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Author Topic: If you don't like She's Goin' Bald  (Read 13721 times)
Mr. Cohen
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« on: November 19, 2010, 03:44:44 PM »

If you don't like "She's Goin' Bald" then you're simply uncultured. Oh, I can already hear you crying foul. But read the rest of this first.

When I imagine someone disliking songs off of Smiley Smile, I see a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

"People pay money for this Jackson Pollock guy's paintings?" he wonders aloud. "My 1-year-old son has dirty diapers that look like this, and my 4-year-old daughter actually painted something like this in preschool the other day."

Yet, somehow, his daughter never becomes a rich and famous artist. Go figure.

People hate art like that because it reveals their own intellectual deficiencies. They either don't have the innate intelligence or patience and curiosity to think abstractly enough to understand it. But everyone lies to think they're smart, so the project their own shortcomings on the art. Then it's not their fault. It's the artist's fault for making "trash."

In reality, the artist responsible for the work is usually a master in his craft and spends countless hours expanding his own mental horizons. For the artistic genius, their is no more important task than exploring the human condition. Through dutiful examinations of the self they gleam great insights on our existence. Fortunately, they'll occasionally share those insights with the world through their art.

The harshest critics of great art are usually the basest people. They go through their lives unthinkingly, idling away their potential by immersing themselves the crudest forms of entertainment imaginable. And when they're not doing that, you'll find them absurdly preoccupied with their menial jobs.

Wake up. That's no way to live. Put on Smiley Smile. Get some culture in your life.

Smiley Smile is a series of sound paintings. Brian, who was in incredible mental state at the time, spent a month aurally documenting his perceptions, both conscious and subconscious, for our betterment. To do this, he reimagined his songs as moods. The carefully crafted ambiance on songs like "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" creates a world for the songs to inhabit. It's a desolate world. Where the fertile imagination of Brian once planted grand gardens, we now see weeds. The sun, once radiant, seems permanently obscured by clouds.

Yet, now and then, we catch a glimpse of a ray of light. We see an iridescent flower sprout from a crack in the floor of ancient temple. The ruined temple itself has its own kind of peculiar beauty, a beauty only decay can bring. One has the sense that this was once a magnificent place where humans performed immortal feats, feats of which the wind still whispers. It's a feeling I had only once before listening to Smiley Smile, when I walked through the Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy.

Enough of waxing poetic.

Just listen to "She's Goin' Bald". The psychedelic atmosphere of this song is incredible. Listen closely. Is that an organ playing the bassline during the first verse, or is that someone's voice? Or is the organ alive? Then, suddenly, the voices of the Beach Boys start to rise. What's going on? Did Brian just huff some nitrous oxide with us? Before you can figure that out, you're transported to the bedroom Brian had as a kid. He's listening to a creepy radio drama. You see pull the covers tightly around his neck. What THE...? And now, just as unexpectedly, we're in Brian's living room and the group is doing an rhythm and blues song.

To top it all of, it's still a catchy song. How can you tell me that this isn't genius?

There's a reason Mike Love hated the original Smile tapes. It made it evident how unsophisticated he was. It bruised his ego. I know, most people think Mike hated Smile because it wasn't about cars, girls, and surfing. To those people, I say, look at Mike Love in England, 1966. He's wearing a tweed jacket, slim fitted pants, a stylish hat, and holding a smoking pipe. Are you telling me that this guy wasn't eating up the praises of the rock press as they called the group genius?

When Mike heard Smile, he knew it was beyond his intellect to understand it The incredible leaps Brian had taken were going to make it look like Mike had been holding back Brian's true potential. Not only that, but how was Mike supposed to explain the material when an adoring press asked him questions about it.

"Mike, what does 'over and over, the crow cries uncover the cornfield' mean?"

"Uh... Um... it.... well.... Let me think. I don't know."

Smile was going to make Mike out to be some kind of "suburban hick". At the same time, Brian was going to be hailed as a genius. Mike was jealous. Again, I see the a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

Do yourself a favor.  Listen to "She's Goin' Bald" right now. Listen to it over and over, until you learn to appreciate it. Trust me, it's good for you. You might hate it at first, but you'll just look like a child refusing to try new foods. Taste the smiley smile.

