musicians and fans was that Tipper and her gang (other politicians' wives) were a bunch of rich-lady moms who didn't like the music their kids were listening to and instead of dealing with that at home, had turned it into a pet cause since they had nothing better to do.

I think we're in the same age group, because I remember it very well too, although I only discovered Mike Love's involvement years later. You're right, it was a very hot topic at the time and yes, the overwhelming majority of the music and arts community in general was against the goals of the PMRC. The only people I remember who were supporting it were the guys you'd see in three-piece suits and wingtip shoes arguing on Crossfire and similar shows. There were other issues in related media too, like a woman named Rakolta who launched a morality campaign against the TV show Married With Children. And the other effect this had was kids our age at the time would see something like a few years later that 2 Live Crew album or an Andrew Dice Clay standup album, or a Judas priest or TS album or Prince song specifically targeted by the PMRC, material that these groups were trying to ban and label "vulgar", "inappropriate", "gross", "obscene", "satanic", etc...and we'd all want to get those albums to listen to them! Who knew the group 2 Live Crew at all before they became a target of the warning labels and bans? No one! Then when they became the face of censoring music, my friends were passing around cassette dubs of that 2 Live Crew or Dice Clay album because it was "obscene"...and they weren't even good rappers or comedians to be honest!

So when someone in the music business helps seed and fund such a group as the PMRC and the overall efforts to label and restrict music based on their morals...as if they're in a higher position than everyone else to make such judgements...and when you see artists such as Zappa and John Denver making logical, reasoned points in front of a Congressional committee against such efforts...there would be pushback against musicians supporting the PMRC. And I'm trying to remember if any other musicians actually came out in favor of the PMRC.

The irony as well comes into play when Mike-helmed Beach Boys songs released in the wake of the PMRC kerfuffle like Kokomo and Somewhere Near Japan were about drinking and having sex on a tropical beach, and strung-out people lost in Asia trying to score a drug fix. I wonder if Tipper approved of that lyrical content? 

[juggler]

I think we're in the same age group, because I remember it very well too, although I only discovered Mike Love's involvement years later. You're right, it was a very hot topic at the time and yes, the overwhelming majority of the music and arts community in general was against the goals of the PMRC. The only people I remember who were supporting it were the guys you'd see in three-piece suits and wingtip shoes arguing on Crossfire and similar shows. There were other issues in related media too, like a woman named Rakolta who launched a morality campaign against the TV show Married With Children. And the other effect this had was kids our age at the time would see something like a few years later that 2 Live Crew album or an Andrew Dice Clay standup album, or a Judas priest or TS album or Prince song specifically targeted by the PMRC, material that these groups were trying to ban and label "vulgar", "inappropriate", "gross", "obscene", "satanic", etc...and we'd all want to get those albums to listen to them! Who knew the group 2 Live Crew at all before they became a target of the warning labels and bans? No one! Then when they became the face of censoring music, my friends were passing around cassette dubs of that 2 Live Crew or Dice Clay album because it was "obscene"...and they weren't even good rappers or comedians to be honest!

Ha, so true.  Memories.  I recall Summer 1990, I had a job at a video game retailer.  And a younger kid, maybe 13 or 14, who was trying out the games said to me, "The music here sucks. What  you guys need is some 2 Live."  And I was like, "Two live?"  And he said, "Yeah, man, 2 Live Crew.  F--- Tipper Gore!!"

As you say, Mrs Gore unintentionally served as publicist/promoter for what where undoubtedly crappy acts.  The attitude among many like my customer was very much, "Some rich white Senator's wife doesn't want me to listen to this? Oh yeah? Well, f--- her!"

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

Fantastic. So, Nate sang not only the lead on Saturday Night...but also at least some of the background parts, directed on the fly by Brian Wilson.

There are indeed some very rich harmonies on this song. I never listened carefully enough. Quite lovely.

