[CONTEST HAS ENDED!] WIN! The Entire Beach Boys Music Catalog
provide a detailed response rationalizing Mike Love’s 1988 Rock & Roll Hall of fame induction speech for a chance to win the entire Beach Boys catalog
CONTEST HAS ENDED!
winner will be contacted/announced shortly
[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]
This image above might not feature the most entirely accurate representation of the Beach Boys, but I didn’t have time to photoshop in mental instabilities, subpoenas, caskets, dozens of other members, and knives eachother’s backs. First of all, it’s widely known that none of them really surfed except for Dennis Wilson (far left) and he has since passed on, as has his younger brother Carl (center). Second from left is their neighbor and least recognizable member, David Marks, who was only with the group from 1962-63 (the first time). Although he’s been considered somewhat of a temporary replacement for original member, Al Jardine, who had left to attend college, Marks actually appeared on their first four albums, within that time frame. That alone should give you an idea of how overworked Brian “the brains behind the operation” Wilson (far right) must have been at the time and why he eventually burned out so hard. Jardine came back as a live replacement for Brian in 1963 and Marks left shortly after, eventually rejoining the group in 1997, to fill in as Carl Wilson continued to battle with terminal cancer. At that point, Brian wasn’t even in the group anymore, with the only original members being Jardine and, the most widely despised member of the group, the Wilsons‘ cousin, Mike Love (second from right). Rumor has it that, when Carl Wilson eventually died in 1998, there were some issues about Mike Love continuing to hold onto/licensing the Beach Boys name and, somewhere in the mix, Al Jardine was no longer in the group anymore. It’s been said that Love “fired” him, but both Love and Bruce Johnston (whose original run with the group came as a replacement for then-member Glen Campbell in 1965 and ran until 1972) reject that claiming, stating that he left. Marks, whose inclusion helped to add technical legitimacy to the group by being one of the pseudo-original member, bounced from the ranks a year later in 1999. Brian continued to distance himself, but supported Love‘s use of the Beach Boys name, both to keep the name alive and because of financial kick backs. Meanwhile, Jardine toured with a collective calling themselves “Beach Boys Family and Friends,” which actually included Brian‘s daughters Carnie and Wendy of Wilson Philips fame, along with various other backing members of the Beach Boys from over the years. Mike Love repeatedly took Jardine to court for doing so and things continued to get uglier and uglier. Let’s not forget that, at one point, John Stamos was even in the group. So, it’s safe to say that no one picture may ever be truly representative of the entire Beach Boys legacy; that continues to be left up to the extensive and timeless catalog of music that they have created. Fortunately for one lucky reader, we’ve been invited to give away all of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOMyS78o5YI
Over 50 years after their inception and more lineup changes to count, the Beach Boys have finally “reunited” to release a new album, That’s Why God Made the Radio, and tour in support of it. The reunion features Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks. While no one will ever be able to bring back Carl or undrown Dennis, getting these 5 to work together again seems almost just as miraculous. The first signs of unification showed themselves during last year’s monumental release of the legendary Smile Sessions. Ironically, many people view the original recording sessions of the material, which began in 1966, to be the catalyst that destroyed the momentum of the group and sent Brian further into the background and relinquish his production role. Mike Love, who wanted to continue in the financially rewarding direction of having a clean-cut all-American boy band image and easily accessible pop tunes, had already infamously insulted the highly experimental and, ultimately extremely influential, Pet Sounds album. Smile was set to be a follow up that would be even more experimental and take things substantially further. Brian recruited Van Dyke Parks to assist with lyrics, but the songwriter eventually left after Love, more or less, berated him into doing so. The album, which was still fragmented into multiple tracks and segments, was indefinitely shelved. When the Smile Sessions were eventually constructed into a semblance of an album and released 45 years later, the accompanying promotional videos showed a much more supportive Love commending the work, as well as Al Jardine and Brian. In recent interviews with Brian, Love has repeatedly made sure to credit Wilson for his musical brilliance, foresight, influence, and ability to bring their voices together in elaborate harmonies. Whether their shifts in attitude stem from the undying affection that they have for the group and a yearning to return to the glory days or simply from the inevitable monetary gain that they stand to reap from a nostalgia tour, might not even matter. Maybe a number of misunderstandings were actually worked out and we, as the drama hungry public, may never really know the complete truth. What does matter is that thousands and thousands of people are sure to be psyched about this reunion and, with Brian back in the folds, the title track of their newest release has already demonstrated that the harmonies are being rejuvenated as well.
