The 500 - #271 - The Beach Boys Today - The Beach Boys

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #271

Album Title: The Beach Boys Today

Artist: The Beach Boys

Genre: Orchestrated Rock, Rock, Chamber Pop

Recorded: Three Studios, Hollywood, California

Released: March, 1965

My age at release: Not Born Yet (Technically, I was a fetus)

How familiar was I with it before this week: A few songs

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, At #4

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: In The Back Of My Mind

(Spotify song picked by Eamon O'Flynn, Host of The Record Roulette Podcast where this record was discussed on an October, 2021 episode)

The first time I borrowed a record from a friend, it was Help Me, Rhonda, a number one single from The Beach Boys Today, the eighth studio release by American band, The Beach Boys.

Today, in an era of YouTube and music streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc.), it is easy to hear your favourites. However, I wonder if the current younger generation of music listeners is missing out on something special. My friend Terry and I initially bonded over a mutual love of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin when, in the fall of 1982, he invited me to spend an evening by his stereo, recording a few of his records onto cassettes. We remain close friends and still talk about music.

The cassette tape - a staple for music listening and recording (1962-2000)

I can't remember who lent 10-year-old me that 45 rpm single of Help Me, Rhonda. However, I do remember giving it a workout on my small, all-in-one, suitcase-style portable turntable. My cheap needle probably did irreparable damage to that vinyl, but it also made me a fan of The Beach Boys and their harmony-rich, surf-rock sound.

A portable turntable, similar to mine

For many years after, I only thought of The Beach Boys in terms of their California Sound -- a musical aesthetic which encapsulated beaches, surfing, hot-rods, girls in bikinis, carefree innocence and young love. I wasn't entirely wrong; the early Beach Boys' catalogue features genre-defining hits, including Surfin' Safari, Surfin U.S.A., I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, Barbara Ann, and Little Surfer Girl.

Then, in 1984, I heard David Bowie perform God Only Knows and learned (likely from a radio disc-jockey) that it was a Beach Boys song. I was gobsmacked! How could this beautiful, lush, orchestral song of grief and heartbreak be a Beach Boys tune? Soon after, I listened to The Beach Boys 1966 studio release, Pet Sounds (#2 on The 500) for the first time, and my formerly narrow understanding of this influential group was forever changed.

As reported in my February, 2021, post for their record Smile, The Beach Boys went through a transition in the mid-60s (the height of the British Invasion). Brian Wilson, the group's principal songwriter, was struggling with exhaustion and crippling anxiety (later diagnosed as schizo-affective disorder). Consequently, he stopped touring with the group and spent his time writing and working in the studio with the band's supporting musicians.

The Beach Boys Today was a fascinating moment in pop-culture and music history. It documents the band's transition from the California Rock sound that had made them commercial juggernauts to the start of their ascension toward critical acclaim with their artistic masterpiece, Pet Sounds.

In fact, this sonic switch occurs neatly between Side One and Side Two of The Beach Boys Today. Typically, when a band changes its sound, the transformation takes place between records. Perhaps the best example of this can be found in the new direction The Beatles took with the release of Rubber Soul (#5 on The 500). It was the product of a whirlwind tour of North America in 1965 when they met folk singer Bob Dylan and their hero Elvis Presley, as well hearing the soul music hits that were playing on American radio.

Album cover for Rubber Soul by The Beatles (1965)

There is always something new to learn, and  this thought prompted me to ask: When did I make the biggest change in direction as a school teacher?

Throughout my career, I've learned so much from many mentors. However, the biggest game-changer came in the autumn of 2013 when my principal suggested I attend a Google Professional Development session being offered by our board. Attendees were provided with Chromebooks and, over the course of the day, we learned about the Suite of free tools available through Google and the powerful educational utility of this small, inexpensive device.

An early version of Google's Chromebook

Within a few weeks, a portable WiFi unit and a cart of 15 Chromebooks were available to our school. (Yes, believe it or not, wireless access to the internet for a classroom was still in its infancy ten years ago). The portable units were nicknamed "COWs" -- which stood for Computers On Wheels. They housed the Chromebooks and the portable WiFi system that needed to be plugged into power and the classroom ethernet line.

I was eager to incorporate this new technology into my Grade 4 classroom. and my students were equally enthusiastic participants. As an early adopter, I benefited from nearly exclusive access to that technology for much of the year and my entire approach to teaching changed.

The original line-up of Google Suite Apps

I shifted from a traditional "Sage on the Stage" approach and adopted the role of "Guide on the Side". Instead of delivering information to rows of students who dutifully took notes, I began sharing links to engaging, kid-friendly websites. Excited and engaged, my charges worked collaboratively to discover information they could share with classmates through interactive slideshows – a process that allowed them to expand their knowledge base creatively.

