Bad, but catchy

[Aegir]

I like that part, too. I love listening to it in the car when someone's sitting next to me and mouthing the words.

[phirnis]

I'd like to add Lahaina Aloha. I know it's quite a lazy rewrite of Jamaica Farewell (of which the Boys also did a nice version some years earlier) and in a way it's probably just as bland and nauseating as anything on Summer in Paradise. Still, that song somehow strikes a chord with me. Love the accordeon playing (is that Van Dyke Parks?) and Carl gives quite a stellar vocal performance. Not even the generic and corny lyrical content serves as a major turn-off for me. It's all just so very catchy.

[mikeyj]

I like that part, too. I love listening to it in the car when someone's sitting next to me and mouthing the words.

Haha, that is quite strange cause I do that too. Although if nobody is around I say the words out loud, even though I'm probably saying it totally wrong and I have no idea what it means (I've read what it says before but I always forget). But whenever I'm listening to the song and that part comes on I can't help but smile.

[SloopJohnB]

I like that part, too. I love listening to it in the car when someone's sitting next to me and mouthing the words.

Haha, that is quite strange cause I do that too. Although if nobody is around I say the words out loud, even though I'm probably saying it totally wrong and I have no idea what it means (I've read what it says before but I always forget). But whenever I'm listening to the song and that part comes on I can't help but smile.

Easy to remember, the song goes like this:

A little brown sparrow came flutterin' down

(section in French)

He came to my window

And the section in French basically says "The sparrow came to my window". (in French it's "Le moineau est venu se poser à ma fenêtre")

 

[mikeyj]

Easy to remember, the song goes like this:

A little brown sparrow came flutterin' down

(section in French)

He came to my window

And the section in French basically says "The sparrow came to my window". (in French it's "Le moineau est venu se poser à ma fenêtre")

 

Thanks Sloop!! I better write this down!! By the way, does he say it correctly or is it really shaky French? Of course you can't blame him, but I'm just wondering. I always used to get confused whether it was French or Spanish, because in the liners or in one of the books or something it says that it's Spanish. Anyway thanks again.

[Alex]

Still Surfin', Lahaina Aloha, and just about all the covers on SIP, not including Surfin' or Forever, are guilty pleasures for me. So is Winds of Change.

[SloopJohnB]

Thanks Sloop!! I better write this down!! By the way, does he say it correctly or is it really shaky French? Of course you can't blame him, but I'm just wondering. I always used to get confused whether it was French or Spanish, because in the liners or in one of the books or something it says that it's Spanish. Anyway thanks again.

The words and the grammar are correct, but the accent is terrible  

[Sheriff John Stone]

Still Surfin', Lahaina Aloha, and just about all the covers on SIP, not including Surfin' or Forever, are guilty pleasures for me. So is Winds of Change.

And for me, but I don't feel that guilty. I think they're good songs.

[TimeToGetAlone]

I don't know.  If I actually like the song, I don't consider it bad.  If catchy is used in a bad way, I'm sure I could find some.  You know what I'm not likely to get any agreement at all with this but I'm going with Surfin' Safari.  It's basic and so obviously catchy but I just don't like it.  On Broadway is another one.  After listening to it once I had the tune memorized, but it's just one of the time I just honsetly don't like it.  I'm completely disregarding lyrics because no matter how absurd they are it just won't impact me.  Only thing they can do is make the song better by being great.

[Surfer Joe]

The whole MIU album, start to finish.  I love "Hey, Little Tomboy".  Lyrics?  What lyrics? I love "Walkin' The Line" - though I haven't heard it in years and years.

But my response to Love You will always be part frustration, because there's so much genius and inspiration there slathered over with so much bad taste.  Brian just needed a little competent support.  Look at the people Dennis was working with, listen to the lyrics on Pacific Ocean Blue, listen to that production, and think what might have been for Love You. Somebody took Pet Sounds 2, or as close as we'll ever get to that, and wrecked it.  I know that's a minority opinion, and that a lot of people enjoy the humor of it, which I can certainly see and appreciate- but Brian Wilson is just such a hero to me that I can't help wishing he had been allowed more personal dignity and created another great work of art at the cost of a few perverse laughs.

Sorry for the rant- just rolled off my fingers.

[Jay]

My picks would have to be She Believes In Love Again, and Livin' With A Heartache. Yes, I know that SBILA is typical 1980's overproduction, but I love it. It might be Bruce's last good song. I have TRIED not to like LWAH. Any kind of country that is not Johnny Cash goes against everything I stand for. I also know that any self respecting Beach Boys fan wouldn't even give it a second thought.  But the damn thing just wont stay out of my head. 

[Awesoman]

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?

They're guilty pleasures.  "Roller Skating Child" in particular, whilst it may carry a fairly catchy beat, is not exactly what most rock critics would constitute as being a "great song".  The lyrics are banal and the production is flimsy (although this was sort of the theme of the album).  Still when it pops up in the shuffle feature of my iPOD, I'll occasionally listen to it.  I just wouldn't be proud of that.   

