Bad, but catchy

[carl r]

Just wondered if anyone else has particularly guilty pleasures out there... Beach Boys or Brian Wilson songs which you know are bizarrely bad in certain ways, but which you enjoy listening to?

These seem particularly prevalent on "Love You" and "BW88" - Roller Skating Girl, Walkin' the Line are examples that spring to mind.

But to be fair, even some of the 60s tracks, like "Salt Lake City" have this same feckless quality.

So, am I alone in this ?

[Ron]

I actually love "Wipeout".  I doubt anybody's gonna top that.  LOL.

I know what you mean, though.  A lot of the best parts of Beach Boys songs are kind of silly... like "Drive-In"... when the boys are doing the "OOOOOhhhhhh... WOP!!! WHOPPPP WOPPPP!!!!" in the background. 

[punkinhead]

most of the MIU album & sweet insanity

[kookadams]

Roller Skating Child, Drive-in,  and  Salt Lake City are great songs I dunno what you guys are talkin' about. If the songs are catchy how are they bad? And I don't get how people like to rag on the MIU Album all the time, I think it has some good songs on it too, and I think it's better than LA Light and Keepin' the Summer Alive, but whatever opinions are like assholes right? 
 

[carl r]

Roller Skating Child, Drive-in,  and  Salt Lake City are great songs I dunno what you guys are talkin' about. If the songs are catchy how are they bad? And I don't get how people like to rag on the MIU Album all the time, I think it has some good songs on it too, and I think it's better than LA Light and Keepin' the Summer Alive, but whatever opinions are like furos do burro right? 
 

Hi,
don't get me wrong, they aren't bad songs, but they get away with things that people normally wouldn't. Perhaps its the biggest tribute

Such as, I haven't got any other songs in my collection with a muppet show sax line like the one in "Salt Lake City"...
...
or lines like "I go and get my skates on and I catch up with her We do it holdin' hands it's so cold I go "brrr" "

or "Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee,gimmee lovin' tonight, I need your lovin' (Lovin') Lovin'(Lovin')Lovin' lovin' Wah wa-wa wah wah wah"

great songs, but ...

[dsl]

I enjoy "MIU", "LA" and "KTSA" because even though practically all those songs suck, they are very infectious. "Sone Of Your Love" on KTSA, for example. That song is god-awful, but I can never get that "Sum-sum-sum-Some of your love...Gimmie lovin'....yeah, Sum-sum-sum-Some of your love"...and then the embarrasing verses...ugh...

[Mr. Cohen]

Yeah, I love the harmonies during the verses on "Some Of Your Love". The song is just too repetitive, otherwise it would be great in my opinion.  And "Santa Ana Winds", also on that album, is amazing.  And MIU is a good album. Completely out of step with the trends of not only its time but an album that could have never been trendy in any time period. It has been said before, but "Hey Little Tomboy" would be loved as another goofy Brian track if it had been on 15 Big Ones, Love You, or left unreleased.

Actually, MIU reminds me of something I heard on The Daily Show. If Bush hadn't gone to war with Iraq and had responded effectively to the nation's economic woes, wouldn't we all just love all his funny sayings and silly poses? When has there ever been a president that loose? He was just on stage chest banging with someone from the army. But our views on this kind of behavior are sullied by our opinion on him as a president. I think MIU gets the same treatment because it failed to do what the Boys had to do to get critical respect. "She's Got Rhythm" cooks. "Wontcha Come Out Tonight" is a nice throwback song. "My Diane" is brilliant, and I even have a weak spot for "Pitter Patter".

Love them for what they were, not what they could have been.

[Aegir]

HELP is on the Way. There are so many ridiculously awful yet really catchy lines in that song. "DOUGHY LUMPS STOMACH PUMPS ENEMAS TOO", hahaha.

[Mark H.]

Johnny Carson.....only from the mind of Brian Wilson.  I love it.

[the captain]

The Beach Boys are probably the ideal band for this kind of category, because there are so many unbelievably bad lyrics, whether they're just corny subject matter, bizarre, perverse or cliched. To add to it, some of the stylistic changes to the instrumental tracks made it even more prone to earning groans: disco, 80s cheese, or what-have-you. And yet they very often had really catchy material despite it. So of course one person's "bad" is another's gold. It's almost just a test of how far you let yourself be carried into the depths of uncoolness.

