[calcajun]

I was told to drop acid 20 minutes before the needle drop and it's awesome!

I have not listened to it yet. Don't know where to find the acid.

Trippy, Trippy stuff .

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abouna /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well it's not for myself that I refrained, I just know that some people take it as a personal attack if you criticize something they like. Not that I shy away from such confrontation, but I try to be a bit cautious before I do so. That said, and yes I'm ready to get burned, I find Pet Sounds to be almost sophomoric. To be blunt, comparing it to Beatles stuff of the same period is comical. Most of the Beatles stuff is quite a lot more complex and simply much more mature sounding. That doesn't mean I don't like the BB stuff, for what it is I like it quite a lot, it definitely conveys what it's intended to with aplomb.

don't take this personally, but to use the term 'sophomoric' to describe Pet Sounds sort of betrays a lack of understanding of the music itself.

i might be able to see how you'd hear the lyrics that way, as they're written by a 24 year old kid, a virtual post-adolescent who just took acid for the first time... but they're also pop's first attempt at real personal introspection.

as for the songwriting, arrangements and production... all essentially by Wilson alone... i can see how it may not be your taste, but "sophomoric" it ain't.

Sgt. Pepper is a great album, as well, but it's the work of three talented songwriters and one classically trained producer. it took FOUR BRILLIANT MUSICIANS to match the accomplishment of a single 24 year old Brian Wilson.

 

[tjohnusa]

Let's not be so hard on the guy..or girl. He stated he was not so far from that era so I wonder how old the OP is? If you have heard alot of BB standards then you should be able to understand why Pet Sounds is special. It was the pinnacle of their music IMO, and a thought of better things to come that sadly never materialized. I am sure if you set any current high school student down and played this for them it would be torture for them. This is what makes music what it is....a choice.

Happy Listening!

 

[Uncle Erik]

Abouna, you said that you have eclectic tastes, but are you much of a pop fan? Some like this genre, some don't. It's OK if you aren't, but I'm trying to understand the context of your criticism.

Plenty has been said already about Pet Sounds being a landmark, and it is. If you listen to any pop recorded since its release, you hear its echoes. If you're into pop, then Pet Sounds should have sounded familiar to you, such is its influence. Maybe you're not quite ready for it yet. That happened to me with Bach. I never hated his music, but it always sounded cold and mechanical. After getting into some other classical and other music, he suddenly sounded different. The same music I never cared much for became vital and important. That was a good 10 years ago, and I'm still in love with his work. So maybe keep Pet Sounds around and give it a listen in a few years. It might grab you and not let go.

 

[Riordan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif However... it's also an indictment against change and growth. You might as well damn history/written language and criticism while your at it.

an indictment against change and growth? damnation of criticism? if only you knew me...
the part of glendaleVipers post that i boldened in my quote was what sported my gushing compliment. you apparently read something wholly different into it than i did. judging by his response to you i wasn't mistaken.

"it makes me different but not wrong" is a beautiful expression of what we usually call guilty pleasure. this of course is only a side point here, not really pertaining to the quality of pet sounds. it's just a very nice (and true and well put) way of saying "some things are great, but it's perfectly ok not to like them nevertheless. then again, some things arent so great but it's perfectly ok to like them. even fatally flawed works can have some merit."

maybe your appalled reaction stems from what you read as "all is equal in art"? that sentiment would meet strong resistance from me as well, but i didn't see it and i doubt it was intended.

Quote:

Love all the B-movies you like. Whoever said you shouldn't? Call them great and expect a battle. Subjectivity doesn't counterbalance all other qualities. That's the beauty of Art.

i fully agree

 

[GlendaleViper]

Blessing, I think what he was trying to say with that comment was more about the merits of critical thought (toward the arts) and how it's not something that should be discounted - despite the validity of of liking something just because you do.

Within the context of the thread, it's a valid point. A few times already it's been somewhat challenged that the album, lauded by the critical media and fans alike, should not be a reason to feel different or strange for not enjoying a piece. At the same time, it's these critics that tear a work apart to assess the sum of their parts and really nail down WHY something is good. It's all interpretation of course, but when something is almost universally accepted as a pop masterpiece, it's hard (or foolhardy) to challenge those claims.

Liking or not liking art "because you do/don't" is one thing. Ultimately, it's important to engage in thoughtful discussion of the arts - be critical yourself - to fully understand and appreciate the work. Hell, you might even discover WHY you like something.

I hope I'm not being too redundant. I just believe he was bringing up a stark counterpoint to my original comment (which was one sided), since it would be dangerous to assume that art should only be appreciated on a superficial level.

