New Essays on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys

A swift look has proven intriguing. This demands my concerted attention.

Not yet. Duly linked to rectify this error!

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. 

   

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.