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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2021 12:27:43 GMT
Brief interview with Brian and Darian about the piano album and documentary. Great answer as to what's different about this movie compared to the previous docs.
Brian: This film was about hanging out with my friend Jason. And Brent the director. It's a guy hang... a buddy hang. It was fun we did cool stuff and ate a ton.
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Post by jk on Jan 1, 2022 11:36:05 GMT
carllove, you were curious about the Rocky Pamplin posts at Smiley. Well, these included "segments" from his then forthcoming biography. Smiley poster Bubs (aka Bubbly Waves aka Alf Wiedersehn) responded by posting this hilarious spoof segment, which I wisely reposted at two other forums, and now here: Segment 9: Just Desserts
We drove to the Luau when Def Leppard came on the radio, and we started punching each other in the car to the beat. The first one to bleed lost... Brian bit my shoulder, so I punched him in the nose. There was a lot of blood on the floor of the car so we called it even. "I'll get you next time" I said to Brian. Brian laughed. "Have I told you about how much I hate Dennis?" I asked him. The car stopped and we were at the Luau. "Time for food, boys!" Marilyn trilled. "I bet they have a lot of food here" Brian said to me softly. We got inside and started throwing dollar bills in the air... Brian told me that I'm a cool guy, and I told him that I knew that. I flexed a little bit. We walked to the maître d'hôtel and asked for a table. He told me the tables were full, so I told him that I could beat him up. He said "Wha-Ooh" and rushed to find us a table. We followed him while yelling at other people trying to eat because we were strong men and we beat people with fist. There wasn't any werewolves here. Finally, the stupid waiter found us a table. BUT THE TABLE HE FOUND US WAS NEXT TO MIKE. I heard a deep, guttural scream from Brian that I had never heard before or since. "pussy alert!" Brian screamed. "You know what I do to pussies?" I took a karate pose to show we meant business, and Brian smashed a wine bottle against the edge of the table. "I STAB PUSSIES," Big B yelled, forcing veins and tendons to push against the skin of his neck. That's when Brian ran over to Mike and shoved the jagged edge underneath his jawline, sending him to the floor. Mike was crying in a pool of his blood, so we high-fived each other a bunch. Then we high-fived more. Marilyn was pretty into it. Brian sat down and tried to order, but I picked him up and held him over my head and ran a block down the street. "What about my grasshopper," Brian asked between bounces. Stan was running after us yelling about how he stole Mike's hat and that he might have died or something. I don't know. I'm too strong for emotions. I placed Brian down on the pavement, but then decided to pick him back up again because lifting him was a good workout. "How many reps are you doing," Stan asked. "Probably, like, a thousand," I puffed. We got back to Brian's house and drank all of his liquor while he sat in a chair and stared us. "You did double good today, Bri-dawg" I belched. Brian smiled. "Maybe I do good tomorrow, too?" "We'll see."
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 8, 2022 22:02:38 GMT
This channel has been mentioned before, but I don't recall this specific video being shared, and it's an interview with Brian (and Tony Asher) about Pet Sounds. Though to be fair, it's mostly the host discussing the album: the first interview clips don't come for more than 10 minutes.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 8, 2022 22:44:03 GMT
Billy Hinsche, from fall 2020 (rebroadcast in Nov. 2021). Interesting point raised within, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick apparently linked the interviewer with Hinsche. Perhaps wide-ranging interests such as those of our board are worthwhile after all...
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2022 16:03:57 GMT
I saw this new article in American Songwriter mentioning this same song. Not much information on what's relevant to us, though. All it says of the song in question is: I am curious what they mean by "worked with ... co-write." Did they actually collaborate, or was it more like sending files off and getting some little snippet here or there to use? (Like how Bruce Johnston didn't actually work with the Weeknd, he just had some music that the star took and turned into something else.)
Also gotta say, I hate that song. (And genre.)
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Post by kds on Jan 11, 2022 16:08:59 GMT
I knew I knew the name Locash from somewhere. Apparently, they played at a Ravens tailgate party this past Sunday in Baltimore.