If you already appreciate "She's Goin' Bald", I hope we can be friends.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2010, 03:47:13 PM by Dada » Logged
Dunderhead
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« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2010, 03:55:42 PM »

And here... we... go!
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Stephen Newcombe
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« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2010, 04:01:04 PM »

I once listened to Smiley Smile on acid

She's Goin Bald was a stand out track
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If you can't write music in your head you have no right writing music
Jason
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« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2010, 04:13:57 PM »

Oh boy...a THREAD!!!!!!11111oneoneone11111!!!!!!!! I'm nipping this in the bud before this turns into the last THREAD we had which resulted in a few bans and exiled members.

Brian. Killed. Smile. Period. Deal with it.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2010, 04:15:18 PM by The Real Beach Boy » Logged
Jason
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« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2010, 04:16:55 PM »

And by Mr. Dada's reasoning, that must mean that much of the fanbase is unsophisticated because they don't understand just how much The Beach Boys Love You is a work of genius. In that case, I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. Smiley
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Stephen Newcombe
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« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2010, 04:17:26 PM »

Who moderates the moderator?
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If you can't write music in your head you have no right writing music
Mr. Cohen
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« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2010, 04:19:14 PM »

Oh no, don't kill this topic! Think of the children! The first amendment! Dove chocolate! Anything!!!

Quote
In that case, I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment.
Agreed.
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Jason
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« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2010, 04:26:57 PM »

Who moderates the moderator?

We Global Moderators moderate ourselves. We're moderately sure that all of our moderating is moderately performed to the satisfaction of the moderate-brained Brianistas who moderately frequent our board (which we Global Moderators are in the process of moderating).

Oh no, don't kill this topic!

I won't.

Think of the children!

Children are not our future.

The first amendment!

A pipe dream.

Dove chocolate!

Yummy.

Anything!!!

Anything?
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Stephen Newcombe
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« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2010, 04:28:23 PM »

Smiley Smile and Love You are in my top five Brian Wilson albums. I love his production, but for me, the magic of Brian Wilson is his musical structure. I won't use the word chord progressions, as his best stuff is more contrapunctal. I love the perfection in his writing, which shines out in these two albums without being hidden by window dressing.
I also love Friends for the song structure. There are some masterpieces on that album

Smiley Smile is pure Brian Wilson. I think of Smile and Smiley Smile as two completely independent, almost unrelated albums.
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If you can't write music in your head you have no right writing music
Stephen Newcombe
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« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2010, 04:32:13 PM »

Quote
the moderate-brained Brianistas who moderately frequent our board

!
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filledeplage
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« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2010, 04:43:16 PM »

If you don't like "She's Goin' Bald" then you're simply uncultured. Oh, I can already hear you crying foul. But read the rest of this first.

When I imagine someone disliking songs off of Smiley Smile, I see a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

"People pay money for this Jackson Pollock guy's paintings?" he wonders aloud. "My 1-year-old son has dirty diapers that look like this, and my 4-year-old daughter actually painted something like this in preschool the other day."

Yet, somehow, his daughter never becomes a rich and famous artist. Go figure.

People hate art like that because it reveals their own intellectual deficiencies. They either don't have the innate intelligence or patience and curiosity to think abstractly enough to understand it. But everyone lies to think they're smart, so the project their own shortcomings on the art. Then it's not their fault. It's the artist's fault for making "trash."

In reality, the artist responsible for the work is usually a master in his craft and spends countless hours expanding his own mental horizons. For the artistic genius, their is no more important task than exploring the human condition. Through dutiful examinations of the self they gleam great insights on our existence. Fortunately, they'll occasionally share those insights with the world through their art.

The harshest critics of great art are usually the basest people. They go through their lives unthinkingly, idling away their potential by immersing themselves the crudest forms of entertainment imaginable. And when they're not doing that, you'll find them absurdly preoccupied with their menial jobs.

Wake up. That's no way to live. Put on Smiley Smile. Get some culture in your life.

Smiley Smile is a series of sound paintings. Brian, who was in incredible mental state at the time, spent a month aurally documenting his perceptions, both conscious and subconscious, for our betterment. To do this, he reimagined his songs as moods. The carefully crafted ambiance on songs like "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" creates a world for the songs to inhabit. It's a desolate world. Where the fertile imagination of Brian once planted grand gardens, we now see weeds. The sun, once radiant, seems permanently obscured by clouds.

