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Post by mummifiedstalin on Apr 29, 2012 23:26:09 GMT -5
It has recently come to my attention that really smart and even some "avant" types really like the Beach Boys.
Please explain this to me. I'm a noob. I still hear basic, well produced, but still bubblegum, pop. Why is Pet Sounds amazing? Why is Smile something worth waiting decades for? I fully admit to innocence on these questions.
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Post by BJ on May 1, 2012 23:54:28 GMT -5
Really? Between this and the Coldplay thread, I'm not sure how serious you are.
Regardless, I consider Pet Sounds to be one of those perfect albums. Yes, the Beach Boys are the prototype for simple, well produced, surf music. However, for this album, the harmonies and production were something unique. With songs like "Wouldn't it be Nice" and "God Only Knows", they were able to build upon Phil Spector's wall of sound to create their own special album.
However, it's Sloop John B that I've always loved. It's one of those songs that sounds perfect to me, and always puts a smile on my face. When I learned that the vocals had been doubled up to give it that unique sound, I realized just how well that song was produced, just like the whole album.
On the other hand, I don't care about Smile. Like Pete Townsend's Lifehouse, or Axl Rose's latest album, it's well past the due date.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on May 2, 2012 0:45:48 GMT -5
Somewhat serious, but then this is me. The serious side is that with both bands, I found myself paying attention to them in random places and actually enjoying it...when I never had before. And then there was synchronicity: soon after, people whose opinion I really respect said some smart things about why I should like them. So I figured I'd open it up here.
With the Beach Boys, my friend said the same thing: Pet Sounds is just a completely unique album. It's kind of surf, kind of CSN harmonies, kind of psychedelic, but also just perfectly crafted/produced music. I suppose, deep down, I'd always assumed they were a slightly more shallow and slightly more groovy (i.e., less folksy) version of the Kingston Trio. But I think I may have been wrong.
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Post by BJ on May 2, 2012 16:43:50 GMT -5
Ahh, that makes more sense. As for the other thread, I remember almost nothing about Coldplay. All I recall is not liking them when they were popular, and Paul Rudd making fun of them in the 40 Year Old Virgin.
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Post by Mr. Atari on May 2, 2012 22:48:05 GMT -5
Pet Sounds deserves all of the acclaim it gets. It's one of those great works of art that is immediately enjoyable on the surface, but gets immeasurably more impressive the more you analyze it. The melodies are fun, the harmonies are unreal, and the "everything-in-the-box" instrumental arrangements stand the test of time. Overall, there's a very specific feel to the whole thing-- sort of a beautiful melancholy. And for a real mind-screw, sit down and try to figure out the chords in "God Only Knows".
Then again, I love their surfin' tunes, too.
I think of Smile the way I think of Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons. Brian Wilson made a masterpiece with Pet Sounds, then went off the rails before completing the follow-up. Had he finished it and released it before going crazy, it might have been what everyone imagined it to be. Instead, the legend of the follow-up made the imaginary work better than it actually is. To release it now, it's like a director's cut of ...Ambersons with a tacked on ending. It's more of a curiosity than a classic.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on May 7, 2012 10:07:23 GMT -5
I've set aside some time later today to listen to Pet Sounds in its entirety. Damn you all for making me change my mind.
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Post by Shep on May 13, 2012 4:20:55 GMT -5
I was listening to "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" yesterday. Amazing stuff!
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2012 7:15:01 GMT -5
Without Pet Sounds who knows if there would have been a Sgt. Pepper? When the Beatles heard it, it was the inspiration to step up their already formidable game another notch. McCartney said "God Only Knows" was one of the best love songs he had ever heard. Personally I think "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is one of the best pop songs ever. Not to get off track too much, but I should point you all to this band I discovered called The Explorers Club. Listen to some samples from the link provided and you'll see that the late-60's Beach Boy sounds still resonate today. In this time of pop tarts, auto-tune, manufactured boy bands and just the absolute dreck that constitutes today's music, it's good to know there are people who still get what good music is all about. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00165VESK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_g15_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0DZS8SCX0HZWZDR24RZV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
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Post by Phantom Engineer on May 22, 2012 16:10:24 GMT -5
I admire and respect the Beach Boys but am just not a real big fan. But I have a bootleg of Pet Sounds that is just the vocal tracks and while it's not something I would listen to much it is very impressive.
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Post by reaperg on Jun 3, 2012 8:27:01 GMT -5
I'll probably always be kicking myself for missing their reunion tour when they played Vegas last week.
In the meantime, I'll cheer myself up with this:
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