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"Being single is like liking a Phil Spector record"

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I also enjoyed producing ‘In My Room’. There is a story behind this song. When Dennis, Carl and I lived in Hawthorne as kids, we all slept in the same room. One night I sang the song ‘Ivory Tower’ to them and they liked it. Then a couple of weeks later, I proceeded to teach them both how to sing the harmony parts to it. It took them a little while, but they finally learned it. We then sang this song night after night. It brought peace to us. When we recorded ‘In My Room’, there was just Dennis, Carl and me on the first verse…and we sounded just like we did in our bedroom all those nights. This story has more meaning than ever since Dennis’ death.
---Brian Wilson on “In My Room.” (via justbooneandtheboys)
12 Jun 13 · via · credit · 14 · · Tags
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It’s a man at a concert. All around him there’s the audience, playing their roles, dressed up in fancy clothes, looking through opera glasses, but so far away from the drama … Empires, ideas, lives, institutions—everything has to fall, tumbling like dominoes. He begins to awaken to the music; sees the pretentiousness of everything … A choke of grief. At his own sorrow and the emptiness of his life, because he can’t even cry for the suffering in the world, for his own suffering. And then, hope. Surf’s up! … I heard the word—of God; Wonderful thing—the joy of enlightenment, of seeing God. And what is it? A children’s song! And then there’s the song itself; the song of children; the song of the universe rising and falling in wave after wave, the song of God, hiding His love from us, but always letting us find Him again, like a mother singing to her children. Of course that’s a very intellectual explanation. But maybe sometimes you have to do an intellectual thing. If they don’t get the words, they’ll get the music, because that’s where it’s really at, in the music.
---Jules Segel, from “Goodbye Surfing, Hello God” (via thatllamaguy)
10 Jun 13 · via · credit · 7 · · Tags
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“Brian Wilson was a dangerous producer. Dangerous in the sense that he entered and explored non-defined recording territory without a net. He was abstract when the record industry executives wanted simple and silly.

Brian’s records would start from a small place of ordinary and then go for the ‘middle thing’ that is so difficult for musicians and painters to get to. He concentrated on what could be left out as much as what would be left in. The music had grace and spirit, so much so that it could be orchestrated across a wide spectrum of musical styles. Brian composed and produced musical effects like the first viewing of a sunrise to a once-blind person.”


---In The Studio - The Pet Sounds Sessions Boxset, liner notes
20 May 13 · 15 · · Tags
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But the first time I heard Pet Sounds was a special night. The album was done, finally finished. He brought it home on that big acetate, and he set the mood. We were on our king-sized iron brass bed and headboard; we had the lights down low. He played it, and it was one of the most moving experiences you could ever imagine. As I heard each song, one by one, it was ‘Gasp.’ It was so beautiful, one of the most spiritual times of my whole life. We both cried. Right after we listened to it, he said he was scared that nobody was going to like it. That it was too intricate.
---Marilyn Wilson - The Pet Sounds Sessions Boxset, liner notes
16 May 13 · 19 · · Tags
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On a lot of records, more is less. With Brian, more always became more. There was never clutter. I think even if the record was full and didn’t need any more, you could have Brian add something. Say ‘Just for fun, add something,’ and he could add more and more, and it would never get in the way. He could always find a spot, a little space where he could musically fill something. If you saw a graph, he could almost fill it until it turned black, so there were no more waves. And it could still sonically be healthy. I don’t know where that kind of ability comes from. It’s pretty scary.
---Danny Hutton - Pet Sounds Boxset, liner notes [link]
2 May 13 · 11 · · Tags
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The thing that I remember the most is that when Pet Sounds wasn’t as quickly a hit or as huge or an immediate success, it really destroyed Brian. He just lost a lot of faith in people and music. Because he put his heart and soul into it, it’s hard to think that people just want something mediocre instead of that wonderful, wonderful album. But let’s face it, he was just ahead of his time. People weren’t ready for it. How could they be? How can you go from ‘Barbara Ann’ to those songs?
---Marilyn Wilson, Pet Sounds Liner Notes (via caroliknow)
2 May 13 · via · credit · 19 · · Tags
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Back in 1980, Knebworth House had played host to the band, laying on a cold buffet and drinks for them prior to their performance. When Brian, unimpressed by the spread, asked “Do you have any cake?”, a chocolate cake was brought out which had been especially baked for the children of the house. This was met by a gleeful grin from Brian, who sat himself down on a nearby sofa and devoured it - then fell asleep, a cushion over his face! The others did not have an easy time waking him from his slumber.
---Mike Grant, from The Beach Boys - Live at Knebworth 1980 booklet
14 Apr 13 · 13 · · Tags
Let's Go Away For Awhile
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hangontoyourego:

The Beach Boys - Let’s Go Away For Awhile


“‘Let’s Go Away For Awhile’ was the most satisfying piece of music I’ve ever made. I applied a certain set of dynamics through the arrangement and the mixing and got a full musical extension of what I’d planned during the earliest stages of the theme. I think the chord changes are very special. I used a lot of musicians on the track; twelve violins, piano, four saxes, oboe, vibes, a guitar with a coke bottle on the strings for a semi-steel guitar effect. Also, I used two basses and percussion. The total effect is ‘Let’s Go Away For Awhile’, which is something everyone in the world must have said at some time or another. Nice thought; most of us don’t go away, but it’s still a nice thought.” - Brian WIlson

8 Apr 13 · via · credit · 28 · · Tags
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I was thinking about why I started singing high originally the other day and I think it came from my love for Brian and Carl wilson. I’ve loved The Beach Boys since I was a little kid… when my voice only sounded like that.
---Josh Klinghoffer (via funk-ismyattitude)
28 Mar 13 · via · credit · 20 · · Tags
27 Mar 13 · via · credit · 136 · · Tags
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