The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. Winter is coming. Actually, it's not. The summer of Don is ending. This is the Album Nerds podcast. Dude, I got Andy and Don with me. Gentlemen, how are we feeling as the summer of Don comes to a close? Oh, you know, it's a slight tear in my eye. You're verklempt? Veklempt, yeah. I was hoping it would be an endless summer. Yeah, wow. Good Beach Boys reference there. How fitting. So this is the Album Nerds podcast.

We love albums, the album format, talking about them and basking in their glow as we have all summer long. So we've got a great show for you if you've been with us all summer long. We have been celebrating the summer of Don, which has been an exercise in looking at the list of albums he'd like to talk about that Andy and I discussed on the show previous to him joining us. We throw it on the wheel of musical discovery and then she chooses which records we're going to talk about.

However, we broke tradition and we're going to talk about Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, which we've never discussed in length on the show. What? But Don has mentioned it at least 50 times. So to celebrate the end of the summer of Don, he gets his fondest wish. So after we talk about Pet Sounds, we're going to get into a deep question from Don. We're going to have some shout outs to albums and album related items we're digging.

Then we're going to spin the wheel of musical discovery to find out what we're going to talk about next time in our regular format. Three albums, folks. Three albums. That's a lot. Yeah. So, Mike, let's get into those Pet Sounds.

I proclaim this the summer of Donnie Lakey. That's what I'm talking about. Well Pet Sounds is the 11th studio album by the California band, the Beach Boys, formed in 1961. The album was released in May 1966. The band's primary creative force, Brian Wilson, had stepped away from touring with the band to focus on writing and producing their records. He composed these songs with guest lyricist Tony Asher.

Most of the music was provided by that famous group of studio musicians that we've mentioned before, the Wrecking Crew. But it does feature the vocals of all of the Beach Boys. So brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, longtime friend Al Jardine, and the guy who replaced Brian Wilson on tour, Bruce Johnston. Let's start with the opening cut. This is Wouldn't It Be Nice. Anyone else only picture the painting the garage scene in 51st Dates? Yes, I do picture that.

So supposedly the song was inspired by Brian Wilson's infatuation with his sister-in-law. That's a problem. So she supposedly projected an innocent aura that he wanted to capture. But lyrically the song describes a young couple who feel empowered by their relationship and fantasize about the freedom, the romantic freedom they would earn once they're married. Yeah, nothing says freedom like marriage. Oh, yeah. Is that an old ball and chain joke you're making?

So actually, like all the tracks on this album, musically complex, a lot of instrumentation going on. 16 backing musicians on this track. One of the few cuts that has Mike Love getting composition credit. He had to sue for this and got it back in 1994. So he supposedly contributed the good night, my baby, sleep tight, my baby.

So well done, Mr. Love. Hey, man, when something becomes a cultural phenomenon, like Pet Sounds is considered an influential record, you want to get your damn name on the thing. He was off gallivanting around Japan or whatever and didn't get a chance until recording his voice. So I get it. Yeah, it's true. So the band was out touring and Brian Wilson is at home hanging out with all these musicians. Okay, well, let's hear some more. This is a song called I'm Waiting for the Day.

Definitely that Doo-Wop style, R&B sound there. But for me, this record is kind of like a transitional record or very much like you can hear the elements of like the old Beach Boys sound still in there and there's the vocal harmonies and whatnot. But there's like this other big force kind of descending on the band here with this huge sound that Brian Wilson has created.

It almost sounds like an orchestra or like just the size of the band is so immense and the sounds and all the different instruments coming in and out. And it sounds like you're witnessing something so big. My clickbait headline for Pet Sounds is Brian Wilson armed only with the kitchen sink creates high art from surf pop. I do feel like this is kind of a, it's not a conceptual record necessarily, but it feels like a big idea. Like he really stepped the music forward.

And I think also the album format itself really took a leap forward from where it was at previously. This feels like a very composed, ordered, structured one single thing where a lot of the Beach Boys records really just feel like a collection of hits, of singles. And this is not that. So I think for that alone has to be appreciated as a pretty monumental achievements. Legend has it he was kind of inspired by the Beatles Rubber Soul as being like an album that had no filler.

You know, it was truly like one piece of art. I don't know if you guys have seen the movie Love and Mercy. The way that Brian Wilson is portrayed there, I think is probably pretty close to the truth. I mean, he, I feel like he had the sounds in his head that he couldn't make with the band. He needed the help of the wrecking crew to get on tape what he was hearing in his, in his mind. And then, and then we, we include two instrumental tracks. Let's Go Away for a While and Pet Sounds. I like them.