[Mr. Wilson]

well said Luther..!!

[Sheriff John Stone]

Roller Skating Child, Drive-in,  and  Salt Lake City are great songs I dunno what you guys are talkin' about. If the songs are catchy how are they bad? And I don't get how people like to rag on the MIU Album all the time, I think it has some good songs on it too, and I think it's better than LA Light and Keepin' the Summer Alive, but whatever opinions are like furos do burro right?

You took the words right out of my mouth!

[Wrightfan]

Matchpoint of Our Love.

Some of the worst lyrics ever yet, it's very calming and catchy.

[Jonas]

Agreed with Matchpoint! I'll add "I'll Bet He's Nice"

I'll bet he's nice...I'll bet he's twice...

but the bridge has great lyrics...

[Pretty Funky]

'Island Fever' 

Don't ask. Don't know why.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Agreed with Matchpoint! I'll add "I'll Bet He's Nice"

I'll bet he's nice...I'll bet he's twice...

"I'll bet he's nice...I'll bet he's twice (pause for a second or two) as nice as me and it makes me cry, cause I remember you and I" Genius....

[Sheriff John Stone]

Matchpoint of Our Love.

Some of the worst lyrics ever yet, it's very calming and catchy.

I'm not posting to be disagreeable (it's a matter of opinion; I understand), to defend Mike Love (who I think wrote the lyrics), or to try to be profound, but...

I really never found "Matchpoint Of Our Love"'s lyrics to be that bad, or actually bad at all. They're not Van Dyke Parksian, but I find them unoffensive, actually a little clever. Specifically, which of "Matchpoint"'s lyrics are so off-putting?

[BJL]

I have a serious weakspot in my heart for Hey Little Tomboy, which is probably one of the more disturbing songs ever written, particularly the whole "im gonna teach you to kiss" line, and the "shave your legs for the very first time" voice over.  It's just so, well, creepy. 

At My Window is an incredible song, but the foriegn language voiceover is pretty embarrasing. 

I was gonna say "student demonstration time," but then I remembered that  i actually do hate everything about that song. 

[TdHabib]

"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" is pretty dire in terms of lyrics, but a catchy tune.

As for "Tomboy," it has a very nice melody and harmonies, but the lyrics are another matter entirely..."Love is a Woman," another catchy melody that I don't particularly like the lyrics too. From the MIU album "Kona Coast" has embarassing lyrics but an ace melody, from LA Light I always thought "Sumahama" was a cool, memorable melody, lyrically, not so much.

I always thought Landy had the ability to write some good lyrics ("Melt Away," "In My Car," and the 2nd version of "Don't Let Her Know" are solid lyrics that Mike Love would be proud of), but a few tunes from the 80s fit under this category: "I'm So Lonely" is too simple, "Someone to Love" is one of Brian's best rockers of the period offset by a bland set of lyrics, and "Night Time" repeats it's chorus chant far too many times  ...

Those are my choices...

[Mr. Cohen]

Oh yeah, I forgot "I Sleep Alone" (specifically the performance by Brian on youtube). It's a really nice song, but it is just funny to hear it sung by a man.  It brings up disturbing images of Brian and his male therapist, Landy.

[tpesky]

Matchpoint does have a nice flowing. relaxed sound, but honestly its about love and tennis?? What the hell were they thinking?? Luther's right, the Beach Boys have so many of those moments. Sumahama again, a good song, first couple of verses are great and then they record the rest in Japanese? HELLO!! Did they think that was gonna get radio play??

[Aegir]

When I want to listen to Sumahama I'll listen to the live version from Enoshima Yacht Harbor where they sing the whole thing in Japanese. The audience really digs it.

[Ron]

Johnny Carson.....only from the mind of Brian Wilson.  I love it.

I love how at the end it's just him pounding on the same chords over and over again in like a stop-motion thing.  It sounds brilliant but it's literally just

BAWWP

BAWWP

BAWWP

BAWWP

BAWWP

BIIITTT

BIIITTT

BIIITTT

BIIITTT

Then they go into the "who's the man" thing.

[Shane]

One I actually really like is "Its a Beautiful Day".  The lyrics are corny as heck, but when Carl comes in at the chorus, the sound of the whole thing is just sublime.

[mikeyj]

At My Window is an incredible song, but the foriegn language voiceover is pretty embarrasing. 

For some reason I really like that part. Don't ask me why