By Rosie Alejandrino & Krista Kurisaki
4.6
1414 ratings
The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.
"Of course there's the surf rock years and Pet Sounds and their resurgence in the '80s, but contrary to popular belief, the Beach Boys did not just disappear when Brian retreated into his bedroom after the failure of SMiLE. In fact, some of the most provocative work that the band has ever done was released during this time."
The seventies were tough on everyone: Nixon was president, the country was years-deep into an increasingly unpopular war, and… the Beach Boys were barely hitting the Billboard 200 (priorities, am I right?). But just because they were no longer the chart-topping chads of surf nor the progressive pop geniuses of Pet Sounds doesn’t mean the era was a total wash. Rosie guides Krista through the band’s lost years through three wildly distinct albums: Wild Honey (1967), Sunflower (1970), and Holland (1973), proving that on-or-off the charts, the Beach Boys still had quite a lot to contribute to the culture. Krista and Rosie mention the two figures they’ve respectively tried to sideline all season (Charles Manson and John Stamos). Both hosts give Sag king Dennis Wilson his flowers on the Fantasy Album Draft. Give this guy a biopic (NOT The Beach Boys: An American Family)!
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"For all of its legendary reputation, the one thing that's always bothered me about the SMiLE story was the image that it left behind: Brian, the sole genius, left tortured by his gifts and completely alone, his tribute to America left unfinished. But he was never really alone, was he?"
Goodbye Surfing, Hello God! SMiLE was supposed to be the magnum opus of its 24-year-old “genius” creator Brian Wilson. But by 1967, the planned album had been scrapped and Brian left shattered by the experience. To most, the album would be known more in whispers than actual music until Brian was finally able to complete the album in 2004, but the true Wilson acolytes knew better than to believe the hype of an “official” version. SMiLE had been theirs all along. Krista takes Rosie on a bicycle ride through Brian’s “teenage symphony to God” and explains how that journey didn’t end when Brian abandoned the tapes. Shoutout to the multitude of fan organizations keeping all the music we love alive today! Krista takes a swing at the myth of the lone male genius and Rosie compares the feel of the album to hyperpop. Both hosts wish they had physical BEACH BOYS FREAKS UNITED membership cards for their wallets.
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“Mike sees the Beach Boys’ ability to play for Republican and Democratic presidents as key to their longevity, but as the country becomes more divided, it's their biggest weakness. It's the reason why the Mike and Brian wars were always bigger than each of them. They're just Hawaiian-shirt clad symbols in a wider schism in American culture, but they're also two sides of the same coin.”
We’ve been tough on self-proclaimed “Antichrist” Michael Edward Love all season. Maybe it’s time to give the old man a chance. Krista channels her inner Maharishi to guide Rosie on the path to enlightenment… a deep dive into the mind of her fellow Pisces, from his beginnings as sheet metal nepotism to his role as the money-minded frontman of America’s ultimate family band. At last, we’ve come to unleash the LOVE (pun always intended). Krista imagines which Transcendental Meditation retreats a young Mike Love would’ve shilled for if Instagram had existed in the 60s and Rosie goes deep on Beach Boys reddit to seek out other fans of “California Saga (Big Sur).” Both hosts agree that “Well, piss on you, Banana. I like it” is the standout quote of LOVE & MERCY.
SHOW NOTES & SOURCES
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“While Disney’s California Adventure abandoned the Golden State, Mike Love is reconstructing California in his mind.”
Fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight, because this slow-moving dark ride through the history of California has sudden stops, drops, facts, a looooot of fiction, and a rock-n-roll soundtrack to boot! Rosie takes Krista on an unsanctioned tour through the history of California’s own “Disneyfication” and how that process affects our boys today (goodbye nuance, hello uncritical Disney+ documentary!!). Special guest (and theme park expert) Miya Singer takes us behind the curtain of Disney’s California Adventure and how it made a cardboard cutout of our beloved home state. Do NOT buy California from Shein! Krista is horrified by the concept of “Paparazzi: The Ride” (RIP Princess Diana) and Rosie gets on her American Studies soapbox to opine about the 1964 World’s Fair.
