Can this gereration love the Beach Boys?

[Jay]

That was a great story.  Thanks for sharing it. Man, bootlegs, and Orange Crate Art....you've got guts. Did you play any Van Dyke Parks? 

[kirkmc- banned on the run]

The real Beach Boys are timeless...Brian's music is timeless...Every gereation wil dig 'em if they get 2 know-the real Beach Boys. (Thank God for records & BRian's production) Note: to Mr. Positivity-brevity is the essence of witt...& the fact that you "love" Kokomo answers ALOT of questions-all the best! Aruuubba!

[tpesky]

Real Beach Boy, While I don't always agree with all of your opinions (I'm a little harder on Michael but still try to stay middle ground) , that was one incredibly blankety-blank awesome story. Good for you! Great to have that story to tell. Being in your age bracket, (I graduated college in 03) I can totally relate to alot of what you said. 

[drbeachboy]

@ The Real Beach Boy
I have your Smile show recorded, as I'm sure you are aware. All of your shows at Cabrini were well done.

These types of shows and the younger followers, as on this board, will help keep the music alive for new generations to discover. The deep seated love of their music is an acquired taste (I was 6 when I first heard Fun, Fun, Fun and got hooked when my older brother bought and brought home the 45), but if it clicks from within, then you are a fan for life. Some have come close, but no other music or band has affected my life like that of The Beach Boys. It's kept me a happy and grounded fellow human being.

[Jason]

The real Beach Boys are timeless...Brian's music is timeless...Every gereation wil dig 'em if they get 2 know-the real Beach Boys. (Thank God for records & BRian's production) Note: to Mr. Positivity-brevity is the essence of witt...& the fact that you "love" Kokomo answers ALOT of questions-all the best! Aruuubba!

I would almost be hurt by that statement if it wasn't written in a combination of 4chan, ebonics, and emo.

[Mooger Fooger]

Well here's my 2 cents regarding the gospel according to the BBs. In 1984 I was 15 and had helped to get Beach Boys Australia started. I tagged along with Lawrence "the Professor" Lavery when he had a 2 hour slot on 2SER-FM in Sydney (broadcast from the UTS building in Sydney. We played a good cross section of BB material including some tracks from a then unreleased album known as "Smile". We dodged bullets by using official releases (at least that's how I officially remember the segments we played). I was so in the band at that time I was rattling off track locations by saying things like "track 3 side 2" for each and every album we used. It was great. The DJ assitant was dumb-founded by Here Today, and the Smile tunes.

It was a cool evening. With some great music played (IIRC we even played bits of Mount Vernon and Fairway!!)

Funny thing is, back then it was outside of the box, these days it is cool to like stuff like Smile, or even to mention BW in the same sentence as Led Zeppelin.

Ah I pine for my youth.

[punkinhead]

I'm 25, been loving beach boys for what seems forever....liked greatest hits as a kid, got into them hardcore in 2000, from viewing An American Family...been obsessed ever since. 

[Mike's Beard]

I think it still goes back to what Dennis said in early 70's about the BB's having rubbish representation at Capitol who couldn't see past the whole "early fun in the sun" thing and get behind the group as they developed and matured. Granted the band have shot themselves in the foot on more than one occasion in regards to expanding their audience and getting more cred, (actually I'm hard put to think of a band who have pissed on their chips more times throughout the years than the Beach Boys!) but I think it all goes back to them not having better promotion back in mid 60's and the endless Capitol comps that avoid the whole Warner  period that stop newer generations from embracing the 'Boys in the same way as The Beatles or 'Stones. The Beatles were inferior to the Beach Boys on every level but they had superb management. 60 years later that appears to be the difference maker.

[Mike's Beard]

As I was cooking my dinner and was hurrying my post I forgot to add how cool it is that we have quite a few teens on here that have 'got' the Beach Boys. There is hope.  

[Alex]

The Beatles were inferior to the Beach Boys on every level but they had superb management. 60 years later that appears to be the difference maker.

Well, who do ya think would know more about "cool" image-making, Murry "the Lawrence Welk-loving, child abusing square" Wilson or Leggy Mountbat...er, Brian Epstein?

As I was cooking my dinner and was hurrying my post I forgot to add how cool it is that we have quite a few teens on here that have 'got' the Beach Boys. there is hope. 

What about early-20-somethings? We still count as young people, right?

[Mooger Fooger]

Ages ago, when I was reading reviews on "Begin" by The Millennium, I was drawn to a statement which the reviewer said, "I envy those hearing this record for the first time..."