[guitarfool2002]

I think we're in the same age group, because I remember it very well too, although I only discovered Mike Love's involvement years later. You're right, it was a very hot topic at the time and yes, the overwhelming majority of the music and arts community in general was against the goals of the PMRC. The only people I remember who were supporting it were the guys you'd see in three-piece suits and wingtip shoes arguing on Crossfire and similar shows. There were other issues in related media too, like a woman named Rakolta who launched a morality campaign against the TV show Married With Children. And the other effect this had was kids our age at the time would see something like a few years later that 2 Live Crew album or an Andrew Dice Clay standup album, or a Judas priest or TS album or Prince song specifically targeted by the PMRC, material that these groups were trying to ban and label "vulgar", "inappropriate", "gross", "obscene", "satanic", etc...and we'd all want to get those albums to listen to them! Who knew the group 2 Live Crew at all before they became a target of the warning labels and bans? No one! Then when they became the face of censoring music, my friends were passing around cassette dubs of that 2 Live Crew or Dice Clay album because it was "obscene"...and they weren't even good rappers or comedians to be honest!

Ha, so true.  Memories.  I recall Summer 1990, I had a job at a video game retailer.  And a younger kid, maybe 13 or 14, who was trying out the games said to me, "The music here sucks. What  you guys need is some 2 Live."  And I was like, "Two live?"  And he said, "Yeah, man, 2 Live Crew.  F--- Tipper Gore!!"

As you say, Mrs Gore unintentionally served as publicist/promoter for what where undoubtedly crappy acts.  The attitude among many like my customer was very much, "Some rich white Senator's wife doesn't want me to listen to this? Oh yeah? Well, f--- her!"

Yes indeed! And although 2 Live Crew may have had some minor hits in the rap charts, it was and would not have been anything close to what they became as a household name after their music was singled out and targeted by the censorship and warning label movement...going back to the PMRC and the Love-Coors seed money that helped fund those society wives like Gore in the PMRC originally.

If I sound a little bitter, I am, and I became more so after growing older and reading deeper into the histories of all this. The reasons why Zappa, Denver, and Snider testified so passionately against the PMRC can be traced to their own histories of being nailed by the obscenity police, having their music banned or incorrectly labeled as some form of evil or depravity, and in Zappa's case he was thrown in jail on bogus obscenity charges in the early 60's.

And for anyone who didn't grow up in or before that era, it may be hard to believe, but this "movement" personified by the PMRC led to record store clerks - not the owners, but people working in the store - actually getting arrested and charged in certain jurisdictions in the US for selling the 2 Live Crew album. In some cases police departments were sending undercover officers into record shops to sting the clerks selling 2 Live Crew albums. This in the US of A...undercover stings to nab record shop clerks for selling an album deemed obscene. Taxpayer dollars funding undercover operations to bust record store clerks. 1990-1991.

Sounds impossible in 2020, right? But that's where all this PMRC bullshit came from. And truth be told, the fact that a member of The Beach Boys gave seed money to fund a group who spearheaded efforts that led to record stores getting busted by undercover police for selling a damn record album does shape my opinions of the band, specifically the band member who supported it. I don't recall ever seeing the PMRC issue mentioned, or apologized for. And the ultimate logic comes around to say *what if* those same obscenity police had declared a Beach Boys song or album as obscene and started sending undercover agents into record shops to bust clerks selling "Still Cruisin" or something because it had songs about screwing and drinking and scoring dope. Just food for thought.

So when Nate Ruess or anyone makes comments that ruffles some feathers, who cares. He can say whatever he wants, and people in turn have a right to argue and refute what he said. Especially if it's an opinion. If he had instead said "Mike is being kept drugged and his life is controlled by his handlers" or reported a similar false "fact" about Mike, then it's a different story and would border on slander. But he didn't.

Off the soapbox for now... . It's just the censorship issue overall and some of the effects of it that have been conveniently forgotten since 1990 or so strikes a chord with me, and it really isn't too far away in history where some hapless dudes working in a record store were busted and hauled to jail for selling a B-grade 2 Live Crew album deemed obscene by those working under the same morality policing mindset as the PMRC.

[Sam_BFC]

See guitarfool, in your post you have offered some properly thought out criticism of a real incident that had apparently negative consequences (thank you for the info, it is new to me).

Nate asks rhetorically "who wants to see Mike Love?" but doesn't offer any credible reason why he wouldn't. He provides Brian's band with the praise they deserve, but he is apparently unaware of such figures as Scott Totten, who's service to the music has in my opinion been not far off Darian's.

The other fella says he saw a "really bad" version of The Beach Boys in the 80s. Well I can't speak for his experience, but I'd love to have seen a Beach Boys line up that featured Carl Wilson, regardless of how lame that Full House stuff was.

