Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys, my grandpa’s guilty pleasure during the holiday season, played through the house like a wave of seasonal cheer washing over my family. In contrast to our overwhelming chatter and unwrapping of presents, the sweet harmonies of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause” mingled with the holiday bustle, providing background for our conversations. It is magical. Although this album hails in comparison to the Beach Boys’ other works, the quintet’s festive jingles became my gateway into the group’s eclectic discography, sparking a fascination with their iconic melodies, rhythmic ingenuity, and surf-infused instrumentation. As I explored their sun-drenched ballads, the Beach Boys’ music began to take on a new shape – one built on the dreamlike portrait of endless summers and carefree living; this fantasized “California myth” defines the group’s identity.
Before delving into the Beach Boys’ stunning body of work, it is important to examine the origin of SoCal’s idealized lifestyle. Foundationally, the romanticized portrayals of California began during the Gold Rush, where individuals moved west in prospect of making it rich. Upon the initial discovery at Sutter’s Mill, millions of fortune seekers migrated toward the wealth-abundant state; consequently, this influx of miners cemented an image of opportunity, success, and growth. Thus, although the current dream has adapted to encompass the area’s idyllic weather, the symbol of perfection began almost 200 years ago.
Following this establishment, the Beach Boys fueled California’s western fantasy with their #2 LA hit, “Surfin’.” Encapsulating a summer-driven sunny dream, the song blends bubbly lyrics with jazz-infused harmonics in order to paint a visual picture of beach recreations. The vibrancy of “Surfin’” radiates beyond the barriers of sound – it is breathtaking. Despite having a lifelong fear of water, Brian Wilson, the mastermind behind the group’s melodies, dismantled the ironies intertwined in his work by adopting a persona of a kook. In comparison to the previous track’s garage rock production style, “Misirlou” gives center stage to Carl Wilson’s masterful guitar riffs. Whenever I hear the song, a snapshot of Elvis’ 1961 movie, Blue Hawaii, flashes into my mind – an image of shaka gestures and luau dances which perfectly encapsulates “Misirlou’s” energetic, beachy feeling. Building off of the previous track’s sunny tunes, the Beach Boys released “Lana,” a piano driven number that beautifully pairs with the group’s high-pitched harmonies. In all, these three songs, despite being written in the early stages of their career, introduced the five teenagers to fame and established their beachy persona.
After their initial commercial success, the Beach Boys continued to ride the wave of stardom (pun intended) with their second album, Surfer Girl. While the title track sounds like a slow motion dream sequence, “Catch a Wave” is a celebration of the “coastline craze.” Upon listening to these two ballads, fans are transported to a sandy oasis – where one will likely enter pale and leave a wrinkly, sunburnt thalassophile. Capitalizing on the goldmine of California’s elysian, the Beach Boys stayed true to their name by producing an endless string of sunny anthems – and the public was eating it up. Soon enough, listening to music became the gateway to experiencing the West Coast dream; as Timothy White puts it, “the impossible hope that runs through this story like a river, bending, swerving, and nearly reversing itself over the course of the five generations, is that California could eventually expand to become more than a mere destination, that the land of the sun would finally fulfill its unreal promise” (White 4). Whether it be a result of idyllic weather or carefree lifestyle, Los Angeles was the place to be.
However, this is not to say that they adhered to their whitewater forte. In fact, Brian Wilson detested the peachy-clean image and wanted to produce music that went beyond surfing. As he shifted away from the group’s infantile branding, the maestro painted in layers of sound, creating some of the best music known to date. The result of this redirection was the Beach Boys’ eleventh studio album, Pet Sounds. At first listen, the infantile voices seem to undermine emotional themes, but upon closer examination, the youthful singing enhances heavy-hitting sentiments by adding a timbre of desperation. To kick things off, the band starts the album with their single, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” which exemplifies the amplification expressed earlier and highlights the band’s emotional maturity despite their age – I love it. After this opener, the Beach Boys serenaded listeners with their love anthem, “God Only Knows.” Peaking at number two on the United Kingdom Singles Chart, the song’s French horn instrumentation, which is a mashup between Bauck's contrappressive style and John Sebastion’s melodies, gives centerstage to spiritual devotion. Truthfully, very few songs reach this level of perfection. Finally, if these two masterpieces were not enough, Pet Sounds closes with (my favorite track) “Caroline, No,” a heavy-hitting ballad that sounds like a lamenter’s cry. Overall, this album is nothing short of incredible.
Still, this period of the band’s career was not perfect. Following his departure from touring, Brian experienced a string of delusional outbursts and hallucinations. As a result of his LSD fueled hysteria, the triumphs of musical stardom failed to mask dysfunction in the artist’s life. Furthermore, in addition to Brian’s derailment, the group’s redirection (more specifically, their move away from beach music) was not received well. In fact, despite Pet Sounds overwhelming praise, the album yielded very little monetary profit. These two setbacks expose the band’s underlying dysfunction; therefore, although the Beach Boys’ appear pristine, behind their success stood a disheveled schizophrenic who struggled to keep himself afloat.
During the height of his delusion, Brian and his bandmates began working on their twelfth studio album, SMiLE. Since this musical project was born from the genius’ psychotic visions, the setlist blurs artistic innovation with psychological turmoil, producing a collection of songs that reflect the ambitious yet manic mindset of Brian. This creative storm, unconventional as it may be, gave rise to masterpieces, such as “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains.” While the former’s elysian rhythms are breathtaking, the latter dazzles listeners with woodwind instrumentation; yet, in spite of its beauty, these two poetic soundscapes are built on the fragility of an acid-driven composer. Specifically, in the case of “Good Vibrations,” brilliance collides with insanity when high-pitched buzzes from the Electro-Theremi play jarring noises alongside gentle jaw harp melodies. Moreover, inspiration for the pocket symphony came from a conversation where Brian discussed how dogs can perceive “invisible forces” with vibrations. In light of these eerie details, the American classic may be founded in psychedelia, but it is still phenomenal. When compared to the previous song’s crystallized lunacy, “Heroes and Villains” references manifest destiny and features kazoo-like humming, combining to form an unconventional masterpiece.
Upon completing the column, I am filled with an immense amount of gratitude for the ability to live alongside cathartic musical creations. When looking at the Beach Boys career as a whole, there are periods where the group attempted to distance themselves from their summer repertoire; yet, even with these deviated endeavors, the LA band was permanently characterized by the “California myth.” All periods, no matter its association to bubbly, beach-driven ballads, stand as a testament to the beauty of musical expression. Finally, while I am taking the time to voice my gratitude, I would like to finish this paper by acknowledging the media which fueled my research. The accumulated information above was found from different online and physical sources, such as, but not limited to, documentaries, video essays, books, and articles. Through the examination of these pieces, I was able to learn about the social and historical context that make up the Beach Boys’ work. Each source provided vital information, so, in light of their contributions, I am thankful to have gotten the opportunity to discover new Beach Boys media.
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