Understanding Humor & Laughter During The SMiLE Era.

[Mikie]

David Anderle quoted in CRAWDADDY!

Another thing: his (Brian's) humor is a particular kind of humor. Not being exposed, not being worldly, his humor is very Hawthorne, California. So Smiley Smile seems to a lot of us to be really corny, terribly corny, and very "in" on a Hawthorne level. The things I can't relate to on that album are things that I feel were like high school days to me, which to Brian are not necessarily high school days.

That's the one I was thinking of. It's in Outlaw Blues, by Paul Williams (1967 or '68). Talking about Brian and Smiley Smile and Wild Honey. "Hawthorne Humor".

So..........that about covers the Smile era too, right? Case closed!   

[guitarfool2002]

Was Brian's humour on that level ? Did Benchley ever sh*t on a dinner plate and put it in his fathers place ? Did Parker ever pretend to throw up down the side of her car ?

Oh, and according to Harpo himself, his main contribution to the Round Table was to be the audience for the quips of other members.  

But Harpo still got the standing invitation to the parties that I'm sure many in literary and artistic/cultural circles coveted...

Absolutely. But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?

Were any of the original Round Table members there not famous in their own circles, having in common shared wealth and privileged backgrounds, not to mention literary and/or media fame of some note? We could go all day on this. 

I may be wrong but I think Harpo may have been there in the 20's prior to doing movies, when he was known in the vaudeville/Broadway circles of New York. Either way it was pretty impressive to have a guy there who came from a poor childhood with no education and had worked menial jobs rather than coming from a wealthy society family, prep school and college education, and a general upbringing above most living in New York as the others at the table were. Good for Harpo! 

BTW, the "Barnyard" chickens wearing tennis shoes film info came from Michael Vosse's Teen Set article, not Seigel's Cheetah article. Just for the record. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

BTW, the "Barnyard" chickens wearing tennis shoes film info came from Michael Vosse's Teen Set article, not Seigel's Cheetah article. Just for the record. 

Thanks muchly for the correction. Knew it was some time around late '66. 

[Jason Penick]

Not sure if this has been posted before or not, but in case it hasn't it might prove interesting in understanding "Hawthorne Humor". It's a list of slang terms that were popular at Hawthorne High around the time the Wilsons attended and what each of them meant.

http://cougartown.com/slang.html

[Bill Tobelman]

"Boy, Hawthorne was something: it was very competitive in sports. The guys playing sports there were very rough about it. But that teaches you about having to get back on your feet again and keep playing!"
-Brian Wilson

Just posting this as an example of Hawthorne thinking.

[Ang Jones]

I love guitarfool's posts on this subject and I agree that it was clever to use humour in a work that was on some levels very serious and in parts also dark. Shakespeare was criticised by some for including comedy in his tragedies but the contrast  is realistic and actually makes the tragic elements more shocking. Brian was famously described as writing sad songs about happiness (or was it the other way round? - I can never remember) and including the humour in SMiLE seems to me to be a similar technique. Like that shocking note in a dreamy Wind Chimes in Smiley Smile, it makes us pay attention. We cannot easily categorise or stereotype it. It requires consideration and imagination. It isn't new for the fool in plays or even jesters at a king's court to hide their wisdom in comedy and buffoonery. We can get away with things in comedy that we couldn't put across seriously without causing offence.

The Woody Woodpecker theme in Surf's Up doesn't diminish the song one iota. It fits so well some don't even notice it. It is funny but it is much more than just funny. Comedy is often about surprise, making us question our assumptions, like Brian with his bag of oatmeal. We laugh at ourselves or at others and in so doing, sometimes we learn something, something that had someone told us without the humour, we would have refused to accept.

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

I love guitarfool's posts on this subject and I agree that it was clever to use humour in a work that was on some levels very serious and in parts also dark. Shakespeare was criticised by some for including comedy in his tragedies but the contrast  is realistic and actually makes the tragic elements more shocking. Brian was famously described as writing sad songs about happiness (or was it the other way round? - I can never remember) and including the humour in SMiLE seems to me to be a similar technique. Like that shocking note in a dreamy Wind Chimes in Smiley Smile, it makes us pay attention. We cannot easily categorise or stereotype it. It requires consideration and imagination. It isn't new for the fool in plays or even jesters at a king's court to hide their wisdom in comedy and buffoonery. We can get away with things in comedy that we couldn't put across seriously without causing offence.

The Woody Woodpecker theme in Surf's Up doesn't diminish the song one iota. It fits so well some don't even notice it. It is funny but it is much more than just funny. Comedy is often about surprise, making us question our assumptions, like Brian with his bag of oatmeal. We laugh at ourselves or at others and in so doing, sometimes we learn something, something that had someone told us without the humour, we would have refused to accept.

Thanks Ang, Bill and everyone for this really interesting thread.  I found some old notes of mine from Joseph Campbell’s “The Way of Art,” and they seem to apply to this thread, given Brian’s spiritual studies before, during and after the “Smile” period.  Campbell spoke about Indian aesthetic principles, or the Rasas (flavors) of art.   They are paired as follows, which is interesting to think about:

Pathetic/Terrible (pity/terror/tragic)
Heroic/Woundrous (wonder is aesthetic arrest)
Odious/Furious
Erotic/Humorous, then
#9 – Shanti – the Peaceful - which must be experienced through all of the above.  It is the release…the static…it doesn’t cause the observer to do anything…The aesthetic arrest in contemplation – “How it is.”

