Tuesday, April 12, 2016

"So many things that are painful"

We've had the biopic (which I still haven't seen) - now for the autobiography. I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir (created in collaboration with a ghostwriter) will be published in October. It'll be interesting to see how exactly the man himself paints what has been an extremely colourful life - and how much it tallies with Nick Kent's lengthy portrait of him in The Dark Stuff.

Meanwhile, to mark the 50th birthday of Pet Sounds, Pitchfork have compiled the thoughts of a number of musicians on Wilson's extraordinary magnum opus, including Ronnie Spector, Sean Lennon, Bobby Gillespie and members of Talking Heads, Matmos, Mogwai, Tortoise and Yo La Tengo. Perhaps the most curious perspective on the album is that of Deftones' Stephen Carpenter: "What I love most about Pet Sounds is how much it influenced Mr Bungle's California record. I feel it's the same album ultimately - I mean, that's the true California sound right there. I just love Mr Bungle and how they can go from beauty to straight-bust-your-face-open. I can only imagine what the Beach Boys would have done if they had some really high-gain amps and just crushed you."

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