Friday, April 22, 2005
Against the Beach Boys
I guess the question I have for all you Beach Boys fans is . . . just how many times can you listen to "fun fun fun til her daddy takes the T-bird away"?
I realize that presenting one Beach Boys song as evidence here does not a comprehensive argument make. I know that. But more than any other band, the Beach Boys . . . make Beach Boys music. Sure we know a "Van Halen" song or a "Rush" song or a "Pink Floyd" song when we hear it. But damnit, a "Beach Boys" song is instantly recognizable. It's like everybody's heard their whole catalog . . . even if they haven't.
Come to think of it, everything about this band, I dislike. I don't like the name. "Beach Boys" -- they're not boys anymore. They weren't boys when they originally made the music. It's kind of like "Boys 2 Men" -- who have been men for just about all of their career now. When does it become embarrassing? When do you rename the band? It's almost as bad as the Jerry Garcia Band trying to carry on after Jerry's death.
Moreover, the surviving members don't get along anymore. Why the hell not? How can there be ego in a band so obviously billed as "fun-lovin'"? A band called the "Beach Boys" has ego? Come on.
And don't give me this business about Brian Wilson being some sort of genius. My brother-in-law went to see Wilson, who opened for somebody else a few years ago. He told me he'd been looking forward to hearing Wilson based on all the climax-like reviews of the "Pet Sounds" album he'd read. So I asked him, "Was it good? Or did he just play Beach Boys songs?"
"Yeah! That's exactly it! He just played Beach Boys songs! I don't know what the hell everybody's talking about! They were just Beach Boys songs!"
I just don't get it. To me you can't put Pet Sounds next to Sgt. Pepper. Not even close. Not even on the same shelf. Not even in the same room. Put it next to Barney's Greatest Hits. Where it belongs.
I realize that presenting one Beach Boys song as evidence here does not a comprehensive argument make. I know that. But more than any other band, the Beach Boys . . . make Beach Boys music. Sure we know a "Van Halen" song or a "Rush" song or a "Pink Floyd" song when we hear it. But damnit, a "Beach Boys" song is instantly recognizable. It's like everybody's heard their whole catalog . . . even if they haven't.
Come to think of it, everything about this band, I dislike. I don't like the name. "Beach Boys" -- they're not boys anymore. They weren't boys when they originally made the music. It's kind of like "Boys 2 Men" -- who have been men for just about all of their career now. When does it become embarrassing? When do you rename the band? It's almost as bad as the Jerry Garcia Band trying to carry on after Jerry's death.
Moreover, the surviving members don't get along anymore. Why the hell not? How can there be ego in a band so obviously billed as "fun-lovin'"? A band called the "Beach Boys" has ego? Come on.
And don't give me this business about Brian Wilson being some sort of genius. My brother-in-law went to see Wilson, who opened for somebody else a few years ago. He told me he'd been looking forward to hearing Wilson based on all the climax-like reviews of the "Pet Sounds" album he'd read. So I asked him, "Was it good? Or did he just play Beach Boys songs?"
"Yeah! That's exactly it! He just played Beach Boys songs! I don't know what the hell everybody's talking about! They were just Beach Boys songs!"
I just don't get it. To me you can't put Pet Sounds next to Sgt. Pepper. Not even close. Not even on the same shelf. Not even in the same room. Put it next to Barney's Greatest Hits. Where it belongs.