I sometimes think back to the first time I heard many a BB track. That feeling I'll never forget. Most prom,inent when in 1984 I first heard Do You Like Worms. It was cosmic, and I knew I was hearing very special music.

[Dr. Tim]

FWIW the BB will find respect with music heads of every generation.  There were lots of kids when I took my daughter to one of Brian's TLOS shows.  She is a big fan of "Good Kind of Love", bellowed along the "hey nows" on "Do It Again" with everyone else, and has "Rhonda" and "Then I Kissed Her" memorized.  Her favorite song on Smile is the Fire music (Mrs. O'lLeary's Cow).

For you young guys on the bus asked what you're listening to, you won't hear the "Faggy boy band" line if instead of the BB you say you're listening to Brian Wilson - they'll back off.  Even more so if you tell them you're listening to Dennis's POB.   Sorry Mike fans, but that's the way it is.

[markcharles75]

Mooger Fooger

Great post.  I concur lol  There is nothing like virgin ears hearing the material for the first time.   Oh,  I also love that Millenium album Begin.  It is in my top 10 favorite albums of all time.  For sure a desert island disc for me.

[urbanite]

This generation does love the Beach Boys.  There are a lot of young fans at their concerts, and their music is played on all kinds of radio stations regularly, because the public in general digs their songs.

[Ron]

I was 15 (in 2002) when I fell hard for the Beach Boys. Everyone thought it was the weirdest thing that I loved this band opposed to any of the other popular crap-Britney Spears etc. of that time. I guess it was pretty weird but music was in my bones and the Beach Boys are the best example of real, good music.

Do you think it's possible for kids of this generation-this Lady GaGa (no offense to her) sexed up generation to love the Beach Boys? And I mean really fall hard and deep and appreciate everything the Boys have to offer?
I just don't know, I can't convince any of the young people I know, but I hope for humanity's sake that some do...

Don't get all grandma on us, you're only what, 23?  Of course this generation can love the Beach Boys, it's timeless music and will live long after they're gone.  They had the fortune to be around in a time when something new was still possible in music, they rode the early cusp of Rock and Roll and helped define it.  They'll always be remembered for that, and the music sounds just as good today as it did then.


If you ever doubt it, play some Beach Boys music around infants or young 4 and 5 year olds.  Watch their reaction.  They love it.... that's because it's just a human thing to like that type of sound, the vibe (pardon the pun) of the music is undeniable.

[Ron]

Oh, and I'm 31... when I was about 10, I remember the first day in a new school, all these kids were picking on me and I was a pretty nerdy little guy.  Anyways, they're all giving me hell and it's been a pretty f***ed up day... and the latest thing they're messing with me about is "What's your favorite band?" Well, at the time, all I listened to was 60's rock and roll, because that's all my dad listened to.  I literally had no clue who any of the new bands were.  So I told them "Um.... I'm not going to tell you; but their initials are BB".  So this little prick who's teasing me says "The Beastie Boys?" and I said "No" hoping he'd leave it at that.  Then he said "The Beach Boys?" and I sheepishly said "Yes" and he said "Oh;.... well they're cool" and walked away! I couldn't believe it!  THANK GOD FOR KOKOMO!

[Ron]

One more thing... it's my opinion (and only that) that there's absolutely nothing wrong with people seeing the Beach Boys as the fun in the sun band.  Those early songs stand up to any test you want to put them to, that's damn good music by a damn good band.  Sure it's cool to like the later stuff and maybe it's more artistic, but "Surfin' USA" is one hell of a record.  Play "Surfin' USA" for anybody and then find somebody, anybody who doesn't like it.  99% of the general public will probably not only like that song but love that song, it's part of EVERYBODY'S life, everybody has knowledge of that song.  Now play them the other 50 or so that they know just as well, even if they're not big fans!  There's no shame in any of those early songs, Surfer Girl is better than anything written in the past 10 fucking years!  Why act like there's anything wrong with liking what you like?  We're not 10 years old shying away from the bullies anymore, lol. 

[JohnMill]

The problem with the "Hanson Generation" which is the generation we are speaking of when we speak of the current generation of kids in their teens-early twenties is that unless their parents' musical tastes influenced them, they have no idea what music is prior to the year 2000.  Now there are obvious exceptions to that rule, the members on this forum in that demographic testify to that but there is a generation out there that grew up on industry processed music and that is all they have really been exposed to unless they choose to go deeper into listening to all different types of music and discover bands that weren't necessarily marketed to their generation.

