The second salient feature of power pop, along with its avowed status as a kind of fandom, is that it is happy music—eminently “poppy”—which depends for its power on the cryptic presence, in a lyric or a chord change or a bit of upside-down vocal harmony, of sadness, yearning, even despair. This strand of pop darkness can be found right off the bat, in the founding documents of the genre, like The Who’s “Pictures of Lily,” in whose final stanza the song’s narrator discovers that his pinup dream girl has “been dead since 1929,” or The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” where the sadness and yearning are smuggled into the melody, the harmonies, the lyrics, and even the title, which marks the broken place, the gap between the wish and the world. True power pop is rueful and celebratory at the same time, glorifying desire and frustration, which is why so many power-pop songs concern themselves with the subject of Tonight, or Tomorrow Night, or Saturday Night, or some other night that will only be perfect for as long as it can be deferred. Depression stalks the genre. … All the clouds of power pop are worn inside out to show the silver lining.
Michael Chabon, “Tragic Magic: Reflections on Power Pop”
Some say that the Greeks coined the term ‘barbarian’ because foreigners who didn’t speak Greek sounded like they were saying ‘bar bar bar.’
Theory: what if the first ‘barbarians’ that the Greeks happened upon were simply the Beach Boys in a brief yet dramatic time slip, performing their hit tune “Barbara Ann.” Sample lyrics: “Bar bar bar, bar, Barbara Ann. Bar bar bar, bar Barbara Ann…”
It wouldn’t be TERRIBLY improbable. After all, they get around.
An associate of mine posits that the Beach Boys were the Sea Peoples who caused the collapse of the Bronze Age
We are stoked to share the music video for “River Days,” the second track off of Minor Poet’s newly released album, And How! Based out of Richmond, Virginia, the band’s influences range from The Beach BoystoMagnetic Fields to create a psych pop sound that complements their existential lyricism. [Read more]
Sending healing thoughts and good vibrations to Brian Wilson, who is preparing to go under the knife to relieve ongoing back pain. Unfortunately, the forthcoming surgery means that Brian has to postpone his concerts for the month of May.
Let’s all keep Brian in our thoughts and prayers, and remain optimistic that he is back on stage very soon!
Janelle Monáe recruited stars from the worlds of indie (Grimes) and hip-hop (Pharrell) to contribute to her new album Dirty Computer. But the very first collaborator that appears on the LP is none other than Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
“Do you know how much of an honor it is to have him on [the title track]?” she tells Rolling Stone. “I am such a Beach Boys fan.”
Wow, it certainly has been a long time, hasn’t it?
I’m posting to tell whoever’s out there that I did something that I did not think I would ever do: I finished “I’ll Love Her Still”!
This past year was incredibly personally difficult for me- to make a very long story short, my father passed away in November 2021, and the entire year leading up to that point was splitting time between grad school, work, and taking care of him in his final months. Those circumstances robbed me of creative energy (and fandom energy in general), so I let one of my proudest accomplishments collect dust. Now, though, I want to finish what I started. And last night, three YEARS after I first had the idea for this story, I finally finished it.
With this, though, I’m realizing that my time on Tumblr is passing me by. I’m going to be 25 this year, and I’m so glad that I have this time capsule of my early adulthood preserved. But that’s what I think it needs to be for me now- a time capsule. I’m going to post the final two parts of “I’ll Love Her Still”, and then I will be moving on to another fanfiction forum (probably AO3).
I am so grateful to this dumpster fire of a website. It gave me some of my most formative experiences as a young woman, even before I had an account. From staying up until the wee hours of the morning reading One Direction imagines to actually finishing my 35K Queen masterpiece (har har), Tumblr has always been there. And it will always have a place in my heart ❤️
i thoroughly enjoy the fact that 1969 was simultaneously the year that carl wilson was at his SEXIEST and also the year that mike love was at his MOST HOMELESS-SQUATTER- LIVING IN THE MOUNTAINS-looking
balance people, balance
I think we call that “cosmic justice” in these parts