Yet, now and then, we catch a glimpse of a ray of light. We see an iridescent flower sprout from a crack in the floor of ancient temple. The ruined temple itself has its own kind of peculiar beauty, a beauty only decay can bring. One has the sense that this was once a magnificent place where humans performed immortal feats, feats of which the wind still whispers. It's a feeling I had only once before listening to Smiley Smile, when I walked through the Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy.

Enough of waxing poetic.

Just listen to "She's Goin' Bald". The psychedelic atmosphere of this song is incredible. Listen closely. Is that an organ playing the bassline during the first verse, or is that someone's voice? Or is the organ alive? Then, suddenly, the voices of the Beach Boys start to rise. What's going on? Did Brian just huff some nitrous oxide with us? Before you can figure that out, you're transported to the bedroom Brian had as a kid. He's listening to a creepy radio drama. You see pull the covers tightly around his neck. What THE...? And now, just as unexpectedly, we're in Brian's living room and the group is doing an rhythm and blues song.

To top it all of, it's still a catchy song. How can you tell me that this isn't genius?

There's a reason Mike Love hated the original Smile tapes. It made it evident how unsophisticated he was. It bruised his ego. I know, most people think Mike hated Smile because it wasn't about cars, girls, and surfing. To those people, I say, look at Mike Love in England, 1966. He's wearing a tweed jacket, slim fitted pants, a stylish hat, and holding a smoking pipe. Are you telling me that this guy wasn't eating up the praises of the rock press as they called the group genius?

When Mike heard Smile, he knew it was beyond his intellect to understand it The incredible leaps Brian had taken were going to make it look like Mike had been holding back Brian's true potential. Not only that, but how was Mike supposed to explain the material when an adoring press asked him questions about it.

"Mike, what does 'over and over, the crow cries uncover the cornfield' mean?"

"Uh... Um... it.... well.... Let me think. I don't know."

Smile was going to make Mike out to be some kind of "suburban hick". At the same time, Brian was going to be hailed as a genius. Mike was jealous. Again, I see the a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

Do yourself a favor.  Listen to "She's Goin' Bald" right now. Listen to it over and over, until you learn to appreciate it. Trust me, it's good for you. You might hate it at first, but you'll just look like a child refusing to try new foods. Taste the smiley smile.

If you already appreciate "She's Goin' Bald", I hope we can be friends.

Dada -I  very much like your characterization of "sound paintings" for the music...And I think Smile or whatever version you are listening to was lost on a lot of people...I wore out the grooves of my LP...and I found it difficult when I was studying 19th century French lit, to try to apply a 20th century lens to it.  It isn't fair.  Women were not generally well educated.  It was not fair, but it was the standard of life back then. Do you go back and "dig up the dead people and yell at them for the injustice?" - You can't.  And although there are a lot of newer fans who did not "live the history" of the Beach Boys voyage through the last 50 years, it is important to have the "context" of  what was historically going on in this country at the time.  It is all "contemporaneous" - you mention Warhol...

"She's Goin' Bald" reminds me of a woman going through chemo and losing her hair...and always has...and that is a "literal" lens.

You are correct about a lot of what is on that album as extremely creative.  The vocals are exquisite, and that includes Mike's.  Mike is not unintelligent.  Far from it.  And he was the one who learned the business which is a large component of this industry.  Sometimes or mostly, the creators don't get involved with the nitty,  gritty, boring details.  I think that Mike took that role on and frankly I think he does a pretty respectable job.  He "built" the Touring Band who are fabulous and put on the most exciting show imaginable and leave the audience "spent."  And, I think Brian's is wonderful as well and I have seen both, plenty and recently.  

And, we have to remember they were working on a new label, with Smile, because the Pet Sounds LP - also a work of art, was essentially "set up" to compete within the same record label, with The Beatles.  That is my observational "rear view mirror" personal assessment of what happened as between the two albums.  

Brian is a genius composer, but in order to make songs like Good Vibrations - "available" for people to sing along with, you need a good lyricist.  That is Mike.  And, if legend is correct, Mike wrote those now very famous lyrics, while he was on tour with the Beach Boys, so it is not balanced to minimize his contribution.  When  you sing "I'm Picking up Good Vibrations, she's giving me excitations..." you are singing Mike's words...and he makes the melody, "available" to us with his lyrics...they are catchy and can bring an "image" to the music.  Mike has taken the "abstract" of the notes on the sheet music and made them "concrete" and "available" for us to sing them.  