Whether you’re a fan of Grizzly Bear or Panda Bear or any number of other artists that don’t incorporate the word “bear” into their titles, those melodies owe an immeasurable debt to the Beach Boys. Bands like Best Coast and Wavves sing of a sun-drenched California love that was inspired by the group. Even Sgt. Pepper was said to be orchestrated by Paul McCartney as a response to Pet Sounds. If you’re only familiar with a small piece of their catalog and haven’t discovered why so many people hail the group as one of the most important bands in popular music history, you need to delve deeper.
Enter below to win the entire Beach Boys catalog; catch up on your musical history; and understand why, even after so many years, shifts in members, and so much turmoil, the Beach Boys remain a national treasure with a catalog of music that is as relevant as ever.
While you’re at it, make sure to paint your own cover of That’s Why God Made the Radio through HERE.
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THE CONTEST / GIVEAWAY:
*One winner will receive the entire Beach Boy musical catalog
HOW TO ENTER:
This contest is based on Mike Love’s highly controversial speech from the Beach Boy’s 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. We’re titling this contest: “MIKE LOVE, NOT WAR” or “Justify Mike Love”
Watch the following video. [Mike Love’s rant begins at the 3:49 mark.]
#1)
Your job is to compose some sort of rationale to excuse Mike Love’s behavior away. In his speech he makes some lofty accusations–especially, since Love eventually issued plenty of lawsuits himself–so feel free to be as unfounded as possible while you attempt exonerate him of responsibility and/or guilt. In fact, we encourage it. We’re gonna be looking for the most interesting entry, so don’t be afraid to get absurd or stretch your reasoning like a Wonka taffy puller.
#2)
Post your answer in the comment section below.
#3)
There is no part 4. That’s all there is to the contest. It’s pretty easy… but you should probably read the fine print.
The Fine Print:
All entries must be received by Saturday, July 7th at 11:59 pm to be eligible.
You can enter as many times as you want but, use a valid email so that we can contact you.
Winner’s will be chosen arbitrarily, based on our personal “favorite”, so try to be clever and/or interesting.
If we are unable to contact the winner in a reasonable amount of time, a new winner will be chosen.
U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
[If you have any intentions to post comments asking us to pick you, or asking when the winner will be announced… how about, just don’t do it? It’s pretty fucking obnoxious and it won’t help your chances.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_You_Feel_My_Love + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joeTsCD6gfQ (Make you feel my love + Justify my thug)…that’s all I have time for, thank you good night!!
Dear MonsterFresh,
Thanks for showcasing my proudest moment! As the soaring tenor in the Beach Boys, I felt my voice was the one most people would want to hear at the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. You can see me chomping at the bit by superfluously adjusting Brian’s mic stand. Man, I couldn’t wait to get started laying down the smack on those limey moptop beach boy wannabe’s (e.g., “Back in the USSR”…Hello?!? Who do you think taught them those major seven chords?!? That ain’t nothing you hear sitting around Hyde Park sipping tea.).
You know, it really came down to two facts: the land mass of the United Kingdom is really small and they probably only make up .25% of the world’s population. How could they possibly understand the concept of harmony when they’re so tiny?! I mean, we are Americans in the United States of America. We’re huge! Not only do we have a massive amount of land (God bless the decision to grant Alaska statehood), but we also are humongous people. Check out my linebacker shoulders…and that was back in 1988! I was way past my peak fighting days, but still wasn’t scared to do some hard hitting harmony when I saw it to be necessary. I was feeling so harmonious that night! You can see me giving even ol’ Muhammad Ali an attitude check. “Salamu Alaykum…bitch!” is more like it.
