thus spake drake: beach boys

Showing posts with label beach boys. Show all posts

Monday, May 07, 2012

Music on TV - Week of 05.07.12: Brian WIlson & the Beach Boys

Brian Wilson reunites with The Beach Boys, performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday.

Naturally, I'd heard the rumors... but I remained skeptical -- Brian Wilson was reuniting with the Mike Love-led Beach Boys? Sure, they performed a song together for the Grammys, but it was cloaked in 50th anniversary nostalgia and their performance, like the Grammys itself, was a fairly bland offering.

But now they've started touring, and reports have come back revealing set lists that are turning my mind around on the subject. AND there are new songs on the way! One that has already made their 42 song set list is "That's Why God Made Radio," which is the first new Brian Wilson penned song for the Beach Boys in decades (and in video below). Is it their best work? Probably not, but it breezily transports us back to the late sixties, and helps ease some of the leftover aftertaste from the insipid earworm that is "Kokomo."

Picks for the week
Monday, May 7
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: B.o.B.
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Spiritualized
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Snow Patrol
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Brian Wilson, Mike Love, The Beach Boys
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Jessie Baylin
TBS: Conan: The Lumineers
Tuesday, May 8
ABC: Good Morning America: Karmin
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Silversun Pickups
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Macy Gray
NBC: The Today Show: Glenn Frey
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: B.o.B.
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Of Monsters and Men
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The White Buffalo
TBS: Conan: Ed Sheeran
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Flo Rida
Wednesday, May 9
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Glenn Frey
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Florence & the Machine
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Mick Taylor
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Tennis
SYNDICATION: Live With Kelly: Karmin
TBS: Conan: Reggie Watts
Thursday, May 10
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: AWOLNATION
TBS: Conan: The Wombats
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Nicki Minaj
Friday, May 11
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Big K.R.I.T.
Saturday, May 12
BBCAMERICA: The Graham Norton Show: Jessie J
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Usher
PBS: Austin City Limits: The Decemberists, Gillian Welch
Sunday, May 13
HDNET: HDNET Concert Series: Slash Stoke, Ted Nugent

Monday, April 23, 2012

Mad Men "Faraway Places": Oh the places you'll go!

My name is Roger Sterling and I have taken LSD... Please Help Me!

From the start, you could tell this was going to be a different kind of Mad Men episode. Between the non-linear sequencing* and the advanced drug use (Ok... who had Roger in their pool as the first Mad Men principal to drop LSD?), "Far Away Places" represented another example of the series experimenting this season.

*Normally, breaks for commercials aren't annoying when it comes to Mad Men episodes, but it was trying in this one thanks the non-linear trick. Even forwarding through ads via DVR made it more disorienting.

Speaking of experimentation, it was certainly appropriate to hear Brian Wilson singing the Beach Boys' "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" on the reel-to-reel*. Wilson's never fully recovered from his multiple trips, but for at least a couple years (namely Pet Sounds), the drug did wonders for his music. The drug does wonders as Roger and Jane's marriage counselor, allowing them to turn on, tune out and drop their marriage.

*I sadly didn't catch what Russian tune was playing out of Roger's vodka bottle, or what tune the Beach Boys' song melded into before cutting to Roger and Jane in their car. Anyone pick up on those?

The title of the episode refers to the various 'trips' that were taken, be it metaphoric Africa (in the referenced films of The Naked Prey and Born Free) for Peggy, Mars for concentration camp baby Michael, Roger and Jane's LSD trip, or the HoJo trip for Don and Megan. The two contrasting African films premiered in June of 1966, but aside from their settings (South Africa and Kenya, respectively), they were quite a different beast. Peggy's boyfriend wants to see The Naked Prey, but Peggy sees Born Free solo, as if her psyche processed his request for a manly adventure tale into something more akin to her emotional level -- lion cubs set free and left to fend for their own. Like Don leaving her in charge of the Heinz pitch, things could go easily go sideways.

Like Don kicking in another door (note how Don and Megan's landing on the floor parallels Roger and Jane's post-bath pose):

Previously: "Mystery Date" (Episode 5.04)

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Now Downloading: New Releases 11.01.11 - The Beach Boys, U2

The Beach Boys assemble around Brian Wilson at Columbia Studios in 1966 / U2 at Hansa Studios in Berlin, 1990

Every year, the holiday season seems to encroach the release schedule earlier and earlier. The first week of November usually gets at least a few late entry quality full length releases, but this year all are overshadowed by two box set releases of giants-of-their-era artists in The Beach Boys and U2. SMiLe (recorded 1965-1967, never officially finished) and Achtung Baby (1991) both represented incredible trials and breaking points in the studio life for both The Beach Boys and U2. While SMiLe ultimately broke Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys irreparably, Achtung Baby breathed new life into U2, breaking them from the tight box that The Joshua Tree had helped build.

