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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 17, 2024 23:00:50 GMT
From the Rolling Stone article:
“I got to visit and spend time with Brian a few days after his wife passed,” Jason Fine, Wilson’s longtime friend who collaborated with Wilson on the documentary Long Promised Road, says. “He was sad, but typically stoic. We spent time watching clips for the Beatles rooftop concert. He told me he’d love to get his mind off things and go to a Lakers game.”
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Post by B.E. on Feb 18, 2024 15:33:26 GMT
I worked from home yesterday, which meant I had plenty of time to listen to music, and there was only one person I wanted needed to listen to. I started with Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin and In the Key of Disney. I couldn't have enjoyed them more. I love singing along to those records. Gershwin, in particular, has really been growing on me in recent years (I've always enjoyed Disney more than most). I think the only hangup I ever had with Gershwin was just not being very familiar with Gershwin's music. Undeniably strong material, but not necessarily 100% my style. Whatever the case, I love what Brian and his band did with it! On both records, the production is great, the arrangements are great, the songwriting is strong, and Brian sounds fantastic. His best singing since the '60s. Arrangement-wise, I feel like I notice something new every time I listen to those albums; whether it's a fun backing vocal or some other musical nod. On a personal note, I also have this vivid memory of listening to Gershwin on the drive home from Philadelphia after having taken a very important professional exam. I don't go to cities often, so it was sort of a stressful event. Actually, I was nearly late! The building was huge, but I found the right room, on the right floor, with only a few minutes to spare. Anyway, I passed, and here I was all these years later listening while I worked...on a Saturday ...in that very profession. And I couldn't get enough, so I also listened to the bonus tracks "Peace on Earth" and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and then repeated the process, listening to Gershwin, Disney, and the bonus tracks a second time. Then I turned my attention to the deluxe version of No Pier Pressure, followed by the fantastic version of "Love and Mercy" included as a bonus track. So, so good. I had also thought of listening to At My Piano, to hear Brian play some of the best songs he (or anyone) ever wrote, but I wanted to hear Brian sing, so I continued on with his inspired performance of "It's OK", "Rock & Roll Has Got a Hold on Me", and "Honeycomb". I'm so grateful, now more than ever, to hear Brian perform and make new music, as he did for that documentary. Those three in particular I probably listened to 3 times each, as I also had fun listening to the Paley-era tracks and the great live version of "In My Room". Then to wrap things up, I reached back for the demo of "In the Back Of My Mind", the NPP bonus track. Man, that performance really gets to me. He sings that note at the end with such strength...well, it goes without saying that it was cathartic listening to Brian's music, but it was also a joy.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 18, 2024 15:36:56 GMT
I also put in some Brian Wilson music yesterday. Driving to and from my parents', I put in both NPP and TWGMTR. On the former, I was reminded by how strong I think some of that album is. (The closing five songs on the deluxe edition are just a fantastic run of recordings. If it were the standard edition, I'd expand that to seven songs, but those bonus tracks stuck in the middle are a bit more uneven, in my opinion.) And of course, on the latter, I couldn't help but wish there were more...
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Post by kds on Feb 21, 2024 12:28:03 GMT
I listened to NPP fairly recently too, and its held up quite well. I think even Guess You Had to Be There is growing on me, in a Spring Vacation kinda way.
I know we've dissected Brian's catalog, and sometimes get lost in the minutiae of it all, but when you sit back and take the music for what it is, I think he had quite a run from 1998-2015 (including TWGMTR). Especially considering at the beginning of the 90s, it wasn't unrealistic to expect Brian to never release another album.
Granted, three of the albums from that era are mostly covers and one is revived ideas / self covers, but the quality of the albums is mostly high. And these were released during Brian's age 56-73 years. I know I can't think of an artist that had a similarly good run in their age 56-73 (or similar) years.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 21, 2024 13:06:02 GMT
I agree 100%. Looking back, there really was a lot of strong stuff there. Not another Pet Sounds, but a lot of really good music.
Speaking just for myself, I think maybe watching him conquering demons (touring, Smile), releasing a lot of (mostly) new recordings of older songs, and just keeping busy, it was easy to anticipate the next project--"now that he's done X, how cool would Y be?"--without necessarily fully enjoying the current ones.
