July 17, 2025 • 43 mins
We surf with The Beach Boys in memory of the band’s late mastermind Brian Wilson, who passed away in June at age 82.
Andrew discusses his longstanding curiosity about The Beach Boys, while Dominique explains how one of the squarest bands of the ‘60s was an element of her teenage rebellion in the ‘00s.
We discuss why coolness has always eluded the Beach Boys and where the band's legacy stands today.
Tell us about your first listen @AtFirstListenPodcast on Instagram!
Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
(Episode 37.)
Andrew discusses his longstanding curiosity about The Beach Boys, while Dominique explains how one of the squarest bands of the ‘60s was an element of her teenage rebellion in the ‘00s.
We discuss why coolness has always eluded the Beach Boys and where the band's legacy stands today.
Tell us about your first listen @AtFirstListenPodcast on Instagram!
Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
(Episode 37.)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to At First Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but want to.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominique, and we're trying to help today
as we remember the late Ryan Wilson. Have You passed
away in the middle of June at age eighty two.
So I've been curious about the Beach Boys for a while,
and I felt like this was a good opportunity for
us to dive into a Beach Boys record. So I
(00:41):
chose pet Sounds, their most iconic album.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, this is one of my favorite albums of all
of all time. I also the Beach Boys their other
albums are not super important to me. But so I've
listened to it a lot of times already, but I'm
I'm excited to come back to it now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
This is the most listens for any record on the show.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
For you, I would say, I would say so, yeah,
because it's it's like it's full of classics, Like every
song is a banger. So when I have been into it,
it's been like on repeat.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, I've been curious about the Beach Boys for a while.
I think, like a lot of people my age, the
Beach Boys seem like an oldies band. It's music that
actually sounds a bit older than it is, and I
never really related to the whole surfing thing. It always
(01:48):
seemed very immature to me. And then around college times
for me, I learned that a lot of punk people
hold the Beach Boys in very high esteem, and I
never quite understood that, and then I started to sort
of figure it out through the course of researching this episode.
It seems to come down to the Ramones, and they
(02:10):
were not shy about voicing their love for the Beach
Boys and even covered at least one Beach Boys song
that I know of, which is do You Want to Dance?
From an album that we've covered on the show like
a year ago now, the Rocket to Russia album from
like seventy seven. I think so the Ramones were very
(02:32):
positive on the Beach Boys, and that gave punks across
generations permission to love the Beach Boys. I wouldn't say
that I didn't like them, I just didn't really relate
to it. And now I definitely have a better, more
complete picture of who Brian Wilson was as a songwriter
(02:54):
and composer and why and what all the fuss is about?
What all the hype about Yeah, just like we say
in our.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Intro, perfect, so it's working, Yeah, it's working. I think
I probably discovered the Beach Boys like the perfect time,
like in my teens, like you know.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, so I skipped over them in my teens. Yeah,
and I was like, the Beatles far superior bands, right,
And I still believe that. But I think that the
Beatles and the Beach Boys are about very different things totally.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I think my in my family, my parents were always
kind of anti the Beach Boys. I think just like
growing up in the seventies being black and Jewish and
these guys are just like such white American guy. It
(03:53):
was like that culture was very not inclusive of like
the people.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
That from pants flowery shirts.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, I don't think it was. I don't think like
it was a friendly to Jews and black people. So
like my parents, it felt similar to like country music.
The way they would kind of talk about the Beach
Boys is like they're just like these white guys and
their collar shirts and whatever. And my family loved the Beatles,
like my mom, both my parents are huge Beatles fans.
(04:28):
So I think that in a way, like me discovering
the Beach Boys. It wasn't rebellious. The Beach Boys can
never be rebellious.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
The most rebellious way the Beach Boys have ever been
viewed exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
It was like it was, you know, me finding my
own music taste, because it was also not it wasn't
I'm the youngest. It wasn't from my sister either, It
wasn't from anyone in my family. I kind of found
them on my own, and I was like, this is
beautiful and also as a teen, like their their music
(05:03):
was for teens, like you know, wouldn't it be nice?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Almost for too long.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Exactly, and like yeah, as maybe something about that that
California son it makes you write music for teenagers for
your entire life. But like, you know, I definitely wouldn't
it be nice? It's like that's the song of teens.
Like I remember identifying with that song and like in
(05:33):
the most you know, basic way as a teen, and
that it's funny. It's one of those songs it's funny
to listen to now because still hits kind of even
though you're like it's like the feeling of wanting something more.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I guess it's one of those songs and I don't
think I even realized this until listening to this album.
It's one of those songs that has infiltrated my consciousness
from just hearing it in the air, as some songs
are they're just in the air. It's one of those
things when people use that phrase, what I hear or
(06:12):
what my brain immediately does is this, but it's specifically
this drum thump and then what it is?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Great way to start an album?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if this was a great out?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And it is and it is, it's our best one.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And you know, the Beatles and the Beach Boys kind
of existed in parallel to each other for most of
their career, and we're almost competing in a way in
the early to mid sixties because the Beach Boys were
the biggest band in America. They were very much of
(06:56):
the time in America, and where the soundtrack of the
current Southern California fad, I think that was going on.
Whereas the Beatles were it was Beatlemania, and they were
all they were all about writing nice songs for teens.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Right, It's like Beach Boys were the biggest in America,
but the Beatles were the biggest in the world maybe
at the time or in the Western world.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, and then they sort of evolved in parallel, or
maybe not so much in parallel, because they were there
was a lot of mutual appreciation between them, and especially
Brian Wilson. Uh was listening closely to what the Beatles
were doing. And the seminal moment in Brian Wilson and
(07:40):
the Beatles or Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and
then by extension the Beatles career was the uh Rubber
Soul album I think it was by the Beatles. Let
me make sure. Yeah. Uh So, Brian in nineteen sixty
five stopped touring with the Beach Boys. He had a
(08:04):
nervous breakdown I think earlier that year and was like, Okay,
I'm just going to focus on studio work, and by
not playing live it allowed him to use a lot
more instrumentation and employ a lot more studio musicians and
basically make orchestral music like Wouldn't It Be Nice as
(08:24):
a really interesting example of what people are talking about
when they say Brian Wilson is a genius, because yes,
there's guitar, bass and drums in this song, but there's
also like timpani. There's also horns. The song goes through
so many movements, has that like barbershop core, and then
(08:47):
he's just layering harmonies on top of harmonies, and we
have some brass popping out, so it's we have whatever
(09:07):
instrument that is.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, this is like.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
A bridge on top of a bridge on top of
a bridge, and it's all like more catchier than the
last section. And it's such a simple sentiment lyrically, which
just goes through the ringer musically and you can listen
to it and not notice any of that. But other musicians,
people like Paul McCartney and John Lennon and George Harrison
(09:34):
were like, whoa, that is really neat. We should start
doing more of that. And so the Beatles were then
influenced by pet Sounds to make Sergeant Pepper solemnly Heart
Heart's Club Band, and Paul McCartney to this day calls
God only Knows one of the greatest love songs ever written.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
It totally is. It gives I still get chills, like
if I'm really paying attention to it.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And Brian Wilson is not really celebrated as a lyricist,
but I think that his ability especially on this later work,
to stray a bit from the teen sort of music,
the teen pop music, and into more complex themes, but
(10:26):
also with simple lyrics, is a really it's done really artfully.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I'm I'm a big I'm a big fan of the lyrics,
and I I don't I think that some yeah, some
what album is my favorite Batles song? I want you parentheses,
She's so heavy.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I think it's on the White album, the White album.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
There's like that those are the words of the song basically,
and I.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I, oh no, that's not abbey Road.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Abby Road even more of a bop album, and I.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think I get that one mixed up with it
part of my typing everyone, well, uh no, not that
I listened to the White album so much as a
kid that I can't remember what any Beatles what album,
any Beatles songs are unless they're on the white album, right, I.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Think he's an abbey Road family.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I like abby Road actually much more. I think it's
helter skelter that I confuse it with sometimes anyhow.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
But yeah, I love I love like a song without
too many lyrics. I think that uh, songs with a
lot of lyrics get too much, too much praise. It's like, oh,
they put them bunch of words in it, like good job.
