bookofb
Grommet
Posts: 34
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Post by bookofb on Nov 15, 2023 17:08:54 GMT -5
I have some heretofore uncirculated/unpublished writing on the subject of Brian and the Beach Boys (mostly Brian) that's been sitting around for a while. Maybe a year or two ago, I had the idea of posting some of this material on the web somewhere, and I'm finally getting around to it.
I've used the Substack platform as means to create an internet "publication" which is called A Book of Brian. To access it, you can click on this link:
Or if that doesn't work, type "bookofbrian [dot] substack [dot] com" into your address bar, and that should get you there.
For more information, see the site - in particular a Q & A that should be visible right there on the homepage.
This is a work-in-progress, I have no idea how long it'll last for, but I hope that serious Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fans get something out of it.
Thanks everyone, and happy reading
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Post by AGD on Nov 16, 2023 17:28:25 GMT -5
A swift look has proven intriguing. This demands my concerted attention.
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Post by jds on Nov 23, 2023 9:09:49 GMT -5
Good read, though I think defining Murry's feelings towards Brian as "sulfurous hate" is a fundamental misstep and reasserts a tawdry and traumatic superhero origin story over the more nuanced picture of Murry and Brian's relationship that's developed.
Looking forward to more entries.
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bookofb
Grommet
Posts: 34
Likes: 33
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Post by bookofb on Nov 24, 2023 14:40:50 GMT -5
Good read, though I think defining Murry's feelings towards Brian as "sulfurous hate" is a fundamental misstep and reasserts a tawdry and traumatic superhero origin story over the more nuanced picture of Murry and Brian's relationship that's developed. Looking forward to more entries. Thanks for commenting and for saying that you're looking forward to more. I agree with you, partially, regarding the quoted phrasing. "Sulfurous" is bad writing. "Hate," unfortunately is correct in my opinion. I wish I could say otherwise. Spoiler alert: that word will continue to pop up from time to time. (Both Brian and Dennis have at times used the word "hate" (or a variation of it) in reference to their father.) For what it's worth (not much) it's not fun to think and write about this stuff. David Leaf said that in his 1978 book (the preface) and he said it for good reason.
You are correct to think in terms of "fundamental missteps." You're right to recognize that how one thinks about the family is fundamental to how one comes to eventually understand later events in Beach Boys history. Although I disagree that I'm the one who's taking the misstep with respect to Murry. Is there a "factual" answer to how to understand Murry and the family? I don't think so. All I'm doing here is giving my opinion of it based on what I've read, heard and seen. What am doing is trying to correct what I believe are the fundamental missteps (misinterpretations) of Brian's and the Beach Boys' story.
I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I'm not doing this for its own sake or to bash Murry for easy points. My main interest is Smile. But I found that what I want to say about Smile will not make any sense unless we understand Brian's life. So I found that I had to go back to the beginning and start all over again and tell the story the way I believe it should be told. If, by the time we reach 1964 - the firing of Murry and Brian's breakdown at the end of that year - a reader is exhausted with Murry, feeling brutalized, then I've done my job, because then you're getting into Brian's skin, and dealing with the things he had to deal with all his life.
No sarcasm or snark intended, but Murry partisans are not going to like what's coming for the next several posts or more.
Thanks to anybody reading this who's taken the time to read my stuff.
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Post by AGD on Apr 6, 2024 6:23:46 GMT -5
Hopefully, like me, you've all been keeping up with this absorbing series of essays. Simply put, it's given me a new perspective on the Brian-Murry dynamic. Can't reccommend this enough.
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Post by jk on Apr 6, 2024 7:34:06 GMT -5
Hopefully, like me, you've all been keeping up with this absorbing series of essays. Simply put, it's given me a new perspective on the Brian-Murry dynamic. Can't reccommend this enough. Not yet. Duly linked to rectify this error!