Mike was wearing the style of the day...and always looked very nice...

We  need to  remember, Mike had to take "what Brian wrote" and "sell it" on the road, to the audiences, during a time when the US was at war, when the US was in political disarray, and we were having our leaders assassinated.  Mike could look at that audience, night after night, and know what would be listened to, and what would be ignored.  

If Mike had concerns, or opinions, it is not as if they were "un-informed" - they were grounded in nearly 8 years of touring the globe, and having to respond to questions like "Where's Brian?" from reporters and fans like me, (although I never personally asked it) who never saw him in concert, from 1967 until 1987, in a "cameo" appearance at a local Beach Boys concert, when he sang a couple of songs. It was around 2000 when I saw him do Pet Sounds Live.  That is nearly 35 years of being a fan, up to that point.  And Brian is a delight to see, like the Comeback Kid.  But Mike did the grunt work, during those years when Brian was not "Back."  

They are still cousins and when is all is said and done, they still share a common ancestry.  And Brian and Mike had an undeniable "synergy" in composing and lyric writing.  Blood is still thicker than water.    

JMHO

  

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Jason
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« Reply #11 on: November 19, 2010, 05:02:00 PM »

Smiley Smile and Love You are in my top five Brian Wilson albums. I love his production, but for me, the magic of Brian Wilson is his musical structure. I won't use the word chord progressions, as his best stuff is more contrapunctal. I love the perfection in his writing, which shines out in these two albums without being hidden by window dressing.
I also love Friends for the song structure. There are some masterpieces on that album

Smiley Smile is pure Brian Wilson. I think of Smile and Smiley Smile as two completely independent, almost unrelated albums.

I definitely agree with those statements. The 1967-77 period is just as much of an argument for the "Brian Wilson is a genius" myth as 1961-66 is. Smiley Smile and Wild Honey (also the Heider sessions, The Letter, Honey Get Home, and Can't Wait Too Long) may be credited to the band as far as production is concerned but the session tapes reveal Brian clearly in charge of the proceedings. Friends and 20/20 (also Sail Plane Song, My Little Red Book, Walkin', We're Together Again, Old Folks At Home/Ol' Man River, and Walk On By) are less so, but there's still that unmistakable Brian feel to his songs and the songs he was known to have produced. Then you get to Sunflower and he's basically working as one member of the band and not as the leader. The Brian feel permeates the 1967-70 stuff a lot. Then from 1971-75 there's a pullback. He's technically ON Surf's Up, Carl and the Passions, and Holland, but you can easily miss his contributions. On Surf's Up he's clearly on Take A Load Off Your Feet and 'Til I Die vocally (and Surf's Up of course), and he plays the pump organ on A Day In The Life Of A Tree. On Carl and the Passions and Holland he's pretty much doing just backing vocals except for his one shining moment singing the first lines of California. But then when he does 15 Big Ones, Love You, and Adult/Child, he's going off into his own direction, heavily influenced by his lifestyle of the time, similarly to how the 1967-70 recordings were. For some reason, people seem to love the 1967-70 recordings but hate the 1976-77 recordings. They're both snapshots of the life of one Mr. Brian Douglas Wilson at specific times. And both are fascinating in their mystery and their modest yet powerful musical invention.

Quote
the moderate-brained Brianistas who moderately frequent our board

!

Yup.
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Jason
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« Reply #12 on: November 19, 2010, 05:04:50 PM »

I'd like to add too, Stephen, that I definitely agree with your statement of taking Smile and Smiley Smile as two separate entities. In this environment of post-20/20/Surf's Up/Good Vibrations box set/BWPS, you HAVE to take them as two separate entities in order to fully appreciate them both as two fruits from the imagination of probably the most creative musician in rock music.
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« Reply #13 on: November 19, 2010, 05:07:51 PM »

i honestly thought this thread was gonna be:

"If you don't like She's Goin' Bald,

then you wouldn't like He Gives Speeches."
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"Well, you reached out to me too, David, and I'd be more than happy to fill Bgas's shoes. You don't need him anyway - some of us have the same items in our collections as he does and we're also much better writers. Spoiled brat....."
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« Reply #14 on: November 19, 2010, 05:18:45 PM »

i honestly thought this thread was gonna be:

"If you don't like She's Goin' Bald,

then you wouldn't like He Gives Speeches."