Harmony is some serious stuff. All us earthlings need to recognize that. We as Americans, and especially as Beach Boys, need to take the lead on showering the world with our golden harmonies. I believe in spreading harmonious golden showers at every opportunity. In fact, I learned how to do that with those “fab” Brit-Brats out in the far East. We were hanging with the Maharishi and he was teaching me all about spreading true harmonies and vibrant golden showers and, man, I was really reaching true transcendence! All those Queen-loving mates were writing music that probably never amounted to much, taking copious amounts of illicit drugs, making lewd outrageous claims about the Master Yogi, and leaving in a huff without any promise of penance for all they had learned. I remember thinking, “Come on you Mother Superiors, take off your dresses and Get Around!”…know what I’m saying?!
I’ll tell you, really it was those four that made me think the Stones were also chicken shit ingenuous hacks. Truly, just try to imagine Mick Jagger crooning Kokomo. No way! And as far as the others are concerned, Billy Joel looks like he could be British. Diana Ross has hair that probably came from Britain. Meanwhile, the Guthries simply are the equivalent of the Christian God. Not that I’m into that particular vibe, but, man, they got the right idea with those melodies and I’m here to say I’m ready to wash away any dust that cakes those tunes with my harmonious golden showers. I truly hope the Guthrie household has a copy of Pet Sounds, but if you hear that they don’t please just let me know.
Harmony, as in Good Vibrations, bitches. Pass it on.
Peace, Unity, Gaia, HARMONY, and golden showers,
Mike Love
If you don’t understand harmony than I don’t even know where to begin. All I was trying to say is that living is all about harmony. We are in harmony and I think that you clearly can see that by how superior we are to most every other band in existence. If you disagree well then my buddy over here Ali, also known as “The Greatest” can educate you. See the theme here. We are the greatest, we hang out with the greatest and it’s all because of harmony. I don’t need to make excuses. The winners are the ones who write history so we’ll be sure to make the appropriate changes.
That is all. Peace and As-Salāmu `Alaykum (You better fucking say wa alaykum us-salām back)
I can’t “justify Mike Love” because what he did was WRONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG.
If I lived in Mike Love’s world all entertainment lawyer’s would be out of work. Then theyd have to move back home.
Then their Mom and Dad would need get away from their kids – stupid freeloading unemployed attorneys taking up too much damn couch space. So Mom and Dad would go out out of town for the weekend and give their kid some food money.
Then their slacker former lawyer kid would rent some instruments with the food money and write a song. The ex-attorneys would put their songs on youtube.
Mike Love would listen to their songs. First, he’d smile. Then he’d hunt each of those bitches down for a personalized ass whupping.
Now that’s some Harmony.
It seems perfectly tactful to give Paul McCartney props and then call out the Beatles as not being able to top the Beach Boys in live performances. Calling Mick Jagger “chicken shit” seems pretty on point, as well. After all, Mike Love thought he was at a celebrity Roast for the British Invasion bands and, with Courtney Love hogging all the media “love”, Mike felt he had to raise the bar a bit in order to get noticed.
I met Mike Love last year on July 24, 2011, when no one knew
whether or not there would be a Beach Boys 50th reunion. I had just
won the Waukesha County Fair top singer contest days earlier, earning me the
right to perform before the Beach Boys took the stage. Before my photo op with
Mike (and before I knew for sure I’d even have a photo op with him), I hunted
him down in back of the Beach Boys trailer, which was directly next to my trailer
backstage.
At first when he saw me approaching in the distance of his long trailer, he
turned his back and began to walk slowly away. I approached at a quicker pace,
thinking, would I join a long list of people to be rejected by Mike Love? A
list that consists of hangers on at Brian Wilson’s LA high rise, or, gasp, even
Brian Wilson himself?
When I got closer, I called out “Mike!” He turned around again towards me, and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Ian,” I
said as I shook it. Wow, I just shook
hands with a man who’s had an orgy with the Charles Manson clan. “What’s
your deal?” asked Love.
