Friday, August 12, 2005
ENDLESS BUMMER: Just got through watching the current version of the Beach Boys ploughing through the usual suspects on NBC's Today show, hitting all the right notes in a bloodless way for a group of people who showed up to say hi to Al Roker. I have both the BB box sets worth having (the career overview and the one focusing on Pet Sounds) and will swear by what the group in its prime accomplished, which is what makes watching the current band beat its own legacy to death a painfully sad thing.
For those of you keeping score, there's only one original member touring under the banner--Mike Love, dreaded by so many people for so many reasons--with the only other face I recognized being Bruce Johnston, who is close enough to original for some people). The rest of the current band looked young enough to remember "Good Vibrations" only as a soft drink commercial...that is, younger than me. That ain't right, but in a band that's currently an oldies franchise more than anything, it's expected. Maybe it's a scam to help the boomers forget that they're on the lip of retirement age.
When Katie and Matt asked Mike what his favorite Beach Boys song was, Mike Love's immediate response was, "Well, 'Kokomo' was number one..." and really, that says everything. Meanwhile, I lie awake in bed, just like Brian Wilson did.
For those of you keeping score, there's only one original member touring under the banner--Mike Love, dreaded by so many people for so many reasons--with the only other face I recognized being Bruce Johnston, who is close enough to original for some people). The rest of the current band looked young enough to remember "Good Vibrations" only as a soft drink commercial...that is, younger than me. That ain't right, but in a band that's currently an oldies franchise more than anything, it's expected. Maybe it's a scam to help the boomers forget that they're on the lip of retirement age.
When Katie and Matt asked Mike what his favorite Beach Boys song was, Mike Love's immediate response was, "Well, 'Kokomo' was number one..." and really, that says everything. Meanwhile, I lie awake in bed, just like Brian Wilson did.
|| Eric 9:41 AM#
