ALBUMS YOU SHOULD TOTALLY LISTEN TO #1: PET SOUNDS
I was reading Brian Wilson’s memoir recently and there is a part he writes in there about how anxiety and creativity are linked. Essentially, how you can worry ideas and songs into existence from nothing, just like how we can worry about things that we don’t really need to worry about. This got me thinking about the first time I listened to the album “Pet Sounds” in full. Released in 1966, this album is a favorite amongst fans and critics alike, and is widely considered one of the greatest pop records ever made, with the Beatles citing it as the main inspiration for expanding their sound on “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. I had heard the Beach Boys growing up as a Beatles fan, but never really understood it. Always thought it was all just happy songs about surfing and cars and whatnot. But Pet Sounds would come back to me at a formative time in my life, and to this day, is one of my favorite albums of all time.
There I was, sitting at my desktop computer, winter of 2016 listening to Pet Sounds. I was 19 going on 20, had moved out of my parents’ house that summer and then was forced to move back in. Tensions in the family were high. I was getting ready for my last semester of community college. I was applying to the best music schools in the state and keeping my grades up. I was working part-time. I was also in my first somewhat “serious” relationship. I was smoking weed too. I would go out for a walk at the nearby nature trail and smoke in the woods, and then walk home. It was the only time I truly felt peace, aside from making music. However, looking back, I was full of fear.
Fear that I wouldn’t be able to go into music school because of the eroding trust in my family, and no financial support for my education. Fear that my dreams of working in music were unattainable. Fear that I was in over my head in my newfound relationship. Fear that the music I was creating was a hobby, and no more, and I would end up slaving away in kitchens to make ends’ meet for years to come.
Fear that playing the bassoon would get me nowhere.
From that desk, sitting with my unknowing fear, the first lines of “Wouldn’t it be Nice” started to play, its lyrical escapism transporting me to another realm, while my analytical music brain stayed behind to examine the record. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” instantly struck me with its wall of sound production and intricate harmonies that are the signature of Pet Sounds and Brian Wilson’s production style.The message of a yearning for a better life, even if it is just imagined. The message of escaping the pain of adolescence. This one really sucked me in. As I continued to listen through, I was met with track after track that felt like my life had been captured into a recording. The joy of having a supportive partner in “You Still Believe in Me”. “That’s Not Me” a song literally about a teenager running away from home and then realizing things weren’t so great out there could’ve been my summer of 2016 theme song. The solace and escapism of comforting a partner in “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)”. The yearning of waiting to be there for a crush that got out of a bad relationship and is healing in “I’m Waiting for the Day”.The sheer loneliness of the world out there in “Sloop John B”. The constant anxious searching for a better self or the next great thing that will fix whatever problem exists in “I Know There’s an Answer”. The fleeting nature of adolescent love in “Here, Today”.
There were some songs that stuck out more than others though. “God Only Knows” was the most beautiful love song I ever heard and probably still is. It was a spiritual experience hearing it and I must’ve had it on repeat for weeks after that first listen. How I longed for someone to truly feel that way about.
Then there was “I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times”. Many of my peers considered me the “smart” one and someone who would likely be successful. On the inside, I felt like I was born into a world that wasn’t for me. I was constantly practicing the bassoon, an instrument that felt so obsolete, so antiquated and so detached from modern society that it left me feeling lost and existentially confused. This parallels how Brian Wilson felt when he wrote the songs for this album with lyricist Tony Asher. While critics praised his “genius”, he felt that he was leaving behind audiences, friends, and even his own family behind to venture forward into uncharted musical territory, and he was scared that there was no place for someone like him in society.
“Caroline, No” used to be my least favorite song on the album. It’s a song about a girl who begins to change over the course of a relationship and the guy lamenting how she’s lost her old self.
I couldn’t bear to listen, because that girl in the song was me.
I began to lose myself, and never quite came back. In that moment, perhaps I needed to lose myself to find a better version of myself years later.
“Who took that look away?
I remember how you used to say
You'd never change, but that's not true
Oh, Caroline, you”
While anxiety fueled the creation of this record, and was omnipresent in my life, it also created a masterpiece that helped me through a difficult time. It made me think about my purpose as a musician and that maybe if my music could help someone through a difficult time, that’s enough. “Pet Sounds” was a lifeboat in a sea of adolescent emotions, a perfect album that I will cherish forever, and you should totally listen to it.
Written by Evan Sky
Edited by Stephen Scheidt
