it ain't just for surfing anymore

hi.

about four years ago -- i assume after seeing it on some 'greatest albums of all time' list(s) -- i purchased the beach boys' pet sounds. i quickly discovered it's got everything that nat loves about a record*: fantastic vocal arrangement, inventive melodies, brilliant orchestrations. and all this spawned from a twenty-four-year-old mastermind.

speaking of twenty-something musical masterminds, my friend jeff lent me SMiLE t'other day. i had loosely known the story of it: how it was to be the mother of all follow-ups, but got shelved in early '67 because of musical and artistic ideas too advanced for the public (and the record execs), as well as brian's deteriorating mental health. he resurrected it in 2004, rerecorded the tracks, and released it as a solo album.

holy freaking brilliant transcendency of musical and lyrical conception and design, batman.

perhaps like many, before familiarizing myself with the intricacies of pet sounds, i perceived the boys (and thus dismissed them) purely through the lens of "surfin' usa" or "i get around" - the latter of which, in retro-retrospect, is a fantastic composition in its own right. for those of you that still think that, check out these two masterpieces of recorded sound. in fact, go buy them right now. these are not merely the brain-droppings of a few sand-blasted surf dogs looking to get their music played at every beach party from ventura to vero, but rather some of the most important musical and spiritual statements of the decade, if not in all of pop music.

thanks for reading.



* - i feel the same about the zombies' odessey & oracle [sic], another brilliant non-beatles release from the 60's.