It's like if you if you don't need the whole
(12:09):
point of music and art, I think is like the
way that you can. The words are just like another
part of the instrumentation and it changes the meaning, change
it throughout the song. But also it's like it's simple
enough that it still is up into interpretation.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, and especially finding that phrase that says a lot
in just the one phrase. It makes for a great chorus.
So wouldn't it be nice? It's not really the chorus,
but I think it starts every verse and it's like
a guy singing about wanting to grow up, which is
(12:52):
something I think most children can relate to. But then
there's all the sophistication of the instruments. There's a bunch
of key changes in the song. It's pretty nuts. Do
you want to take a break? And then we'll get
into the rest of the Pet Sounds album.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Let's do it all right, We'll be.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Right back, and we're back on that first listen. I'm Andrew,
I'm Dominique, and we're talking about Pet Sounds on this episode.
One more note on wouldn't It be nice, drastic tempo
(13:33):
change at the very end. This album was like the
most expensive album in history when they finished making, and
it costs like three quarters of a million dollars to
produce relative to twenty twenty five dollars. So it starts
(13:54):
off with an incredible song, easy single, So I'm sure
they felt like they were going to recoup the money
they put into this album. I think Don't Talk was
the other one that we wanted to point out a
very different vibe from Wouldn't It Be Nice? So they
(14:14):
kind of go right into more of a ballad and
let me.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So sad.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
It is really sad, and there's against some organ I
think going on under the bass and the vocal mournful song.
This is track four, Like this album is not for kids,
and I can imagine how per played xt some young
(15:03):
teens and kids were when they got this album, assuming
they had just recently got into the dance voice, because
the the album before this we were looking it up,
this was I think the big hit do You Want
to Dance? I Want to.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Tell Me?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Actually really easy to see how the Ramones heard this
and thought that they could do a cover. Yeah, But
so from do you Want to dance to much got
some strings involved.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now, yeah, those those tight harmonies like that. I think
that's one of the reasons that song always keeps me going.
I like, I like I said, I love this whole album.
I had a hard time narrowing down, and I think
it's like it's just because it can't be boring, because
(16:04):
sonically it's so it's so rich, rich exactly like every
moment it's it's so many things, but they're put together
like yeah, so perfectly that it's like it's like perfect
for my ears. And I'm not like I'm not like
a skip this one, you know, like this slow one
(16:26):
is annoying. It's like it's because it's also it's not
it's not like devolving into like, uh, it's like not mournful.
It's not like too sad, but it's it's it's it's
a wistful sadness that like it sucks. It sucks man
(16:51):
like and they're showing off. It's the showing off also
of the Beach Boys, the harmony, like the the like,
because there's really nothing else to listen to besides like
all those tight harmonies strawn.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Out vocally, they were an incredible band. The one thing
that I think really set them apart from The Beatles
is when it came to writing the songs, The Beach
Boys were very much Brian Wilson's vision. Mike Love has
some writing credits, some of which he got after suing
Brian Wilson in the nineties, and a few of the
(17:26):
other members have credits here and there, but it's very
much Brian Wilson's vision for the band in the first place,
and then how they evolved because he was literally in
the studio while they were on tour doing this without
the other members of the band, and then with the
Beatles on the other side of the world. They had
(17:47):
three incredible songwriters who were all like competing with each
other and trying to each grab extra real estate on albums,
at least in George Harrison's case, trying to trying to
get a few more songs in which ultimately broke up
the group With the Beach Boys. They sort of didn't
(18:09):
break up, but Brian Wilson did eventually leave the band
and Mike Love kept it going in various different forms.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
You know, I will say that it's it's refreshing, but
almost like something suspicious about the lack of drama, Like
I didn't know about the getting sued stuff. That makes
sense to me because I it was just like from
what I read, it was just kind of like Brian
was like, Eh, I don't want to tour you guys,
(18:42):
you can tour. I'm gonna do the music. And we're
all relatives, I guess, and we're like the way that
the story was told on the Wikipedia page, which which yeah,
it was very like it just seemed like everything was
pretty smooth sale.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
That is because so many of them were literal relatives.
One of them is a cousin. I don't know if
it's Mike Love or Al Jardine. And then Brian and
his two brothers were the other.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Three members, and like as close as brothers, it seems
like they were. They were kids together.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And there's other considerations if you do have a legitimate argument,
if you're Brian Wilson with someone else, some of your bandmates,
you don't want to remove their you know, way of
making money.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So exactly. Yeah, and but and also you don't want
you as the other bandmates know that you probably are replaceable,
like you know, Brian Wilson is a sigh, what Brian Wilson.
