Brian Wilson on Pacific Ocean Blue

[WWDWD?]

Hey, just read this interview on Pitchfork and found it interesting. Brain states he didn't even know Dennis had made an album. I've read stories of Brian's reaction to POB when Denny played him some tracks (varying from Brian laughing it off to Brain crying). Interesting.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/145269-interview-brian-wilson

Pitchfork: I was also curious, did you follow along this year with the reissue of Dennis Wilson's album--
BW: No, I haven't heard it yet.
Pitchfork: Yeah, Pacific Ocean Blue was reissued this year to critical acclaim. A lot of people were going back to it after a long time. I didn't know if you had been following...
BW: Yeah. That was the early-- I never heard that album, you know?
Pitchfork: That wasn't something that, back then, you would have--
BW: No. I didn't even know he made an album.
Pitchfork: Okay, sure. That was quite a number of years ago, I know.

[Aegir]

That's a very typical Brian interview, from Brian's side of it, anyway. I like how at the end Brian was basically like "Okay, I'm done, leave."

[Beach Bum]

sh*t happens.

I figure Brian didn't like the guy or was in one of his moods.

[RickD]

The Brisbane (Oz) Courier Mail  writer did a joint article about TLOS and POB a couple of weeks ago. He had a phone interview with Brian and he asked Brian what he thought  about the POB reissue. Brian asked the journo in Oz to Fedex him a copy so he could hear it!

[shelter]

I figure Brian didn't like the guy or was in one of his moods.

Of course I don't know how this came out, but it could've been a sarcastic reaction (or a reaction that could've been interpreted as being sarcastic)... I guess it could have been the reason:

BW: No. I didn't even know he made an album.

Pitchfork: Okay, sure. That was quite a number of years ago, I know. Obviously, this album is about California, and you've lived there your whole life. Is there any other part of the United States that you could see yourself living?

[buddhahat]

Oops didn't see this topic and just replied about this in another one. I can't get my head around how BW is apparently unaware of Pacific Ocean Blue now? It just must have been erased from his memory - maybe he does have memory problems. That would be the most logical reason, either that or it's too painful for him to talk about, but then why would he ask the interviewer to fedex him a copy? You'd think a couple of months ago one of his bandmates would've said "Wow Brian, Dennis' album is being re-released. Cool, huh?" It seems really strange to me that Brian is apparently unaware of POB in interviews at the moment.

[The Heartical Don]

Oops didn't see this topic and just replied about this in another one. I can't get my head around how BW is apparently unaware of Pacific Ocean Blue now? It just must have been erased from his memory - maybe he does have memory problems. That would be the most logical reason, either that or it's too painful for him to talk about, but then why would he ask the interviewer to fedex him a copy? You'd think a couple of months ago one of his bandmates would've said "Wow Brian, Dennis' album is being re-released. Cool, huh?" It seems really strange to me that Brian is apparently unaware of POB in interviews at the moment.

Puzzling, but possible at the same time. Heavy use of cocaine, hashish, alcohol and the rest can actually obliterate your concrete memory after a long time. I am very curious what'd happen if someone would present him with a cue, e.g. the LP sleeve. Then he might say: 'Oh, that one! I like that!'.
If I am right David Bowie has very serious problems with truthful recollections from his Berlin period. He's not joking. A lot of facts have escaped him, because he sniffed an XL pack of washing powder per day.
Oh, these rock stars, these rock stars...

[phirnis]

Maybe it's just rather painful for him to talk about it or even listen to the music. Just remember how uncomfortable it obviously made him talking about Forever on the Warmth of the Sun podcast series.

[warnakey]

there was a point in this interview, right before the last question, where Brian gets off the phone for about 15 seconds and then returns and says "Sorry, I had to take some pills."

and again during the last question he interrupted the question by saying "OK, i appreciate the interview, thank YOU very much", as if the interviewer (mark) had already thanked him for the interview.

Very strange indeed.

