The Band that Betrayed America

With anthems like Surfing USA and California Girls, the Beach Boys wrapped themselves in the American flag to an extent few rock bands since then have cared to or dared to.

Yet if, as some of you believe, American industry was deliberately destroyed after the Second World War by a conspiracy of rich international financiers, then the Beach Boys were among the first entertainers to take the conspirators' dollar:

Apart from singing the praises of the Japanese motors that would eventually swamp and smother Detroit, they were also keen to tell car buyers that a souped-up 1932 Model B Ford would 'walk a (1960s) Thunderbird like it's standing still' — plainly insinuating that Detroit didn't make 'em like it used to.

And even as the civil rights movement was finally winning for black Americans the rights they'd been long denied, the Beach Boys were still happy to exploit the fact that black artists couldn't get played on most white radio stations (which had the biggest audiences) by blatantly ripping off Chuck Berry.


They even ripped off the greatest guitar intro ever!


It was a miracle that Brian Wilson's shining talent (L.A. session musicians, seasoned old pros, used to call him 'the genius kid') survived as long as it did...

...(you can see some of that on display here)...

...but the Beach Boys machine, and the band members who liked riding the gravy train (take a bow, bald man in a hat) eventually chewed him up and spat him out. We all know what happened to him...

Not going to be telling any tales out of school, is he? Not any time soon, poor fellow.

What's with the audience in the Chuck Berry video? They must be white, and the first time they ever heard good music.

TheComte
What's with the audience in the Chuck Berry video? They must be white, and the first time they ever heard good music.

Your right, the are both white and it probably was their first time hearing something like that.
If I said "they must be black" then I get called a racist by the way.

As for the beach boys, I guess they were breaking the ice but I cant stand listening to them. Alot of those bands were just tools of corporations anyways.

reply to post by tehdouglas


I call your "race card" and raise "left wing conspiracy."

Take that!

reply to post by Astyanax


You say that the Beach Boys betrayed America, and your examples are compelling. However, have you considered the amount of money that they made for the United States?

Apart from the enormous number of surf bums that have flocked stateside over the years, drawn by the pleasant images bought to mind by tunes like Surfin USA and the like, they have also paid considerable tax to the US government at times in their lives. And although I have glazed over it somewhat, their contribution to tourism in the USA cannot be over looked.

Also, it must be said that some of the members of the band have kept hardworking drug dealers in relative comfort in times past!

IMO some of the songs by the Beach Boys were pure musical genius.
Also they were from the mid west and weren't into surfing.

In addition, Kokomo isn't an island in the Florida keys, it's a town in Indiana.

I'm not sure about their politics though, but betray America? totally not sure about that.

reply to post by Astyanax


Greetings,

Oh, I thought this was gonna be a thread on U2 and Bono...oops.
But seriously now, what do you propose to do about it anyways?
If you just take away Brian's meds, he won't even know what planet he's on...

Orderly: "Mister Wilson...what are you doing...you're not supposed to be up there?"
Brian: "I'M BATMAN!!!"

Are any of the others even still alive?
I don't really think we have to worry about sealing the borders up for this one fellas.
We'll just take away those little senior citizen scooters they ride around on and make them stand in a corner...that should about cover it:

Orderly: "Now, you just stand there and think about what you've done."
Brian: "Can I have another Depends...this one is full."
Orderly: "No."

-Amitaba-

reply to post by Astyanax


I'll acknowledge that Brian Wilson was very talented and creative. Even the Stones and the Beatles gave him his due.
I never really liked the Beach Boys' music. I totally love what I consider real surf music, like The Ventures, The Astronauts, and Dick Dale.


Walk Dont Run..The Ventures


Baja..The Astronauts


Pipeline...The Chantays


Out of Limits...The Markettes

Excellent thread. Maybe they were groomed to do just such a thing?

I'm gonna just S&F and refrain from much comment because when I start talking about this subject I get all weird, and weirded out, and go into the Manson family and some of the more intriguing synchronicities from the flawed-but on-to-something Laurel Canyon Conspiracy stuff.

I was just thinking about the Beach Boys and some of these topics today when the Jimmy Buffet channel on Sirius played Barbara Ann...

reply to post by The GUT


Dobar Dan,

I can't speak for the others but I for one would love to hear a little weirdness.

