defend the indefensible: "kokomo" by the beach boys

Beach Boys songs off their Greatest Hits that sound worse to me that a crying baby on an airplane: "God Only Knows," "In My Room," their massacre of "Sloop John B.," the bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "I Get Around"

For some reason I want to cut and paste this John Cage thing right now:

When I was growing up in California there were
two things that everyone assumed were good for you.
There were, of course, others
— spinach and oatmeal, for instance —
but right now I’m thinking of
sunshine and orange juice. When we
lived at Ocean Park, I was sent out every
morning to the beach where I spent the day
building rolly-coasters in the sand,
complicated downhill tracks with tunnels and
inclines upon which I rolled a small hard
rubber ball. Every day toward noon
I fainted because the sun was too much
for me. When I fainted I didn’t
fall down, but I couldn’t see;
there were flocks of black spots
wherever I looked. I soon learned
to find my way in that blindness to a
hamburger stand where I’d ask for something
to eat. Sitting in the shade,
I’d come to. It took me
much longer, about thirty-five years
in fact, to learn that orange
juice was not good for me either.

-http://www.lcdf.org/indeterminacy/

Beach Boys songs off their Greatest Hits that sound worse to me that a crying baby on an airplane: "God Only Knows," "In My Room," their massacre of "Sloop John B.," the bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "I Get Around"

Stop it J0hn, you are shaking the very foundations of my worldview. Srsly.

the bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice,"

You have no soul.

Stop it J0hn, you are shaking the very foundations of my worldview. Srsly.

-- St3ve Go1db3rg, Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:26 AM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^^ self-parody or... ?

Why would that be self-parody?

P.S. ian, I promise I won't be sad if you stop taking such an intense interest in my comments.

The only really indefensible thing in this song is this lyric,

Everybody knows
a little place like kokomo.

Everybody? A little place? You imagine the singer as a smug 80s asshole so deep in his Reagonomic bubble that he assumes that literally everybody is living his same globe-trotting cocktail-swilling high life. It really ends the song on a shitty note.

But, eh...the chorus is pretty solid (sounds a lot thinner than I remember though) - hooks aside, I think I'd rather take Roger Miller's "England Swings" as far as the narrow genre of songs that give you vacation-planning advice. As for songs on hit Beach Boys comeback extravaganza Still Cruisin' it's all about the title track, "In My Car," and "Somewhere Near Japan."

(I know there's an ILX thread where someone complains about "England Swings" - I have very distinct memories of it - but fucked if I can find it now...)

steve, ian picks on you because you talk about stuff he doesn't understand like how to actually play music.

Really though - I think the objectionable thing about this entire endeavor is the transformation of the "Beach" in the Beach Boys' identity from a sort of plausibly "universal" (ie teenagered) conception of sun, surf, fun, and all that...through the wistful-but-still-adult-reconsideration-of-same ("All Summer Long," "Surf's Up" etc)....to this boomer retiree scenario of "I scored a great deal on a time-share!" Pop doesn't usually track so clearly the disintegration of youthful possibility into crass, compromised consumption. The threat posed by "Kokomo" is that it will ruin all those other, less commodified beaches of yesteryear.

Does this song have any marimbas on it? Gotta have marimbas

Don't think it does.

It's still difficult to credit that, worldwide, this is the Beach Boys' best-selling single. Bloody Tom Cruise!

Jammed Cocktail soundtrack for like 6 months after it came out. It was my official chess club music. Probably wouldn't have reached my 1300 rating w/o "Kokomo."

Just thinking of this song gives me a tropical contact high.

also really really cant figure out how someone could prefer 'kokomo' to 'wipeout'.

kokomo >>>>> wipeout unless yr talking about the muppet versions

the bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice,"

You have no soul.

youthe bridge to "Wouldn't It Be Nice havehas no soul

fixed

I should GTFO this thread, every time I come back to it I get that horrible "but let's taaaaaaalllllk about it" stuck in my head and it's just eww eww eww, imo Richard Carpenter did what Brian Wilson was trying to do about a million times better

that's right, a MILLION

eww eww eww, ick ick

to this boomer retiree scenario of "I scored a great deal on a time-share!"

