1970: Beach Boys - Sunflower
ILX is back up, and though the new appearance is ugly as sin (and as a sinner, I speak with authority), I'm thrilled to have it back. Today's album is the Beach Boy's Sunflower - Surf's Up. I think it's only supposed to be the latter, but I got a double-disc. So I'm doing both at once. This means around 2 hours of Beach Boy's goodness. And I for one am thrilled at that prospect. The truth is, I used to not understand the Beach Boy's. Their hidden beauty, gorgeous harmonies, insightful lyrics disguised as superficial teenage rhetoric. Once I learned that, Pet Sounds became one of my 10 most favorite albums ever. But I never really listened to anything else by them. So tonight's listening section is particularly exciting.
(Actually, I think I'll just do Sunflower tonight. Two albums are way too long to start at 1 o'clock in the morning. And Charlotte's sore. Because she tried to pick at me, and I told her not to. And then she tried again and I yelled. So maybe spending two hours on music is a bad idea. But hopefully this beautiful, breezy music will thaw the tensions in the room!)
Third song: Add Some Music To Your Day: "There's blues, folk, and country, and rock like a rollin' stone." If you added all the musical sources that accommodate the expression 'rollin' stone' you might start to wonder if that's the defining phrase of rock music. And this album was a couple years after both Highway 61 and Rolling Stone Magazine. So it's not like they didn't know. (Speaking of the magazine, new prompt this week. I'm writing about the new Reel Big Fish EP.)
Also: Question: "You'll hear it while you're walkin' by a neighbor's home / You'll hear it faintly in the distance when you're on the phone / You're sittin' in a dentist's chair / And they've got music for you there." The good angel to Lily Allen's LDN bad angel? Very possible.
"C'mon, C'mon and do the chicken." Please, no. Don't do the chicken. That'll be completely unneccessery. (Beach Boys go Elvis?) And if you're really trying to get to know this unnamed woman in the song, know this: The Chicken Dance? Probably won't impress her. No, it's true. I've found that most women can't be seduced with the chicken song. I know that's counter-intuitive, Brian, but just go with it.
According to Wikipedia: "Deirdre or Derdriu is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish mythology. Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle." This song, despite its lifting chorus and sweet-sweet angel-touched singing (on par with Garfunkel - almost) is actually about being tragic. Bummer.
Mmmm. "All I Wanna Do" is so lush, thick, as though they are trapped behind a foggy window as they sing. You can almost feel Wilson reach out and trace him name in the window as they sing. The only modern comparison I can think of is that gorgeous Travis album... The Invisible Band. They had a song on that album called: Dear Diary, which actually sounded like Fran Healy was actually disappearing as he sang the song. The last album that evocative (although it didn't create the same feelings of isolation and empathy with the listener) was that Interpol album Antics. I love evocative music.
I do love the Beach Boys. So very much. (You may notice, I only give two reviews: I really like an album, or I really don't like an album. Because honestly, if you are indifferent, why bother saying anything?)