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bookofb
Grommet
Posts: 34
Likes: 33
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Post by bookofb on Apr 6, 2024 20:59:47 GMT -5
Hopefully, like me, you've all been keeping up with this absorbing series of essays. Simply put, it's given me a new perspective on the Brian-Murry dynamic. Can't reccommend this enough. Thanks for the bump and the kind words; they are appreciated
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Post by filledeplage on Apr 7, 2024 10:11:36 GMT -5
This whole "study of Brian" has taken on a life of its own. You can't take a walk in someone's head.
For several decades, I taught young children (as young as 3 1/2) and just via observation, and how the kids interacted with each other, I could pick out the future axe murders as well as the future judges who would decide their fate, based on a couple of factors. One was a lack of remorse, which indicated some really bad, deep-seated issues that I would not ever be able to fix. That said, Brian appears to have had the most normal and most complete education among the three brothers. For starters, Brian finished high school and had extra curricula activities and attended some college. If he was not socially "normal" and compliant with the rules-following, that would never have happened. That does not look like a damaged individual at that point, regardless of the home life. It looks like high-functioning despite those factors.
The tall kids were always placed at the back of the classroom, so the other kids would not be forced to see over the heads of the tall kids. Brian had a serious hearing deficit. He would have to pay very close attention to the teacher with a hearing deficit and over the heads of the other kids and other distracting noises. Does anyone know much about that at that time? Was he disciplined in school? We never hear of that stuff. So, probably not. But, Brian made it! And unremarkably!
Brian was able to function, and no coach would have put up with a pain-in-the-neck, so, at least up to that 18 year old mark, he had to have had acceptable social skills. He did what the other kids his age did. Do some issues go back to childhood? Yes, probably. But, you have to look at a line of demarcation and the "broken window in his life." I'm with Mr. Desper on this one. I'd call that a chemical (brain) injury, in a fixed window-of-time. What/who fractured that picture? And "putting stuff in the box" - referred to kind of pejoratively, helps people to function in the here-and-now, which lets people move forward. It is how homeless addicts engage in running programs helping to rebuild damaged brain areas. I know of one program doing very well in my area. How? Why? They have to function in the real world regardless of their flawed pasts. That is putting stuff in-a-box. It is a tool to function and move forward.
Smile has to be the most "overthought" and "brow-beaten" project ever. It gave me a 37 year headache, waiting for it to be released. I wouldn't minimize what every other influence or force working against not just Brian, but the whole band at that time.
The first 18 years in Brian's life, his school life, his sports life, are his foundation. Brian apparently functioned well as an athlete, which means following directions, showing up for practice before and after school, taking instruction from coaches, and teamwork with the rest of the kids. He played more than one sport. That makes for what teachers always called "college material." It is an indicator of being well-rounded and not just a one dimensional bookworm. Brian talked about being a baseball player. Multiple future goals are indicators of high function and good social interaction. Brian was goal-oriented. Education was far more rigorous in the 50s and probably equivalent to at least 2 years of college now. Brian graduated.
We are going to learn a lot, and very soon, about the criminality in the music industry and how lives were changed forever as a result of drugs given almost involuntarily to musicians. We may never know the extent of ruined lives. And the miracle of how some managed to survive. Brian is one of those survivors. But that's a teacher perspective. We can tell a lot about someone through the lens of a school history including extracurricular activities.
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Post by Autotune on Apr 7, 2024 10:24:14 GMT -5
Fascinating read!
Is Jacob Hobbsen a pseudonym?
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Post by Emdeeh on Apr 7, 2024 10:49:07 GMT -5
Smile has to be the most "overthought" and "brow-beaten" project ever. It gave me a 37 year headache, waiting for it to be released. I wouldn't minimize what every other influence or force working against not just Brian, but the whole band was at that time. I agree. I love Smile and am delighted that it has been released and a "finished" version exists. But I've never been interested in assembling my own version or all the "what-ifs, etc. -- and that's why I rarely participate in Smile discussions. I know a lot of folks here feel differently, which is fine.
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Post by jk on Apr 7, 2024 16:36:48 GMT -5
It certainly is, at least what I've read so far. It joins the two other series I enjoy following, Pet Squares and (in large measure) Beach Boys Talk. (With apologies to all the others.) I look forward to reading a post or two a day. With thanks to AGD for the wake-up call.
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