The talk
The sex
Somebody to trust
The Audi TT
The house on the Vineyard
The house on the gulf coast
These are the things I miss the most

jaymc OTM

Co-written by Scott McKenzie and John Phillips, so obviously a pension plan was in place somewhere.

Is this what New York is really like?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XZsiY9S4WpI

nah its more like Coyote Ugly

to counter the J0hn D hate I would just like to say that the Lei'd in Hawaii boot ref'd upthread by naive teen idol is surprisingly great. hilarious rehearsal of "Heroes and Villains" featuring a nasty voiceover of Mike Love making bitter jokes about the song's failure, how inane it is, etc. the other songs are purty (live show recording basically sucks tho)

Even though I disagree with J0hn D and have no clue why he got snippy with me on that DeBarge thread for doing the same thing he's doing here, think about it, y'all: wouldn't it be more fascinating to have a rum and coke with someone who prefers "Kokomo" to "God Only Knows" than with the one billionth replicant who thinks "God Only Knows" is in the running for Greatest Song Ever?

Doctor Casino, your posts here are brilliant! Now I just have to find a way to link them to heternormativity.

Two things I'm too lazy to look up:

1. Is the Kokomo the BBs are singing about a real place? If so, where?

2. Did the song appear on a non-greatest hits BB album at the time? If so, which?

"fascinating"? I dunno maybe I don't have enough rum n cokes with indie snobs but there are way more people in the general population that know/enjoy Kokoma as opposed to God Only Knows and no most of those people are not fascinating. what kind of contrarian bubble-world bars do you people drink in??

I mean if you are ACTUALLy on a beach drinking a girl drink, you're WAY more likely to meet a Kokomo fan than a God Only Knows fan, is all I'm sayin

But if you are on a MESSAGE board with a bunch of music nerds and rock critics, you're way more likely to ... oh wait.

And yet, practically EVERYONE I've met who's called "God Only Knows" one of their favorite songs or whatnot was most decidedly not an indie snob, i all I'm sayin.

is

really? who are these people?

Paul McCartney?

life isn't so boring as to have that be fascinating imo

(fwiw God Only Knows is not my favorite altho it is the best thing on Pet Sounds and it does have a special resonance. the post-Pet Sounds BB material is actually my favorite period)

^^what omar said^^

shakey mo what part of "visceral reaction" don't you understand? it has nothing to do with "contrarianism." It has to do with how this crap has sounded to me since I was eight.

"If you don't love this music, you're a contrarian!" go vote Republican with those kinds of values why don'tcha

Let's just go ahead and lay it out:

Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you
Bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama
Key largo, montego baby why dont we go
Jamaica

Off the florida keys
Theres a place called kokomo
Thats where you wanna go to get away from it all

Bodies in the sand
Tropical drink melting in your hand
Well be falling in love
To the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in kokomo

Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama
Key largo, montego baby why dont we go

Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo
Well get there fast
And then well take it slow
Thats where we wanna go
Way down to kokomo

To martinique, that monserrat mystique

Well put out to sea
And well perfect our chemistry
By and by well defy a little bit of gravity

Afternoon delight
Cocktails and moonlit nights
That dreamy look in your eye
Give me a tropical contact high
Way down in kokomo

Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama
Key largo, montego baby why dont we go

Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo
Well get there fast
And then well take it slow
Thats where we wanna go
Way down to kokomo

Port au prince I wanna catch a glimpse

Everybody knows
A little place like kokomo
Now if you wanna go
And get away from it all
Go down to kokomo

Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama
Key largo, montego baby why dont we go

Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo
Well get there fast
And then well take it slow
Thats where we wanna go
Way down to kokomo

Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To bermuda, bahama come on pretty mama
Key largo, montego baby why dont we go