You know he's not you. You would know that you're
just singing. You're not doing a lot else, so you
(19:56):
want to try to stick.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
At some point you arrived home from tour and he
was like, Hey, what do you think of this for
our new album? This is a song called Let's Go
Away for a While. It's an instrumental, so he was like,
I don't even need your help with on any aspects
of this. But also, this is a cinema score. No,
(20:23):
I mean it sounds like it sounds it does.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
It is so dynamic, especially in the sixties, like I'm
thinking about like Jane Berkin or like you know, somebody
walking down the street.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
This is your opening credit sequels. Yes, I mean absolutely
he's I think there are like eighty musicians on this
album and you can see why. And the thing about
it that is so crazy is now, when a quote
unquote rocker, a rock musician employs an orchestra or a
(20:59):
bunch of sessions musicians, it's like, oh boy, someone's really
trying to cram a lot into a little and it's
gonna sound really bloated. And this album doesn't come across
that way. Maybe it's because of the time it came
out where we didn't have those sort of associations with
(21:24):
rock and pop artists treading into uh orchestra and classical music.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yeah, that's a good point. I think, like it's like,
if you're gonna have a band like that, it's you
need to hear every single instrument like the whole time,
and it needs to really sound like it. And if not,
it's like, just do it on the computer, don't. You
don't need to do all that. And it's like I
(21:53):
think that's yeah, the blow bloated is a good word
for it, like in comparison to how delicate, like all
of all of the instrumentation in these songs are, but
they're like so full at the same time.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
So my one qualm with the song God Only Knows,
which I agree is a beautiful song.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I May Not Always Love You.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Is that it fades out, Oh like the end, the
end of the song fades out. I'm gonna jump to
the end. So the last couple of times I listened
through to the album, I almost missed this song because
(22:45):
it doesn't actually come to an end, and it's such
a good song I think it deserves real ending.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, I hear you. I hear you as a musician.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I I loved fading out in the sixth.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, yeah, it's true. What can you do?
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Especially if you add strings on your song and I
think there's a bassoon yeah in the chorus.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I imagine it sounds beautiful when they do it live
and they like slowly drop out together. You know, I
could see that being a pet peet.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
I don't think any of these songs are over four minutes,
but god only knows could have taken an extra thirty
seconds to wrap.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It up getting to this part of the album, it's
like this.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Is the second half.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, I even more. I was talking about how I
was listening to as a high schooler, you know, I
was a hipster twenty tens, and this would be like
mixed in with the other beachy music of the time,
(24:13):
like chill Wave era, and I honestly will forget like
if I'm like, is this is this Beach House? Is
this Animal Collective? Or is this Beach Boys? Because they
sat like the they just feel so similar.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
So you showed me the song called My Girls earlier
by Animal Collective, which you described as an electronic version
of the Beach Boys, and I can hear it for Sarah.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Start singing. It just fits right in.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, coming from the scene place. In terms of the
vibe that they're trying to create with their instrumentation.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Totally, it's like, uh, it's and I think that, like
I probably might not have found the Beach Boys if
it weren't for bands like like Washed Out or Animal
Collective or Beach House because ultimately the surfing stuff it's
so corny, like right, like it is, it is so basic,
(25:28):
like wouldn't it be? Like I think to me, Animal
Collective is a great example of there's a lot of
words in there, like you're you. You gotta have a
good memory to like learn an Animal Collective song, like
all the lyrics, And I think that I needed that,
like I appreciate because they were just like telling these
(25:48):
little fun kind of vignettes and fun little stories and
painting a more painting, a fuller picture. Whereas the Beach
Boys like they were that picture. They were like the
sixties beach guys. Whereas like bands like from the Chill
Wave Arrow where we're trying to recreate that vibe with
(26:11):
that sort of like rose colored glasses of like vintage vintage,
like hipsterness.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
So this is you mentioned washed Out. I think this
is a song I almost everyone will recognize.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Thus, yeah, you said as the Portlandia theme. It was
also it was like the Adult Swim like when they
would show the.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
The Adult Swim logo. Yeah, maybe one of the highest
rift to or or lowest rift to. Knowing who the
artist is ratio if that makes sense. Oh, yes, you cannot.
You cannot get me to you produce from my mind
(27:02):
palace the artist's name washed Out. No totally for showing
me this song.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
No I I I remembered washed Out from the back
of my mind palace and I looked it up and
then this song came up and I was like, oh, yeah,
this is like I knew it was the right thing.
And then when it was I was like, oh, this
song actually is famous, like people will connect to it
and it's and like I think there's something there is
(27:30):
something there with like the cultural through line of like
that that riff or whatever being on Adult Swim and
like the Beach Boys, Like I think it's just chill
(27:51):
vibes is what I'm actually like. I think it's actually
just like we love it. It's important, Like I think
like That's the funny thing about the Beach Boys is
like we were looking at videos of them playing and
I'm like, and when you think when you hear those harmonies,
I'm like, honestly, they are not chill. I'm like, oh
(28:14):
my god, I can I remember when I.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Was in a There is pain behind these harmon.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Oh my god, and like you better get it right.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Like I'm telling you wise, everyone, the whole thing sounds bad.
And Brian is really mad at you.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, he's frustrated. I mean I've been there, you know,
and I'm.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
All, you know, those guys are all blaming each other.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Oh yeah, you're off, You're off. He was off, I'm off,
yeah exactly, And then you play it. We're all off and.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Like, well, let's played isolated then no no, no, no, no
no no no no no, don't exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And I think that like we've been able to capture
a more authentic chillness when you're just there with your
laptop in the studio by yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Taking directions from no yes, yeah. I just wasn't made
for these times. Another example of Brian getting beyond the
surf idolization era. This I got, Brian, I wish and
(29:21):
this is Brian on lead vocals. It's time things got
something God like a nervous breakdown for example. Uh, not
the kind of thing you would ever expect him to
(29:43):
The surf in USA guy to write about is like,
sometimes things just don't work out for me and they're
not chill.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
And this song is so this is like so ironic,
and I think if it came out today, it would
be an ironic song because it's like, you weren't made
for these times, mister biggest pop star in America with
the blonde hair. I think you were, like, I think
you were exactly made for these times. I think even
the questioning are you made for these times? Is a
(30:15):
very it's something that like all the youth feel, yeah,
like that that voice and so that this this was
a funny one because when I was listening to it again,
it's so like this is him being like, we're doing
something different, and it's just it's it's not, it's it's not.
(30:43):
I could see how like, if I was singing surf music,
I would definitely need to like connect with my soul,
especially if there's like all this pressure to keep doing it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
As someone who's never served and never really even been
interested in it like I have.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
But I I'm I'm now realizing, like what's missing? They
weren't they weren't doing drugs. I was like, why is
this not tragic? That's what I was trying to figure out,
like because like, yeah, he had his anxiety and stuff,
(31:25):
but like every like that's what's happened with the Beatles
and you know, just every other.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Yeah, okay, right, because except for Paul McCartney, like all
the Beatles came from like or I should say, at
least John Lennon, I know, came from a fully broken home,
was like afraid of his dad, and a lot of
that came across later in the music he made. I
don't know George Harrison's story, but his experimenting with all
(31:53):
different religions suggests that there was some unease.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
There southern California. Like guys Fists a homemade band you
don't even have to go out to look for.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
So the story of how they started the Beach Boys
is mom and dad went away to Mexico for a
certain number of days. They left the kids like one
hundred bucks or two hundred bucks or something for food,
and they spent it all on rentals of instruments.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
See that's already, So that's already like that amount of privilege.
