Wouldn't it be nice...
So the radio thing is on its way. It's taking me longer than I'd hoped to get it up and running, but rest assured that when it’s done, it'll be hella awesome. I appreciate all the emails clueing me into new music. Keep them coming, even though I'm up to my ears in new music, I'm going to listen to everything and talk about them when I get a chance.
Beefore I start talking about the godliness of Brian Wilson I wanted to let everyone know that we're making a huge bonfire/sleepover thing next Monday night on a beach just north of Netzanim for Lag B'omer. Everyone is invited; just email me to let me know if you’re coming, if you need a ride, or if you can take people, and what you can bring. We're getting a keg, so don't bring beer.
So as I said before, I want to talk about Brian Wilson. He might not actually be a god, but his contribution to music history is well documented. For those of you who don't know who he is,Brian Wilson was the brains, talent and passion behind The Beach Boys. Yes, The Beach Boys. That band that your parents loved and made you listen to on long car rides. Yes, that band that sang about surfing and girls and cars and little else. And yes, that band that the Beatles once called their American rivals (but the Beatles have a long history of talking shit).
So why the hell am I talking about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys? Forget about the fact that they are one of the most influential bands in history (Pet Sounds is number 2 on Rolling Stones list of most influential albums of all time), and forget about the fact that Brian Wilson reinvented what a music producer is by taking a razorblade and literally cut and pasted tapes together to create new sounds long before that was the norm. And also forget about his knack for harmonizing vocals, which he then taught to bands like Jan and Dean, The Beatles, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The Beatles said that their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was created to outdo Pet Sounds, which Brian Wilson said he created to outdo Rubber Soul.
At the very basis for all that Brian Wilson has done over the past 40 years is creating music that is enjoyable to listen to. This is why I'm talking about Brian Wilson. From California Girls, to Surfing U.S.A., to Help Me Rhonda, to Good Vibrations, to Wouldn't It Be Nice, Brian Wilson's songs have a pleasant, fun nature to them that sound familiar and complex at the same time. While his songs are as singable as they are complicated, they are catchy without sounding too poppy. The cheesiness that exists in his compilations are exposed not because they copied what everyone else was doing at the time, but because his sound was soon copied by everyone.
And he's not done creating music. In 2004 Brian Wilson released his masterpiece, Smile. The album which was started in 1967 was originally intended to best Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but the pressure was too intense and led Brian to a complete breakdown. Thirty-odd years later Brian tried again to record what he considered his best work, with mind-blowing results. Smile, while only a modest commercial success was truly one of the best albums of 2004. It was nominated for numerous Grammy awards and won one.
I truly feel that to appreciate and enjoy where music is going, it’s important to take a look back and see where music came from. Dust off those old Beach Boys albums and try to imagine what it must have been like to hear these songs for the first time, see if you can imagine these songs being groundbreaking and utterly original. Without them, we wouldn't have much of what we've got today.
Recommended songs: Good Vibrations, Barbara Ann, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Heroes and Villians, and Surfer Girl.
Beefore I start talking about the godliness of Brian Wilson I wanted to let everyone know that we're making a huge bonfire/sleepover thing next Monday night on a beach just north of Netzanim for Lag B'omer. Everyone is invited; just email me to let me know if you’re coming, if you need a ride, or if you can take people, and what you can bring. We're getting a keg, so don't bring beer.
So as I said before, I want to talk about Brian Wilson. He might not actually be a god, but his contribution to music history is well documented. For those of you who don't know who he is,Brian Wilson was the brains, talent and passion behind The Beach Boys. Yes, The Beach Boys. That band that your parents loved and made you listen to on long car rides. Yes, that band that sang about surfing and girls and cars and little else. And yes, that band that the Beatles once called their American rivals (but the Beatles have a long history of talking shit).
So why the hell am I talking about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys? Forget about the fact that they are one of the most influential bands in history (Pet Sounds is number 2 on Rolling Stones list of most influential albums of all time), and forget about the fact that Brian Wilson reinvented what a music producer is by taking a razorblade and literally cut and pasted tapes together to create new sounds long before that was the norm. And also forget about his knack for harmonizing vocals, which he then taught to bands like Jan and Dean, The Beatles, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The Beatles said that their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was created to outdo Pet Sounds, which Brian Wilson said he created to outdo Rubber Soul.
At the very basis for all that Brian Wilson has done over the past 40 years is creating music that is enjoyable to listen to. This is why I'm talking about Brian Wilson. From California Girls, to Surfing U.S.A., to Help Me Rhonda, to Good Vibrations, to Wouldn't It Be Nice, Brian Wilson's songs have a pleasant, fun nature to them that sound familiar and complex at the same time. While his songs are as singable as they are complicated, they are catchy without sounding too poppy. The cheesiness that exists in his compilations are exposed not because they copied what everyone else was doing at the time, but because his sound was soon copied by everyone.
And he's not done creating music. In 2004 Brian Wilson released his masterpiece, Smile. The album which was started in 1967 was originally intended to best Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but the pressure was too intense and led Brian to a complete breakdown. Thirty-odd years later Brian tried again to record what he considered his best work, with mind-blowing results. Smile, while only a modest commercial success was truly one of the best albums of 2004. It was nominated for numerous Grammy awards and won one.
I truly feel that to appreciate and enjoy where music is going, it’s important to take a look back and see where music came from. Dust off those old Beach Boys albums and try to imagine what it must have been like to hear these songs for the first time, see if you can imagine these songs being groundbreaking and utterly original. Without them, we wouldn't have much of what we've got today.
Recommended songs: Good Vibrations, Barbara Ann, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Heroes and Villians, and Surfer Girl.
posted by Goofunk at
2:13 PM
1 Comments:
HE Eagles passed themselves off as sensitive and caring musicians - but barreled over women like sex-crazed steamrollers, according to "Hotel California," Barney Hoskyns' new tell-all on the stoned-out, bed-hopping '70s L.A. rock scene. Glenn Frey and Don Henley "were the horniest boys in town, living without rules or limits," one ex-girlfriend says. "And they [the Eagles] still loved to portray themselves as the underdogs, the taken-advantage-of victims. We used to call that song ['Lyin' Eyes'] 'Lyin' Guys.
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IsraLuv, at May 21, 2006 11:48 AM
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