As in "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears,

I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him..."


Sorry, I could not resist... LOL LOL LOL


Kidding aside, it is hard to listen "inside the box" - and ignore what was historically going on at the time...age is an advantage here...

It is very hard for younger fans to understand...the whole story is important...it was "shelved."

Thank you Mr. Moderator for moderating...   

But I do love his/her passion for the music...
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Jason
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« Reply #15 on: November 19, 2010, 05:30:44 PM »

There are advantages and disadvantages to being both an older fan who was there at the beginning and to being a newer fan who came to the band in the 1970s or later. The former group has the benefit of wealth of music and a perspective of those times, the latter group has the benefit of a wealth of music without the perspective of those times. The older fans in many cases can't seem to get into anything after Holland; some can't get into anything past Pet Sounds, and even some can't seem to get into anything after Party because "it's not the band I grew up with" or some other reasoning. The younger fans have the benefit of a wealth of music they can listen to without recalling the burdens of history combined with their own experiences during the 1960s as, obviously, they might not have been around in the 1960s or were not old enough to recall the times. Great music, of any genre, is timeless. Let go of your ego and listen to the music without the burden of history. I think all of you Love You haters will enjoy what you hear. Smiley
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« Reply #16 on: November 19, 2010, 05:46:48 PM »

There are advantages and disadvantages to being both an older fan who was there at the beginning and to being a newer fan who came to the band in the 1970s or later. The former group has the benefit of wealth of music and a perspective of those times, the latter group has the benefit of a wealth of music without the perspective of those times. The older fans in many cases can't seem to get into anything after Holland; some can't get into anything past Pet Sounds, and even some can't seem to get into anything after Party because "it's not the band I grew up with" or some other reasoning. The younger fans have the benefit of a wealth of music they can listen to without recalling the burdens of history combined with their own experiences during the 1960s as, obviously, they might not have been around in the 1960s or were not old enough to recall the times. Great music, of any genre, is timeless. Let go of your ego and listen to the music without the burden of history. I think all of you Love You haters will enjoy what you hear. Smiley

That is an interesting way to think of it...the advantage of growing up alongside the music, and the early part of the sixties are before my time, (Thank God) is that you could listen to one album "well" and "digest it" alongside whatever was going on, whether it was Carl's arrest, or Woodstock, before the next album was released, which you might also listen to thoroughly and well, etc. 

Music was not really "portable" back then you you had to be physically "near" the music.  Now, people just scroll around the iphone or Zune, and pick and choose, and may not get the flavor of the "body of work" in the same way you listened to one side of an LP and then had to physically "turn the LP over" to hear the other side.  I am not sure that the history is a "burden," so much as it is a gift or a "reference point" into which one can have a "context."   

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« Reply #17 on: November 19, 2010, 05:52:53 PM »

If you don't like "She's Goin' Bald" then you're simply uncultured. Oh, I can already hear you crying foul. But read the rest of this first.

When I imagine someone disliking songs off of Smiley Smile, I see a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

"People pay money for this Jackson Pollock guy's paintings?" he wonders aloud. "My 1-year-old son has dirty diapers that look like this, and my 4-year-old daughter actually painted something like this in preschool the other day."

Yet, somehow, his daughter never becomes a rich and famous artist. Go figure.

People hate art like that because it reveals their own intellectual deficiencies. They either don't have the innate intelligence or patience and curiosity to think abstractly enough to understand it. But everyone lies to think they're smart, so the project their own shortcomings on the art. Then it's not their fault. It's the artist's fault for making "trash."

In reality, the artist responsible for the work is usually a master in his craft and spends countless hours expanding his own mental horizons. For the artistic genius, their is no more important task than exploring the human condition. Through dutiful examinations of the self they gleam great insights on our existence. Fortunately, they'll occasionally share those insights with the world through their art.

The harshest critics of great art are usually the basest people. They go through their lives unthinkingly, idling away their potential by immersing themselves the crudest forms of entertainment imaginable. And when they're not doing that, you'll find them absurdly preoccupied with their menial jobs.

Wake up. That's no way to live. Put on Smiley Smile. Get some culture in your life.