[The Heartical Don]

there was a point in this interview, right before the last question, where Brian gets off the phone for about 15 seconds and then returns and says "Sorry, I had to take some pills."

and again during the last question he interrupted the question by saying "OK, i appreciate the interview, thank YOU very much", as if the interviewer (mark) had already thanked him for the interview.

Very strange indeed.

...and not unfunny. I think for any of us it's impossible to empathize with what Brian has to deal with on a daily basis. His activities bring with them over-attention every day. Everyone wants to speak to him, ask questions, be photographed with him, and know if another Pet Sounds could be on the horizon. He's not a free soul in that respect. He's being scrutinized every day. And we're talking probably the most shy and awkward and private person in music, or the arts in general, here (people like Pynchon and Salinger are very different). So it's pretty obvious that he often 'skips', 'jumps', 'stalls', what have you, in the flow of conversation. All of us would.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

there was a point in this interview, right before the last question, where Brian gets off the phone for about 15 seconds and then returns and says "Sorry, I had to take some pills."

and again during the last question he interrupted the question by saying "OK, i appreciate the interview, thank YOU very much", as if the interviewer (mark) had already thanked him for the interview.

Very strange indeed.

How do you know that? Is there an audio version floating around, or do you know the guy who did the interview?

I figure Brian didn't like the guy or was in one of his moods.

Of course I don't know how this came out, but it could've been a sarcastic reaction (or a reaction that could've been interpreted as being sarcastic)... I guess it could have been the reason:

I think it's the former on both. It's hard to read him most of the time, but there are times where it's very obvious that Brian's either not getting good vibes from the interviewer or the question just frankly pissed him off. Case in point: in one recent interview Brian was asked about drugs, and actually seemingly got ticked off and responded with something to the affect of "I'm not the only person who did a lot of drugs back then" or something to that affect.

[lance]

I think its the former, too.

[The Heartical Don]

I recall that a news hack asked Brian, in 1988, literally: 'How much money did you spend on drugs?'
Brian (without missing a beat): 'Oh, about $ 100,000'.

That is irresistibly funny. Stupid questions deserve such answers. The mere thought that Bri always had a pocket calculator with him and finally arrived at this sum... priceless. Moreover, the amount, representing three decades as it were, sounds wilfully childish, as in: 'one, two, three, four, very much'.

[Chris Brown]

I recall that a news hack asked Brian, in 1988, literally: 'How much money did you spend on drugs?'
Brian (without missing a beat): 'Oh, about $ 100,000'.

That's hysterical, I hadn't heard that one!  A very "Brian" response.

[Wirestone]

I have to say, in these interviews for TLOS, I think we're seeing a new Brian emerge. Sharper than he's been for a long time -- and more willing to engage (this interview excepted, where he clearly just wants the guy to shut up).

I've read that mental illness can trail out for folks in their 60s. I wonder if Brian's symptoms are actually receding as he's getting older, and allowing him a little more mental and creative leeway.

[maxfrost]

I take the whole comment with a very large grain of salt. Remember in the late '80s/early 90's when Brian denied any knowledge of "The Beach Boys Love You"? Now he cites it as his all-time favorite Beach Boys lp. Another example was when BWPS came out. Suddenly Dennis hated SMILE, when for years he always blamed Mike and Carl.

Make no mistake, He 's fully aware of POB.   

[Sheriff John Stone]

Of course he's aware of it. But, since POB's release in 1977, how many times do you think Brian listened to it? I would bet on one time. If that...

[SG7]

I think maybe he is being sheltered from hearing it? I thought about going to meet and greet blasting the thing to see what happens  Just kidding folks!!

[endofposts]

This is what Brian said about POB this past July, to Rolling Stone:

Brian Wilson was blown away by the final product. "I first heard Pacific Ocean Blue in my house at Pacific Palisades," he says. "I found it very warm and comforting music. His lyrics were very creative and his voice is very comforting."

He just wanted to make the interviewer go away.  I've never read a good interview with him with online-only media.  He usually gives at least pretty good interviews to mainstream press like RS or the LA Times.  I think he just can't be bothered with media people who work for things he's never heard of.