My parents went on vacation and I spent all the
money and not even on food because I knew i'd
be fine. Yeah, Like that's already and I don't. I'm
like two hundred it has that has to be high.
Like I'm like, he's back in the day.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
He said in the interview. I think he said two
hundred dollars, and it does seem so high. I'm like,
if my parents, how long were they going away today?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Like I feel like parents aren't really giving their kids
multiple hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
It was at least three kids. I don't know fully
how many they have.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
That is money.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
It seems like a lot that is money. So they
spent that money on instruments. They then learned the instruments
and wrote a song over the course of their parents vacation.
And this was outside with Bob, and then they performed
(33:24):
it for mom and dad when they came home, and
apparently their parents loved it. It is a long two
and a half minutes. Though this part is great, but
it's like this for a long time.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
It's like honky Tonk music. I feel like you could
hear this and it's about surfing, but it's about surfing.
I mean, California is a part of the West ultimately.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So that is like some sixteen year old kids average
age making that. And then we get to the end
of the pet Sounds album and what year is it?
Sixty six? Caroline?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
No, but that's not like this might as well be
Animal Collective. I think, like it really sounds like that
to me. It's sad.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
This song made me chuckle the first time I heard
it because with the album being called Pet Sounds, seeing
the phrase Caroline know, it's like you're telling your dog.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Caroline, no, no, totally. I it's funny. I think.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I don't think that's what the song is.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I don't either, Honestly, I feel like I've never thought
too far into this song. Yeah, why is he saying
He's like, basically he's breaking up with Caroline. It seems
like hm hmm. It's giving like a let it burn
vibe of like, well we have as great but no no,
(35:05):
but he feels bad about it.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Yeah, And I can't imagine how the other members of
the band felt arriving back and seeing at least the
direction that he was going and knowing that this music
is impossible for them to perform, and they stripped it down.
They had arrangements when they went back out on tour.
(35:29):
They do play these songs live even today, but it's
not it's not with the full orchestra, and it's not
even like using just keyboards to compensate. It's really kind
of the early sixties Beach Boys sound, as far as
I can tell, with the as much of this instrumentation
(35:51):
and arrangement as they could fit in to that combo.
Because I think people are going to see the quote
unquote Beach Boys today wanting to hear like help me
Ronda and do you want to dance? And surfing USA
and all that stuff, and then they're like, oh and
this album.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, as long as I provide that beautiful sound, I
think we're satisfied. I saw the Beach Boys a while ago.
(36:31):
I think part of it is also that they have
made themselves very available. I think it's like, yeah, you
don't have to be like, oh, I want to see
the Beach Boys, Can I do it? Like you can
find the Beach Boys concert.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah. The Mic Love era, I don't think has been
good in terms of the legacy of the band, because
there are some state fairs on the itinerary, or at
least there have been. It's not like he's only playing
theaters or stadiums or arenas. He's taking the money where
(37:08):
it's offered.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
And it's yeah, and he is providing this show exactly
what show he feels like doing. I saw him at
the Summer stage many years ago, and I just remember
a lot of very low quality JPEGs of like surfing.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Surfing, this is what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
American flags, women on surfboards, black and white exactly. And
I actually that was such a funny that day. It
was it was years ago. My sister and I went
together and we kind of got in a fight with
this lady.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Because chilling out exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
But it was like boomer white people vibes, and this
lady tried to like do a weird, like mean girl
bullying thing to us. She tried to she was like
she tried to be like, uh, this's so cool, like
Brian Wilson is so great, right, Like she was trying
to like trick us into like because she was like,
(38:08):
they don't really know what they're seeing. And we were like,
Brian Wilson isn't here, I don't think, and she was
like trying to tease us, okay, and uh it was
like a whole weird power play in the VIP at
the summer stage, and like it definitely. I think that's
like what I kind of keep coming back to with
(38:29):
Beach Boys is like I love this album, love what
they did artistically, but I do think that like ideologically
and just even just generally culturally, they were they were
out of step there. They've remained they they were from
(38:49):
very early on, from before this album kind of just
out of step with like any kind of counterculture. Yeah,
even the most hay of counterculture. I mean, like that song.
Part of it probably is that they they were a
close tied knit family. Their dad and their mom were
probably at all their shows. You know, they weren't trying
(39:12):
to be rebellious. They didn't have much to rebel against
other than like you know, their general you know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Fun Fun Fun is a pretty rebellious song when you
think about how the young lady gets punished by having
her tea bird taken away.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I yeah, that's what Yeah another four Yes, another cinematic
moment at the at the end of the scene, and I.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Can't get over this stupid artwork for this greatest hits.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Like they don't have good art, like I feel like and.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
That the logo is great. Everything that they put the
logo on.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
Sucks, and that's the whole thing. Like that's why the
beat the Beatles had that worldwide staying power. Like we
want our artists to be a little bit weird, weird,
we like we want like those those artistic differences are
what make music and make art evolve ultimately. And I
(40:22):
think that like the Beach Boys, like you know, it's
a group of guys, and we got some art. We
got some artists in there. But then it's like it
didn't it didn't like you said, it didn't have that
that actual diversity of like points of view.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Yeah, I mean, and in Brian Wilson's defense, very weird guy.
There's a lot of mental illness at play with him.
If you listen to people tell stories about him. Was
not normal at all. But yeah, I think everyone around
him was so super normal that there was just no
there was no friction. It was kind of just like, Okay,
(41:04):
that's fine, and you'll be hearing from my lawyer.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
That's the vibe.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
If I have a problem with.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
It, I feel like ultimately with that type of music,
like I was kind of this was what I was
kind of getting out with that story. It's like when
you kind of start to mix that vibe with like
the more counterculture rock, bad things happen. People get mad,
like people start to disagree, like because if it is
(41:30):
something that you can take your mom and dad to,
you know you're gonna keep getting grouped in with other
people whose moms and dads are are there.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
Well, I think that's an episode Domed. I think, so
is there anything that you like people to bring their
moms and dads to? Coming up? In the month of July.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
The next you see Black the last Saturday of the month.
We have some great acts. We have Asha Ward and
and Taren Delaney on the last Saturday of the month
of eight thirty at July twenty six. July twenty sixth
and I have a show with the Pit coming up,
(42:14):
but I don't remember the date, so all right, I'll
give that another time.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
My band one hundred thousand is playing July eighteenth in Booton,
New Jersey at Hidden Tracks the Record Store. Shane the
owner of Hidden Tracks, seems to think it's going to
sell out, or that it's the least going to be packed.