I still can find flaws with each of his releases, but as I was reminded this weekend, I can also just lose myself in it. A person doesn't have to always wonder whether such-and-such song was more Bennett or Thomas than Wilson, whether the idea came from Melinda or Brian, etc. Sometimes a person can just relax and enjoy.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Feb 21, 2024 14:42:06 GMT
I listened to Brian Wilson and Friends over the weekend for the first time in a while. That's a mostly forgotten album that holds up very well, imo. It's a shame they didn't include all of the songs that were on video. I was thinking that it's a nice, recent capsule of Brian still on it, but even that was about 8 years ago now. Time marches on.
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Post by kds on Feb 22, 2024 3:00:55 GMT
I listened to Brian Wilson and Friends over the weekend for the first time in a while. That's a mostly forgotten album that holds up very well, imo. It's a shame they didn't include all of the songs that were on video. I was thinking that it's a nice, recent capsule of Brian still on it, but even that was about 8 years ago now. Time marches on. I decided to listen to this today. I wonder if there was some red tape that prevented Sebu and Nate Reuss's guest spots. Its a pity as Nate singing Hold On Dear Brother was a highlight of the DVD.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Feb 22, 2024 14:52:05 GMT
I listened to Brian Wilson and Friends over the weekend for the first time in a while. That's a mostly forgotten album that holds up very well, imo. It's a shame they didn't include all of the songs that were on video. I was thinking that it's a nice, recent capsule of Brian still on it, but even that was about 8 years ago now. Time marches on. I decided to listen to this today. I wonder if there was some red tape that prevented Sebu and Nate Reuss's guest spots. Its a pity as Nate singing Hold On Dear Brother was a highlight of the DVD. I wouldn't be surprised, but there were a few other songs left off as well. Very strange.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 2, 2024 12:31:46 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 12, 2024 17:54:14 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 19, 2024 11:36:20 GMT
This story in People discusses papers filed April 17 related to Brian Wilson's proposed conservatorship. The filing apparently details his attorney Robert Cipriano's visit to Wilson's home on April 15, and Cipriano's observations on the matter. Cipariano "states in the filing that he left their meeting feeling as though he "[recommends] the grant of the pending petition for the appointment" of co-conservators for Wilson. Cipriano noted Wilson's "need for a conservatorship" based on his family's recent Capacity Declaration, his "own observations and mostly based on my client's consent."" Also:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 19, 2024 11:55:45 GMT
The two bolded sentences appear a little contradictory. In one sentence, Brian "was confused as to the need for a conservator", and in another sentence it says Brian,"acknowledged that he relied on his spouse to assist him with his daily activities before she died and that he still needs help in that regard, including making sure he receives timely and proper medical care as well as making sure that he takes his daily medications." I realize we're dealing with some semantics and maybe one sentence was said early on, and the latter sentence was said upon further thought and review. I would think, with all things considered, Brian would be accepting of a conservatorship, especially with the parties ultimately chosen.
Even though craziness and...sad circumstances...have surrounded Brian throughout his life, from everything I've read, I think the moves/decisions made with this conservatorship appear to be sound, logical, and made in Brian's best interests.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 19, 2024 12:04:34 GMT
I figured the part about him being confused as to the need for a conservatorship would be mentioned.
The first thing I thought of was my paternal grandpa after my grandma--his wife of 60 years or so at the time--died. He had been mostly blind (he could see light or dark, but that's about it) and hard of hearing for about a decade by that point, and he was a little older then than Brian is now, maybe 87 or 88.
When told he would need to move out of the home he and his wife had shared for 50+ years, he was confused as to why and said he thought he could manage just fine there on his own. Of course, when you ticked through the reasons he couldn't, he'd admit them one at a time. He couldn't get groceries. He couldn't keep track of medications. He couldn't get to and from medical appointments. He couldn't cook for himself. He couldn't use the phone except for a few numbers he had memorized. My parents asked him what he'd do if there were a fire. "I'd put it out!" he said, as if they were idiots. Sure ... but how would he have found it? With what would he put it out? He would eventually acknowledge specific items, but still somehow didn't see how it added up to him needing full-time care. (He ended up splitting the majority of the rest of his life between my parents' and his other son's home.)
Point being, I think it's likely that Brian has some desire for independence, some lingering pride, that makes submitting to officially handing over control difficult. While he would acknowledge specific things he can't do, he still can't or doesn't see why that should mean he officially, legally "needs" conservators. It's contradictory, but people are often contradictory. He's also had bad experiences in that capacity in the past, making it worse.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 27, 2024 12:52:21 GMT
Short Carnie Wilson interview with US Weekly:
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