Goldmine 1992

[smile-holland]

from around the time that Brian's 'biography' and Summer In Paradise was released. A very -ahem- 'honest' interview with Mike Love.

http://www.geocities.com/thelittlepad/mikelove.html

This interview with Mike Love ordinally appeared in Goldmine, Sept. 18, 1992. We're not sure who the author is... This interview has been edited; here are the most interesting excerpts

And interesting excerpts they are...

[Jonas]

oh my!

[southbay]

This is the interview originally discussed in the "was SIP salvageable?" thread. The interviewer was Rick Colville who at the time ran a very good BB fanzine by the name of California Saga

[MBE]

Mike was angry here, and it kind of reminds me of the Lennon remembers interview. Still I think it was the first interview he did where the PR gloss wasn't present. He does make a case for his role in the group.

[Wilsonista]

I don't know. I read it back in the day. That'sw what made me not like the guy for a long, long time. I didn't come away thinking "wow, he really got shafted". I came away from  it think "what an asshole!" A little PR gloss could have made his case stronger I think.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I agree with about 90% of what Mike said. The obvious 10% that I have problems with are his opinions of SMiLE and his thoughts on Dennis Wilson's songwriting.

I can and have sympathized with a lot of what Mike Love has said and done. But I still don't understand how someone as intelligent and worldly as Mike can be so shortsighted when it comes to pure "art" in music composition. He really doesn't "get" it. He never did and probably never will.

Mike doesn't seem to believe that a songwriter or a group can create music that can be commercial AND artistic. That is so shortsighted. It's like he never learned it in 1966-67 (when he was right next to it) and still isn't aware of it. I used to think it was stubborness or an obsession with making money. But he really does not recognize real art in music or its intrinsic value.

[MBE]

It's not the type of interview where you go away and say "what a great guy". It's more valuable for it's rawness.

As far as art, Mike had proved that he can do pretty arty things himself in the early 70's. I think the difference is that he thought even his more eclectic pieces about TM and the environment could be relatable to the public. It's not that he can't appreachate art (after all his feelings for Pet Sounds were mostly positive), it that he can't let himself forget about mass appeal. That is the real problem with him to me.

[Alex]

Wow. Love sounded like a complete dick in that article.

[southbay]

You wonder what goes on in there sometimes. At times, his rants were somewhat similar to the HOF speech. He just seems to go off ocasionally. Oh, and by the way, I wonder if "Al Jardine would testify in a court of law" to support him is still accurate?

[Steve Mayo]

i bought that goldmine issue when it came out. when i read that article i thought "why now" and then it was obvious to me. brian was getting $10 million. why bitch about it now, why not decades ago when and as it happened? money sure improves memory with some doesn't it? if he was shafted years ago he should have done something then. not wait 30 years and do it when brian gets $10 million.

also love this part of it....

"Mike talks about Al Jardine:

... And I told Al... we had a rough time the last couple of years communicating. He's definitely been on a bummer for many years based on some things that have happened to him historically. Different than what happened to me with Brian with respect to the writing but a similar effect on him emotionally. And me, I ignore it and go straight ahead and I think more of the future. Al has this thing where he'll obsess on something that happened 20 years ago. It's hard for him to let go."

puts down al for not letting go, obsess on something for 20 years. then he rants and raves over things that happened to him 30 years ago (at the time of the article). doesn't sound like "i ignore it and go straight ahead" to me.

but then he did get $5 million for his "sudden" concern......

[Wilsonista]

i bought that goldmine issue when it came out. when i read that article i thought "why now" and then it was obvious to me. brian was getting $10 million. why bitch about it now, why not decades ago when and as it happened? money sure improves memory with some doesn't it? if he was shafted years ago he should have done something then. not wait 30 years and do it when brian gets $10 million.

Hell yes!!!! I don't care if he was afarid if Murry would get back at Mike - some things are worth standing up to Murry for. To do it 30 years after the fact after Brian got a payday.....

also love this part of it....

"Mike talks about Al Jardine:

... And I told Al... we had a rough time the last couple of years communicating. He's definitely been on a bummer for many years based on some things that have happened to him historically. Different than what happened to me with Brian with respect to the writing but a similar effect on him emotionally. And me, I ignore it and go straight ahead and I think more of the future. Al has this thing where he'll obsess on something that happened 20 years ago. It's hard for him to let go."

puts down al for not letting go, obsess on something for 20 years. then he rants and raves over things that happened to him 30 years ago (at the time of the article). doesn't sound like "i ignore it and go straight ahead" to me.