I don't know how tread that is if I'm being honest,
but I hope he's right. And if he's right and
(42:42):
you try to come and you can't get a ticket,
this is my one.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
This is your warning. Get your ticket now before it sells.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Eh.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
We'll both be there and I will be I have
to be there. You'll be there. I'll be there on
the audience. Hypeen, hypeen you guys.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
But that's great. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be
back next week with another episode of At First Listen.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Hi,
Welcome to At First Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but want to.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominique, and we're trying to help today
as we remember the late Ryan Wilson. Have You passed
away in the middle of June at age eighty two.
So I've been curious about the Beach Boys for a while,
and I felt like this was a good opportunity for
us to dive into a Beach Boys record. So I
(00:41):
chose pet Sounds, their most iconic album.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, this is one of my favorite albums of all
of all time. I also the Beach Boys their other
albums are not super important to me. But so I've
listened to it a lot of times already, but I'm
I'm excited to come back to it now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
This is the most listens for any record on the show.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
For you, I would say, I would say so, yeah,
because it's it's like it's full of classics, Like every
song is a banger. So when I have been into it,
it's been like on repeat.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, I've been curious about the Beach Boys for a while.
I think, like a lot of people my age, the
Beach Boys seem like an oldies band. It's music that
actually sounds a bit older than it is, and I
never really related to the whole surfing thing. It always
(01:48):
seemed very immature to me. And then around college times
for me, I learned that a lot of punk people
hold the Beach Boys in very high esteem, and I
never quite understood that, and then I started to sort
of figure it out through the course of researching this episode.
It seems to come down to the Ramones, and they
(02:10):
were not shy about voicing their love for the Beach
Boys and even covered at least one Beach Boys song
that I know of, which is do You Want to Dance?
From an album that we've covered on the show like
a year ago now, the Rocket to Russia album from
like seventy seven. I think so the Ramones were very
(02:32):
positive on the Beach Boys, and that gave punks across
generations permission to love the Beach Boys. I wouldn't say
that I didn't like them, I just didn't really relate
to it. And now I definitely have a better, more
complete picture of who Brian Wilson was as a songwriter
(02:54):
and composer and why and what all the fuss is about?
What all the hype about Yeah, just like we say
in our.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Intro, perfect, so it's working, Yeah, it's working. I think
I probably discovered the Beach Boys like the perfect time,
like in my teens, like you know.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, so I skipped over them in my teens. Yeah,
and I was like, the Beatles far superior bands, right,
And I still believe that. But I think that the
Beatles and the Beach Boys are about very different things totally.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I think my in my family, my parents were always
kind of anti the Beach Boys. I think just like
growing up in the seventies being black and Jewish and
these guys are just like such white American guy. It
(03:53):
was like that culture was very not inclusive of like
the people.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
That from pants flowery shirts.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, I don't think it was. I don't think like
it was a friendly to Jews and black people. So
like my parents, it felt similar to like country music.
The way they would kind of talk about the Beach
Boys is like they're just like these white guys and
their collar shirts and whatever. And my family loved the Beatles,
like my mom, both my parents are huge Beatles fans.
(04:28):
So I think that in a way, like me discovering
the Beach Boys. It wasn't rebellious. The Beach Boys can
never be rebellious.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
The most rebellious way the Beach Boys have ever been
viewed exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
It was like it was, you know, me finding my
own music taste, because it was also not it wasn't
I'm the youngest. It wasn't from my sister either, It
wasn't from anyone in my family. I kind of found
them on my own, and I was like, this is
beautiful and also as a teen, like their their music
(05:03):
was for teens, like you know, wouldn't it be nice?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Almost for too long.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Exactly, and like yeah, as maybe something about that that
California son it makes you write music for teenagers for
your entire life. But like, you know, I definitely wouldn't
it be nice? It's like that's the song of teens.
Like I remember identifying with that song and like in
(05:33):
the most you know, basic way as a teen, and
that it's funny. It's one of those songs it's funny
to listen to now because still hits kind of even
though you're like it's like the feeling of wanting something more.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I guess it's one of those songs and I don't
think I even realized this until listening to this album.
It's one of those songs that has infiltrated my consciousness
from just hearing it in the air, as some songs
are they're just in the air. It's one of those
things when people use that phrase, what I hear or
(06:12):
what my brain immediately does is this, but it's specifically
this drum thump and then what it is?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Great way to start an album?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if this was a great out?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And it is and it is, it's our best one.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And you know, the Beatles and the Beach Boys kind
of existed in parallel to each other for most of
their career, and we're almost competing in a way in
the early to mid sixties because the Beach Boys were
the biggest band in America. They were very much of
(06:56):
the time in America, and where the soundtrack of the
current Southern California fad, I think that was going on.
Whereas the Beatles were it was Beatlemania, and they were
all they were all about writing nice songs for teens.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Right, It's like Beach Boys were the biggest in America,
but the Beatles were the biggest in the world maybe
at the time or in the Western world.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, and then they sort of evolved in parallel, or
maybe not so much in parallel, because they were there
was a lot of mutual appreciation between them, and especially
Brian Wilson. Uh was listening closely to what the Beatles
were doing. And the seminal moment in Brian Wilson and
(07:40):
the Beatles or Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and
then by extension the Beatles career was the uh Rubber
Soul album I think it was by the Beatles. Let
me make sure. Yeah. Uh So, Brian in nineteen sixty
five stopped touring with the Beach Boys. He had a
(08:04):
nervous breakdown I think earlier that year and was like, Okay,
I'm just going to focus on studio work, and by
not playing live it allowed him to use a lot
more instrumentation and employ a lot more studio musicians and
basically make orchestral music like Wouldn't It Be Nice as
(08:24):
a really interesting example of what people are talking about
when they say Brian Wilson is a genius, because yes,
there's guitar, bass and drums in this song, but there's
also like timpani. There's also horns. The song goes through
so many movements, has that like barbershop core, and then
(08:47):
he's just layering harmonies on top of harmonies, and we
have some brass popping out, so it's we have whatever
(09:07):
instrument that is.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, this is like.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
A bridge on top of a bridge on top of
a bridge, and it's all like more catchier than the
last section. And it's such a simple sentiment lyrically, which
just goes through the ringer musically and you can listen
to it and not notice any of that. But other musicians,
people like Paul McCartney and John Lennon and George Harrison
(09:34):
were like, whoa, that is really neat. We should start
doing more of that. And so the Beatles were then
influenced by pet Sounds to make Sergeant Pepper solemnly Heart
Heart's Club Band, and Paul McCartney to this day calls
God only Knows one of the greatest love songs ever written.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
It totally is. It gives I still get chills, like
if I'm really paying attention to it.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And Brian Wilson is not really celebrated as a lyricist,
but I think that his ability especially on this later work,
to stray a bit from the teen sort of music,
the teen pop music, and into more complex themes, but
(10:26):
also with simple lyrics, is a really it's done really artfully.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I'm I'm a big I'm a big fan of the lyrics,
and I I don't I think that some yeah, some
what album is my favorite Batles song? I want you parentheses,
She's so heavy.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I think it's on the White album, the White album.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
There's like that those are the words of the song basically,
and I.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I, oh no, that's not abbey Road.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Abby Road even more of a bop album, and I.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think I get that one mixed up with it
part of my typing everyone, well, uh no, not that
I listened to the White album so much as a
kid that I can't remember what any Beatles what album,
any Beatles songs are unless they're on the white album, right, I.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Think he's an abbey Road family.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I like abby Road actually much more. I think it's
helter skelter that I confuse it with sometimes anyhow.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
But yeah, I love I love like a song without
too many lyrics. I think that uh, songs with a
lot of lyrics get too much, too much praise. It's like, oh,
they put them bunch of words in it, like good job.
