DUMB
ANGEL
BMX
Bandit Duglas T Stewart and friend meet Brian Wilson
For Brian Wilson, music was
the voice of God. The religious analogy is most fitting. His
disciples (fans) tend to display a rather religious like fervour
and fanaticism. Not content with our own private worship of
all things Brian and beautiful, we feel the need to go out
and convert non-believers. Perhaps the greatest pleasure for
one of our creed is to introduce Brian's monumental masterpiece
Pet Sounds to new ears. Paul McCartney gave copies of it to
his children regarding it as an essential part of their education.
After all it was the album that inspired Macca to make Sgt
Pepper. Pet Sounds was every bit as innovative as Pepper but
in a more subtle, underrated way. More than just clever it
was beautiful. A tomb to Brian's own longed for lost innocence.
 For
me what makes Brian a genius is his ability to take complex
musical ideas and make them seem simple, accessible and human.
When people like Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa tried it the result
was elitist and over self-consciously clever. Brian however
is not just a one trick pony. The range of his work is incredibly
diverse from the almost Stax like soul of 'Darlin' to his
girl group productions for The Honeys and American Spring,
to the rockin' sea shanty 'Sail On Sailor' and the naïve
beauty of the album, Beach Boys Love You.
'Love You' is perhaps Brian's
masterpiece. If Pet Sounds is the masterpiece of sophisticated
pop music, 'Love You' is the exact flip side, the masterpiece
of primitive pop. It almost seems like the front runner to
the likes of Daniel Johnston and Lou Barlow and I know it's
a big fave of other American musicians like Sonic Youth and
Yo La Tengo.
Brian's music has had a particularly
prevalent influence on many of the new generation of Scottish
bands: Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Jesus & Mary Chain,
The Pastels, Pearlfishers, Superstar, 18 Wheeler. Our mission
continues. We hope to save some more souls. Have you heard
the voice of God?
At 8.30pm on the 29th
of January 1996 my good friend David Scott (lead singer of
the aforementioned Pearlfishers) and I were standing in a
hotel lobby near Hyde Park in London waiting to meet Brian
Wilson. We had been invited by famed 'Beach Boys' historian
and now Brian's manager, David Leaf to video a short interview
and message to be shown at a Brian Wilson tribute show we
were organising. The show would feature versions of Brian's
songs performed by the Pearlfishers and the Pendletones (featuring
Norman from Teenage Fanclub, Joe and Jim from Superstar and
Sushill, Francis and me from BMX Bandits) as well as a live
performance of Brians fairytale, 'Mount Vernon and Fairway'.
Mike Love was wandering about
reception area looking as though he wanted us to acknowledge
we recognised him. He smiled smugly over at us, we sheepishly
smiled back at him but said nothing. Brian's new wife, Melinda
appeared as if by magic and led us into a small lounge to
meet Mr Wilson… and there he was sitting on a couch smiling
at us. Wow! He looked a little tired, jet lagged, but in good
shape and handsome. Not at all a shell of a man we saw in
TV interviews from those dark days of Doctor Landy. Melinda
was great, very warm, friendly and funny lady. She also seemed
genuinely caring and supportive if Brian. Introductions were
made and then the interview began….
David: It seems there are lots
of really positive things happening in your life, the collaboration
with Van Dyke Parks, the Documentary, getting married and
working with Andy Paley. Do you feel like you're at a new
junction in your life?
Brian: "Yeah, it's all happening
very fast. My head's swimming a little bit but I feel good
about it".
David: Could you tell us something
about the Fairytale from the Holland album? It seems very
autobiographical.
Brian: "It's about Mike. He didn't
even know that. See the title of the fairytale, Mount Vernon
and Fairway, those were the two streets he lived on when he
was a kid. So I guess he might have figured out I was talking
about him".
Duglas: It seems the wild west
is a recurring theme in your work in tracks like 'Heroes and
Villains', 'Cabinessence' and 'Rio Grande'. Did you have a
particular love of Western movies?
Brian: "Yeah, I loved all those
kinds of movies and they were a great inspiration for us".
David: Can you tell us something
about recording 'Rio Grande'?
Brian: "We recorded it at a bunch
of different studios all over Los Angeles. We took the tape
around from studio to studio and dubbed on different things".
David: Is that difficult?
Brian: "Not if you're good at
it. When you're good at it, it's not difficult".
Duglas: A lot of Scottish musicians
really love and have been influenced by The Beach Boys Love
You album but it seems to have been overlooked by a lot of
other people. How do you feel about that album?
Brian: "That is my favourite
album we did. I like the 'Johnny Carson' song, all the stuff
we did. The lyrics were good. It was almost like a little
folk album. It wasn't really hard rock except 'Let's go on
this way' was harder rock. I enjoyed doing that album, I feel
it was well worth the time. 'The night was so young' that's
my favourite, I love that song".
David: Can you tell us about
'Solar System' (A favourite of Alex Chilton's)?
Brian: "I can't remember how
it was written or what I was going through at the time but
it had to do with being scared at night and that you can always
call somebody or be with somebody when you're scared".
Duglas: I recently became a father
so I have a soft spot for 'I wanna pick you up'.
Brian: "I love that song. Wow,
I really love that song".
Duglas: I'm glad to hear you
like the album as much as we do. How did it feel singing all
those old songs in the documentary, some of which you didn't
originally do lead vocals on? It was a beautiful reading of
'Meant for you'.
Brian: "I know, Mike originally
sung that. I think overall we did a better job than the originals".
David: I've watched it a few
times and the documentary seems so much fun. That seems to
be where you're at just now, happy and having fun.
Brian: "Yeah"
Melinda: "Tell them about the
car scene in the film".
Brian: "It was like getting towed
by a tow truck and we were talking and looking around. We
went to see the house where I lived when I was a kid. It had
been demolished because of a Freeway Project. It was gone…it
was gone".
Duglas: It seems now you are
surrounded by people, like Melinda and Andy Paley, who are
real friends to you. Is that helping your work?
Brian: "It makes it a little
easier when there is some emotional stability present. I think
it's very important to have that. If you expect to do anything
good".
Melinda: "Everybody in this whole
world needs people around them that love them, that's how
it works".
David gave Brian some famous
Scottish smoked salmon that Brian tore open with his teeth
and gobbled most enthusiastically. We then took some snapshots
of us with Brian and Brian with Melinda. We obtained our Brian
autographs while Brian and Melinda enthused about the Pet
Sounds box set that Brian has been working on. We then said
goodnight to Mr and Mrs Wilson. Brian warmly shook our hands
and said, "Thank you guys. We really appreciate what you're
doing"…
Thank you Brian.
|
