Mike's Revealing Interview

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=596244765199333&set=a.347880756702403&type=3

Didn’t Mike get his masterpiece of a song into a movie called and about “Cocktail”?

It’s pretty obvious from the link above that he greatly enjoys one himself!

Yes, Mike wrote a great song that became the Beach Boys biggest selling single ever - with not one note of participation from Brian, who was busy recording a giant turkey of an album with his shrink! Brian should have been working Mike instead of Landy, because if anyone knows how to make a hit record with Brian, it's Mike.

When Mike finallhy got total control of the Beach Boys, he delivered a masterpiece that everyone still talks about today, a classic album called Summer in Paradise, an album that was such a big seller, Billboard couldn't even keep track of the sales, so they gave up and decided not to track it on their charts!

 

[DonnyL]

I mean, Mike Love has been saying these things for decades, and I assume the likelihood of him saying, “you know what? I overstated the drugs angle over the years, and I apologize. There were more dynamics at play, like mental illness, music industry pressures, and my own ego sometimes getting the better of me” is pretty slim at this point.

Brian and Carl to my knowledge don’t/didn’t really $hit talk in public interviews. Mike does, Dennis did … Bruce & Al are kind of mixed & moody. That’s their personalities I think.

IMO I think Mike genuinely believes what he says and has a chip on his shoulder. If I were playing armchair psychologist, I might say that it’s probably easier to say “drugs ruined the band” than having to confront his own contributions to the problems, along with why Brian, Dennis, etc. had issues working with him

 But I do think he’s not wrong that drugs played a part in the band’s problems, possibly being a primary driver. And I do believe he genuinely feels that it’s sad the group couldn’t maintain the glory days of 1965 forever.

[Zenobi]

I am as Brianista as they come (even the excellent Scott Totten said once that he is a Brianista).
Said this, I think "Mike bashing" has gotten really old. It is almost as bad as repeating that Brian did drugs. The trollish one liners by OSD amuse me, it's like a common joke. But OSD does not write essays on Mike's hypocrisy. By the way, I am not so sure Mike is a hypocrite. Maybe he gets the difference between ruining oneself and indulging in some creature comforts, like a glass of wine. I smoke one cigarette a month, and love it.
I am a fan, besides of Brian, of all the Beach Boys. And that includes Mike. I can't forget that in that moment in 1993 when I heard the GV box aired in a store, and I became a rabid Beach Boys fan again, in just that moment, the first thing I noticed was Mike's awesome, unique bass voice.
The man is guilty of several things, yes, but he was a driving force in bringing much joy into the world, and is still working his a$$ out to do that. At his age, sure it's not for the money.

[SMiLE Brian]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=596244765199333&set=a.347880756702403&type=3

Didn’t Mike get his masterpiece of a song into a movie called and about “Cocktail”?

It’s pretty obvious from the link above that he greatly enjoys one himself!

Between that and the fridge of wine coolers….

[guitarfool2002]

I am as Brianista as they come (even the excellent Scott Totten said once that he is a Brianista).
Said this, I think "Mike bashing" has gotten really old. It is almost as bad as repeating that Brian did drugs. The trollish one liners by OSD amuse me, it's like a common joke. But OSD does not write essays on Mike's hypocrisy. By the way, I am not so sure Mike is a hypocrite. Maybe he gets the difference between ruining oneself and indulging in some creature comforts, like a glass of wine. I smoke one cigarette a month, and love it.
I am a fan, besides of Brian, of all the Beach Boys. And that includes Mike. I can't forget that in that moment in 1993 when I heard the GV box aired in a store, and I became a rabid Beach Boys fan again, in just that moment, the first thing I noticed was Mike's awesome, unique bass voice.
The man is guilty of several things, yes, but he was a driving force in bringing much joy into the world, and is still working his a$$ out to do that. At his age, sure it's not for the money.

So fans expressing their opinions on Mike's comments and explaining specifically why they may think he's being hypocritical in his years of public comments against alcohol while currently promoting songs about alcohol and previously going on a tour sponsored by and promoting Budweiser beer on college campuses is "Mike bashing"? Where is the standard then for fans to express a negative opinion on something the man said or did and not have it be called "bashing"?

I enjoy the music Mike made with the band too, but I also think we as fans can be critical of things he says or does if we disagree with him.