It's like if you if you don't need the whole
(12:09):
point of music and art, I think is like the
way that you can. The words are just like another
part of the instrumentation and it changes the meaning, change
it throughout the song. But also it's like it's simple
enough that it still is up into interpretation.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, and especially finding that phrase that says a lot
in just the one phrase. It makes for a great chorus.
So wouldn't it be nice? It's not really the chorus,
but I think it starts every verse and it's like
a guy singing about wanting to grow up, which is
(12:52):
something I think most children can relate to. But then
there's all the sophistication of the instruments. There's a bunch
of key changes in the song. It's pretty nuts. Do
you want to take a break? And then we'll get
into the rest of the Pet Sounds album.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Let's do it all right, We'll be.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Right back, and we're back on that first listen. I'm Andrew,
I'm Dominique, and we're talking about Pet Sounds on this episode.
One more note on wouldn't It be nice, drastic tempo
(13:33):
change at the very end. This album was like the
most expensive album in history when they finished making, and
it costs like three quarters of a million dollars to
produce relative to twenty twenty five dollars. So it starts
(13:54):
off with an incredible song, easy single, So I'm sure
they felt like they were going to recoup the money
they put into this album. I think Don't Talk was
the other one that we wanted to point out a
very different vibe from Wouldn't It Be Nice? So they
(14:14):
kind of go right into more of a ballad and
let me.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So sad.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
It is really sad, and there's against some organ I
think going on under the bass and the vocal mournful song.
This is track four, Like this album is not for kids,
and I can imagine how per played xt some young
(15:03):
teens and kids were when they got this album, assuming
they had just recently got into the dance voice, because
the the album before this we were looking it up,
this was I think the big hit do You Want
to Dance? I Want to.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Tell Me?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Actually really easy to see how the Ramones heard this
and thought that they could do a cover. Yeah, But
so from do you Want to dance to much got
some strings involved.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now, yeah, those those tight harmonies like that. I think
that's one of the reasons that song always keeps me going.
I like, I like I said, I love this whole album.
I had a hard time narrowing down, and I think
it's like it's just because it can't be boring, because
(16:04):
sonically it's so it's so rich, rich exactly like every
moment it's it's so many things, but they're put together
like yeah, so perfectly that it's like it's like perfect
for my ears. And I'm not like I'm not like
a skip this one, you know, like this slow one
(16:26):
is annoying. It's like it's because it's also it's not
it's not like devolving into like, uh, it's like not mournful.
It's not like too sad, but it's it's it's it's
a wistful sadness that like it sucks. It sucks man
(16:51):
like and they're showing off. It's the showing off also
of the Beach Boys, the harmony, like the the like,
because there's really nothing else to listen to besides like
all those tight harmonies strawn.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Out vocally, they were an incredible band. The one thing
that I think really set them apart from The Beatles
is when it came to writing the songs, The Beach
Boys were very much Brian Wilson's vision. Mike Love has
some writing credits, some of which he got after suing
Brian Wilson in the nineties, and a few of the
(17:26):
other members have credits here and there, but it's very
much Brian Wilson's vision for the band in the first place,
and then how they evolved because he was literally in
the studio while they were on tour doing this without
the other members of the band, and then with the
Beatles on the other side of the world. They had
(17:47):
three incredible songwriters who were all like competing with each
other and trying to each grab extra real estate on albums,
at least in George Harrison's case, trying to trying to
get a few more songs in which ultimately broke up
the group With the Beach Boys. They sort of didn't
(18:09):
break up, but Brian Wilson did eventually leave the band
and Mike Love kept it going in various different forms.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
You know, I will say that it's it's refreshing, but
almost like something suspicious about the lack of drama, Like
I didn't know about the getting sued stuff. That makes
sense to me because I it was just like from
what I read, it was just kind of like Brian
was like, Eh, I don't want to tour you guys,
(18:42):
you can tour. I'm gonna do the music. And we're
all relatives, I guess, and we're like the way that
the story was told on the Wikipedia page, which which yeah,
it was very like it just seemed like everything was
pretty smooth sale.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
That is because so many of them were literal relatives.
One of them is a cousin. I don't know if
it's Mike Love or Al Jardine. And then Brian and
his two brothers were the other.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Three members, and like as close as brothers, it seems
like they were. They were kids together.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And there's other considerations if you do have a legitimate argument,
if you're Brian Wilson with someone else, some of your bandmates,
you don't want to remove their you know, way of
making money.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So exactly. Yeah, and but and also you don't want
you as the other bandmates know that you probably are replaceable,
like you know, Brian Wilson is a sigh, what Brian Wilson.
You know he's not you. You would know that you're
just singing. You're not doing a lot else, so you
(19:56):
want to try to stick.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
At some point you arrived home from tour and he
was like, Hey, what do you think of this for
our new album? This is a song called Let's Go
Away for a While. It's an instrumental, so he was like,
I don't even need your help with on any aspects
of this. But also, this is a cinema score. No,
(20:23):
I mean it sounds like it sounds it does.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
It is so dynamic, especially in the sixties, like I'm
thinking about like Jane Berkin or like you know, somebody
walking down the street.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
This is your opening credit sequels. Yes, I mean absolutely
he's I think there are like eighty musicians on this
album and you can see why. And the thing about
it that is so crazy is now, when a quote
unquote rocker, a rock musician employs an orchestra or a
(20:59):
bunch of sessions musicians, it's like, oh boy, someone's really
trying to cram a lot into a little and it's
gonna sound really bloated. And this album doesn't come across
that way. Maybe it's because of the time it came
out where we didn't have those sort of associations with
(21:24):
rock and pop artists treading into uh orchestra and classical music.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yeah, that's a good point. I think, like it's like,
if you're gonna have a band like that, it's you
need to hear every single instrument like the whole time,
and it needs to really sound like it. And if not,
it's like, just do it on the computer, don't. You
don't need to do all that. And it's like I
(21:53):
think that's yeah, the blow bloated is a good word
for it, like in comparison to how delicate, like all
of all of the instrumentation in these songs are, but
they're like so full at the same time.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
So my one qualm with the song God Only Knows,
which I agree is a beautiful song.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I May Not Always Love You.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Is that it fades out, Oh like the end, the
end of the song fades out. I'm gonna jump to
the end. So the last couple of times I listened
through to the album, I almost missed this song because
(22:45):
it doesn't actually come to an end, and it's such
a good song I think it deserves real ending.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, I hear you. I hear you as a musician.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I I loved fading out in the sixth.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, yeah, it's true. What can you do?