Who would Rodgers be without Hammerstein? What about George
Gershwin without Ira? How would the artistic musings of countless great artists
arrived in a consumable and approachable form without the branding and
conceptualizing of a mind focused on public relations? Mike Love was Brian
Wilson’s Ira Gershwin. He was the man who was able to capture Wilson’s great
art and put it into something more instantly understandable.
Mike Love invented himself as the lead singer out of
necessity. Having little experience playing instruments aside from a bit of
saxophone, he quickly filled many other roles in order to necessitate himself.
He became the group’s emcee, a role suited perfectly for a man without an
instrument. He understood the visual and theatrical element of performing music
on a stage. He was also able to lead the crowd in dance moves, another role
perfectly suited for a man without an instrument.
Love was decades ahead of other people who had to go to much more desperate
lengths to necessitate themselves in music without any real talent. In
comparison to others who dress obnoxiously, are continually profane, or
perpetually create controversy to stay relevant in music, Love seems instantly
forgivable for not possessing as much musical talent as his band mates: he
actually contributed something more valuable. He branded the Beach Boys as a
California serf themed act about fun in the sun, women and cars, and brought
the Beach Boys to an instantly relatable place in the eyes of the American
public.
Mike Love has every right to call Mick Jagger chicken shit.
When most celebrities wanted to see first hand what the Beatles were doing,
they made it obvious. Mick Jagger dropped in on Beatles recording sessions
frequently, and even enjoyed a hit from the Lennon-McCartney composition “I
Wanna Be Your Man.” When Mike Love wanted to see first hand what the Beatles
were doing, he took a more pragmatic, indirect approach: he appeared to take
interest in their hobbies, taking up Transcendental Meditation and disappearing
to India with the Beatles to study under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. That’s a
much smoother move.
While the Beatles continued to compose in India, few if any
of their compositions truly embodied the spiritual experience that was unique
to their study of meditation. “Dear Prudence” (written for a woman so caught up
in meditation that she wouldn’t stop) was not really getting to the core of the
practice, and “Sexy Sadie”’s original lyrics which shunned the Maharishi were
tamed for commerciality’s sake. But leave it to Mike Love to bring back a
concept to the Beach Boys with a lyric unabashedly written about the subject,
“Anna Lee the Healer.” While delivering possibly his most tender and selfless
lead vocal to date, Mike Love won the battle of the distilling the essence of
India into music.
So let him tease McCartney and Yoko for not being at the
induction ceremony. Mike Love “Gets Around” and if Macca can’t even get out of
the house or the courtroom, tough luck. Macca couldn’t get Yoko to do a simple
reversal of songwriting credit on “Yesterday” to McCartney/Lennon in spite of
the fact that he wrote every note. Mike Love is savvy enough to earn
retroactive royalties on Wilson compositions decades after the fact, even if he
only wrote a few words. “Round round get around, I get around.” Indeed you do,
Love. Indeed you do.
-Ian Ash, Wisconsin
I’m not really sure if I qualify for this contest, but I thought I’d put in my two cents, regardless, because I am always moved by “God Only Knows,” and was equally moved by Mike Love’s speech; by the balls with which he spoke, and by the message which he delivered with the support of the great Muhammad Ali. Above all else, he called out other artists, namely Mick Jagger for not being as much about the music or the harmonies. While I’ll be the first to admit that good music is about more than great technique, and difficulty of performance, but if there could ever be such a thing as a legit Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, then I think Mike Love has a point, that The Beach Boys, being more about music and harmony rooted in the musical tradition of R&B, Country, and Rock N’ Roll have a valid claim to being the superior band to the Rolling Stones who were always more about their theme than The Beach Boys who’s theme was less of a part of their immortality than their music. As far as the rips on Paul McCartney and Diana Ross goes, I think that he is just showing off the competitive nature that led to his musical greatness, and if the Hall of Fame is truly to be a hall of fame, then there ought be a little competition that goes in to getting there.