[Lonely Summer]

I am as Brianista as they come (even the excellent Scott Totten said once that he is a Brianista).
Said this, I think "Mike bashing" has gotten really old. It is almost as bad as repeating that Brian did drugs. The trollish one liners by OSD amuse me, it's like a common joke. But OSD does not write essays on Mike's hypocrisy. By the way, I am not so sure Mike is a hypocrite. Maybe he gets the difference between ruining oneself and indulging in some creature comforts, like a glass of wine. I smoke one cigarette a month, and love it.
I am a fan, besides of Brian, of all the Beach Boys. And that includes Mike. I can't forget that in that moment in 1993 when I heard the GV box aired in a store, and I became a rabid Beach Boys fan again, in just that moment, the first thing I noticed was Mike's awesome, unique bass voice.
The man is guilty of several things, yes, but he was a driving force in bringing much joy into the world, and is still working his a$$ out to do that. At his age, sure it's not for the money.

So fans expressing their opinions on Mike's comments and explaining specifically why they may think he's being hypocritical in his years of public comments against alcohol while currently promoting songs about alcohol and previously going on a tour sponsored by and promoting Budweiser beer on college campuses is "Mike bashing"? Where is the standard then for fans to express a negative opinion on something the man said or did and not have it be called "bashing"?

I enjoy the music Mike made with the band too, but I also think we as fans can be critical of things he says or does if we disagree with him.

You can sum it all up in just 4 words:
MIKE IS AN @$$HOLE.
If not for his cousin Brian, he'd have the Working at the Car Wash Blues.

[patsy6]

Mike bashing will never get old as long as he keeps giving us new things about which to bash him. And in the last few years he's dished up some doozies.

[positivemusic]

I am as Brianista as they come (even the excellent Scott Totten said once that he is a Brianista).
Said this, I think "Mike bashing" has gotten really old. It is almost as bad as repeating that Brian did drugs. The trollish one liners by OSD amuse me, it's like a common joke. But OSD does not write essays on Mike's hypocrisy. By the way, I am not so sure Mike is a hypocrite. Maybe he gets the difference between ruining oneself and indulging in some creature comforts, like a glass of wine. I smoke one cigarette a month, and love it.
I am a fan, besides of Brian, of all the Beach Boys. And that includes Mike. I can't forget that in that moment in 1993 when I heard the GV box aired in a store, and I became a rabid Beach Boys fan again, in just that moment, the first thing I noticed was Mike's awesome, unique bass voice.
The man is guilty of several things, yes, but he was a driving force in bringing much joy into the world, and is still working his a$$ out to do that. At his age, sure it's not for the money.

Agree 100%!

[Lawrence Watson]

I mean, Mike Love has been saying these things for decades, and I assume the likelihood of him saying, “you know what? I overstated the drugs angle over the years, and I apologize. There were more dynamics at play, like mental illness, music industry pressures, and my own ego sometimes getting the better of me” is pretty slim at this point.

Brian and Carl to my knowledge don’t/didn’t really $hit talk in public interviews. Mike does, Dennis did … Bruce & Al are kind of mixed & moody. That’s their personalities I think.

IMO I think Mike genuinely believes what he says and has a chip on his shoulder. If I were playing armchair psychologist, I might say that it’s probably easier to say “drugs ruined the band” than having to confront his own contributions to the problems, along with why Brian, Dennis, etc. had issues working with him

 But I do think he’s not wrong that drugs played a part in the band’s problems, possibly being a primary driver. And I do believe he genuinely feels that it’s sad the group couldn’t maintain the glory days of 1965 forever.

Mike is just what we call in my neck of the woods, a jagoff. Like, he says things like that, and then he wonders why people who like Brian get angry at him. After all, he's done NOTHING but tell the truth about the "tainted Wilson blood" for decades now. I have often tried to give Mike the benefit of the doubt over the years, but it just gets harder and harder when he gives interviews where he'll take a shot at Brian, or worse, take a shot at Dennis, who has been dead now for almost as long as he lived on this planet. Yes, he has a point about drugs causing problems and limiting their productivity, but what good is it now to rehash something that happened decades ago?

Now, that's not to say Brian is innocent all the time. He definitely took his shots at Mike. There is a clip that's readily available on YouTube where Brian flat out says that he can't stand Mike. Brian also took shots at Carl during the time when they weren't getting along because he thought Carl had taken shots at him. Still, it's hard to not just get irritated with Mike since, by all rights, he should feel fantastic. He still tours, still sounds pretty damn good for his age, and lives comfortably. What more could he want out of life?