As far as The Beach Boys go, I wouldn't be surprised that if the only exposure the "Hanson Generation" has gotten of their music is "Kokomo" and that might be stretching it since "Kokomo" in a lot of cases pre-dates the year of their birth.  Lets face it The Beach Boys despite the never ending tour, were not an active group during the past two decades.  With the exception of SIP, they didn't release records, didn't make many headlines and generally did not have an influence on the trends in music during the past twenty years (directly anyhow).  There are a lot of young people out there who know little to nothing about the group and many times what they do know is misinformation.  For example supermodel Brooklyn Decker who certainly fits into this younger generation we are speaking of (she's 25) made mention during The Grammy Awards that she was surprised to see The Beach Boys onstage because she "thought all the original members of the group were deceased".  This was obviously the same night where there was the infamous "Who Is Paul McCartney?" incident which may or may not prove out my initial statement regarding the lack of range when it comes to this particular generation. 

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I'm 15, and I basically study all music of the 60's 70's and even back to the 50's

And I get unlimited numbers of sh*t for it.

So, no, everyone wants to be normal, only the strong ones can be different, and there's very few today.

[SamMcK]

Hi, my name is Sam, and I am an alcoholic a Beach Boys fan. I am currently 18.

[EgoHanger1966]

I'm 20. I've been into 60s music for as long as I can remember, hardcore too. I discovered The Beatles when I was like 4. After that, I dug into the British Invasion (Searchers, Billy J Kramer, Gerry/Pacemakers), and throughout my early teenage years I was huge into rare and obscure doo-wop. Although I had (and have) friends, none of them ever connected with me on the same level musically I was at. It's kind of difficult because the music is such a huge part of my life, and sharing it is so much fun - but when your friends don't feel the same way that you do, you feel a little lost. I guess that's why we gravitate towards message boards so much!

Anyway, although I had the 20 Greatest Hits cd that I remember liking early on, I could never really get into the Beach Boys until about two years ago. In high school, I bought a copy of Pet Sounds because I had to see why this was one of the greatest thing ever, and I listened to it a couple times, but I didn't "get it" - looking back, I realised I wasn't mature enough, I needed some growing to to. I came back to it on my own, when i really needed that music, it came to me. And once I got Pet Sounds (and consequently, the rest of their music) , I'll be a Brian Wilson and Beach Boys fan for life.

My generation can love The Beach Boys. They just need to be found.

[Runaways]

25 yr old here.  There will never be a shortage of fans.  Especially with new musicians constantly being influenced.

[AndrewHickey]

The problem with the "Hanson Generation" which is the generation we are speaking of when we speak of the current generation of kids in their teens-early twenties is that unless their parents' musical tastes influenced them, they have no idea what music is prior to the year 2000.  Now there are obvious exceptions to that rule, the members on this forum in that demographic testify to that but there is a generation out there that grew up on industry processed music and that is all they have really been exposed to unless they choose to go deeper into listening to all different types of music and discover bands that weren't necessarily marketed to their generation.

The problem with the "Boomer Generation" which is the generation we are speaking of when we speak of the current generation of adults in their fifties-early sixties is that unless their parents' musical tastes influenced them, they have no idea what music is prior to the year 1960.  Now there are obvious exceptions to that rule, but there is a generation out there that grew up on industry processed music and that is all they have really been exposed to unless they choose to go deeper into listening to all different types of music and discover bands that weren't necessarily marketed to their generation.




Assuming the copyright laws get changed at some point to stop being so counterproductive, I think that once the cultural dominance of the boomers finally subsides, the Beach Boys will be *precisely* as popular as recorded music from earlier generations is now -- most people in thirty or forty years won't have heard of them, any more than most people now have heard of Charley Patton or Jelly Roll Morton or Paul Whiteman, but as long as people listen to recorded music there will be *some* people who will listen to them and appreciate and love their music, just as there are today for those older musicians.

[SamMcK]

I'll still be listening to the Beach Boys 50 years from now, i'll be boring my grandchildren by telling them how I saw the Beach Boys on their 50th aniversary tour!

[Ron]

I was 15 (in 2002) when I fell hard for the Beach Boys. Everyone thought it was the weirdest thing that I loved this band opposed to any of the other popular crap-Britney Spears etc. of that time. I guess it was pretty weird but music was in my bones and the Beach Boys are the best example of real, good music.

Do you think it's possible for kids of this generation-this Lady GaGa (no offense to her) sexed up generation to love the Beach Boys? And I mean really fall hard and deep and appreciate everything the Boys have to offer?
I just don't know, I can't convince any of the young people I know, but I hope for humanity's sake that some do...

Kayla, you're proof that it's possible.  Everybody likes good music, and if the music is good enough, it'll stand the test of time.  It already has for 50 years.