We listened to Cal Zone’s Brian Wilson tribute today, a bit of catch-me-up. We had already done our personal deep dive with a short stack of Beach Boys 45s and then along comes yet another article about Brian. This one by Rob Tannenbaum and it gets right to the heart of the reason for our mourning. Reading this short list slowly (and calling to mind the gorgeous melodies and harmonies) was particularly moving.
"The decisive evidence of Wilson's genius is his melancholy work: "In My Room," "Don't Worry Baby," "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," "Til I Die" (written, Wilson said, while he was "depressed and preoccupied with death"), "Caroline, No," "The Warmth of the Sun" (written the night President John F. Kennedy was killed), the celestial "God Only Knows," sung perfectly by Carl."
Peggi and I played a respectable version of In My Room in the basement this afternoon.
2 Comments
I distinctly remember understanding “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” for the first time as a young teenager. Had the same affect on me as a few songs from Nirvana’s Bleach and Drop Thirteen’s “Kick the Tragedy.” I was a weird kid. Still am.
I live in my rooms. Not as cool when you don’t have a choice. Carry on.