Smiley Smile is a series of sound paintings. Brian, who was in incredible mental state at the time, spent a month aurally documenting his perceptions, both conscious and subconscious, for our betterment. To do this, he reimagined his songs as moods. The carefully crafted ambiance on songs like "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" creates a world for the songs to inhabit. It's a desolate world. Where the fertile imagination of Brian once planted grand gardens, we now see weeds. The sun, once radiant, seems permanently obscured by clouds.

Yet, now and then, we catch a glimpse of a ray of light. We see an iridescent flower sprout from a crack in the floor of ancient temple. The ruined temple itself has its own kind of peculiar beauty, a beauty only decay can bring. One has the sense that this was once a magnificent place where humans performed immortal feats, feats of which the wind still whispers. It's a feeling I had only once before listening to Smiley Smile, when I walked through the Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy.

Enough of waxing poetic.

Just listen to "She's Goin' Bald". The psychedelic atmosphere of this song is incredible. Listen closely. Is that an organ playing the bassline during the first verse, or is that someone's voice? Or is the organ alive? Then, suddenly, the voices of the Beach Boys start to rise. What's going on? Did Brian just huff some nitrous oxide with us? Before you can figure that out, you're transported to the bedroom Brian had as a kid. He's listening to a creepy radio drama. You see pull the covers tightly around his neck. What THE...? And now, just as unexpectedly, we're in Brian's living room and the group is doing an rhythm and blues song.

To top it all of, it's still a catchy song. How can you tell me that this isn't genius?

There's a reason Mike Love hated the original Smile tapes. It made it evident how unsophisticated he was. It bruised his ego. I know, most people think Mike hated Smile because it wasn't about cars, girls, and surfing. To those people, I say, look at Mike Love in England, 1966. He's wearing a tweed jacket, slim fitted pants, a stylish hat, and holding a smoking pipe. Are you telling me that this guy wasn't eating up the praises of the rock press as they called the group genius?

When Mike heard Smile, he knew it was beyond his intellect to understand it The incredible leaps Brian had taken were going to make it look like Mike had been holding back Brian's true potential. Not only that, but how was Mike supposed to explain the material when an adoring press asked him questions about it.

"Mike, what does 'over and over, the crow cries uncover the cornfield' mean?"

"Uh... Um... it.... well.... Let me think. I don't know."

Smile was going to make Mike out to be some kind of "suburban hick". At the same time, Brian was going to be hailed as a genius. Mike was jealous. Again, I see the a country bumpkin with a pitchfork in his hand trashing a great piece of modern abstract art at the Louvre.

Do yourself a favor.  Listen to "She's Goin' Bald" right now. Listen to it over and over, until you learn to appreciate it. Trust me, it's good for you. You might hate it at first, but you'll just look like a child refusing to try new foods. Taste the smiley smile.

If you already appreciate "She's Goin' Bald", I hope we can be friends.

Love ALL of SmileySmile except for that song....the lyrics creep me the hell out. If others get spiritual or entertainment value out of it I can't argue with them, nor will I try to change their opinion on the matter. Everyone has their own groove...

(edit: Great post btw!....I went back and listened to the song...the way you wrote about it I really did want to like it!...but alas, I still can't get into it)
« Last Edit: November 19, 2010, 05:55:08 PM by rab2591 » Logged

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God must’ve smiled the day Brian Wilson was born!

"ragegasm" - /rāj • ga-zəm/ : a logical mental response produced when your favorite band becomes remotely associated with the bro-country genre.

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Jason
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« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2010, 05:58:46 PM »

That is an interesting way to think of it...the advantage of growing up alongside the music, and the early part of the sixties are before my time, (Thank God) is that you could listen to one album "well" and "digest it" alongside whatever was going on, whether it was Carl's arrest, or Woodstock, before the next album was released, which you might also listen to thoroughly and well, etc. 

Music was not really "portable" back then you you had to be physically "near" the music.  Now, people just scroll around the iphone or Zune, and pick and choose, and may not get the flavor of the "body of work" in the same way you listened to one side of an LP and then had to physically "turn the LP over" to hear the other side.  I am not sure that the history is a "burden," so much as it is a gift or a "reference point" into which one can have a "context."   

