November 06, 2004
Smile
By Jim Dallas
I was supposed to meet some people to watch the OSU game. They didn't show. So instead of getting drunk and yelling at a big screen TV, I did the next best thing. I went to Super Target.
I had heard (from Atrios among others) that Brian Wilson's Smile was either the best album ever made, or simple "good", or somewhere in between.
I'd never been much of a devotee of the Beach Boys, but as an amateur Beatle-ologist, my interest was piqued insofar as Smile was originally conceived to "one-up" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
I have to say I am very impressed with the album, and have to join the millions of people who wonder just how music history might have changed had Brian Wilson not gone nuts, and this album had been released in the late 1960s.
Posted by Jim Dallas at November 6, 2004 09:01 PM
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Yes... Brian Wilson's drug addiction undoubtedly robbed the world of many more great albums.
I think on pure musical genius, Sir Paul McC. still has the Beach Boy beat. McCartney has demonstrated a stunning ability to move beyond the pop genre in recent years. Had he lived three hundred years ago, Sir Paul might easily have been a contemporary of the Haydn's and Mozart's of the world.
John Lennon / Paul M. saw the Beach Boys as their greatest musical rivals. I think that speaks volumes for Wilson's potential. But LSD is a helluva drug... =)
Jim,
Get Pet Sounds. I've read it was the inspiration for Sgt Pepper. Listen to it closely. It's brilliant.
Pay no attention to Elam. If he's picking limeys over Americans, he's obviously delusional over the A&M season.
Not much to be deluded about regarding A&M anymore.
The Beach Boys and the Beatles were engaged in a constant, ongoing battle for innovation. When they came out of Apple Records with Abbey Road, the White Album, and Sgt. Pepper's, it completely obliterated all opposition in terms of innovation. Anything that followed was only going to be an attempt to match, not to surpass.
Brian Wilson left lots of legacy behind, tho . . . genetics is a wonderful thing.
Rob, I've read the same thing about Sgt. Pepper's being inspired by Pet Sounds. I own an original copy of Pet Sounds - its beautiful, complex, and must have been stunning to the Beatles. The thing is, Sgt. Pepper's is not a good musical album. It was revolutionary, shocking, and a pioneer in the use of studio effects as an instrument. But the music is nuts, and you'll find better tunes on all their other albums. P.S. My favorite artist these days is Dave Matthews... he is BRILLIANT (despite his politics).
The competition from the Beatles undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on Wilson to step up, and probably added to his drug use. Pet Sounds effectively represented the pinnacle of the Beach Boys, but the Beatles kept on going... The Beach Boys ended up recruiting John "Uncle Jesse / Too Good For Rebecca Romijn" Stamos for the group. 'Nuff Said. =)
As far as Wilson's genetics... just the other day I was reading some article that mentioned Carnie Wilson had appeared in Playboy. I thought I was on LSD. I wasn't paying very close attention to the pop world a few years ago when she got stomach stapled and plastic surgeried out of 300-lbs status. She looks much healthier these days.
you missed one of the greatest (if not the greatest) games in texas football history so you could go to target and buy some CD??!!
Sal-
I sit here in Norman, Oklahoma, and chuckle at the idea of a game with OSU being the greatest game in Texas Fotball History.
Oh, wait. You won this one.
*chuckle*
Bryan should buy more CDs if it puts you guys in the W column . . .
well, it was the greatest comeback in texas football history so it definitely has a place as one of the greatest games in texas football history. also, being at the game, i can tell you that's the loudest it's probably been in my four years here.