Now, while I don't like to judge a book by its cover, if you're a country act, called Locash, and the first image I see if a guy in a baseball cap and another with a mohawk, I feel like it's safe to assume this is just another bro country thing.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2022 16:25:37 GMT
Another (relatively) new one: an article in Slate that serves basically as apologetics for the band as a unit, as opposed to the mythology of "Brian and his messengers." It's from the first week of January, so at least warm (if not hot) off the presses.
I'd say it's more or less standard understanding for people on boards like this, though: yeah, obviously Brian was uniquely gifted, but the band was an essential part of the group's success. I think it might have seemed somewhat controversial once, but I'm a little surprised it was even published in a major publication now. Maybe the common perception is still behind that of fans by more than I would have guessed.
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Post by kds on Jan 11, 2022 16:54:39 GMT
Another (relatively) new one: an article in Slate that serves basically as apologetics for the band as a unit, as opposed to the mythology of "Brian and his messengers." It's from the first week of January, so at least warm (if not hot) off the presses.
I'd say it's more or less standard understanding for people on boards like this, though: yeah, obviously Brian was uniquely gifted, but the band was an essential part of the group's success. I think it might have seemed somewhat controversial once, but I'm a little surprised it was even published in a major publication now. Maybe the common perception is still behind that of fans by more than I would have guessed.
I think among casual BB fans or casual music fans, the narrative of "Brian Wilson is The Beach Boys" still somewhat exists. I think it's right up there with "Sammy Hagar made Van Halen a pop group" or "Yoko broke up The Beatles."
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2022 16:57:05 GMT
Another (relatively) new one: an article in Slate that serves basically as apologetics for the band as a unit, as opposed to the mythology of "Brian and his messengers." It's from the first week of January, so at least warm (if not hot) off the presses.
I'd say it's more or less standard understanding for people on boards like this, though: yeah, obviously Brian was uniquely gifted, but the band was an essential part of the group's success. I think it might have seemed somewhat controversial once, but I'm a little surprised it was even published in a major publication now. Maybe the common perception is still behind that of fans by more than I would have guessed.
I think among casual BB fans or casual music fans, the narrative of "Brian Wilson is The Beach Boys" still somewhat exists. I think it's right up there with "Sammy Hagar made Van Halen a pop group" or "Yoko broke up The Beatles." The other thing I thought of with the angle the writer took was, how much of the public even has gotten to the wrong-headed point of "Brian Wilson is a genius and the other Beach Boys were useless"? I mean, even after Love & Mercy, etc., do casual fans who maybe could name 10 or so Beach Boys songs have the misunderstanding in the first place to require the correction?
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Post by kds on Jan 11, 2022 17:07:13 GMT
I think among casual BB fans or casual music fans, the narrative of "Brian Wilson is The Beach Boys" still somewhat exists. I think it's right up there with "Sammy Hagar made Van Halen a pop group" or "Yoko broke up The Beatles." The other thing I thought of with the angle the writer took was, how much of the public even has gotten to the wrong-headed point of "Brian Wilson is a genius and the other Beach Boys were useless"? I mean, even after Love & Mercy, etc., do casual fans who maybe could name 10 or so Beach Boys songs have the misunderstanding in the first place to require the correction? I think there's enough of that misunderstanding that goes around. For roughly three decades, Brian was listed as the sole writer of many of their biggest hits. Even though Mike's name was added after the lawsuit in the 1990s, I feel like there's still a perception that Mike was chasing money, or just contributed a line here or there. I also think it has a lot to do with the still relatively niche appeal of much of the 1967-73 material when Brian wasn't as involved. I just think that somewhat false narratives tend to have a certain staying power, regardless of how much evidence there is to refute them.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 11, 2022 17:20:25 GMT
I meant it more like, for the general public, did they ever even hear the false narrative? I'd say most people I've come across who weren't exposed to my incessant blathering about the topic or who weren't music geeks themselves have had no actual stories about the Beach Boys whatsoever, except maybe that they didn't play on their records. (Not in a "Brian was the genius and the others couldn't play" way, but literally thinking they were just a total fabrication.) These people tended not to know any of them or have any real opinions about them other than knowing and either liking or disliking "Surfin USA," "Good Vibrations," "Kokomo," etc.
