Half a century is pretty “outta sight” if you ask me. To celebrate, here’s the two main Pet Sounds portions of The Beach Boys essay in Mess of Help. We’ve posted portions before but never all of it. Catch a wave: Brian Wilson was the original heart-on-your-sleeve auteur. Young men had been vulnerable on record before, but usually in […]
I Still Believe in Love & Mercy (and Brian Wilson)
Saw Love & Mercy last night, and wow. As reviewers have been noting, it is not your average biopic, and certainly not much of a summer film, despite the source material. Which makes sense, I guess, since Brian Wilson is not your average bear. It has more in common with I’m Not There, than, say, […]
Another Week Ends: Motivated Podcasts, Inverted Envy, Doofus Batman, Evensong Revelations, Rowling Rewards, Salinger Silence, Denny Lives Again, and Watterson’s Speech
1. “Want to Win a Political Debate? Try Making a Weaker Argument” reads a headline over at The Pacific Standard, and what follows is a helpful refresher on the overpowering role of self-image when it comes to argumentation. In very Haidt-esque fashion, and with the help of some fresh research, the article claims that the […]
It’s Been Building Up In Brian Wilson For Oh I Don’t Know How Long
Now an excerpt from A Mess of Help (which takes its name from one of BW’s songs): There is so much about The Beach Boys that is hard to believe. Toward the bottom of the list (but still on it) is the fact that “Don’t Worry Baby” was originally released as the B-side of “I […]
October Playlist
Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It – Stars- From Here On Out – The Killers
- Cry for Judas – The Mountain Goats
- Scared – Albert Hammond Jr.
- If You Gotta Break Another Heart – Albert Hammond Sr.
- If You Change Your Mind – The Raspberries
- Eddie Walker – Ben Folds Five
- Way Back Into Love – Hugh Grant and Haley Bennett
- My Diane – The Beach Boys
- February Seven – The Avett Brothers
- Around Every Corner – Derek Webb
- The Man I Didn’t Know – Scott Weiland
- The Moon Is Calling – Nada Surf
- Ashes to Ashes – Faith No More
- What Deaner Was Talkin’ About – Ween
- Black Tears – Ian Hunter and the Rant Band
- Pay in Blood – Bob Dylan
- There Is A Valley – Bill Fay
Goodbye Surfing, Hello God! A Conference Breakout
Maybe beauty is your thing. Maybe family dynamics fascinate you. Or maybe it’s mental illness or addiction or eccentricity. Maybe you’re interested in the intersection of commerce and art, or the rise (and fall) of the American music industry, or simply post-WWII America in general. Maybe irony is your strong suit, or maybe it’s heart-on-your-sleeve […]
Another Week Ends: Moral Dieting, Self Illusions, Craig Sager’s Suits, Superhero Saints, LIBERATE, Prometheus, Drive-In Church, and MJ’s Bad
1. We’ve given him a rest for a few months, but the break is over! David Brooks wrote an another incisive column for The NY Times this week, “The Moral Diet,” reflecting on Dan Ariely’s new book on dishonesty. Brooks isn’t afraid to cast the research in historical-religious terms; indeed, the shift in Western self-perception, […]
Another Week Ends: Jewish Anxiety, Christian Juvenilia, Male Demise, Cheap Law, Underachievement and Imperfection, Bearded Brooklyn, Ram and Beach Boys
1. “Do The Jews Own Anxiety?” asked Daniel Smith in The NY Times last week, and his answer may surprise you. A member of the tribe himself, Smith traces the public (gentile) perception of Jewish neurosis, as well as how its poster-boys (Woody Allen, Philip Roth’s Alexander Portnoy, etc) have almost gleefully perpetuated the stereotype, […]
June Playlist
Goin’ On – The Beach Boys- Everything Hits At Once – Spoon
- Long Promised Road (live) – Carl Wilson
- The 1st Mistake I Made – The Bee Gees
- Broke Down – Slaid Cleaves
- Listening to the Wind That Blows – Wilco & Billy Bragg
- Big Sur – Mike Love
- Stevie – Saint Etienne
- This Summer – Squeeze
- If I Can’t Change Your Mind – Sugar
- Thou Shalt Not Steal – Glenda Collins [prod. Joe Meek]
- How She Boogalooed It – Al Jardine
- She Is Still A Mystery – The Lovin’ Spoonful
- God Did It – Brian Wilson
- Constant Companion – Dennis Wilson
- Perfect Man – Rufus Wainwright
- Disconnected – Keane
- The Scientist – Willie Nelson
- Saved By the Bell – Robin Gibb
- Do You Know How Much You’ve Been Loved? – John Davis
Beach Boys 101: Peter Bagge’s “In Defense Of (And Praise For) Mike Love”
One rainy day last year I decided to do the Internet a favor and digitize Peter Bagge’s brilliant, contrarian essay, “In Defense Of (And Praise For) Mike Love.” Ever since, I’ve been waiting for the right time to post it, and the 50th anniversary of the band seems like as good an opportunity as any. […]
That Time The Beach Boys Made a Teenage Symphony to God
Many years ago I said that “Music is God’s Voice.” I’ve often felt that I was on a musical mission, to spread the gospel of love through records. – Brian Wilson When Brian Wilson did the unthinkable and revisited/reassembled his long-lost masterpiece SMiLE in 2004, it was touted as a major personal breakthrough. To the […]
November Playlist
I’ve Been a Bad Bad Boy – Paul Jones- A Breath Taking Guy – The Marvelettes
- If Dolphins Were Monkeys – Ian Brown
- I Told Her on Alderaan – Neon Neon
- Right Behind You – Brandon Flowers
- Speedway – Morrissey
- Man-Sized Wreath – REM
- Church on White – Stephen Malkmus
- It’s Real – Real Estate
- The Reason – Thunderclap Newman
- There’s No Way Out of Here – David Gilmour
- In No Resistance – Frankie Miller
- Bad Blood – Crooked Fingers
- The Neighbor – Dixie Chicks
- The Road to Birmingham – Mott the Hoople
- Boulder to Birmingham – Emmylou Harris
- In the World – Ryan Adams
- Nothing Lasts Forever – Echo & The Bunnymen
