Throwback Thursday
The Beach Boys ~ “God Only Knows” / “Good Vibrations”
Brian Wilson (1942–2024)
Music is Love.
Last week was a tough one.
Sly passed. Two days later, Brian Wilson.
I’ve seen a lot of combined tributes ~ and I get it.
Two seismic losses. Two sonic architects.
Both brilliant. Both battled demons. Both spent long stretches out of the spotlight.
But combining them just because they passed close together didn’t feel right.
Sure, their primes were 50+ years ago.
But the influence? Still echoing. Still shaping music. Still rippling outward.
So yes ~ 💐 for Sly.
And now ~ 💐 for Brian.
There’s this great interview where Brian is asked something to the effect:
If you had to put two tracks on a 45 to represent yourself, what would they be?
His answer:
“God Only Knows” on one side.
“Good Vibrations” on the other side.
So that’s today’s Throwback Thursday ~ an honorary 45.
And honestly? If you knew nothing else about Brian Wilson or the Beach Boys, those two songs would be enough.
For me, the Beach Boys are always playable.
No matter what music phase I was in ~ grunge, rap, metal, punk, hardcore, go-go (DC kid, after all) ~ I could always vibe out to the Beach Boys.
Makes sense. Most music after them either reflects or refracts their influence.
Even when I couldn’t relate to the carefree surf stories of their early songs, I could always get lost in the sunny melodies, the spiritual harmonies, and bliss out!
Pop music at the intersection of beauty and innovation.
Brian Wilson.
He painted with sound ~ impasto melodies and layered harmonies ~ and you felt it.
That was his superpower.
He proved that pop could be complex. That creative could also be popular.
Side A
The Beach Boys ~ “God Only Knows“
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you…
Pet Sounds isn’t just a classic ~ it’s a masterpiece.
So good, it pushed the Beatles to make Sgt. Pepper’s.
There are gems across the record ~ Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Caroline, No, Sloop John B, I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times ~ but the capstone is God Only Knows.
And here’s the wild part:
Brian Wilson and Tony Asher wrote it ~ music and lyrics ~ in just 45 minutes.
They spent more time debating whether it was okay to have “God” in the title than they did writing the actual song.
Recording and layering it? That took a bit longer.
God Only Knows always makes you feel something ~ whether its the lush, produced version or stripped down to its raw harmony.
Paul McCartney calls it one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
And he wrote Yesterday.
*Check out this version (Carl and a guitar)
Side 1
The Beach Boys ~ “Good Vibrations“
Good Vibrations is one of the greatest pop songs ever made.
The endless summer. The harmonies. The intricacies, The tape loops, The tempo shifts. The complexity.
Brian Wilson loved Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound.
He called Be My Baby the greatest pop record ever made, and wanted to create something that could stand alongside it as well as a response to Spector’s writing and production on You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.
Good Vibrations was his answer.
He countered the wall of sound with an electro–theramin and a pocket symphony!
It proved the studio could be an instrument ~ and one man’s mind could bend pop into something transcendent.
Even Motown felt it ~ just listen to The Supremes‘ “Reflections“
Good Vibrations stands as both a monument and a reminder.
A monument to Brian Wilson’s genius.
A reminder that for every sunbeam, there’s a shadow.
I try not to dwell in the shadows ~ only long enough to gain perspective.
Brian gave us the soundtrack of the California dream ~
But creating that dream came at a cost.
The weight of genius.
The pressure of expectation.
Mental illness. Drugs. Isolation.
By the late ’60s, the demons hit. Smile was shelved.
By the ’70s, Brian had withdrawn. A recluse.
You could see that as a loss ~ all the potential music left unrealized.
I get it.
But I choose to see it this way:
Greatness isn’t permanent. It’s not guaranteed.
It’s a gift while it lasts.
And what a gift Brian gave us.
Appreciate it.
Most of his brilliance came when he was just 20~25 years old.
And still ~ it endures.
Still ~ it’s an endless summer when a Beach Boys song plays.
Brian came back.
He wasn’t a “Rock Star Year” casualty.
He toured.
He released new music.
And in 2004, he finally finished Smile.
I was lucky enough to see him and the remaining Beach Boys at their 50th reunion at the Hollywood Bowl.
They played the hits. Some Smile tracks. Covers.
And I got to bliss out under the stars ~ not far from where Brian Wilson first made the California dream sound so appealing.
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you…
Positive energy and Good Vibrations, Brian.
And thank you for the music.
