2B - Thursday, November 1, 2007

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

THE :'A';T'.THE BEACH BOYS:'TODAY!' (1965)
The great album that
preceded 'Pet ounds'

REDUCTIVE REASONING
Picking one and one apart.

By DAVID WATNICK
Daily Arts Writer
By the end of 1964, things were
moving fast for The Beach Boys.
The past year had seen three
(three!) albums and endless tour-
ing, and the upcoming record
demanded more. Despite outra-
geous expectations, 22-year-old
Brian Wilson, responsible for
writing, arranging and produc-
ing nearly all the material for
America's most popular banl,
still harbored creative ambitions
of a huge magnitude.
It was against this frenzied
backdrop Wilson famously decid-
ed to quit touring and focus on
the studio. It should have been no
shock the man who wrote "In My
Room" abandoned performing
surf rock for crazed teenybop-
pers in favor.of committing mas-
terpieces to tape. The decision
would pay massive artistic divi-
dends, displayed almost imme-
diately in March 1965 when The
Beach Boys' Today! hit record
store shelves.
Wilson had spoken for years
about his infatuation with recre-
ating Phil Spector's wall of sound
production, and this was the
first instance his music was fully
expanded with Spector's momen-
tous treatment. Side one show-
cases The Beach Boys' trademark
rock'n'roll revitalized inthe grip-
ping new sound.
Bookends "Do You Wanna
Dance?" and "Dance, Dance,
Dance" feature harmony-inflated
choruses with voices so big they
feel like they could blow over a
brick house. Anchored by Los
Angeles's famed Wrecking Crew
studiomusicians,the groupswept
in with power unprecedented for
songs with such light-hearted
content and accessible melodies.

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Though lackingthe excitement orchestral ambience it constructs
of the familiar single version, the would have been worthy of the
original "Help Me, Rhonda" fea- forthcoming PetSounds.
tures richer texture. Rhythm Standard for The Beach Boys,
guitarist Al Jardine takes full the vocals throughout are infalli-
advantage of a rare lead vocal ble. Wilson's softvoice on "Please
turn, delivering one of Wilson's Let Me Wonder," unlike any
mostenduringmelodieswithper- he'd sung with before or since,
fect intonation. Wilson's melodic is extremely emotional. "She
bass lines, which would soon Knows Me Too Well" and "Kiss
become a hallmark of '66's Pet Me Baby," in which he slides
Sounds, foreshadow their value seamlessly between his tenor and
more than a year in advance. falsetto, might be his most tech-
nically impressive vocal perfor-
mances ever.
Dennis Wilson brings exuber-
W ilson and the ance to "Do You Wanna Dance?"
and earthy reality to "In the Back
w all of sound: of My Mind" that wouldn't have
been possible from the immacu-
beautiful. late voices of-his brothers. Mike
Love's contained narrative style
works perfectly on first side
hits "Dance, Dange, Dance" and.
A tight schedule necessitated "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"
a brisk 12-day recording session and on bridges all over side two.
in January, but Wilson still found He also brings a strong baritone
himself with a bit more free time to hold up the harmonies and
than usual, which he spent writ- provide counterpoint to Brian's
ing music and indulging in sub- falsetto.
stances for the first time. And Today!'s one crime is "Bull
somewhere, a new avenue opened Sessions with 'Big Daddy,' " a
in his brain. mindless clip of studio banter
"Please Let Me Wonder" and ostensibly tacked onto the end of
"Kiss Me Baby" offer a vastly the disc to meet the record com-
matured degree of sophistication pany's expectation of 12 tracks.
and production, asserting that But if regarded as a reference
this, not theupcoming"California point of the industry's demands
Girls," isthe true site of the band's of the era, the track speaks vol-
artistic ignition. Their over- umes to the accomplishments of
whelming cascades of harmony the album.
pour in unison with their emo- Today! might be a stepping
tional waves, pulsing alongside stone toward magnum opus Pet
the lyrical content. Progressive Sounds, but don't be fooled: It's a
percussion and horns articulate consummate artistic statement,
the sways, and unorthodox chord not a work in progress. The surf-
changes complete the marriage boards and hotrods had been left
of music and message. The jazzy behind, but Today! is where Brian
"In the Back of My Mind" affords Wilson and The Beach Boys
even more space in the mix for started waxing down and rev-
the Wrecking Crew, and the vingtheir engines.