I could write pages on all the ways Chromebooks and Google Suite changed my pedagogy for the better. In fact, for the past eight years I have, in conjunction with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), offered a three-day Summer Academy session to educators to support them in incorporating this technology into their own classrooms.

A poster for ETFO's Summer Academy in 2021

I've even inveigled my dad into being my blog sounding board. Early on, we would clean up my blog copy by phone, but it was a cumbersome and time consuming process. So, he learned the "suggestion" feature using Google Docs for feedback on my musings. After a final proofing, I am ready for publishing via Google Blogger.

So, how about you? What sparked the biggest change in your professional life or creative pursuit? I'd love to hear in the comments below or through my social media feed. @Mr_H_Teacher

And, as my current students are in a habit of saying during their Google presentations ... thanks for staying until the end!

The 500 - #381 - The Smile Sessions - The Beach Boys

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 381

Album Title: The Smile Sessions
Artist: The Beach Boys
Genre: Eclectic - Rock, Pop, Surf, Psychedelic, Doo-Wop, more
Recorded: (1965-1971) - Multiple Studios in Los Angeles
Released: October, 2011
My age at release: 46
How familiar was I with it before this week: One song
Song I am putting on my Spotify: Heroes & Villains

Writing about this record was a struggle. There is so much background information I discovered. I had initially considered a discussion of the relationship between mental health and creativity. However, in the end, I have only provided an overview on the record's unusual history. Fortunately, the Beach Boys appear on this list twice more...next time!

Although recorded in the late sixties, the album Smile by The Beach Boys was not released until 2011, just seven months before Rolling Stone Magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums was published. Quirkily, that has made it the youngest entry on the list...despite being nearly 50 years old.

Additionally, it is not a conventional album. It is a boxed-set containing previously released material and dozens of tracks from abandoned recording sessions. 

To set the stage, The Beach Boys were one of the biggest bands on the planet in 1967. They had just released their landmark album Pet Sounds, which appears at #2 on The 500 List, a staggering achievement being only one spot behind the album that it inspired, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles. They were also touring the world, playing to massive crowds.

Pet Sounds & Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Numbers 2 and 1 on The 500 List

Smile was plagued by internal and external issues from the start, much of it due to band leader Brian Wilson's deteriorating mental health. Wilson had not been a touring member for a few years instead choosing to write and work in the studio. Initially, it was believed he was prone to panic attacks; however, it would later be learned that he suffered with a schizoaffective disorder. 

While the band toured, Wilson put his energy into songwriting and sound engineering. Through his unorthodox and revolutionary approach, he has been hailed by critics and peers alike as musical genius.

The recording sessions continued to be fraught with tension. Brian's band mates simply didn't understand his vision. Lead singer Mike Love, who was Wilson's cousin, wanted the group to return to the surf-rock formula that had made them international stars.

Brian Wilson in the studio (1967)

Eventually the entire project fell apart and Smile was shelved for decades with Wilson blocking any attempts to complete or release it. A down-scaled version called Smiley Smile was made available in 1967 which contained The Beach Boys biggest hit, Good Vibrations. 

In 2014 Wilson released new recordings of the songs that were planned for the Smile album under the moniker, Brian Wilson Presents: Smile.

Brian Wilson Presents Smile album cover

Finally, in 2011, the Smile box set that is on The 500 list was released. It immediately garnered critical acclaim winning the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. 

The first 19 tracks are an approximation of what the album would have sounded like. The rest of the box set includes over 60 tracks that are session highlights and outtakes. In fact, an entire disc is dedicated to recorded snippets from one song, Good Vibrations (see below).

Consequently, the boxed-set is not really an "album". It is more of a "museum piece" or an archive of rock and roll mythology for die-hard fans of The Beach Boys.

It took me some time to get my head around The Smile Sessions. As I built my understanding of the history behind it, I started to connect with it more and more. It grew on me with each listen and to truly appreciate the craftsmanship that went into these innovative and imaginative songs, I recommend a good pair of headphones.

For further background, consider watching the 2014 biographical-drama Love & Mercy which documents Brian Wilson's struggle with mental illness in the 1960s and 1980s. 

Actor Paul Dano portrays the young Wilson in the 1960s, as he writes and produces the music for both Pet Sounds and Smile while suffering from his undiagnosed schizoaffective disorder. In a connected story line, John Cusak plays Wilson in the mid-80s. This was a time when the performer was heavily medicated and had relinquished his life to the care of an unconventional and controversial therapist, Eugene Landy, portrayed in the film by Paul Giamatti.

Wilson (left) and Landy in 1976

For more information on this fascinating record check out the February 18 release of The 500 Podcast with Josh Adam Meyers which is dedicated to the Smile record. Much like this boxed-set, the additional stories behind it are lengthy and complex, but fascinating.