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Especially if you add strings on your song and I
think there's a bassoon yeah in the chorus.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I imagine it sounds beautiful when they do it live
and they like slowly drop out together. You know, I
could see that being a pet peet.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
I don't think any of these songs are over four minutes,
but god only knows could have taken an extra thirty
seconds to wrap.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It up getting to this part of the album, it's
like this.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Is the second half.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, I even more. I was talking about how I
was listening to as a high schooler, you know, I
was a hipster twenty tens, and this would be like
mixed in with the other beachy music of the time,
(24:13):
like chill Wave era, and I honestly will forget like
if I'm like, is this is this Beach House? Is
this Animal Collective? Or is this Beach Boys? Because they
sat like the they just feel so similar.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
So you showed me the song called My Girls earlier
by Animal Collective, which you described as an electronic version
of the Beach Boys, and I can hear it for Sarah.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Start singing. It just fits right in.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, coming from the scene place. In terms of the
vibe that they're trying to create with their instrumentation.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Totally, it's like, uh, it's and I think that, like
I probably might not have found the Beach Boys if
it weren't for bands like like Washed Out or Animal
Collective or Beach House because ultimately the surfing stuff it's
so corny, like right, like it is, it is so basic,
(25:28):
like wouldn't it be? Like I think to me, Animal
Collective is a great example of there's a lot of
words in there, like you're you. You gotta have a
good memory to like learn an Animal Collective song, like
all the lyrics, And I think that I needed that,
like I appreciate because they were just like telling these
(25:48):
little fun kind of vignettes and fun little stories and
painting a more painting, a fuller picture. Whereas the Beach
Boys like they were that picture. They were like the
sixties beach guys. Whereas like bands like from the Chill
Wave Arrow where we're trying to recreate that vibe with
(26:11):
that sort of like rose colored glasses of like vintage vintage,
like hipsterness.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
So this is you mentioned washed Out. I think this
is a song I almost everyone will recognize.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Thus, yeah, you said as the Portlandia theme. It was
also it was like the Adult Swim like when they
would show the.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
The Adult Swim logo. Yeah, maybe one of the highest
rift to or or lowest rift to. Knowing who the
artist is ratio if that makes sense. Oh, yes, you cannot.
You cannot get me to you produce from my mind
(27:02):
palace the artist's name washed Out. No totally for showing
me this song.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
No I I I remembered washed Out from the back
of my mind palace and I looked it up and
then this song came up and I was like, oh, yeah,
this is like I knew it was the right thing.
And then when it was I was like, oh, this
song actually is famous, like people will connect to it
and it's and like I think there's something there is
(27:30):
something there with like the cultural through line of like
that that riff or whatever being on Adult Swim and
like the Beach Boys, Like I think it's just chill
(27:51):
vibes is what I'm actually like. I think it's actually
just like we love it. It's important, Like I think
like That's the funny thing about the Beach Boys is
like we were looking at videos of them playing and
I'm like, and when you think when you hear those harmonies,
I'm like, honestly, they are not chill. I'm like, oh
(28:14):
my god, I can I remember when I.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Was in a There is pain behind these harmon.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Oh my god, and like you better get it right.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Like I'm telling you wise, everyone, the whole thing sounds bad.
And Brian is really mad at you.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, he's frustrated. I mean I've been there, you know,
and I'm.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
All, you know, those guys are all blaming each other.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Oh yeah, you're off, You're off. He was off, I'm off,
yeah exactly, And then you play it. We're all off and.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Like, well, let's played isolated then no no, no, no, no
no no no no no, don't exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And I think that like we've been able to capture
a more authentic chillness when you're just there with your
laptop in the studio by yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Taking directions from no yes, yeah. I just wasn't made
for these times. Another example of Brian getting beyond the
surf idolization era. This I got, Brian, I wish and
(29:21):
this is Brian on lead vocals. It's time things got
something God like a nervous breakdown for example. Uh, not
the kind of thing you would ever expect him to
(29:43):
The surf in USA guy to write about is like,
sometimes things just don't work out for me and they're
not chill.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
And this song is so this is like so ironic,
and I think if it came out today, it would
be an ironic song because it's like, you weren't made
for these times, mister biggest pop star in America with
the blonde hair. I think you were, like, I think
you were exactly made for these times. I think even
the questioning are you made for these times? Is a
(30:15):
very it's something that like all the youth feel, yeah,
like that that voice and so that this this was
a funny one because when I was listening to it again,
it's so like this is him being like, we're doing
something different, and it's just it's it's not, it's it's not.
(30:43):
I could see how like, if I was singing surf music,
I would definitely need to like connect with my soul,
especially if there's like all this pressure to keep doing it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
As someone who's never served and never really even been
interested in it like I have.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
But I I'm I'm now realizing, like what's missing? They
weren't they weren't doing drugs. I was like, why is
this not tragic? That's what I was trying to figure out,
like because like, yeah, he had his anxiety and stuff,
(31:25):
but like every like that's what's happened with the Beatles
and you know, just every other.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Yeah, okay, right, because except for Paul McCartney, like all
the Beatles came from like or I should say, at
least John Lennon, I know, came from a fully broken home,
was like afraid of his dad, and a lot of
that came across later in the music he made. I
don't know George Harrison's story, but his experimenting with all
(31:53):
different religions suggests that there was some unease.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
There southern California. Like guys Fists a homemade band you
don't even have to go out to look for.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
So the story of how they started the Beach Boys
is mom and dad went away to Mexico for a
certain number of days. They left the kids like one
hundred bucks or two hundred bucks or something for food,
and they spent it all on rentals of instruments.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
See that's already, So that's already like that amount of privilege.
My parents went on vacation and I spent all the
money and not even on food because I knew i'd
be fine. Yeah, Like that's already and I don't. I'm
like two hundred it has that has to be high.