WEEK IN REVIEW
® KIM KARDASHIAN stars
in Playboy Magazine's Christ-
mas 2007 issue. They couldn't
even wait till after Halloween!
* Lounge singer and com-
mercial personality ROBERT
GOULET (right) passed away
Tuesday. Though he can no
longer mess with our stuff, he
will be missed. RIP. * COOLIO
is getting his own unscripted
reality TV show on Oxygen.
What year is it?@" What
happens when you combine
Google Maps and Wikipedia?
WIKIMAPIA, of course. The
creators are attempting the
map the entire universe. Man-
hattanites are confused.

The Daily Arts guide to the
hst upcoming events
Today 11.1.07
Justin Bua: The Identities
and Ideologies of Hip Hop
(The Beat of Urban Art)
6:45 p.m.
Fee
At the Biomedical Science Research
Building
Steven Millhouse: The
Fascination of the Miniture
5 p.m.
ree
Rackham Ampitheatre
The Bluehouse
8 p.m.
$15/25
At The Ark
Elevation Tour
10:30 p.m.
$7/$10( 18'
At the Blind Pig
Tomorrow 11.2.07
Dancing with the Make-a-
Wish Star
30 p.m.
$75
At the Michigan Theater
Comedians of Comedy
8 p.m.
$20/$22 (18+)
At the Blind Pig
Contemporary Jewelry:
Glass and Sterling Silver by
Kristin Perkins
Through Dec.12
Free
At the University Hospital, Main Lobby
Saturday 11.3.07
Fabric and Photos:
Photographic Quilts by
Mary Andrews
Through Dec.12
Free
At the University Hospital
Comprehensve CancerCenter
Please send all press releases
and event information to
artspage@michigandailycom.
TV
From page 1B
"GOLDEN GIRLS"
These are the horniest ladies
you will ever meet - and that's a
good thing. Over-the-top libidos
are more interesting to watch
when they belong to elderly wid-
ows ipstead the run-of-the-mill
skank on MTV. The humor in
the series isn't bad, especially
when compared to the contrived
"funny, sexy jokes on a series
like "Grey's Anatomy." "Golden
Girls" pulls off the jokes without
even trying.Yes, there isthe main
theme of old-lady friendship
which might be lame to somebut
try to see it for what it really is
- wise-cracking ladies and domi-
nant sexual innuendoes.
"UGLY BETTY"
"Ugly Betty" centers on the
hectic world of a Vogue-esque
fashion magazine. The dialogue
is sharp; the one-liners are quot-
able. With complex plotlines easy
tocth u n o'lb rw

into the series and its characters
immediately. Don't be ashamed:
At least you're not watching
"America's Next Top Model."
"TOP CHEF"
"Top Chef" is on the border
of female-centric television but
is still ignored by a number of
men solely because of the show's
subject. But any man who rejects
cooking on the basis of gender
roles is a schmuck. The contes-
tants on "Top Chef" are astonish-
ingly talented at their craft, and
you'll likely learn a thing or two
about preparing something other
than Hot Pockets.

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6

"THE VIEW"
The cackling ladies on "The
View" are annoying - there's no
denying that. But their banter is
not only entertaining, it's often
spontaneously aggressive. The
guests on "The View" are more
fluff than anything, but if you
have nothing to do around 11 a.m.
on a weekday, spend an hour with
"Babwa" Walters, free of shame.
Refusing to watch shows
on account of archaic gender
boundaries says a lot more about
someone's character than simply
enjoying them for what they're
worth. Pick up the remote and
turnonBravo instead of watching
the same "Family Guy" rerun for
the third time this week. And if
anyone questions ydu, challenge
them to an arm-wrestling contest
and win while singing the "Gold-
en Girls"theme song. It's your life
- watch what you want.


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