Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Feb 8, 2023 17:38:00 GMT
It's sort of about people watching and two people finding each other in the colorful chaos around them. I find this song charming. It's the song I use as the album's ending in my personal TWGMTR playlist.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 10, 2023 12:57:06 GMT
I think Brian Wilson and Joe Thomas collaborated well together as songwriters, arrangers, and producers. And, for the most part, they were also able to get their lyrical message(s) across. When I hear their songs, I think I know what they are trying to get across. Their songs are a long way, lyrically, from a Van Dyke Parks or Jack Rieley. They tend to fall more in line with Mike Love, and, yes, Eugene Landy!
And that's where "Strange World" falls with me. I think I know what Brian and Joe were reaching for. Brian was making his way out into society and experiencing people and...life. Now, to many, some of that life might appear mundane. It certainly isn't different or strange, but to Brian, nothing is easy. To Brian, it's a strange world, but he's getting through it. This subject matter could've come right out of Brian Wilson or Sweet Insanity, certainly Gettin' In Over My Head.
Upon closer inspection of these That's Why God Made The Radio songs, I'm noticing how much "love" or "relationships" are injected into the lyrics, and I don't know if they were really necessary. In "Strange World", Brian is getting around and watching people - and being familiar with Brian's life, that would've been enough for a song. But then you have lyrics like "I can't imagine how life would be if you were not here with me" and "it doesn't matter that much to me 'cause we're pretty good company". And that's OK I guess. Those are charming lyrics and Brian sings them well. Yeah, I'm glad they're there. But, it's very Mike Lovelike.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 10, 2023 13:04:39 GMT
I partly agree and partly disagree with you about the BW/JT collaborations in general.
They are certainly unlike Parks/Rieley, in that they aren't especially "literate." They're not complex, impressionistic, or however a person wants to describe them. Their meanings are readily apparent, which is indeed more like a Love song. But I do think Love was and is a more straightforward songwriter who has historically focused more on narrative, on story. His lyrics tend to take you from A to B to C. (Obviously this isn't true of EVERY song. But think of "Fun Fun Fun," for example. We can test how true my generalization is as we go to other albums where he's a more prominent writer.)
The JT songs paint a picture that's clear enough to give you the general point with a phrase here or there, but they aren't so direct as Love's. It's more a matter of general lines loosely organized around the idea, rather than A to B to C to D to tell the story.
None of this is to say any of those methods are better or worse. I think what makes any lyrics good or bad is simply the quality of the work itself, not the style of songwriting. (It's like asking is jazz better than rock, is rock better than folk, is folk better than blues. They're all great, they're all terrible, they're all mediocre. It comes down to each example, not the genre.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 10, 2023 13:29:34 GMT
Oh, yes, I agree that Mike Love's lyrical contributions were more straightforward and focused more on "the story", where Joe Thomas's lyrics (with Brian) are NOT as direct and loosely organized (that's a good way to put it). What I found similar between the Mike Love school of lyric writing and several of the BW/JT compositions was the need to...bring the girl into the song. The boy/girl relationship. That might be an oversimplification, but not much.
And I wonder how much Brian had to do with that, especially on the Joe Thomas collaborations. While I'm pretty sure Joe was concentrating on finishing Brian's songs (mostly the music) and getting some good vocal takes, I wonder how much Joe let Brian contribute his share of lyrics. It might be more than we think. I've always been more skeptical than most when it comes to speculating how much Brian contributed to some of his solo work. But some of these lyrics, especially some on That's Why God Made The Radio, are very Brian.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 10, 2023 13:38:11 GMT
Based on what I've read from Joe himself, my best guess is that Brian had ideas for themes, or lines here and there, and Joe wrote the lyrics based on them. It's impossible to guess (well, it's EASY to guess, it's just that it's close to impossible to correctly guess, or to verify the guess), but I'd bet the breakdown ends up something like 10-20% Brian, lyrically speaking, but with that 10-20% being the core of the idea: title lines, storylines (like Bill and Sue), etc., with the rest coming from Thomas and/or whoever else.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 13, 2023 15:04:27 GMT
Track #10: From There to Back Again (Brian Wilson, Joe Thomas)Why don’t you run away and spend some time with me? On this summer’s day there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Why don’t we feel the way we used to anymore? There’s a place along the way that maybe we could stay, and listen to the waves at my front door. You’ve been thinking ‘bout some things we used to do. Thinking ‘bout when life was still in front of you. Back where you belong, our favorite song, won’t you listen? Don’t you understand the words are singing in the wind? I wish that we could get from there to back again. The clouds are breaking it’s a beautiful day for a wonderful Pacific coast getaway. The sun is shining, could we just find a way? If you just call, just fall, just fall to the ground. Through our compromise, paradise is just another place up on the wall. Through the common sense of it all, we had a lot to live, we gave it all. Through the consequence of the wine, Another place in time. HistoryCowriter Joe Thomas said of “From There to Back Again,” as well as the “Life Suite” overall, to Andrew Romano: notes.andrewromano.net/joethomasbeachboysHe told Goldmine: www.goldminemag.com/articles/step-inside-the-beach-boys-world-50-years-in-the-makingAl Jardine said of the song in that same article: Please discuss “From There to Back Again,” which will be up for a few days.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 13, 2023 15:16:54 GMT
I love the first part of this song. For me, it does a great job of capturing a mature relationship, real love, nostalgia, and even mortality.
But the last part, starting with "through our compromise," does not connect with me. It feels to me almost as if they tried to mimic the style of Van Dyke Parks or Jack Rieley, trying to be more poetic and less direct. For whatever reason, I just don't like those lines. It probably doesn't help that I don't like that section musically as much as I did everything before it, either. It can be hard to separate entirely lyrics from music in your mind.