Well, the history issue can be both a blessing and a burden, and that's across the board for both the older fans and the newer fans. Everyone attaches memories of their "first times", whether it's something as trivial as where you were and what was going on the first time you kissed someone who wasn't a family member, the first time you heard rock 'n roll on the radio, the first time you saw Star Wars, or what you did when you heard about the 9/11 attacks. I know these are somewhat overly American, but they're just for discussion.

Personally, I recall the first time I heard Os Mutantes' 1973 album O A e o Z (The A and the Z). It was right around when my first girlfriend and I had split up and I was down with a very high fever and influenza. For years I couldn't enjoy the album mainly because it reminded me of an unpleasant split with a woman and the lovely feeling of puking every hour on the hour. Only recently have I been able to really enjoy the record on its own terms without the burdens of past experiences. It IS possible to detach yourself from the past as far as listening to music is concerned. It's a matter of just letting things go.
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« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2010, 06:01:19 PM »

A little diversion off the topic:

I've noticed a bit of animosity towards the song 'Gettin' Hungry' in a few posts spread across SmileySmile.net. I never understood the dislike for this song....is it because the song doesn't relate directly to the original SMiLE? Or What?
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God must’ve smiled the day Brian Wilson was born!

"ragegasm" - /rāj • ga-zəm/ : a logical mental response produced when your favorite band becomes remotely associated with the bro-country genre.

Ever want to hear some Beach Boys songs mashed up together like The Beatles' 'LOVE' album? Check out my mix!
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« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2010, 06:39:40 PM »

That is an interesting way to think of it...the advantage of growing up alongside the music, and the early part of the sixties are before my time, (Thank God) is that you could listen to one album "well" and "digest it" alongside whatever was going on, whether it was Carl's arrest, or Woodstock, before the next album was released, which you might also listen to thoroughly and well, etc. 

Music was not really "portable" back then you you had to be physically "near" the music.  Now, people just scroll around the iphone or Zune, and pick and choose, and may not get the flavor of the "body of work" in the same way you listened to one side of an LP and then had to physically "turn the LP over" to hear the other side.  I am not sure that the history is a "burden," so much as it is a gift or a "reference point" into which one can have a "context."   

Well, the history issue can be both a blessing and a burden, and that's across the board for both the older fans and the newer fans. Everyone attaches memories of their "first times", whether it's something as trivial as where you were and what was going on the first time you kissed someone who wasn't a family member, the first time you heard rock 'n roll on the radio, the first time you saw Star Wars, or what you did when you heard about the 9/11 attacks. I know these are somewhat overly American, but they're just for discussion.

Personally, I recall the first time I heard Os Mutantes' 1973 album O A e o Z (The A and the Z). It was right around when my first girlfriend and I had split up and I was down with a very high fever and influenza. For years I couldn't enjoy the album mainly because it reminded me of an unpleasant split with a woman and the lovely feeling of puking every hour on the hour. Only recently have I been able to really enjoy the record on its own terms without the burdens of past experiences. It IS possible to detach yourself from the past as far as listening to music is concerned. It's a matter of just letting things go.

We have all had years when an album would be an association with something devastating or unpleasant;  to listen to it when you are in that devastating experience I think is unhealthy.  You just put it away until you are ready to listen to it again.  We have all been there I think, just part of the human experience.

Putting it away I think is "balanced" and healthy. Why be more miserable than necessary? it gets in the way of living everyday...you were smart.

Lots of famous country music has emerged from that Heartbreak Hotel... 

As you say you recently are able to put that music on and enjoy it on its own terms...It is a great place to get to!

I never thought of that issue you raise about "first times" in that way, that it was an American thing...   
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« Reply #21 on: November 19, 2010, 07:33:51 PM »

And yet sometimes, the art is just simply lousy.

I'm not by any means talking about Smiley Smile or She's Goin' Bald, I just don't like your characterization of people who don't like strange art as mindless cretins.
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« Reply #22 on: November 19, 2010, 07:50:49 PM »

Quote
We  need to  remember, Mike had to take "what Brian wrote" and "sell it" on the road, to the audiences, during a time when the US was at war, when the US was in political disarray, and we were having our leaders assassinated.  Mike could look at that audience, night after night, and know what would be listened to, and what would be ignored.
Why? Who said the BBs had to play for teenagers nonstop? The Beatles had already stopped touring by August of 1966. It was shortsighted on the part of money-grubbing Mike to worry so much about maintaining a core audience of teenagers. Brian's melodies, song ideas, and production had already made Mike a very rich man. Brian had led them well so far and there seemed to be no reason to doubt him. After all, the press was calling Brian a genius, and the broader public's approval of Brian's musical direction became apparent when they bought hundreds of thousands of copies of "Good Vibrations" in a little over a week. So, couldn't Mike have been more supportive of Brian?