-Amitaba-

I love The Beach Boys, And I dont really see how they "betrayed" America, All they really did was sing about cars, girls, surfing and occasionally staying true to your school... They're one of the bigger influences on my own music today! (via the awesome band The Descendents)

reply to post by Astyanax


I thought this was going to be a rant about that stupid stunt the Dixie Chicks pulled a few years back, but was pleasantly surprised. Interesting theory, worth looking into a bit later!

Also, I'm glad someone brought up the whole Manson connection.....

Interesting thread my man/woman. (my woman??? sometimes it cramps my style to have to refrain from assuming gender. All ladies should have an avatar or username reflecting their desire to be recognised as such...but who am I kidding? As if we could ever impose our will on the strong, intelligent ladies of ATS! )

I do believe music was recognized and utilized early as a...guiding hand amongst the populous.

I do not have much else to say about this, other than "I Get Around" is the best Beach Boys song. It was featured in the super awesome 80s film "Flight of the Navigator". It's about a UFO. *me gusta*

reply to post by 3n19m470

Interesting thread my man/woman. (my woman???)

Do only girls listen to the Beach Boys, then?

Looks like something more than surf's up around here...

Googling my username will save you a cold shower.

reply to post by bikeage


I like some of their later music, once Brian started working with his original musical ideas instead of derivative R&B and rock 'n' roll tropes. I don't think I've listened to anything later than Surf's Up, apart from the odd hit single like 'Cottonfields', which didn't encourage me to check their albums out.

Anyway, I have to confess this thread was conceived and produced in a lighthearted spirit. More an excuse to post some videos of the Beach Boys looking silly (and Brian looking like the musical maestro and master of the recording studio he was) than anything else. Art was definitely a propaganda tool during the Cold War — check out the story of Encounter magazine, which had everyone from Evelyn Waugh to Arthur Koestler to Karl Popper contribute to it, and it was edited by Stephen Spender — most of whom were horrified to discover later that it was secretly funded by the CIA. I'm sure there are a few outfits in the music industry that are funded by people who want to influence public opinion. And back in the recent heyday of the record companies, artists were just product to be sold to anybody, so it probably wasn't that hard to do. It was a corrupt business anyway; still is, I reckon. The Beach Boys were no worse (and evidently no better) than many others.

Still, their music has lasted (some of it, anyway) and they have been, as someone pointed out, influential.

Astyanax
I like some of their later music, once Brian started working with his original musical ideas instead of derivative R&B and rock 'n' roll tropes. I don't think I've listened to anything later than Surf's Up, apart from the odd hit single like 'Cottonfields', which didn't encourage me to check their albums out.

Namasute,

While I prefered their early work, I was always partial to "Sail on Sailor"...

www.youtube.com...

True, it was a step away from the typical surf sound they were famous for but a good song is a good song none the less.

-Amitaba-

reply to post by ColeYounger

I never really liked the Beach Boys' music. I totally love what I consider real surf music, like The Ventures, The Astronauts, and Dick Dale.

They're very different kinds of music, aren't they? The Beach Boys were primarily a vocal outfit, while the bands you mention were instrumental outfits featuring lots of reverb-drenched Fender guitar sounds.

The reverb setting on the lead guitar in that Astronauts song is so extreme you hear more spring crash than note!

MichiganSwampBuck
IMO some of the songs by the Beach Boys were pure musical genius.
Also they were from the mid west and weren't into surfing.

In addition, Kokomo isn't an island in the Florida keys, it's a town in Indiana.

I'm not sure about their politics though, but betray America? totally not sure about that.

edit on 12-10-2013 by MichiganSwampBuck because: typo

Um, sorry to break this to you, but the Beach Boys were in no way way, shape or form from the mid west.

en.wikipedia.org...

The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961.

Also, Dennis Wilson was a surfer, but none of the other members did.

You are however completely correct regarding the location of Kokomo.

reply to post by bikeage


You took the words out of my mouth.

The Beach Boys were a great outfit and produced gorgeous music that I still listen to on occasion...really encapsulates the joie de vivre of being a Californian teenager in the early 60s...

Not just purveyors of pleasing candy pop, they were real pioneers too - Pet Sounds has been cited by Lennon and McCartney as a strong influence on later Beatles albums, particularly Sergeant Pepper's.

Like the OP admitted, this thread wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.