February 28, 2025

196. THE SMITHEREENS’ DENNIS DIKEN ON THE BEACH BOYS’ SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2

1 hour 30 minutes

By the time The Beach Boys had released their fifth LP, they were firing on all cylinders, creating some of the best and most powerful music they’d ever make. Enter Dennis Diken: Smithereens drummer, rock historian, co-producer of this very series, and mensch-about-town, who takes us by the collective hand and guides us through this fraught era of the Boys’ history, as the Fab Four rose up from out of nowhere and offered then-unwelcome but ultimately very useful creative competition.

Here’s just a few of the many things that Dennis discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

The real-life story that inspired Brian Wilson to write “Help Me, Ronda”;

How Murry wound up getting sacked, and the familiar way in which he dealt with it;

Whether “Warmth Of The Sun” foretold JFK’s assassination or offered a fresh tribute to it;

A friendly argument over whether or not the record falls apart toward the end;

And an incredible cameo by Russ Titelman, who clarifies how “Fun Fun Fun” came to be!

Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti

I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income.

If you’re a Beach Boys superfan like me, you’ll want The Director’s Cut of this episode. It’s ad-free and features 17 additional minutes of essential material. Purchase it as a one-off, get the entire Season 1 Series as a bundle (listed under Collections), or better yet…

Subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

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By David Gebroe

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