You can try to be a revisionist about Mike's dislike of Smile, but there are well-documented confrontations between Mike, Brian, and Van Dyke Parks, and Parks made it clear in interviews during the '70s that Mike was vocal in his distaste of the Smile project. For example, here's passive aggressive Mike complaining about having to play "Good Vibrations" live in 1966: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOAhTRbVEzc&playnext=1&list=PL79211E12A76C250E&index=40

I'm sure he was happy to have that song over so he could sing "Long Tall Texan".

Yes, Smile would've meant the end of the BBs as a teenage act. So what? They'd spend most of the early 70s trying to capture the group of listeners that Smile would've guaranteed them in 66/67. 1966/67 was a revolutionary time, as you said. People wanted to create a new world. They wanted "Good Vibrations" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".  

And yes, if the BBs touring group had tried to play a song like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on stage, it probably wouldn't have gone over well. The fact is, the BBs live at the time were what we would now call "garage rock", although their harmonies were a little better than most garage bands. I mean, listen to their attempt to play "Good Vibrations". Some parts are good, but on other parts the song nearly dies. Should Brian have to hold back his musical development so that a bunch of average professional musicians could recreate it live a couple of times a week?

The BBs at this point should have been touring less and with a bigger entourage of professional musicians. But Mike & Co. wanted to keep riding the money train of their earlier formula. Only Brian saw that if they didn't change they would be obsolete in about 2 years.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2010, 07:52:15 PM by Dada » Logged
oldsurferdude
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« Reply #23 on: November 19, 2010, 08:08:43 PM »

Quote
We  need to  remember, Mike had to take "what Brian wrote" and "sell it" on the road, to the audiences, during a time when the US was at war, when the US was in political disarray, and we were having our leaders assassinated.  Mike could look at that audience, night after night, and know what would be listened to, and what would be ignored.
Why? Who said the BBs had to play for teenagers nonstop? The Beatles had already stopped touring by August of 1966. It was shortsighted on the part of money-grubbing Mike to worry so much about maintaining a core audience of teenagers. Brian's melodies, song ideas, and production had already made Mike a very rich man. Brian had led them well so far and there seemed to be no reason to doubt him. After all, the press was calling Brian a genius, and the broader public's approval of Brian's musical direction became apparent when they bought hundreds of thousands of copies of "Good Vibrations" in a little over a week. So, couldn't Mike have been more supportive of Brian?

You can try to be a revisionist about Mike's dislike of Smile, but there are well-documented confrontations between Mike, Brian, and Van Dyke Parks, and Parks made it clear in interviews during the '70s that Mike was vocal in his distaste of the Smile project. For example, here's passive aggressive Mike complaining about having to play "Good Vibrations" live in 1966: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOAhTRbVEzc&playnext=1&list=PL79211E12A76C250E&index=40

I'm sure he was happy to have that song over so he could sing "Long Tall Texan".

Yes, Smile would've meant the end of the BBs as a teenage act. So what? They'd spend most of the early 70s trying to capture the group of listeners that Smile would've guaranteed them in 66/67. 1966/67 was a revolutionary time, as you said. People wanted to create a new world. They wanted "Good Vibrations" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".  

And yes, if the BBs touring group had tried to play a song like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on stage, it probably wouldn't have gone over well. The fact is, the BBs live at the time were what we would now call "garage rock", although their harmonies were a little better than most garage bands. I mean, listen to their attempt to play "Good Vibrations". Some parts are good, but on other parts the song nearly dies. Should Brian have to hold back his musical development so that a bunch of average professional musicians could recreate it live a couple of times a week?

The BBs at this point should have been touring less and with a bigger entourage of professional musicians. But Mike & Co. wanted to keep riding the money train of their earlier formula. Only Brian saw that if they didn't change they would be obsolete in about 2 years.
Thumbs Up-Well said!!!
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Compost
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« Reply #24 on: November 19, 2010, 08:34:27 PM »

You, my friend, have smoked too much ganja in your life.  And I like it.

I approve of this message.
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