Post a controversial music opinion

Tbf I actually like the dorky af album cover.

just think of it as a song about pretending to be married as an excuse for fuckin'

Weird to me that anyone would outright "hate" this album (yet still like the Beach Boys in general), but I guess I understand. Its corniness definitely undercuts some of its creativity. At the same time, it's just barely over 30 minutes long, so I can take it. As far as mannered orchestral pop goes, I have more trouble with Burt Bacharach, who I assume Wilson was very into.

Dunno, it still sounds like postwar white middle-class American incel dude music to me.

xp

I linke to think of it as "mentally 12-year-old man tries to imagine what adult relationships are" but guess that's sort of the same thing

mentally 12-year-old man tries to imagine what adult relationships are

Sums it up, really. Not only do I not get the appeal at all but I fail to see how the Greatest Album of All Time™ could possibly revolve around this theme.

just think of it as a song about pretending to be married as an excuse for fuckin'

This has been my interpretation as well. It's about teenagers who want to be older so they can have sex whenever they want.

I think Brian Wilson was pretty explicit about trying to present a teen POV in these songs

I thought "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was meant to be ironic-utopian, and also the author was what, 23? 24?

I guess the whole thing sounds like a pocket symphonic YA novel.

Sorry, I can't refrain from writing this...I shouldn't. But in french (at least Canadian french) "pet" is a fart. So it took me few seconds to realize I was reading in english (I know "sounds" is an english word...but my brain works like that). I read "fart sounds"...sorry..

— Hugues Tremblay (@Hugues_Tremblay) January 30, 2021

He seriously doesn't know it means the same thing in standard French? Christ, that's embarrassing.

Otherwise, otm.

The record also chronicles an emotional change. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" to "Caroline, No" is an emotional shift to disillusionment, if not necessarily maturity.

idk why anyone would listen to the beach boys for the lyrics, but "caroline, no" and "i just wasn't made for these times" has some genuinely moving moments that are enhanced by the harmonic trickery and group vocals.

Yeah, I like that it ends on a bit of a downbeat, but it takes way too long to get there. I know that some people are unable to listen to it very often because it's too 'depressing', which is o_O as far as I'm concerned.

Did you have a take on "Surf's Up" (the song)?

"Wouldn't it Be Nice" is apparently getting some new attention from woke youth (e.g., my 13yo daughter and her online circle) who see it as a stand-in for queer relationships: if you read "we could be married, and then we'd be happy" from the perspective of LGBTQ+ folx, it takes on a different cast

I have no strong opinion but am noting that it this view is out there

Not sure that I've even heard 'Surf's Up'. Will listen and report.

I remember when Olivia Tremor Control and all the E6 stuff was really hot, Pet Sounds used to get mentioned all the time...and I always felt a little obnoxious saying that I thought Olivia Tremor Control were much better than Pet Sounds.

jesus, let the hate flow

'Surf's Up' is more self-consciously 'psychedelic', which is to my liking, and it's got more twists and turns than the average PS track, which is also to my liking, but the stench of tweeness remains overwhelming. Maybe part of the problem is that I hated kiddie music even when I was a kid and much of Wilson's shtick consists of trying to reactivate those supposedly nostalgic neural pathways?

thanks pomenitul for giving me cause to listen to Pet Sounds this afternoon. It has been a pleasure.

Any time.

I'm putting on She's Going Bald on repeat

Tbh I revived this quarantine thread in part because I swore I wouldn't shit up the 77 rollouts this year, as it's gotten stale, and I figured an anachronistic outlet couldn't hurt.

Man I love "Surf's Up" so much, I rate Bacharach much higher than Wilson overall but it's the best song either ever wrote, it's as good as the best Gershwin, the best Schubert imho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu7C60NNJTQ

agreed. masterpiece.

columnated ruins dominooooooooooooooo

i love pet sounds but i spent a lot of time as a kid trying to square its reputation with what i was hearing. smile in every form i've heard it actually lived up to what i imagined from reading about it for years; seeing wilson perform it live in a very small room in a vegas casino in 2005... highlight of my life lol

Aw <3 jealous

I was non-plussed when Smile was finally finished I think mostly because of the old-dude vocals but I should revisit

i think the i prefer the officially-released assemblage credited to the beach boys at this point, but god almighty did i love the bw smile, did not even care about his old voice

btw pom "Surf's Up"'s lyrics (as all the lyrics on Smile) were written by Van Dyke Parks

Even if you don't like the lyrics, take pleasure in the fact that Mike Love fucking hated them

I was thinking there was too much positivity on this thread so I thought I might put on my perennial classic-album-that-I-hate Reign In Blood and post something like "this isn't speed metal so much as music for turnips" but it sounds real good today

mentally 12-year-old man tries to imagine what adult relationships are
Sums it up, really. Not only do I not get the appeal at all but I fail to see how the Greatest Album of All Time™ could possibly revolve around this theme.

― pomenitul, Monday, February 1, 2021 10:54 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I mean the only way to understand Brian Wilson is as a victim of child abuse so if you don't like it fine but you seem to be trying to frame it in the cruelest possible way

I think Brian Wilson presents Smile was a total triumph, it's a more realized work and I think you can get the spirit of him working with people who care about it and want to do it justice

i would like to reexperience hearing "our prayer" for the first time

also like I know "incel" doesn't mean anything anymore but he was married in 1964 and has 7 children

And didn't write the lyrics on "Pet Sounds" anyway.

Even if you don't like the lyrics, take pleasure in the fact that Mike Love fucking hated them

Thanks, I needed that.

ums, I was not aware of that biographical background. It's not what I usually listen for in music tbh, but I'll read up on it.

As for the 'incel' quip, you don't need to be one to soundtrack it.

Both Brian Wilson's Smile and the officially released unfinished BB Smile are worthwhile.

I don't get "incel" at all in the context of Pet Sounds - even the songs where I could maybe see some argument that there is sexism, it's more of a patriarchal paternalism variety than misogynist resentment stemming from sexual frustration (?).

yeah the lyrics are strangely sexless

incel music is, like, “Dude Looks Like A Lady”

God Only Knows is the ultimate Nice Guy ballad

I guess to my mind 'incel' also covers that, which speaks to ums's point about it not meaning anything anymore.

2xp

I hate it when guys are nice.

I love you so much I’ll kill myself if you leave me isn’t that romantic

"Romantic" isn't what I like about it. I hear it as wounded and desperate.

Xpost not a fan of Brel?