[Sheriff John Stone]

But my response to Love You will always be part frustration, because there's so much genius and inspiration there slathered over with so much bad taste.  Brian just needed a little competent support.  Look at the people Dennis was working with, listen to the lyrics on Pacific Ocean Blue, listen to that production, and think what might have been for Love You. Somebody took Pet Sounds 2, or as close as we'll ever get to that, and wrecked it.  I know that's a minority opinion, and that a lot of people enjoy the humor of it, which I can certainly see and appreciate- but Brian Wilson is just such a hero to me that I can't help wishing he had been allowed more personal dignity and created another great work of art at the cost of a few perverse laughs.

On one end, I don't agree with you. On the other end, I think you're exactly right!

If you remove the quirky and very "Brian" lyrics, it's not Love You. If you take away the unique arrangements and instrumentation, it's not Love You. I actually think Brian nailed those aspects of Love You, and accomplished what he wanted.

Where the album falters - and I agree with you, FRUSTRATINGLY so - are the rough spots, specifically the vocals, both lead and backing. Why didn't they do more takes? How could they leave some of those vocals on there? It's embarrassing, actually. Just a little more perfectionism please!

They could've kept the arrangements and production, but improved the vocals, and it STILL would've been Love You. Pet Sounds 2? Maybe. At least as close as you could come. Pet Sounds and Love You are personal. I hate to repeat Brian because I hate when Brian repeats himself, but there is a lot of love in those two albums. They're both the closest Brian ever came to solo albums, including his solo albums. Love You is one of my most played BB albums, but I still think what it coulda, shoulda, woulda been....

[Sheriff John Stone]

"Roller Skating Child" in particular, whilst it may carry a fairly catchy beat, is not exactly what most rock critics would constitute as being a "great song".  The lyrics are banal and the production is flimsy (although this was sort of the theme of the album).  Still when it pops up in the shuffle feature of my iPOD, I'll occasionally listen to it.  I just wouldn't be proud of that.   

I just had to respond....I've always felt that "Roller Skating Child" might be the best post-1975 fast song of Brian's. The lyrics aren't the best part of the song, but they're OK. Brian's arrangement, on the other hand, is incredible. There's a lot going on in that song. Like Brian's earlier material, he packs a helluva lot into two minutes. I love the vocals, except for Brian's tag which keeps the song from perfection. It's one of those songs where I say to myself, "How did he write that?" And there weren't  many songs AFTER "Roller Skating Child" where I said that. It was picked as a single from the album. It rocks!

But, it's just my opinion. I like chocolate ice cream, you like strawberry ice cream. No problem...

[Surfer Joe]

On one end, I don't agree with you. On the other end, I think you're exactly right!

If you remove the quirky and very "Brian" lyrics, it's not Love You. If you take away the unique arrangements and instrumentation, it's not Love You. I actually think Brian nailed those aspects of Love You, and accomplished what he wanted.

Where the album falters - and I agree with you, FRUSTRATINGLY so - are the rough spots, specifically the vocals, both lead and backing. Why didn't they do more takes? How could they leave some of those vocals on there? It's embarrassing, actually. Just a little more perfectionism please!
They could've kept the arrangements and production, but improved the vocals, and it STILL would've been Love You. Pet Sounds 2? Maybe. At least as close as you could come. Pet Sounds and Love You are personal. I hate to repeat Brian because I hate when Brian repeats himself, but there is a lot of love in those two albums. They're both the closest Brian ever came to solo albums, including his solo albums. Love You is one of my most played BB albums, but I still think what it coulda, shoulda, woulda been....

I  like the fact that this board gives me the chance to know what other people think, and try to reconsider, and re-listen.  Some stuff I'll just never come around on (like Smiley Smile), but I respect the other point of view, especially when it's well-expressed like that.

I'll give you the production, and I know where you're coming from there, but I've gotta have lyrics worthy of those amazing melodies.  "I Wanna Pick You Up" is just so achingly close to being a great song- not the kind of great song that can be appreciated by Beach Boys fans with a knowing smirk, but the kind of song that would have entered the universal consciousness, like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" or so many others.  Agree completely about the vocals- and if everybody's voice was so messed up, there are ways to make that sound work (Billie Holiday's last album, one of Nilsson's, etc.- even Dennis' album, to some extent). It's just a big, maddening almost to me, sonically (not really a word, I know) and creatively.

An old friend of mine is an Elvis fanatic, and he tried to explain to me once why Elvis' career wouldn't be nearly as cool (to him) if the Colonel hadn't made a fool of him in the sixties and had him singing "He's Your Uncle Not Your Daddy" and "The Lady Was A Bullfighter" and "It's Hard To Rhumba In A Sports Car" and all that bilge. Part of the joy of Elvis for him was the total destruction of his dignity, and I just couldn't get that.  Still can't.  Then there are people who voted to honor Elvis on a stamp by showing him as a bloated, dying self-caricature instead of when he was great.  I don't get that at all. Would Pet Sounds have been a better album if the lyrics were goofy and sub-professional?  I don't get it. 

As a cartoonist, I have a great appreciation for the ridiculous, but what I love Brian Wilson for is the sublime.

How in hell can "Drive In" or especially "Salt Lake City" be guilty pleasures?  They're just great, great songs!

