Year of the Rat Music Project

The Beach Boys played a big role in my childhood. I vividly remember standing on the swings and pretending to surf while singing “Surfin’ USA” with my friend Michael Gates.

Ah, to be sixteen again.

Actually, when I really was sixteen I saw the The Beach Boys in concert. Well, a chop shop version of The Beach Boys with Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, plus I think one of Brian Wilson daughters was playing too…point is they still rocked.

Thanks to my recent love affair with Panda Bear, I decided I needed to revisit The Beach Boys.

If you’re not a fan of the The Beach Boys or Panda Bear this might take some explaining. Pet Sounds is more like a symphony than a pop album, with layers upon layers of instruments played by The Wrecking Crew, a group of L.A.’s best musicians that Brian Wilson recruited to record while the rest of The Beach Boys were out on tour.

It opens with “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” a tribute to the longing to be older and experiencee life more fully. The album ends with the sound of dogs parking at a passing train, which serves as a metaphor for the passage of time. It’s from the dogs’ barking that the album gets it’s name, which serves as a double entendre, because “petting” is what old people called making out. Panda Bear opens his song “Comfy in Nautica” with the sound of an owl hooting, which could probably be considered a head nod to Pet Sounds. But if Pet Sounds is impressionistic, with each distinct element creating a bigger picture, Panda Bear is surreal, nonsensical and disturbing audio clips of screams, crying, and gun shots float in and out with lots of scratching techniques thrown in for good measure.

So for President’s Day I listened to the the album in it’s entirety twice as well as a 17 part podcast series about the album that was available through iTunes.

“Wouldn’t it be Nice”

Notably, one of Paul McCartney’s favorite pop songs. This music is so plush. Normally I tend to focus in on the lyrics, so I’m having to readjust how I listen to try and catch everything. I’ve heard you can listen to this album back to back and cue in on different details each time. That certainly seems to be true.

“You Still Believe in Me”

“That’s Not Me”

“Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)”

This is so much more like a sympathy than a classic rock album. I’ve always found it strange to lump The Beach Boys in with Rock ‘n’ Roll. They sound so much sweeter, they’re more like a rockabilly barbershop quartet singing about girls and rebellion. Note: Mike Love made a similar point in the podcast, but he sounded like a tool when he said it.

“I’m Waiting for the Day”

Easily my favorite song so far. I love the big booming drums dum-da-dum-dum’s, they just sound so happy. Plus, this song has so much attitude! “But you know that pretty soon I made you feel glad that you belonged to me” super creepy and possessive! “You didn’t think I could sit around and watch him take you?” I love how provocative the last four lines are. It’s like a rap song, start some shit!

“Sloop John B.”

Originally a poem by Carl Sandburg adapted by The Kingston Trio. Perhaps the best way to gauge the scope of Brian Wilson’s musical ability is to listen to the two versions back-to-back. They are basically the same melody, and I’m not knocking the Kingston Trio here, but Brian Wilson has added a deep, rich complexity to the song.

“I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.”

I love how The Beach Boys never lost their candy coating, even though these songs are noticeably darker and existential than their earlier work. I guess that’s the side effect of having four guys harmonizing with high pitch voices. I wonder if you couldn’t speak English, or if you could listen to these songs without the vocals, if you could still hear the dark subtexts of the album.

“Pet Sounds”

Originally titled “Run, James, Run” and was made for a James Bond film. Sounds great, it’s very easy to imagine this song playing over the opening title sequence (hint hint to the current Bond film makers, Quantum Solace is a fucking terrible title, but we’d forgive you if you used this song).

“Caroline, no”

It’s easy to forget this was music of rebellion, especially since my parents encouraged me to listen to The Beach Boys as a kid. In the 1980’s, The Beach Boys were banned from playing on the Washington Mall. WTF? They’re as American as apple pie!

Conclusion:

I listened to the podcasts first, which perhaps was a mistake, and I started feeling doubtful about my project. There was one cast for each song, and clips from each song were intermixed with interviews with the “Boys.” A lot times they didn’t have much to say, especially on the instrumentals, but for what it’s worth, I can now tell Mike Love and Brian Wilson apart just by their voices.

My worries were ridiculous, listening to the album I became completely engaged with the swell of the music, these are songs that just can’t be cut into ring tones. After spending the day listening to Pet Sounds, I was appropriately blown away. I shifted gears and put on “Help!” one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs.

It felt like switching from a motorcycle to a bicycle. After training my ears with an album of a hundred instruments, the guitar and drums line-up sounded tinny and hollow. I recovered, and on a second listen was able to enjoy it a bit more, but I realize now I’ve made a step forward in my knowledge and appreciation with the unexpected result of being more critical of my old favorites.