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“Much like Brian, we’ve been through a tumultuous time period that challenged us emotionally, mentally, and creatively. Our unexpected hiatus was much needed, though — partially to get our ducks back in a row, and partially to create an air of mystery around our disappearance. Where did they go? Maybe we’ll never know…”
You may have doubted us but we never doubted ourselves. After a three year (mostly unplanned) hiatus, we’re back to finish out the season! But before diving back into our feature film, let’s catch up on what we missed. The titular beach gals discuss why they needed a break and pick two topics that have fascinated them in the meantime: Krista talks “Fun Fun Fun” in Barbie (2023)-land and Rosie defends Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022) as a great biopic. Both hosts weigh the pros and cons of attending a Beach Boys cruise (hearing “Sloop John B” on a boat versus potentially running into Mike Love at brunch).
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"Kind of wild that every major public update on Brian’s well-being occurs on the Beach Boys’ album cycle, almost like the capitalist desire to keep him working overrides the desire to keep him healthy. Makes you think, huh?"
CW: This episode deals with the subject of physical and mental abuse. The movie LOVE & MERCY details some of that abuse, and those scenes will be recapped in this episode.
It's our mid-season finale, and we finally tackle the elephant in the room — Brian's fraught relationship with Dr. Eugene Landy. In order to paint the picture more clearly, we've dug into years of archival research and set parallel paths between Brian and Britney's stories to uncover the dark side of the spotlight. Rosie talks Britney while Krista talks Brian, and both draft their favorite Brian Wilson track.
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“Rolling Stone is no longer like 50 Cameron Crowes, extolling the ‘never to be experienced again’ majesty of the 70s rock age to anyone curious about music history.”
Today, Pet Sounds is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time, but it was met with a lukewarm response from American audiences. Since then, there have been many theories as to why: band infighting, bad marketing, or that it “just wasn’t made for these times.” The album would fall into relative obscurity until it was reclaimed in the 90s as the holy grail of hipsterdom by cool older sisters and obnoxious record store guys alike. Krista tells Rosie the story of how Brian’s passion project made the uncool cool… and how gatekeeping only furthered the legend. Rosie goes off on a DayQuil-fueled rant against the rock canon and Krista’s dog insists on making his own pet sounds while she’s recording. Both hosts cry over a 90s Doonesbury comic.
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“We’ve come a long way from Hawthorne, California, and now the Boys are handing over their literal likenesses to a company that’s willing to give them the Tupac treatment so that Mike Love can finally put the band to rest.”
Oh no! The podcast has gone on so long that we’re now in the later, more commercial stages of our career! 2021 marks sixty years of the Beach Boys and ongoing efforts to capitalize on the band’s legacy, even if that means… a future hologram tour? Rosie takes Krista on a wild ride of “God Only Knows” covers that tell the commercial history of the band and the many bumps in the road along the way. Rosie untangles the mess of the Beach Boys’ legacy by revisiting a 2017 trip to Elvis’ Graceland and Krista can’t stop thinking about the phrase “Mamma Mia! for boys.” Both hosts wholeheartedly stan the Bowie cover.
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“Resurrected like some Hawaiian shirt-clad phoenix every ten years or so, the Beach Boys became the act as synonymous to boomer nostalgia as the Beatles are to youth counterculture.”
As soon as Beatlemania hit US airwaves, the Beach Boys were pitted against the mop-topped Fab Four… even though the Beach Boys formed first. Throughout the early 60s, the bands exchanged iconic albums like knock-out punches, with each release forcing the opposing group back to the studio to prepare for the next round. The rivalry between the Beach Boys and the Beatles gave us some of the most iconic music of the decade, but by its end, only one was left standing — and it’s not the one you think. Krista tells Rosie the origin story of her favorite boy band and how a break-up might’ve been the best thing that ever happened for their legacy. Rosie confuses George Harrison and George Martin (fair) and Krista admits that this whole thing was improv.
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“They take up the mantle of being ‘America’s band’ while writing albums overseas, and secure that reputation by becoming peak boomer nostalgia music for an era where gas was cheap, roads were wide open, and the ocean was a playground if you had the privilege of rebellion.”
Don’t touch that dial! We’re about to put you onto some hot rod music. The Beach Boys hit it big by riding the wave — pun fully intended — of California culture spreading across the country. But were they really surfers? Or just total posers? Rosie tells Krista about the 60s car culture craze and special guest Rayanne Piaña joins in to teach us the not-so-secret history of surfing. Rosie reveals the sheer number of Beach Party movies she watched as “research” and Krista shares her favorite section of Mandy Moore’s classic bop “Candy.” Both hosts think they could’ve written the Beach Boys’ first single “Surfin.’”
SHOW NOTES & SOURCES
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Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend
The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.