I was surprised by them. They're short enough where it's kind of like, maybe it's the intro to the next song, but what'd you guys think of Beach Boys songs without any Beach Boys? Yeah. I think at the time it would have thrown me, but I think by the time I was listening to Pet Sounds, like I already knew that, hey, this is Brian Wilson. So like, it didn't even really occur to me that, hey, this doesn't feel right because there's no Beach Boys on it.

Yeah. I think in the context of the record, it doesn't bother me. Some of these songs have like weird introductory parts or weird outro parts that it kind of just flows naturally. It almost just feels like a longer extended part of the previous song. Yeah. And I think both of these, I think he originally intended for them to eventually have vocals. Oh, really? But he, you know, thought they were fine without him. Okay. Well, let's hear another cut. Here's God Only Knows.

It's like the angels are serenading a couple at their wedding. Yeah, it is kind of like that. It's probably a pretty popular wedding song, I would guess. Yeah. Well, because I think they did it in that movie, was it Love Actually? I don't know. It's not a film I've seen. Anyway, so God Only Knows features lead vocals by Carl Wilson, which is interesting. Carl? Carl. It's supposedly a unique composition in the world of pop music. Supposedly it doesn't have an actual key.

So it's sort of deviating between E major and A major. I don't really understand that, but apparently that is something. Also controversial at the time to use the word God in a pop song. James Brown was saying, good God all the time. This is one of the direct references. So this was actually the B side to Wouldn't It Be Nice. Really? Yeah. Wow. I was thinking this is God being like the crowning achievement of the record.

Yeah. In fact, Sir Paul McCartney has cited this as one of his favorite songs of all time. Yeah, that tracks the other Beatles. John was probably like, rubbish. So my clickbait headline for Pet Sounds is God Only Knows Where Dawn Would Be Without Pet Sounds. I'm going to make a bold declaration. I think this is my favorite album of all time. Wow. Yeah. Really? Despite my new wave post-punk tendencies, this one.

I guess I think it's just like with every listen, there's always just something more for me to hear or notice because there's just so much going on. And it may be because I don't really understand music theory that like unknown aspect of it is like challenging to me. But yeah, if it's not clear, I like this record. It is one of those like it's a listen you can go through many times and still get something new out of. There's so much going on.

Yeah. I think I've mentioned before that it is there like classical works disguised as pop songs. And it doesn't rely on your usual rock instrumentation. There's guitar on this, but you'd be hard pressed to even recognize it. Yeah, that's true. There's not any surf jangle. There's none of that stuff. But lyrically, I feel like at least in parts, it stepped up beyond the surfer girl type of stuff like on no, don't talk, put your head on my shoulder in parentheses.

The line I can hear so much in your size and I can see so much in your eyes. Let me touch your thighs. Right. That's that part of it. That's the Weird Al version. Maybe with the help of Tony Asher, I was able to better express some of those thoughts and feelings. He had been a jingle writer, right? But being a songwriter that has more of a touch for what will please people, I think is probably very helpful here. It's kind of as if this album wasn't made for these times. Sorry.

Let's hear another cut. This is I just wasn't made for these times. Sounds like some Clydesdales are running in the background, all the clip clopping and noises and sounds and there are men on this. That might actually be where they were supposedly using orange juice containers for percussion and yeah, just weird things going on.

Yeah, so that song just really sums up I think where Brian Wilson was in this world that was starting to have this counterculture thing and he's this, I think the Beach Boys by this point were started to be viewed as kind of nerdy. Squares.

With their striped shirts and their clean cut image and all that and stretching out creatively and reaching for that, trying to be a part of these times, like the social disconnection so I think he had some other stuff going on, not wanting to be on tour and around crowds and just wanted to listen to the music in his own mind.

I think it points at his personal struggles but it also, I think that includes feeling uncool and left out and every time I get something going, it gets shot down and I think that this album was an effort to show I can play with the big dogs. Look at what, this is what I hear. I don't hear I get around in my head. I hear this. So the clickbait headline I chose, the beautiful mind of Brian Wilson produces pet sounds with its heartfelt themes and groundbreaking sound.

Take that Beatles. So I think when the Beatles came on the scene, it kind of took over what cool was. It had a big impact on the Beach Boys and being able to make a record like this where he stretches out, they do things no one's ever done before but still get the guys in there. The voices, it's still the Beach Boys and it still has whatever magic they had in their earlier records but kind of elevates to the next level. Yeah, it's so, like I get the parallels but it's so unlike the Beatles.

