I Will Follow You Into The Dark

I have this theory, which I admit has some big holes in it, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I think a lot of people aren't really going to agree with or like this theory because it might be a little too honest, but whatever. Go ahead and disagree. You have my permission. I will not, however, rebut any arguments because I don't really think the theory is solid enough at the moment...Anyway...

I think the majority of us have one person in our lives whose presence can totally and completely fuck our whole world up. Now, I don't mean this in necessarily a positive or negative sort of fucking up; it could go either way. I am of course speaking of someone who you would have romantic feelings towards. This is a person who could disappear for a decade only to return and make you feel all sorts of confused, because after all, you've spent a lot of energy trying to deal with the absence and as far as you thought you were pretty damn successful. This is a person you could almost forget but as soon as you saw her/him everything just came pouring right back. This is a person who can turn everything upside down, make you want to forget everything you've worked for, make you want to abandon everything you have...just for the shot at maybe keeping this person present.

I also think that we are this person for someone else. You have the ability to totally and completely (how redundant) fuck up someone's world. You may even be this person for multiple people, but you only really have one (and maybe others who come close).

I don't think a high percentage of us end up with this person. That might be because it isn't necessarily true that this person would be the best person to be with and that you'd have a great relationship with her/him. Also, most of the feelings towards this person are purely passion driven, and while passion is a solid aspect of a good relationship it is not by any means an adequate singular foundation for one.

Still, wouldn't it be great if we could be with this person? I mean, what if there was more between the two of you than just the passion? What if you were each others person? That would be pretty okay too (cool points to ANYONE who got that!!).

Vera, Chuck and Dave

Here's the thing about The Beatles. You could make a decent argument for any of their albums to be considered their best, and that's part of what makes them so great. That being said I totally understand why people consider Sgt. Peppers the Beatles' best album and why others, according to Rolling Stone mag, even consider it the best rock album of all time. I, however, wouldn't put it on the top of either one of those lists, but it'd still be high up there.

So what makes Sgt. Peppers so great? Peppers was the Beatles at their most daring and they pulled it off so well. You can listen to Peppers and hear all the work that the four brits put into the work and you just know George Martin was loving every bit of it. It is a solid album all the way through with some moments that not only stood out but killed any other sort of noise that you thought was decent. It is a great album. There's no question to that, and while I disagree with its placement on the list I can't really argue against it.

Highlighted Songs:

She's Leaving Home - John and Paul were getting some slack by some of their artsy friends that they didn't do a good job of telling complete stories. Paul tried to tackle that here with a story of a girl running away from home and into the world. Beautiful song.

Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite - Only John Lennon could be inspired to write an entire song based off of a circus poster.

Within You Without You - George was way into Ravi Shankar (Nora Jones' dad) and Indian music. He tried take that influence into his music. It worked.

When I'm Sixty-Four - Fun song. Sometimes Paul tries these fun songs and they don't quite work out as well as he'd like. This one totally worked.

A Day In The Life - My personal favorite Beatles' song. Everything about the song is epic. Although the lyrics essentially mean nothing you still feel it. And that is the mark of some good music. Great song. Almost every band since has tried to write their own A Day In The Life and most suck it up.

Anyway, that's it. Kind of forced. Oh well. Like I said, I have some stuff brewing in me so I'll be back shortly.

The Luckiest Dreamers Who Never Quit Dreaming

(Cool points to anybody who knows the subject line)

Well, I've been away for a while, but after this Thursday I intend on getting back to a normal posting pace. I have a lot I've been wanting to write about lately but no time to get to it. I will return with the conclusion of the best albums series. In the meantime...

I think it's fair to say that sometimes we receive things we want too early. Of course, we are way to selfish and impatient to ever turn away something we want, even with the knowledge that we aren't quite ready to deal with it, or that timing just isn't quite right. Still, is it really all that impossible for us to hold back? Can we put a cap on our desire? Can we be confident that the timing will be right some day and that the desired will still be around once it is? The answer: We have to be. And that's something I think you learn with age. As a matter of fact it's one of those lessons your folks and teachers are constantly trying to impress into your character, but you always shake it off. That is, until you are faced with the quandary many times over. Because you will let the desire take over, and then you'll do it again.

And it'll keep going to shit. It is inevitable. But we will learn. On our own (If I was you and you were me, you'd wanna be winning....extra cool points to anyone who just got that).

I guess what I'm trying to say is, we are all going to go through times when we grab at what we want before we should really have it. The trick is to learn from these moments how to better gauge the timing and to not be so susceptible to our irrational impatient desires. After all, everything great is worth the wait. At least it seems that way so far. Give me a few years.

What's It All About

So I’m just going to dive right into this…

Wouldn’t It Be Nice – This is a classic song. Chances are if you aren’t too familiar with the Beach Boys you at least know this song among others. One of my favorite lyrics to the song is “You know it seems the more we talk about it/ It only makes it worse to live without it/ but let’s talk about it.” This totally captures being young and in love, wanting more than you can have and realizing the closest you can get to it is by dreaming about it.

You Still Believe In Me – Yet another wonderful feeling Wilson and Asher captured. That is, the feeling of knowing that you don’t exactly deserve the loyalty of somebody, yet for some reason you can’t quite understand this person still believes in you. At one point or another I think we all have this feeling. Brian’s voice in this song is just awesome.

That’s Not Me – The feeling of going out to find yourself and realizing that the you that you were looking for was with her after all.

Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulders) – The title really says it all, but seriously, without the lyrics you still get the feeling. That is what is so great about Brian.

I’m Waiting For The Day – Ah this used to be one of my theme songs. It’s about starting something with a girl who just ended a heavy relationship with another guy. There’s so much longing in the song yet at the same time it’s optimistic.

Let’s Go Away For Awhile – Okay.

Sloop John B – If you want to hear a song that shows just how well the Beach Boys sing together listen to this one.

God Only Knows – One of the greatest love songs of all time. Carl Wilson sung this song and he did so beautifully. Carl always talked about how blessed he felt that Brian let him sing this one. One of the most beautiful moments in music is the finish to this song.

I Know There’s An Answer – This song was supposed to be about how people get nuts over LSD.

Here Today – This is a classic feeling of trying to warn your ex’s new guy that this chick could be trouble.

I Just Wasn’t Made For These Time – This is the song that defines Pet Sounds. The title tells you exactly what it is about. The lyrics follow through. “The say I’ve got brains but they aint doing me no good/ I wish they would” and “Where can I turn when my fair-weather friends cop out/ what’s it all about” And singing over “Sometimes I feel very sad” is another example of how Brian likes to layer vocals to make an amazing sound.

Pet Sounds – arfff arrff
Caroline No – This one is about seeing a girl you used to idolize and realizing she isn’t as great as you remember. We’ve all experienced this.

Anyway, that’s it. I can’t really begin to explain how much I love this album, but I do. It is the best album of all time.