Personally I think the Beach Boys are the Beach Boys and the Beatles are the Beatles. I don't see the need to constantly mention the Beatles so you have an excuse to like the Beach Boys. Murry's Boys are good enough to stand on their own.
Certainly I don't think anyone who would be frequenting this board would need to be pitched the BBs as "the American Beatles", but others might need that pitching, and I'm not opposed to framing it that way if it convinces *more* people of the importance of the band and their music. And I have to say in some cases it's the *band members themselves* who need to be pitched on this in this fashion.
This was kind of a subliminal point I was trying to touch on but couldn't really put into words in this thread recently:
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,27817.0.htmlWhat ran through my mind reading that list was basically, what are The Beach Boys doing on this list with the majority of those artists being mostly unknown acts to the general public, newer up-and-comers, or stand-up comedians? It's hard not to bring it back to C50 in 2012 to think that was one of the last times the shows being reported on and the venues being played were in tune with the place in history this band and their music holds (or should hold). Selling out arenas and leaving people ecstatic and sometimes weeping with joy at the shows with tens of thousands of other fans around them, and generating good press and renewed interest from the industry...that's fitting.