[rab2591]

The irony as well comes into play when Mike-helmed Beach Boys songs released in the wake of the PMRC kerfuffle like Kokomo and Somewhere Near Japan were about drinking and having sex on a tropical beach, and strung-out people lost in Asia trying to score a drug fix. I wonder if Tipper approved of that lyrical content? 

Peter Carlin wrote about this in hilarious style in 'Catch A Wave':

"But even the lite-metal guitars on Dennis's once-understated ballad weren't quite as painful as Mike's "Summer of Love" which climaxed, so to speak, in a hail of yucky sexual references (Mike in Señor Suave mode, crooning about the joys of doing "it" in disparate, summery venues, including a beach and a swimming pool) that seem designed to excite the wrath of the same Parents Music Resource Center Mike had once supported."

[SMiLE Brian]

Imagine OSD in 1992 listening to SIP....

[rab2591]

Nate asks rhetorically "who wants to see Mike Love?" but doesn't offer any credible reason why he wouldn't.

Even on the EH forum someone hilariously asked the question "what evidence do these people truly have to say "f*** Mike Love" and express such disdain for him?"

Perhaps Nate, being a huge fan of Brian Wilson, and seeing Brian Wilson being publicly bullied by Mike Love for decades, probably doesn't care at all for Mike Love...which is probably enough of a reason for Nate to not want to spend 3 hours seeing Mike in person. This is how a lot of people feel: great admiration for Mike's contributions to the music, admiration for his work ethic, but disdain for how he has treated Brian over the years...enough to the point where I won't buy a ticket to see that band, regardless of how talented the backing band is.

One could say "Well Nate and the podcasters don't know Mike personally so they shouldn't say those things about him publicly." yet there are people I hold disdain for that I never met in real life - it is totally fair for me to share my opinion about those people especially since those opinions are based off of credible information. And if I share my disdain for Bernie Madoff I wouldn't think I'd have to give examples of why I hold disdain for him every time I shared my opinion about the guy considering it's fairly obvious why I'd dislike the guy even though he never personally did anything to me.

One could say "No professional should demean another professional publicly." - I brought up the Bob Dylan comment because it's an example of a professional who doesn't have an extensive relationship with Mike Love yet didn't hesitate to crack a joke about him in public. Plenty of people who know or don't know Mike Love have publicly admonished the guy for one reason or another...and that's just what happens when you do these things:

Mike has legitimately (and recently) compared Brian's wife to Landy. He used to constantly say that Brian was controlled by prescription drugs. He sued Brian (and I believe Brian's wife and business partners) over a picture on a freebie CD and LIED in that lawsuit about Brian's history with the band...I mean Mike's lawyer got a friend of his to buy the freebie album on Ebay which was the basis for the lawsuit - that is how utterly pathetic the lawsuit was. He sued Al Jardine over a band name. Mike has called Brian's music "sh*t" publicly. Even up to two years ago he'd publicly give back-handed compliments about Brian to the press. Just in the last ten years he has negatively called out Brian's weight, singing ability, mental health in the press.

If I am in Brian Wilson's chair, I am fed up hearing about my past drug issues, especially as I have not touched a recreational drug in over 35 years;

I am fed up with hearing about how my dead brothers, whom I think about every day, made poor lifestyle choices (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes)which lead to their early deaths ;

I am fed up with hearing about how controlled I am ; first by non existent handlers , and now by medicine prescribed by ,arguably some of the best doctors in the world.  

That's a quote from one of Brian's good/longtime friends...just talking in perspective of how Brian probably feels about how Mike talks about Brian publicly. If you're a fan enough of Brian Wilson you easily know what a prick Mike Love has been to Brian publicly over the years (even in recent years in the media). It should be painfully obvious as to why a major fan of Brian Wilsons wouldn't want to support Mike Love any more than they have to. And at this point no one should have to cite examples of why they feel the way they do about Mike Love considering the first page of Google searching 'Mike Love' renders a mainstream media article titled "Mike Love Is Kind Of An Asshole" (granted, the article is full of falsehoods, but parts of it are true enough)

Sam, I do get what you're saying, but I also don't think Nate or the podcasters are totally out of line here. And to those who seriously can't see why there is disdain for Mike Love, even just reading his interviews from the last decade regarding Brian is enough evidence. Nate and the podcasters are obviously huge fans of Brian Wilson - and it's just common sense at this point why huge fans of Brian Wilson don't particularly care for Mike Love considering how Mike has treated Brian over the years.