Ooo I wanna take you down to kokomo

hey J0hn I understand its no big deal - I don't think you're being deliberately contrarian cuz you have some secret aesthetic agenda a la geir or whatever. If you'll read the post I was actually responding to I was arguing that liking Kokomo is actually NOT that contrarian, because it is the BIGGEST SELLING BEACH BOYS SONG OF ALL TIME. Its only considered "contrarian" to like it in music nerd circles - like this one.

x-post

Port, au prince, I wanna catch a glimpse

cue the sax!
http://lindaryanfineart.com/art/image_105.gif

lol at Geir's "secret" aesthetic agenda

(iow Kevin John Bozelka seems to live in some universe where God Only Knows, and not Kokomo, is THE BIGGEST SELLING BEACH BOYS SONG EVER and I am curious as to what the bars are like there and who drinks in them)

x-post

yeah OK I get you, sorry to snap at you

(btw J0hn, which song of yours should I jokingly refer to as a pastiche of "Sloop John B" in order to generate maximum ire?)

Afternoon delight
Cocktails and moonlit nights
That dreamy look in your eye
Give me a tropical contact high

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this is def. the best part

really? who are these people?

Well, yes, Sir McCartney and I did discuss this a few weeks ago...

I think you're under the impression that I think "God Only Knows" is more popular than "Kokomo." I never said that. But I've NEVER heard any get all moony about "Kokomo" even if they prefer it to "God Only Knows" (cue J0hn's god-like piece on Warwick). In fact, if pressed, I'd wager that THAt is one of the reasons why J0hn loves it so. And thus, the fascination factor enters.

And come on, dude. It's not like we're talking about Capt. Beefheart and Stereolab here. It's the freakin Beach Boys. You honestly think one needs to be an indie snob to adore "God Only Knows?"

Off the florida keys
Theres a place called kokomo

I'd actually feel stupid about this if it didn't say volumes about pop music (and this song in particular).

Sandals Cay (formerly called Kokomo Island) is part of the privately owned Sandals Royal Caribbean all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It became famous as the inspiration for the song "Kokomo," written by John Phillips, Mike Love, Terry Melcher, and Scott McKenzie, and performed by The Beach Boys.
It is a very small island (about an acre), and according to the Sandals Royal Caribbean website, the only amenities on the island are a Thai restaurant, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a bar, and a secluded beach. The island caters to couples on tropical getaways.

i think i like "Still Cruisin'" better ... but "Kokomo" is pretty tight. I've never seen "Cocktail". Is "Kokomo" a credits-rolling song or is it used for a montage. Seems like a sweet montage. I can imagine it now. Anyway, "Kokomo." I'm listening to Charlie Parker right now, but in my brain, it's pure "Kokomo." The song has POWERS.

Also, Aretha's "First Snow in Kokomo."

So there you go, Kokomo is an island smaller than my parents front yard in a Sandals resort

xp to self

sloop john d.

I had always thought this was just about the worst song ever (and I am a huge Beach Boys fan) until I had the occasion to re-evaluate it when heard the Adam Green/Ben Kweller version and realized that there is actually a heartfelt song in there. (I do recommend that version).

The chorus is unforgivable but the melody is pure "Big Sur" Mike Love bliss. Some of the verses even scan OK.

Also, I hadn't realized that there was some actual private (?) island called Kokomo that might really be sublime enough to warrant a similar tribute (i.e. to that of "Big Sur"). Taken in that spirit, I can swallow it a whole lot easier.

I had previoulsy thought "Kokomo" was about the god-awful town in Indiana and therefore never understood the song any better than I could understand why Kokomo Arnold was first on about the place, other than it was his "sweet home". (First occurrence of reppin your endz?!)

Good, not great, song. Crappiest production ever, completely rubbish record. I would modestly endeavor to defend the song, as I think I have done, but not the "hit".

I quite prefer it to "Cheeseburger In Paradise" (unless you can track down the Xiu Xiu cover).