Like I'm like, he's back in the day.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
He said in the interview. I think he said two
hundred dollars, and it does seem so high. I'm like,
if my parents, how long were they going away today?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Like I feel like parents aren't really giving their kids
multiple hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
It was at least three kids. I don't know fully
how many they have.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
That is money.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
It seems like a lot that is money. So they
spent that money on instruments. They then learned the instruments
and wrote a song over the course of their parents vacation.
And this was outside with Bob, and then they performed
(33:24):
it for mom and dad when they came home, and
apparently their parents loved it. It is a long two
and a half minutes. Though this part is great, but
it's like this for a long time.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
It's like honky Tonk music. I feel like you could
hear this and it's about surfing, but it's about surfing.
I mean, California is a part of the West ultimately.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So that is like some sixteen year old kids average
age making that. And then we get to the end
of the pet Sounds album and what year is it?
Sixty six? Caroline?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
No, but that's not like this might as well be
Animal Collective. I think, like it really sounds like that
to me. It's sad.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
This song made me chuckle the first time I heard
it because with the album being called Pet Sounds, seeing
the phrase Caroline know, it's like you're telling your dog.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Caroline, no, no, totally. I it's funny. I think.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I don't think that's what the song is.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I don't either, Honestly, I feel like I've never thought
too far into this song. Yeah, why is he saying
He's like, basically he's breaking up with Caroline. It seems
like hm hmm. It's giving like a let it burn
vibe of like, well we have as great but no no,
(35:05):
but he feels bad about it.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Yeah, And I can't imagine how the other members of
the band felt arriving back and seeing at least the
direction that he was going and knowing that this music
is impossible for them to perform, and they stripped it down.
They had arrangements when they went back out on tour.
(35:29):
They do play these songs live even today, but it's
not it's not with the full orchestra, and it's not
even like using just keyboards to compensate. It's really kind
of the early sixties Beach Boys sound, as far as
I can tell, with the as much of this instrumentation
(35:51):
and arrangement as they could fit in to that combo.
Because I think people are going to see the quote
unquote Beach Boys today wanting to hear like help me
Ronda and do you want to dance? And surfing USA
and all that stuff, and then they're like, oh and
this album.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, as long as I provide that beautiful sound, I
think we're satisfied. I saw the Beach Boys a while ago.
(36:31):
I think part of it is also that they have
made themselves very available. I think it's like, yeah, you
don't have to be like, oh, I want to see
the Beach Boys, Can I do it? Like you can
find the Beach Boys concert.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah. The Mic Love era, I don't think has been
good in terms of the legacy of the band, because
there are some state fairs on the itinerary, or at
least there have been. It's not like he's only playing
theaters or stadiums or arenas. He's taking the money where
(37:08):
it's offered.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
And it's yeah, and he is providing this show exactly
what show he feels like doing. I saw him at
the Summer stage many years ago, and I just remember
a lot of very low quality JPEGs of like surfing.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Surfing, this is what we're talking about.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
American flags, women on surfboards, black and white exactly. And
I actually that was such a funny that day. It
was it was years ago. My sister and I went
together and we kind of got in a fight with
this lady.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Because chilling out exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
But it was like boomer white people vibes, and this
lady tried to like do a weird, like mean girl
bullying thing to us. She tried to she was like
she tried to be like, uh, this's so cool, like
Brian Wilson is so great, right, Like she was trying
to like trick us into like because she was like,
(38:08):
they don't really know what they're seeing. And we were like,
Brian Wilson isn't here, I don't think, and she was
like trying to tease us, okay, and uh it was
like a whole weird power play in the VIP at
the summer stage, and like it definitely. I think that's
like what I kind of keep coming back to with
(38:29):
Beach Boys is like I love this album, love what
they did artistically, but I do think that like ideologically
and just even just generally culturally, they were they were
out of step there. They've remained they they were from
(38:49):
very early on, from before this album kind of just
out of step with like any kind of counterculture. Yeah,
even the most hay of counterculture. I mean, like that song.
Part of it probably is that they they were a
close tied knit family. Their dad and their mom were
probably at all their shows. You know, they weren't trying
(39:12):
to be rebellious. They didn't have much to rebel against
other than like you know, their general you know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Fun Fun Fun is a pretty rebellious song when you
think about how the young lady gets punished by having
her tea bird taken away.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I yeah, that's what Yeah another four Yes, another cinematic
moment at the at the end of the scene, and I.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Can't get over this stupid artwork for this greatest hits.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Like they don't have good art, like I feel like and.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
That the logo is great. Everything that they put the
logo on.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
Sucks, and that's the whole thing. Like that's why the
beat the Beatles had that worldwide staying power. Like we
want our artists to be a little bit weird, weird,
we like we want like those those artistic differences are
what make music and make art evolve ultimately. And I
(40:22):
think that like the Beach Boys, like you know, it's
a group of guys, and we got some art. We
got some artists in there. But then it's like it
didn't it didn't like you said, it didn't have that
that actual diversity of like points of view.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Yeah, I mean, and in Brian Wilson's defense, very weird guy.
There's a lot of mental illness at play with him.
If you listen to people tell stories about him. Was
not normal at all. But yeah, I think everyone around
him was so super normal that there was just no
there was no friction. It was kind of just like, Okay,
(41:04):
that's fine, and you'll be hearing from my lawyer.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
That's the vibe.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
If I have a problem with.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
It, I feel like ultimately with that type of music,
like I was kind of this was what I was
kind of getting out with that story. It's like when
you kind of start to mix that vibe with like
the more counterculture rock, bad things happen. People get mad,
like people start to disagree, like because if it is
(41:30):
something that you can take your mom and dad to,
you know you're gonna keep getting grouped in with other
people whose moms and dads are are there.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
Well, I think that's an episode Domed. I think, so
is there anything that you like people to bring their
moms and dads to? Coming up? In the month of July.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
The next you see Black the last Saturday of the month.
We have some great acts. We have Asha Ward and
and Taren Delaney on the last Saturday of the month
of eight thirty at July twenty six. July twenty sixth
and I have a show with the Pit coming up,
(42:14):
but I don't remember the date, so all right, I'll
give that another time.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
My band one hundred thousand is playing July eighteenth in Booton,
New Jersey at Hidden Tracks the Record Store. Shane the
owner of Hidden Tracks, seems to think it's going to
sell out, or that it's the least going to be packed.
I don't know how tread that is if I'm being honest,
but I hope he's right. And if he's right and
(42:42):
you try to come and you can't get a ticket,
this is my one.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
This is your warning. Get your ticket now before it sells.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Eh.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
We'll both be there and I will be I have
to be there. You'll be there. I'll be there on
the audience. Hypeen, hypeen you guys.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
But that's great. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be
back next week with another episode of At First Listen.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Hi,
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