The Beach Boys, When I Grow Up To Be A Man

Posted in The Beach Boys on February 12th, 2013 by Willie

beach boys when i grow up to be a man

It’s my birthday today and its kind of funny that this cheesy (genius) Beach Boys song has been in my head for weeks. This song accomplishes an incredible goal, merging the corny Mike Love teenage introspection with Brian Wilson’s soaring human introspection. Its a beautiful tune with wonderful harmonies and creeping mature Beatle arrangement methods. I just want to thank all my friends and family who have made this a delightful day. All the best.

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The Beach Boys, Surfer Girl

Posted in The Beach Boys on August 13th, 2012 by Willie

It’s hard to imagine that summer is almost over.  I’m actually on my third summer in a row.  Just when summer ended in 2011, I jetted for Sydney, and spent 5 months there just as Australia’s summer dawned, fully missing America’s cold months.  I returned home in March 2012, just in time for Spring, hence my endless summer.  I can’t think of a better way to mourn the loss of summer then with one of the saddest and my most beautiful Beach Boys songs ever, “Surfer Girl.”  It’s almost hard to believe that “Surfer Girl” was the first song Brian Wilson wrote.  He was 19 years old and the song drifted into his brain on a summer breeze as he drove his car around southern California.  “Surfer Girl,” a romantic pop masterpiece, is no slouchy way to begin a career of legendary pop music.  The song features all the greatest Beach Boy trademarks; a stunningly nostalgic melody, perfectly constructed harmonies, and wonderful lyrics mixing surfing and love.  One last note.  I love the emerging trend in these live performances of the shy Brian taking the lead vocal in a band where the hammy Mike Love, who has nothing to do but sing, is sidelined for his much more talented cousin.  It’s a fantastic live performance all around, so before you head to the beach, give “Surfer Girl” a spin to remember why you are alive and doing such activities in the first place.

 

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The Beach Boys, The Ramones, Do You Wanna Dance?

Posted in The Beach Boys, The Ramones, Youtube Favs on June 20th, 2011 by Willie

Part 95 is a double dose of glorious rock and roll.  I’ve got the Beach Boys and the Ramones rocking the Bobby Freeman classic, “Do You Wanna Dance?.”  In the Beach Boys version, drummer Dennis Wilson takes the lead vocals, and man is he good.  Dennis was the only Beach Boy that actually surfed, and like his brothers and cousins, was a fantastic singer.  I love the Beach Boys version for their gorgeous harmonies and almost indie rock slacker like take on the song.  This video is also hilarious to see Mike Love just dance off on the side not contributing nothing to the song but Beach Boys vibe and attitude.  The Ramones version is just as good, if not better.  Recorded for Rocket to Russia, the Ramones are shown ripping their version of the song through the halls of Rock ‘N’ Roll High School, the 1979 Roger Corman cult classic.  The Beach Boys were always a favorite of the Ramones, and they bring all the high octane distorted punk joy they can to this number, making it one of the greatest covers of all time in my opinion.  So, in conclusion, the answer to the question is, yes, I wanna dance…RIGHT NOW!

 

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The Atlantics, Come On!

Posted in The Atlantics, Youtube Favs on February 23rd, 2011 by Willie

Part 7 of my favorite youtube videos countdown continues with The Atlantics!  Hailing from Australia, The Atlantics started out as Sydney’s answer to the Beach Boys…except, they didn’t sing.  They were a surf rock instrumental band who churned out the local hits “Bombora.”  Looking to change their image a bit, they collaborated with lead singer Johnny Rebb in the mid 60s and produced “Come On” in 1967.  Written by drummer Peter Hood, “Come On” is considered one of the all-time long lost classics of garage punk rock.  Its a brash, highly charged electric party highlighted by a killer chorus and a bass line accented with Eastern mysticism.  This video is funny because we get to see Johnny Rebb’s gorgeous toupee, and moves strait out of Elaine Benes’s school of dance.  Enjoy!

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