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Post by kds on Feb 13, 2023 19:08:48 GMT
I love the first part of this song. For me, it does a great job of capturing a mature relationship, real love, nostalgia, and even mortality. But the last part, starting with "through our compromise," does not connect with me. It feels to me almost as if they tried to mimic the style of Van Dyke Parks or Jack Rieley, trying to be more poetic and less direct. For whatever reason, I just don't like those lines. It probably doesn't help that I don't like that section musically as much as I did everything before it, either. It can be hard to separate entirely lyrics from music in your mind. I pretty much feel the same way. Lyrically, I think the song kind of veers into an odd direction once Brian takes over. And, I always wondered if "we had a lot to live, we gave it all" was another autobiographical BB lyric. Also, was Al singing "thinking about some things we used to do" an intentional call back to "all of those things we used to do" - his line on the album version of Isn't It Time?
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 13, 2023 19:18:55 GMT
Also, was Al singing "thinking about some things we used to do" an intentional call back to "all of those things we used to do" - his line on the album version of Isn't It Time? I hadn't thought of that. Interesting idea (whether intentional or coincidental). Not to get all Mike-on-Van Dyke here, but I'm curious about the meanings of a few lines. "Through our compromise, paradise is just another place up on the wall." What does that mean? I half-wondered whether that was a Beach Boys reference, something about compromising with one another to create the work, which brought about gold/platinum albums or awards that might be "paradise up on the wall." Or if it is about the romantic relationship, is it supposed to refer to vacation photographs on the wall? But I'm not sure what kind of compromise that would necessarily be about.
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Post by kds on Feb 13, 2023 19:29:58 GMT
Could be a reference to vacation photos on the wall, maybe Gold albums on the wall.
And, I do agree with you that those lines felt like an attempt at a Van Dyke moment, specifically Surf's Up, where the lyric about the consequence of the wine reminds me a bit of "the fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting." I feel like they even sort of tried to have a similar crescendo as Surf's Up with the coda, although the whistling over the background vocals doesn't pull the same punch.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 14, 2023 19:06:10 GMT
I have no problems with the lyrics to "From There To Back Again". I kind of like them. For Brian, especially at that advancing age, they're actually good (but who knows who wrote what). I think, this time, Brian and Joe stuck to the main concept of the song. Yes, it crossed my mind that the line, "We had a lot to live, we gave it all..." might be Beach Boys' related, but if I had to bet on it, I think it did have to do with the boy/girl relationship.
When you read about the possibilities of the grand suite that was being considered (and recorded?), it is disappointing...again. I mean, the music/parts that DID come out are impressive, maybe the highlights of the That's Why God Made The Radio album. It's still a bit early, just a little over ten years , but I wouldn't be surprised if the suite that didn't happen takes its place alongside some of the other, great "what ifs" and disappointments of the band's career.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 15, 2023 14:44:40 GMT
Track #11: Pacific Coast Highway (Brian Wilson, Joe Thomas)
Sometimes I realize my days are getting on. Sometimes I realize it's time to move along and I wanna go home.
Sunlight's fading and there's not much left to say.
My life, I'm better off alone. My life, I'm better on my own.
Driving down Pacific coast out on Highway One. The setting sun. Goodbye.
Lyrical Analysis This short song, entirely first-person, is (I believe) the only song on the album where the narrator exists entirely in isolation. There is no you, us, we, they, or them: only I and my. It is entirely self-contained, setting sun notwithstanding.
It is a direct, stark reflection on mortality, and possibly also on mental illness--the "better off alone/on my own" lines--which add even more darkness than do the aspects about time running out.
Please discuss "Pacific Coast Highway."
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Post by kds on Feb 15, 2023 15:34:13 GMT
I think PCH is a modern day cousin or nephew to Til I Die, and maybe that was the intention.
There's also a certain finality in the lyrics, like a farewell message. Maybe it's also Brian's farewell to The Beach Boys "My Life, I'm better on my own."
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 15, 2023 16:03:06 GMT
Maybe it's also Brian's farewell to The Beach Boys "My Life, I'm better on my own." I don't think that's true, considering Brian seemed to want to make another album. And at least according to Thomas, the album's working/potential title of Summer's Gone was changed to That's Why God Made the Radio at least in part because Brian and the band didn't want to close the door, and were considering another one. Granted, that doesn't mean it wasn't meant the way you describe when it was written, as opposed to when it was released. I think these are the best lyrics on the entire album. They are very direct, which makes me wonder if Brian was more involved in these than he often is. His lyrics tend to be to the point. If they are mostly or largely Brian's, or even if he related strongly to them when singing, that would be a heavy reality to face. (Obviously we all have to face it, but we don't all have to sing it about ourselves so directly to an enormous audience.)
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Post by kds on Feb 15, 2023 16:45:26 GMT
Maybe it's also Brian's farewell to The Beach Boys "My Life, I'm better on my own." I don't think that's true, considering Brian seemed to want to make another album. And at least according to Thomas, the album's working/potential title of Summer's Gone was changed to That's Why God Made the Radio at least in part because Brian and the band didn't want to close the door, and were considering another one. Granted, that doesn't mean it wasn't meant the way you describe when it was written, as opposed to when it was released.I think these are the best lyrics on the entire album. They are very direct, which makes me wonder if Brian was more involved in these than he often is. His lyrics tend to be to the point. If they are mostly or largely Brian's, or even if he related strongly to them when singing, that would be a heavy reality to face. (Obviously we all have to face it, but we don't all have to sing it about ourselves so directly to an enormous audience.) That's more what I had in mind. But, I also could be reading too much into it. I also agree the PCH has the best lyrics on the album. And, while not technically lyrics, the opening wordless vocals might be the absolute highlight of the album for me.
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