I began listening to The Beach Boys out of necessity really... ran out of Beatles songs to listen to.
I guess you could say I'm a 1st generation fan since I discovered The Beach Boys just last year - actually, 'rediscovered' might be a better word since everyone has at least heard of The Beach Boys in one form or another. The marketing for Feel Flows certainly caught my attention. A few videos on YouTube aided me in this 'rediscovery' as well.
I wasn't lucky enough to have grown up with their music, beyond a few of the hit singles (Kokomo, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, I Can Hear Music, Surfin' USA, California Girls, I Get Around, Sloop John B, Barbara Ann, Wouldn't It Be Nice and Fun, Fun, Fun).
Thanks to Wes Anderson and his 2009 film,
Fantastic Mr. Fox, I was introduced to Heroes and Villains, and the lesser known Old Man River.
There was something almost magical hearing those songs for the first time. I treasure those moments to this day.
First albums I listened to were Pet Sounds, Wild Honey and Feel Flows, believe it or not.
When my passion for The Beach Boys really began to take off, I wanted to know more about this band - I wanted to know their story. Rather foolishly, I watched Love and Mercy assuming that it was an unbiased account of The Beach Boys' story. Oh, how wrong I was. When I came to this realisation, it only fueled my interest for the group, and made me want to know more.
I've been on this Beach Boy journey for nearly a year now, and I don't intend to stop anytime soon.
Thanks for reading this far, hope this was a good introduction!