SMiLE!

Coopstar · Post by **Coopstar** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:42 pm

HOLY SH*T!! Well my playlist has just been cemented for the next 2 months to say the least. Wow. I believe. Opinions?

Tom4 · Post by **Tom4** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:42 am

I haven't had a chance to buy it yet, but I downloaded a SMiLE playlist put together by people familiar with the sessions. If it's anything like that, it's a trip. I was very close to finding a way to England to see him perform it.

Post by **Jake** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:56 am

Brian Wilson and the Unbearable Heaviness of Fandom.

miss carol · Post by **miss carol** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:49 am

Tom4 wrote:I haven't had a chance to buy it yet, but I downloaded a SMiLE playlist put together by people familiar with the sessions. If it's anything like that, it's a trip. I was very close to finding a way to England to see him perform it.

No need -- he's in Toronto Oct 6th and NYC a week or so later at Carnagie Hall.

And unless I hit the jackpot, I'll be reading about it in the paper whilst gnashing my teeth.

booker · Post by **booker** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:07 am

The album is absolutely wonderful. Good packaging, too (take that you cheap CD burners).

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:09 am

miss carol wrote:

And unless I hit the jackpot, I'll be reading about it in the paper whilst gnashing my teeth.

You can hear some of it here. You just have to register on the site. The sound isn't all that great, but you can at least get to hear some of it for free.

http://www.smilethealbum.com/index.php

It really blew me away. Brian Wilson is a genius.

miss carol · Post by **miss carol** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:59 pm

Thanks Tim. I had the good fortune to see him perform Pet Sounds live at a Corporate Beer Anti-Theatre about 4 years ago. Despite his cold, the shit venue, and crap sound, Wilson prevailed. I would love to hear him perform at Massey Hall where he's due Oct 6th. The place was originally designed with orchestral music in mind, so the sound is GORGEOUS.

Barabajagal · Post by **Barabajagal** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 4:49 pm

I think it's pretty corny, myself...

D. Phillips · Post by **D. Phillips** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 4:50 pm

I heard a few clips on NPR and it sounded like a Broadway show. Did I just hear some bad passages?

booker · Post by **booker** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 6:19 pm

D. Phillips wrote:I heard a few clips on NPR and it sounded like a Broadway show. Did I just hear some bad passages?

It's funny, a few of my friends at work had the same exact reaction to that NPR segment.

I can say this: "SMiLE" definitely spans (and, at times, invents) a subgenre of music that may sound dated and/or corny to some younger ears. It is indeed influenced by showtunes, barbershop-quartet-style harmonies, Gershwin, so on and so forth. Brian Wilson's genius lies in his ability to deliver these elements with a simplicity, beauty and whim that rock audiences can appreciate.

"Cosmic symphonies to God"? Fuck yeah.