[The Heartical Don]

I have to say, in these interviews for TLOS, I think we're seeing a new Brian emerge. Sharper than he's been for a long time -- and more willing to engage (this interview excepted, where he clearly just wants the guy to shut up).

I've read that mental illness can trail out for folks in their 60s. I wonder if Brian's symptoms are actually receding as he's getting older, and allowing him a little more mental and creative leeway.

Good call. I know from what I do on a daily basis that:
Getting older automatically involves not only losing bits of your cognitive abilities and memory (very human) but also tends to erase the extreme highs and lows that depression brings with it. One of the very few things that Landy brought to Brian has been the motivation to exercise. Exercise is a potent anti-depressant and drives up the formation of new nerve cells in your brain. Also: the fact that he re-married and more or less was obliged to spend his time with social contacts and 'novelty seeking' (as in: doing a 6 show run in London, for instance) - that fact contributed immensely to his stability.
And: addiction therapists know that people aged 50 and over regularly stop, just like that. Their need to self-medicate then is waning; and it's an effect that comes with aging.
To conclude: people tend to 'converge' in a lot of respects when they get older, and the mental state is no exception here.

[lance]

Very good post.

[1-1-wonderful]

Of course he's aware of it. But, since POB's release in 1977, how many times do you think Brian listened to it? I would bet on one time. If that...

I bet he listened to it exactly 100,000 times.

[shelter]

Maybe he's just messing with people, just for the fun of it. Who knows? The guy obviously doesn't like doing interviews even though he has to do them regularly. And he often gets questions that have been asked hundreds of times before. So I can imagine it's sometimes temting to make up stuff just to mess with people.

If people have been asking you stuff like "Do you think that Pet Sounds is your best album?" for 40+ years, you might say "Yeah, probably" the first 1,000 times, but I can imagine that you'd want to say something like "I don't know, I haven't heard it since it came out" the 1,001st time, "No, I'm embarrassed by that album" the 1,002nd time or "Mike actually wrote it, not me" the 1,003rd time...

[The Heartical Don]

Maybe he's just messing with people, just for the fun of it. Who knows? The guy obviously doesn't like doing interviews even though he has to do them regularly. And he often gets questions that have been asked hundreds of times before. So I can imagine it's sometimes temting to make up stuff just to mess with people.

If people have been asking you stuff like "Do you think that Pet Sounds is your best album?" for 40+ years, you might say "Yeah, probably" the first 1,000 times, but I can imagine that you'd want to say something like "I don't know, I haven't heard it since it came out" the 1,001st time, "No, I'm embarrassed by that album" the 1,002nd time or "Mike actually wrote it, not me" the 1,003rd time...

There is something in there. I mean, I myself would probably be thinking most of the time: 'I wish I were at home, red wine in hand, watching Inspector Morse, and then read some, and then go to sleep'; or: 'I wish I could be busy fixing my car right now', something entirely mundane yet satisfying. It must be hard to have your identity being defined by the outside world all of the time, with thousands of complete strangers always asking the same stuff and gazing awkwardly at you and treating you as some divine alien, or captain of a cargo ship... and eventually you will be through all possible answers anyway. It's not an enviable position.

[warnakey]

there was a point in this interview, right before the last question, where Brian gets off the phone for about 15 seconds and then returns and says "Sorry, I had to take some pills."

and again during the last question he interrupted the question by saying "OK, i appreciate the interview, thank YOU very much", as if the interviewer (mark) had already thanked him for the interview.

Very strange indeed.

How do you know that? Is there an audio version floating around, or do you know the guy who did the interview?

Both. There is both a recording of the interview, and I know the interviewer. They edited the text version to make brian appear more "normal", but everyone is right. Brian clearly didn't want to do this interview and staged it in a way to mislead the readers and to make himself seem insane. It's a bit sad unfortunately that brian can't really give straight answers anymore. It's very frustrating.