But maybe people know more than I would have guessed...even if what they know isn't true.
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Post by kds on Jan 11, 2022 17:32:33 GMT
I meant it more like, for the general public, did they ever even hear the false narrative? I'd say most people I've come across who weren't exposed to my incessant blathering about the topic or who weren't music geeks themselves have had no actual stories about the Beach Boys whatsoever, except maybe that they didn't play on their records. (Not in a "Brian was the genius and the others couldn't play" way, but literally thinking they were just a total fabrication.) These people tended not to know any of them or have any real opinions about them other than knowing and either liking or disliking "Surfin USA," "Good Vibrations," "Kokomo," etc.
But maybe people know more than I would have guessed...even if what they know isn't true.
I think more along the lines of the general public or people who are more casual music fans, both of which probably don't know a ton about The Beach Boys outside of the hits and maybe Pet Sounds and some of the Christmas songs. But, just anecdotally, I know over the past ten years since I really got super into The Beach Boys, whenever I bring them up to a non diehard, they seem to have some basic knowledge that Brian Wilson was the guy, and that the others are basically the backing band. Edit - When I first starting listening to The Beach Boys, as more of a casual fan in 2006, I was more or less under the impression that Brian ran the show. Of course, this was pretty fresh off the buzz from Brian's taking Pet Sounds on the road and reviving Smile, which were big talking points in music magazines and websites I frequented at the time.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 12, 2022 3:55:32 GMT
In my early years of fandom, I was very much in the school of "Brian was the overwhelming force" and the other guys just followed his lead and...sang. Then, over time, I read, listened, saw, and thought. I started to give the other guys (Mike, Dennis, Carl, Al, Bruce, and David) more credit, while not taking too much credit away from Brian. It was basically just recognizing the other guys' contributions where I observed them, where I heard them. However, other than singing, they weren't always/very obvious. I should clarify. Other than singing, the contributions weren't obviously great.
As the years go by, I find myself reverting back to my original impressions about Brian and the other guys. Brian was responsible for so, so much. Duh. It probably has mostly to do with my...lack of love...for the 1969-73 period when Brian started to retreat, and, it has to do with what happened to the group post-1977 when Brian was a mere shadow of himself. They were no longer great. And, in my opinion, the cream of the crop from those periods (1969-73) and (1978-2012) were mostly/many of Brian's compositions. Yes, there were exceptions. Dennis blossomed as a songwriter, and Carl came into his own as a lead singer, but the other guys didn't really exhibit signs of greatness. Goodness but not greatness. Without a great Brian Wilson the Beach Boys were never great.
Other than Brian, the only Beach Boy who really contributed significantly to the recordings was Carl. Yeah, you can point out the records that Dennis, Carl, Al, David, and Bruce played instruments on, but it isn't their musicianship that distinguishes them - it's their singing. And that's what it comes down to. That's the question. Could've Brian approached the level he did with just anybody singing lead and background vocals? Of course not. But, you need something to sing to in the first place. You need notes to play. You need parts to sing. You need music to write lyrics to. Without Mike, Dennis, Carl, Al, David, and Bruce, Brian Wilson could've/would've (?) produced great music. Without Brian Wilson, would've we ever heard of Mike Love, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston?
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Post by kds on Jan 12, 2022 13:18:01 GMT
Yeah, I'm not trying to diminish anything Brian did, or his role in the classic era of the band. I just think that the other guys were more than mere sidemen.
And, Sheriff, to your point, I think there's a lot of fans who don't "read, listen, see" to find out that narrative is a little overblown.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 12, 2022 13:29:38 GMT
I think reality is almost always just a little too nuanced, a little too "a little this, and also a little that," for pretty much any simple narrative.
Brian IS the Beach Boys? False. Brian is just another Beach Boy? False. He didn't succeed without them, but they didn't really ever succeed without him, either. Maybe he could have, and maybe they could have, under different circumstances, but that's unknowable.
As it is, he was the most important guy in the group, I'd say without any question. He was the most talented. If you want to use words like genius, he's the only one you could use it about. But I think it's fair to look at it as that article did: if he's a genius, his genius really only shone brightly while he was invested and embedded in the group.
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