Happy Tuesday y'all! We're about to get hit with almost a whole week of rain and storms on the east coast - hope it's sunnier in your neck of the woods.
WHERE WE LEFT OFF
Last week, I finished listening to every album by the Beach Boys. All in all, a good time! There was surfing and cars and pets and depression and drugs and infighting and flop eras and commercial resurgences and, most importantly, Kokomo. If you wanna see my thoughts on any album specifically, I highly recommend going back through my updates from the past month or so.
A LIL LOOK AT THE SCRIPT
Along with wrapping up my listening, last week I began writing the script in earnest. Here's a rough chunk of it:
(Disclaimer: this part and any part of the script I show is subject to change between now and when the vid comes out.)
WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING
Since I finished all the albums, my listening has slowed down a good deal. Mostly now I'm just revisiting albums and songs I already gave thoughts on. But I did watch two BBs-adjacent movies recently!
Endless Harmony: This documentary was released in 1998 on VH1, but it's nowadays right on YouTube for anyone to watch. It covers the full arc of the band's history, from Hawthorne to the late nineties, and features interviews with all the surviving original members, plus archival footage of Carl and Dennis. There's also Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Glen Campbell, and Sean Lennon speaking on the band.
I'd heard good things about this doc, and yeah turns out it's good! Confirmed a lot of the things I'd learned over the past weeks, which means I haven't hallucinated Shortenin' Bread thank god. The firsthand accounts from the bandmates are great too, and there were a bunch of interesting insights. I forget who said it, but someone said this (I'm paraphrasing a bit) regarding the relationship between Mike and Brian: "Mike would tell Brian how to dress and talk to meet girls. That’s what he did to the music too.”
Also, you know how the Beatles' Back in the USSR was inspired by the Beach Boys? According to Mike, he encouraged Paul to write about the girls overseas in the bridge.
However, there was one part where John Stamos offhandedly said "the late 80s and 90s [for the band] I think it was kinda smooth sailing.” Don't piss me off like that, Stamos. Otherwise, the doc is worth watching!
Love & Mercy: If you haven't heard about this biopic, it switches between two periods: Brian's production of Pet Sounds in the mid-sixties, and his time under Landy's 24-hour therapy program in the late eighties. Paul Dano plays the younger Brian, John Cusack plays the older one, Elizabeth Banks plays his second wife Melinda Ledbetter, and Paul Giamatti plays Landy.
It's a good movie! The dual-timeline structure is a genuinely interesting choice - I think it makes clear the stress Brian was under during the Pet Sounds era, and how it continued manifesting to the point where a scumbag like Landy could swoop in. Paul Dano was legit perfect casting for young Brian. John Cusack? Interesting pick! And as a Paul Giamatti truther, I always love seeing him in more things, especially when he gets to show his teeth.
EUGENE LANDY
I keep mentioning this Eugene Landy dude, but I haven't really gone into who he was. Let's fix that!
Landy was first hired to treat Brian in October 1975 by his then-wife Marilyn, who had been trying to find doctors capable of handling him for years. His program involved supervising and micromanaging his client's life with a team of counselors and doctors. The first stint was rocky but it seemed to produce results. Brian rejoined the Beach Boys and got back in the studio. Then, after a disagreement over fees, the Wilson family fired him. Yay no more Landy!
EXCEPT. After breaking free from Landy, Wilson returned to drugs, regained a significant amount of weight, and divorced his wife. In 1983, Beach Boys manager Tom Hulett rehired Landy, fearing for his client's wellbeing.
The second stint was ROUGH. Landy surrounded Brian with constant supervision. His assistant Kevin Leslie accompanied Wilson everywhere, which earned him the nickname "Surf Nazi." Medication was administered at Landy's direction to keep Wilson in check. This turned out to be a move to control Brian - he took downers when Landy wanted him out of his hair, and uppers when there was work to be done.
The creative interference was just as troubling. When Brian released his solo debut in 1988, Landy had writing credit on five songs, including "Love & Mercy," and was named executive producer. Landy also had co-writing credits on several songs off the self-titled album from the 80s. (All those credits would eventually be removed.)
The situation only broke open when Brian walked into a Cadillac dealership in 1986 and handed saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter a note that said "lonely, scared, frightened." The resulting saga was covered in Love & Mercy, so I won't spoil the finer details for anyone who wants to watch it. Suffice it to say, Landy got the boot.
Landy's California license was revoked in 1989, and a 1992 restraining order finally barred Landy from contacting Brian ever again. Landy then continued his practice with licensure in New Mexico and Hawaii until his death from lung cancer in 2006.
Brian's feelings about the whole thing remained complicated to the end. In 2002, he said he didn't regret the experience and credited Landy with saving his life. Later on, he recognized how much damage Landy did.
Eugene Landy - bad guy!!!!!!
BRIAN EATING A SHOE
Let's lighten the mood - here's Brian eating a shoe:
SONGS TO CHECK OUT
Love & Mercy (Live): The performance that plays during the biopic's credits. Really lovely.
The Things We Did Last Summer (TV Performance): This clip was featured in the Endless Harmony doc. The final verse where the band drops out and it's just the boys harmonizing - so tasty.
'Til I Die (Endless Harmony Version): This song was originally on Surf's Up, but they released an alternate version with the doc. Sparse and more haunting compared to the original.
Sail On Sailor: God the chorus is so good.
And that's it for now! Thanks for reading, and look out for a new main-channel video later this week.