The only proper full lengths this week of note end up being from Florence and the Machine and Girl in a Coma (unless you count the odd atrocity that is Lou Reed & Metallica, and after a couple listens, I'd prefer to ignore it). Otherwise, Shelby Earl's excellent debut (produced by The Long Winters' John Roderick) is getting wide release, there's an EP from The Decemberists (possibly their last?), an odds and ends collection from They Might Be Giants, along with a slew of compilations and reissues that the holiday season seems to demand this time of year.

Playlist: New Releases 11.01.11

The Beach Boys - The SMiLE Sessions (2CD) / Box Set (5 CDs / 2LPs / 2 7" singles)
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

The Beach Boys - The SMiLE Sessions Box Set

Long considered the Holy Grail of pop, The Beach Boys' long lost SMiLe has had music collectors scrambling for years, compiling bits and pieces from bootlegs and partial releases over the years. The undertaking of Brian Wilson's incredible vision of a "teenage symphony to God" from 1966-1967 ultimately broke both the man and the band, sending Wilson into seclusion after a Mike Love-led coup found the recordings too weird. In 2003, The Wondermints helped Brian Wilson exercise some of theses demons, sequencing and arranging the tracks for a live performance, and later released as Brian Wilson presents SMiLe (2004). While these events may have stolen some of the thunder and mystery of the original recordings, laying out the track and sequence we see this week, the multiple discs of The SMiLe Sessions Box Set contain a treasure trove of studio excerpts that help paint a fuller picture of what Wilson was up to in the studio. Legendary tales of Wilson have him high on LSD, wearing a fireman's hat and freaking out that the power of his music may have caused a fire down the street. That's the kind of drama that history likes to remember, but the snippets from Sessions paint Wilson as someone in control, enthusiastic and generally in a mood to collaborate with his vision of the project. It's especially fascinating hearing the various backing vocal sessions, knowing all the work it took back in the day to record all the various parts, something taken for granted in today's modern Pro Tools-driven studio.

It's tempting to wonder what impact that SMiLe would've had on the music landscape back in 1967 if it had been released, and what the Beach Boys would've been afterwards. It's likely that it would've been met with head scratching initially, but like Pet Sounds did with influencing The Beatles on Sgt Peppers, SMiLe might have pushed pop music (Beatles and others) to even greater heights. As it stands, Sessions is a great document of what might have been, and another bit of evidence of just how brilliant Brian Wilson's vision was.

Limited Time Free AOL Album Stream

U2 - Achtung Baby (Super Deluxe Edition)
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

After the debacle that was Rattle and Hum - however well-intentioned the vanity project was meant -- U2 found themselves in need of a new direction. They'd pretty much played out their American fascination out between The Joshua Tree and R&H, so they returned to a concept that they'd tried out with The Unforgettable Fire, a project which it might be said, failed beautifully. David Bowie's collaborations with Brian Eno, along what was going on with the dance-crazy Madchester scene, were the starting points, and the band holed up in Berlin at Hansa Studios to try and make it work. As the recent documentary,.From the Sky Down (which premiered recently on Showtime and is included in the Super and Uber Deluxe Editions), showed, the recordings were wrought with tension and frustration, as the band nearly broke apart trying to change its sound. Bono lyrically tried to move from the earnestness of politics opting for the first time for irony, but much of the earnestness remains, as evident their massive hit "One." So while Achtung Baby represented a new sound for the band, it still was for all intense and purposes, a U2 record (their best to date), setting the stage for the bigger change that was Zooropa, and the larger deluxe editions include early versions of tracks from what would become that album (like "Numb"). Aside from an ill-advised dance-y cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," bonus tracks on the simple Deluxe edition are previously available b-sides and, more interesting, remixes of the singles. Interesting in that this is the first album in the bands' catalog where a remix seems even possible.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mad Men "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword": Guilt vs Shame

The book from the episode title, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, that everyone is supposed to read, is a famous post-war study of Japanese culture that helped popularize distinctions between guilt and shame societies. According to the (since questioned*) study, Japanese are ruled by a shame culture, and Don picks up on this and uses it after they're already out of the running (thanks to Roger's shameful outbursts). Shame is intrinsically a negative tool in upbringing in that it lowers self-esteem, but it's effective in maintaining subservient employees.

*It's probably best that Roger didn't read the book as this classic "anthropology at a distance" would've just reinforced many of his prejudices.

Sally's story, while delving a bit in shame (mostly what Betty feels thanks to her sad upbringing), is governed by the Western world's predominant guilt culture. For instance, as Betty lays it out for Don on the phone, sex is bad unless you're married. Sex (and, it's younger sibling masturbation) is (are) one of the predominant guilt culture contradictions. Going even further, you'll notice several references were made to the Civil Rights movement, and that was a fine example of the use of guilt to push forward positive societal change -- by making the general population feel guilty about how another group is being treated.

