You know, it is funny the lives we end up living. I spent the last 14 years building a business and most of the time, I really loved it. But it was all-consuming. At least, it was for me. I tend to be one of those type-A people who really likes to GET THINGS DONE and BE THE BEST. I mean, here I am retired for a couple of months, and I have already turned this into a project too lol. I like goals, what can I say.
So what does a person like that know about the Beach Boys? Crew
cuts and teenyboppers and songs on the oldies station, right?
I avoid reading anything about an album before I listen to
it, so this may not be surprising to you, but it was to me. Brian Wilson quit
touring and decided to do a bunch of acid and create “the greatest rock album
ever made”. And holy crap did he ever. Traditional Beach Boys fans were not
thrilled with this album, apparently warning each other that the new one is a
bit weird. The album didn’t do as well commercially. And Brian Wilson, who
clearly put his heart and soul into this work (and also perhaps wanted to BE
THE BEST), was devastated and hurt. I think he knew it was amazing and was
genuinely surprised and disappointed that people didn’t get it. Patience my
friend.
I first listened to this album in November. Here we are in a
pandemic, heading into a long, lonely winter filled with bad news, dread,
stress, and worry. I’m not sure I even have words to describe what this album
has meant to me. At first, I was stunned by how trippy and haunting and just
fucking COOL it is. I mean, it’s revolutionary because there’s a string section,
a bass harmonica, timpani, fucking bongos for fucks sake. It somehow has a
total 60s sound and yet is completely timeless. But wait.
I need to dance. I need to dance all the time to every minute
of this fucking album. Right now, in the middle of the night in my kitchen, by
myself, in the middle of this godforsaken pandemic. Sometimes a little buzzed,
sometimes totally sober. It moves me whether I feel like it or not. I’ve tried
laying down and listening and I literally cannot make it through. This is feel your soul, hit the zone, sway like Stevie
Nicks with her scarves kind of dancing with a side of The Twist and, wait, am I pretending I know how to ChaCha? Why, yes I am.
You know how we all have crappy bluetooth speakers now? I had listened to this album many times before I finally heard
it in my car. My car with its pretty amazing sound system and omg I love it
even more, I need even bigger speakers. SOMETIMES I FEEL VERY SAD, I need it
louder, louder, louder. I danced while driving because I cannot NOT DANCE to
it.
I don’t mean to suggest this is all happy music. It most
certainly is not. I have wept through “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times”
while also dancing. I’m obsessed with “I Know There’s An Answer”, which is my
current favorite because it makes you feel smug and superior while also hinting that you don't know the fucking answer. And two freaking instrumentals, both of which are incredible
and make me feel reborn every time I hear them, and yes, I will dance through
both of them like Stevie Nicks, thank you.
And every time I listen, I’m struck by how fucking SHORT it
is. Like, how can it be over already? I’ve already listened to it twice in a
row, should I do a third? Yes, one more time.
It fills me with awe and wonder. Every time.