Like I said, I didn't think "Mike really got shafted", I thought, "you petty, greedy prick". To take Al to task for being bitter after the slights (and I would argue Al getting cut out of his share of the band was worse than what happened to Mike) is like the pot calling the kettle black.

[Jonas]

yeah but its Mike Love we're talking about...can you expect anything less??

[Sheriff John Stone]

As to why Mike waited thirty years....I always thought it was Mike valuing his life long relationship with Brian, and not wanting to risk the chance of not working with Brian again - even though the suit was not personal.

I guess Mike felt that the relationship was slipping farther and farther away, and he was advised that he actually had a legitimate claim. Obviously a judge in a court of law agreed with him.

It is odd, though, that Mike waited thirty years. I mean, the no good, money hungry, grudge holding, son of a.....

[MBE]

Doesn't Mike say right in there that when Brian didn't give him part of the A&M settlement to set things right he sued? He wasn't hiding the fact, he also says he did not know the extent of how much he was ripped off until the late 80's. Let's be honest Brian did not stand up for Mike and Love deserved the credit and money. If you think I am wrong remember that Brian said so himself. In saying this I am not excusing Mike for being so difficult and petty about some things. but there is a context for the attitude he had at the time.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Well put, MBE. An out of court settlement, a simple handshake, and maybe even a "thank you" would've gone a long way.

[MBE]

As Steve Desper once told me the Beach Boys communicated well before they started to talk through their lawyers and wives.

[Steve Mayo]

well i still think that if brian did not sue and get that $10 million mike would have done nothing. after brian got that money, imho, mike thought he was "due" part of it. and he probably was. i just think if he was so bitter about it then why didn't he act years earlier.

[Wilsonista]

As Steve Desper once told me the Beach Boys communicated well before they started to talk through their lawyers and wives.

That sounds maybe a bit too simplistic.

[Wilsonista]

well i still think that if brian did not sue and get that $10 million mike would have done nothing. after brian got that money, imho, mike thought he was "due" part of it. and he probably was. i just think if he was so bitter about it then why didn't he act years earlier.

Absolutely. I'm amazed that no one else found the timing suspect.

[MBE]

As Steve Desper once told me the Beach Boys communicated well before they started to talk through their lawyers and wives.

That sounds maybe a bit too simplistic.

It's not meant to cover every in and out of how thery got along, but it does explain why they used to be able to function as a unit.

[John]

Just read it, and I think it's interesting how the word Mike over-uses is "commercial" and the word Brian over-uses is "spiritual".

[elnombre]

Without Brian's music, Mike Love has neither the charm, talent, looks, appeal or charisma to perform his way out of a paper bag, let alone onto the world stage. For him to in one breath bemoan Brian making money from the latter day Beach Boys tours, and in the next to say  'Brian Wilson is a pathetic figure', all the while reaping the benefit of his cousin's talent (not to mention soiling its legacy by putting out utter merda like Summer In Paradise) just shows what a hypocritical, bitter, vindictive little turd he is.

[Amy B.]

Let's face it-- Brian Wilson is not the only person in that family who needs therapy. Mike has some serious anger issues, as evidenced by Goldmine, HOF, and some other examples. TM obviously isn't enough for him. Maybe he ought to acknowledge that instead of always talking about the Wilson brothers' issues. If Mike was more willing to admit that he, too, is the result of a dysfunctional background, maybe people would be more sympathetic and willing to forgive his behavior, just as they are with Brian.

[MBE]

This interview was obviously done at a time when Mike was angry with Brian. If you asked him these same questions today the answers would probably not be the same. Obviously this is Mike venting and shouldn't be taken so seriously then or now. One thing this interview did establish is Mike's now largely accepted role in writing the songs. Remember we once thought he wrote only a fraction of what he really did. I'm not condoning all of Mike's comments, but again this interview is not being taken in the context of it's time.  Brian gave some scathing interviews himself, saying Carl couldn't sing and he wanted to wring his neck. I don't think he really felt that way deep down but he was angry at the time for Carl walking out on the Don Was session. It all about context.