No time for full analysis mode (which hasn't been triggered here, probably, since the extensive delving of seasons one and two), so here's some bullet points:

"Who is Dr. Lyle Evans?" Turns out Roger Sterling's angry reference in early part of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" was a Google bomb thrown in from the writers. Searches for "Dr Lyle Evans" and "Lyle Evans" spiked during and after the broadcast, but there was nothing really to find, except folks asking "who is Dr Lyle Evans?"
Favorite exchanges of the night both featured Joan: "They're not very subtle are they?" Joan says, referring to the clients. "No, they're not," responds the translator, looking at her Joan's ample bosom. Add to that Joan's exchange with Roger and you have the most efficient use of a character.
Unless you count Peggy's ride around the stage on the Honda motorcycle (and you should... bravo).
This episode moves us up in the timeline to mid-March, 1965, as evidenced by newspaper headlines and an episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (which aired March 15).

"Help Me Rhonda" was also referenced, as the Beach Boys album The Beach Boys Today! was released in March, but the referenced single wasn't released until a month later, so perhaps it's a bit of a stretch to mention the song. The recording of that track was famously interrupted by daddy Murray Wilson, who should be part of a Shame vs Guilt study of parenthood.
Rogers and Hammerstein's "I Enjoy Being A Girl" (from Flower Drum Song) closed out the episode. On it's face, it seems simple enough, but the song is actually about growing up Chinese in America. Wrong country, but it's Asian nonetheless

Previously: "The Good News" (Episode 4.04)

Monday, December 07, 2009

Men of a Certain Age "Pilot": Possum Magic

Those that thought Ray Romano was just a stand-up comedian with a show, ala Jerry Seinfeld, would do well to check out Men of a Certain Age. Created by Romano and fellow Raymond writer Mike Royce, MOACA is a look at midlife crisis that manages to mostly avoid cliches and be at times both poignant and, yes, funny.

Like most pilots, this episode was perfunctory in that it spent most of the hour introducing us to the trio on the marquee (Romano as the ex-golf pro/sporting goods store owner Joe, Andre Braugher as the car salesman Owen and Scott Bakula as the out of work actor Terry). So even if you thought it was just so-so, you might want to come back as the episodes get progressively better. I enjoyed it (especially the possum bit), so seeing the improvement only endeared me to the series even more.

Musically, thanks to Joe's old rock n' roll jukebox, the show will lean heavily on classic rock, staying in pretty safe territory (nothing edgier here than Bachman-Turner Overdrive). I do enjoy the use of The Beach Boys' "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" for a theme song, even if it's a bit on the nose. Similarly, leading and ending with the soft rock of Marmalade's "Reflections Of My Life" was obvious yet wholly welcome.

Playlist: Men of a Certain Age - Episode 1.01
1. "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" - The Beach Boys
2. "Reflections Of My Life" - Marmalade
3. "Takin' Care Of Business" - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
4. "Ventura Highway" - America

Friday, May 25, 2007

Lost finale approaches Nirvana

Jace over at Televisionary already recapped the season finale so eloquently, but I've been obsessing over it for 30 hours now and have some more to add - and naturally they include the use of music. Two songs make appearances that lend themselves to all sorts of theories, The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice."

In the flash forward Jack is driving out to the funeral parlor (whose name is Hoffs/Drawlar - an anagram for 'flash forward,) he's blasting Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice," a which lyrically is a reference to the Patrick Süskind novel Perfume. The book's tale of alienation speaks to the future hermited Jack in some degree, but really it's more parallel to Ben's character: a child who's birth helps cause the death of his mother. In an earlier flash forward sequence, though, there's another clue for the song's inclusion. When Jack reads the LA Times on the plane, it's headline is from the real life April 5 edition from this year. That is also the 13-year anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.... coincidence?

Meanwhile, the code that Charlie has to enter in to turn off the signal jammer is set to The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," which is a song who's place in history has some parallels to what's going on here. When Brian Wilson recorded the song, he was already spiraling out of control, spending hours upon hours and countless rolls of tape to finish the three and a half minutes of pure bliss, all in an effort to top Pet Sounds and whatever The Beatles came up with next. The recording (and Pet Sounds) is rumored to have inspired Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and more specifically the song "A Day in the Life" (that the album has an anniversary coming up next week, I'm certain is not lost on anyone - even Macca's tired of hearing about it.) This upped the ante for Wilson and in an attempt to top it, he descended into depression, drug use, and paranoia while trying to finish the album/project SMiLE. For the one punching the tune, the future is not so bright - I guess there won't be a Driveshaft reunion in the future afterall.

More: Who's in the coffin? Folks who frequent the Lost Screencaps and Easter Eggs blog have been pouring over the torn-out obituary, and it seems to spell out the name John Bentham, which means it's an alias, or a character we've yet to meet (or an intriguing placeholder for fans to obsess over during the offseason.) Bentham is the name of a 18th-19th century philosopher (Jeremy Bentham,) which fits in with the pattern of Lost names (Locke, Hume, Rousseau and more.) The philospher has a few interesting parallels to Lost. He was influenced by Locke and Hume, and he invented the Panopticon prison design, which allowed the guards to observe the prisoners, without them knowing - as Bentham put it "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind..."

Previously: Shambala, Fate and Free Will

tags: music, soundtrack, lost, nirvana, kurt cobain, brian wilson, beach boys, jeremy bentham, philosphy, rhapsody