 

[VicAjax]

ok, so i'm sitting and listening to Pet Sounds as i type this. the second track, "You Still Believe in Me," is playing right now.

granted, it may be too "sweet" for someone's taste, but the music is astoundingly rich and unique. harpsicord, a bicycle bell, kettle drum and horn section laying down the rhythm. the vocal harmonies are transporting.

i still can't understand the use of the term "sophomoric."

 

[VicAjax]

"I'm Waiting for the Day" is on now (my favorite all time BB song).

what i suggest to the OP, is that you listen to the album one more time. ignore the lyrics and just pay attention to the instrumentation, the arrangements and the musicality of the voices.

don't listen to like it, just listen to appreciate the unique nature of the music. then maybe you'll come away with an understanding of why this is such an important album, even if it's not for you.

 

[GlendaleViper]

What's the fascination with getting ripped before listening to this album? By no means am I against... mind expansion, that would be hypocritical. I just can't understand the whole concept of altering your state to be able to appreciate this or any music.

Well, excepting of course music that was created specifically to be listened to on drugs. Which is usually crap (IMO).

 

[VicAjax]

btw... HUGE props to GlendaleViper, whose DVD-A i've been listening to!

thanks again, GV!

 

[GlendaleViper]

Glad you're enjoying it - anyone who keeps "I'm Waiting for the Day" as their favourite BB song deserved it!

 

[Relayer71]

I have to add: "sophmoric" sounding it definitely isn't.

I may not particularly LOVE the album but I appreciate the sounds and the arrangements - ESPECIALLY considering the time the album was produced. And I'm not surprised that the Beatles were influenced by it (or even blown away by it) since the BBs WERE the Beatles contemporaries.

But listening to it today, in 2007 - it doesn't thrill me or hold my attention like the albums that came after from the early 70s prog rock bands like Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, ELP, etc., or the works of more contemporary artists.

Whereas the Beatles and Beach Boys took the basic pop sound and refined, heck - perfected it (may as well have patented it!), these other bands took rock music in a whole different direction and to new levels of technical achievement.

I'm not saying these bands had more talent than the Beatles or BBs - the elegant simplicity found in a Beatles or BB song takes just as much craft as a 20 minute multi-faceted progressive rock epic.

It's just that the Beatles/BBs sound is very comfortable, familiar, dated (not necessarily in a negative way). Whereas 1974's Genesis album, "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" sounds like it could have been recorded just last year. Or maybe 10 years from now. To me it sounds just as groundbreaking TODAY as it did when I listed to it in 1988 and this was recorded in 1974 (I was only 3 then, hehe).

But when I listen to Pet Sounds I can IMAGINE how listeners must have been wowed by it in 1966 but it does nothing for me.

It does bring me back to 1979 when I was about 8 and I spent the summer at my newly wed (much) older sister's house - her husband constantly played pop records from the 60s and 70s, especially early Beatles and Beach Boys.

And one particular song that's in my head to this day: "You Lost That Lovin Feelin" - by the Righteous Brothers I think, lol. :

 

[Joey Jo-Jo]

To this day I don't get what all the fuss is about. I like most of the rest of their stuff, the Smile Sessions and most of their early songs, but this album just sounds depressed and overly self-involved.

 

[wahsmoh]

I hate to bump this old thread but you either are a fan or you aren't. I enjoy the vocal arrangements that the Beach Boys are well known for on Pet Sounds. Pet Sounds is a landmark in music because it scratched everything people knew already about recording music. It set the bar for the ability to make "studio" sound and the importance of the production side.
 
I think it is easy to appreciate the music for just the arrangement, but the lyrics and content from Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys is what also sets it apart.
 
It's honest and heartfelt, and it really captures a bit of "soul" from a 23 year old musical genius. I can see how some might find it self-involved or even dreary but during your early 20s I feel the same way. Your relationships aren't set in stone, your life and career is still up in the air and you don't have a true sense of direction.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

To be honest I just got into The Beach Boys and it was all in part because of the movie below which revolves around Pet Sounds studio time during the 60s scenes. Before this movie I've always thought that BB was about surfer/beach/hot rod music that their early works have been known for but Pet Sounds to me opened the doors for something more. Paul Mcartney credits Pet Sounds for the sole reason Sgt Pepper was ever made and I think that's where Pet Sounds partly gets its fame; as an attachment that the Beatles took the sound further.

It is a great album, I much prefer it over their earlier work. I guess it's now only fitting to pick up a copy of Smile. If you haven't seen Love And Mercy, a biopic of Brian Wilson, I highly suggest you have an evening with it. Fantastic stuff.