I think it’s safe to say that while high school humor was part of the early days, Brian was looking into the depths of art after that period, whether he was aware of the Rasas of Art or not.  Music is certainly erotic, and the Hindus’ pairing it with the humorous makes sense in that breaking of the hypnotic element of life with sexual or comedic release, and how it comes just before Shanti.

Brian was always most definitely interested in doing the unexpected as an important part of his music – creating that break/release - just as it’s crucial to humor.  He was very patient in trying to explain in terms that made sense in my poor layman’s grasp of musical concepts how he would work the unexpected into his compositions.  And he's still at it.  Heavens, even the entire concept of NPP has an enormous amount of the unexpected, and all that was required appears to be Brian’s exploration of various genres he really wanted to try or do again in a new way and placing them into a single work.  I'm looking forward to hearing it in its entirety, as we seem to have a really gentle feel, as in "Right Time" and "On the Island" mixed with high energy work with Nate Reuss and Sebu.  We're also waiting for Kasey Musgraves in this mix.

Any way you look at it, the man is a lot smarter than he is often described here.  At this late date, I’m pretty convinced that the delightful child-like thing Brian expresses so beautifully both professionally and personally has been very deliberately protected – by him - over the years for the sake of his work.  He is only as unsophisticated as he needs to be at any given time, and that includes his humor.

[Micha]

Was Brian's humour on that level ? Did Benchley ever sh*t on a dinner plate and put it in his fathers place ? Did Parker ever pretend to throw up down the side of her car ?

Oh, and according to Harpo himself, his main contribution to the Round Table was to be the audience for the quips of other members.  

But Harpo still got the standing invitation to the parties that I'm sure many in literary and artistic/cultural circles coveted...

Absolutely. But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?

Sorry to be late on this thread, but IIRC from reading "Harpo Speaks" years ago, critic Alexander Woolcott was commissioned to write a review of the Marx Bros' first Broadway revue in about 1925 and became a big fan of Harpo's. That was his entrance to the Algonquin. When the Marxes became movie stars, they moved to the West Coast about 1931, naturally Harpo attended the circle much less. So to the question "But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?" the answer is "Neither".

[guitarfool2002]

Was Brian's humour on that level ? Did Benchley ever sh*t on a dinner plate and put it in his fathers place ? Did Parker ever pretend to throw up down the side of her car ?

Oh, and according to Harpo himself, his main contribution to the Round Table was to be the audience for the quips of other members.  

But Harpo still got the standing invitation to the parties that I'm sure many in literary and artistic/cultural circles coveted...

Absolutely. But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?

Sorry to be late on this thread, but IIRC from reading "Harpo Speaks" years ago, critic Alexander Woolcott was commissioned to write a review of the Marx Bros' first Broadway revue in about 1925 and became a big fan of Harpo's. That was his entrance to the Algonquin. When the Marxes became movie stars, they moved to the West Coast about 1931, naturally Harpo attended the circle much less. So to the question "But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?" the answer is "Neither".

We agree! 

I may be wrong but I think Harpo may have been there in the 20's prior to doing movies, when he was known in the vaudeville/Broadway circles of New York.

Good to see the rest of the background with Woolcott's involvement, too. I need to read that book on Harpo, that's now on my list.

[Please delete my account]

"Harpo Speaks!" is a hilarious and fascinating book. He had such a delightful personality, as well as being a comic genius.

 

[Micha]

Was Brian's humour on that level ? Did Benchley ever sh*t on a dinner plate and put it in his fathers place ? Did Parker ever pretend to throw up down the side of her car ?

Oh, and according to Harpo himself, his main contribution to the Round Table was to be the audience for the quips of other members.  

But Harpo still got the standing invitation to the parties that I'm sure many in literary and artistic/cultural circles coveted...

Absolutely. But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?

Sorry to be late on this thread, but IIRC from reading "Harpo Speaks" years ago, critic Alexander Woolcott was commissioned to write a review of the Marx Bros' first Broadway revue in about 1925 and became a big fan of Harpo's. That was his entrance to the Algonquin. When the Marxes became movie stars, they moved to the West Coast about 1931, naturally Harpo attended the circle much less. So to the question "But was it to do with his scintillating wit and rapier-sharp repartee... or because he was a famous movie star ?" the answer is "Neither".

We agree! 

For once!

"Harpo Speaks!" is a hilarious and fascinating book. He had such a delightful personality, as well as being a comic genius.

There's even one board member here who took his nickname directly from Harpo's book, and that's "Exapno Mapcase".

[Andrew G. Doe]

"Boy, Hawthorne was something: it was very competitive in sports. The guys playing sports there were very rough about it. But that teaches you about having to get back on your feet again and keep playing!"
-Brian Wilson

Just posting this as an example of Hawthorne small town thinking.

FTFY.