Always enjoy this topic because it shows that none of us hear this music the same way.  Ans again, I'm the guy who loves "Hey, Little Tomboy", so go figure!

[MBE]

Well the Elvis stamp chose of Elvis was from a photo in 1973  where he was a trim 170 pounds during the Aloha satellite show. Many still consider the pinnacle of his career achievement wise if not completely artistically.

[Surfer Joe]

Fair enough then, that's better than I (mis)remembered.  I still think the Elvis that deserves to be etched in history is the '56 model, but he certainly did some more than worthy stuff much later. I LOVE Elvis in the "Harum Scarum" get up, but wouldn't have wanted him in that turban on a stamp.

The general point, though- (wait, what was my point?)- I guess it was that (as with Brian) a lot of people find great value in what I consider his downfall.  Doesn't make me right or wrong, but if I see a '76 performance or something, I'm looking for some trace of his former greatness, and it's often still there. I hope he'll maintain some dignity.  I often get the idea that other people- real legitimate fans- are watching the chins jiggle or praying that he'll strike a karate pose or forget the words to "Are You Lonesome Tonight" just one more time. O.K., I laugh at that stuff, too. I love the movies, because I accepted a long time ago that that's the way things went and nothing's going to change that- and because there were still very bright spots ahead for him- as with Brian.

And if I couldn't laugh about "Johnny Carson" and so forth I guess I'd have to turn in my striped shirt or something, but it's a painful laugh for me, maybe because I have such a misplaced sense of dignity- especially where my heroes are concerned.  ("Say Say Say" and "Ebony And Ivory" were just agony for me). A great BW melody with Landy's-girlfriend lyrics will always be problematic for me, because there are only going to be so many great BW melodies in this life...the good ones are rare gems.  To me they all deserve Tony Asher or Van Dyke or one of Mike's many great efforts...

Sorry for the long-windedness.

[Sheriff John Stone]

An old friend of mine is an Elvis fanatic, and he tried to explain to me once why Elvis' career wouldn't be nearly as cool (to him) if the Colonel hadn't made a fool of him in the sixties and had him singing "He's Your Uncle Not Your Daddy" and "The Lady Was A Bullfighter" and "It's Hard To Rhumba In A Sports Car" and all that bilge. Part of the joy of Elvis for him was the total destruction of his dignity, and I just couldn't get that.  Still can't.  Then there are people who voted to honor Elvis on a stamp by showing him as a bloated, dying self-caricature instead of when he was great.  I don't get that at all. Would Pet Sounds have been a better album if the lyrics were goofy and sub-professional?  I don't get it.

Surfer Joe, you are hitting an area - in the BB/BW history - that is the most fascinating AND tragic for me. After 30+ years, I'm still trying to make sense out of it.

I think I'm like your friend (a little at least) in that I find the 1976-1981 period terribly interesting, fascinating, and, I won't say "cool", but certainly never a dull moment. I won't bore everybody by listing all the elements that went into that era, but you could write an entire book, movie, documentary, mini-series on just those five years. Whenever I read a book or an article about the BB/BW, I go right to that period. It's drama, human drama. Some interesting music came out of that also.

However, the more I dwell on it, or the longer I live, the more tragic it becomes. Maybe that's because Brian never really did come all the way back, the damage was irreversable. Yeah, yeah, there were sparks or traces of the "old Brian", and I still like every album of that period, but, man, they/he had so many chances....

And, what makes it even more frustrating, is, after all of that, the next era, 1982 - present, was even worse musically. If Brian would've emerged in 1982 - musically - the way he emerged in 1976-77....I now find it more painful than "cool". Enough for now.... 

[tpesky]

I'd even extend it 1976-1983, when Carl has returned, Brian back under Landy's influence, and Dennis's death. After 1983, I don't see them as a rock and roll band anymore, I see them as more of an oldies act and thats reflected in the sound after that, how they looked, and the way they presented their tours.

[Aegir]

I have to disagree with you, tpesky. 15 Big Ones, MIU, and KTSA are way more "oldies" than BB'85.

[TdHabib]

By the way, another one for the bad, but catchy category is "She Believes in Love Again," which is a well constructed pop song with some duff lyrics near the end, also a bummer production.

[the captain]

I have to disagree with you, tpesky. 15 Big Ones, MIU, and KTSA are way more "oldies" than BB'85.

I think the 85 songs are almost as oldies-based, but their synth-heavy production might make them seem less so. Certainly Getcha Back, California Calling and tunes like those are as "oldies" as can be.

[Aegir]

Right, those two tracks. In a previous draft of my post, I said "most of BB'85". Besides the two you mentioned, and perhaps I'm So Lonely, BB'85 was very "modern".

[tpesky]

Modern maybe, but not as rock and roll sounding or raw likely due to  the 80s production. However I should have made it more clear I guess I was thinking primarily in terms of live act/image not so much studio albums.

[TonyW]

For me if "Bad but Catchy" was defined as: "A song you could never play for friends because its just too embarrasing to admit you like it" then my vote goes to Solar System - I can't help but love a song with a line like "If Mars had life on it I might find my wife on it"!!! JOY!!! but what a clunker of a song .........