brian wilson

Ah, the Beach Boys...
Didn't care for 'em as a kid.
Not that i didn't appreciate some of their songs - undeniably infectious. But their vibe hit me as hollow. When i found out as an adult that their musical visionary didn't write their lyrics, it made sense. In an era when the singer/songwriter was reborn and popular music tapped into a youth movement wanting to change the world with peace and free love, the Beach Boys ran in the other direction. Could "When I Grow Up to be a Man" have been made by anyone NOT abused as a child? And those inane fucking car songs! I could handle the beach songs, but even without hearing any full album, those car songs made me cringe. When it was revealed that almost none of the Beach Boys actually surfed, it all (again) made sense. An empire built on pandering, indeed.
Is that a bit unfair? Sure.
But then a funny thing happened. In 1988, a friend gave me a tape of brian wilson's solo debut. I reluctantly listened...then did so again. And again. And again and again and again and again, and it was just purely brilliant. Knowing what i do now about his mental illness, and the horrific mind control he was enduring, it's tempting to question my passion for that album. But let's just embrace beauty wherever we find it, shall we? And is it just my own hopeless subjectivity, or is "Brian Wilson" head and shoulders above any other solo effort he did?
It's also tempting to ponder what he could have created, had he gotten the help he needed when he needed it, or had the band not dragged him to the middle of the road (Is there a more quease-inducing pop song ever, with a preciously patronizing message that only pampered millionaires could have created, than "Kokomo"?). But again, those things mostly miss the point. Brian heard amazing beauty, and was able to share it with the world. And even if he didn't write most of his lyrics, he always oversaw their creation, and the fact that the first line of one of the most famous love songs ever is "i may not always love you", is a stunning slice of reality. Or has pop music ever offered a more haunting portrayal of our intimacy failures than "Lay Down Burden"? And somehow, improbably but undeniably, the following set list reveals a personal journey a thousand times more intimate than anything macca or dylan could offer. If the audience isn't sated by two encores, have him come back out and toss off "Rio Grande". If that doesn't do the trick, unleash "Smart Girls". Thank you, brian.
DREAM SET LIST
Surfer Girl
Wouldn't It Be Nice
I Get Around
Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight
The Warmth of the Sun
Let It Shine
Let the Wind Blow
In My Room
Surf's Up
Til I Die
Don't Worry Baby
You Are So Beautiful
Lay Down Burden
Cry
Walkin' the Line
Love and Mercy
Do It Again
Night Time
Your Imagination (a capella)
Summer's Gone
Melt Away
Good Vibrations
(encore)
Sail On Sailor
God Only Knows