I mean, there's, the Beatles are still kind of doing the rock band thing even though they're adding instruments and they're doing little studio tricks and stuff. Yeah, but they were setting standards. So if they added satire or whatever to something, then other bands were doing it and I think they were influencing music. And I think that's what Brian Wilson wanted to get back to was being at the head of the table.

You guys ever envious of like people who lived at this time and maybe experienced this era of music firsthand? Yes, but then I remember I could have been drafted to go fight the Vietnam War. So, no. I don't think it's worth it. So like the one song on here that is about boats at least is Sloop John B. That's an interesting story of how that made it on the record. Yeah, supposedly Al Jardine, he was really into folk music.

In fact, I think in high school he was in a folk band but he brought Sloop John B, like the old Kingston Trio version of it to Brian Wilson and said, hey, why don't you try taking a stab at this? And then Brian just ran with it. Supposedly he didn't invite Al Jardine to the sessions, which is kind of a slap in the face. Thanks for providing the song. See you later. But even that song, I think it fits pretty well on the record.

It does kind of harken back to that fun in the sun Beach Boys sound, but lyrically it's a little bit darker. It's about like, give me off this boat. Take me away from this lifestyle kind of thing, which is, it's all record is it's got a little bit of a darkness to it that you didn't pick up on earlier records. I get goosebumps with that one part, you know, like when the music stops and it's acapella for a second and then also the music comes back, I always get blown away by that.

It's a great arrangement. I mean, as a kid, I always just thought, you know, there's always names for cars and stuff. So I thought Sloop John B was some type of motorboat or something. I didn't really get the depth of it or the sadness. It was just the Beach Boys, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And I'm like, yeah, that's what the Beach Boys are supposed to do. All right. Well, I've been gushing. So just make sense that I would nominate this for the album nerds Hall of Fame.

I gotta say, Don, pretty surprised here. This is shocking. I think to everyone listening, this is a shock. Did not see it coming. I should do a bonus episode that's like five hours long where I just talk about it. That'll get a lot of listeners. Anyway, so yes, I think Pet Sounds belongs in the album nerds Hall of Fame. What do you guys think, dude? I would agree to be honest. It's one of those records I've had in my collection for a long time.

I've never given it a lot of attention because, you know, I want to hear good vibrations and stuff as well, which could have made it on the record. I wish it had. It was at least written around this time. But yes, I mean, having listened to this exhaustively over the last couple of weeks and listening on headphones and all the detail and yeah, it's amazing. It's beautiful. And I think Brian Wilson, at least this one time was able to exercise his demons and put them on tape.

Do you guys think that maybe the album cover is not Hall of Fame worthy? I like the album cover. Yeah, I don't love it as much as I spend more time with the record. I don't know if it really communicates what the record sounds like, but even this title, what does the title mean? I couldn't find any information. I've heard different things. If you have like these sounds that you want to use or something like they're your pet sounds, but I don't know if that's true.

But of course, his dogs are on the record. So it almost feels kind of like a throwaway. I think at one point they had talked about it having some sort of zoo reference for the title. I like the idea of the sounds being his pets in his mind. So you'd say it differently. You would say pet sounds instead of pet sounds. Yeah, right. Pet sounds. That's the record we're talking about, pet sounds? Not pet sounds? Oh, that changes things. Okay. Start over. So Andy, what do you think?

Yeah, yes, I would say yes. This is the one of those records I think the Hall of Fame is. Kind of created for, it's pretty good. Well, congratulations to Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys and the Wrecking Crew and Tony Asher and everybody else. Well done. Congratulations. So before we answer Don's deep question, let's hear from our friends over at the Getting Down and Wordy podcast. Riz. Greetings. Gendered language. Onomatopoeias. The Ick. What makes some words sound funny.

Why just listen to music when you can overanalyze the words in the songs? Music, language, and Eurovision all crammed into one podcast. Getting Down and Wordy with Russell and Hannah. Find us anywhere you listen to podcasts. We got to get a ukulele version of our theme song. I like that. Yeah. The Island vibe going. Kind of Beach Boy thing. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Excuse me. I'd like to ask you a few questions.

It's time once again for Deep Questions by Don. Careful guys are going really deep this time. What are your other favorite pets in media? Like books or movies or songs? Deep, deep. The first one I thought of was Gary from SpongeBob just because I kind of love SpongeBob and Gary just doesn't really, he's like a cat. He doesn't really give a fuck about anybody. Is that the starfish guy? No, that's Patrick. Gary's a little snail. His little pet snail. But he purrs and stuff. He meows.

Yeah, he's funny. Sorry. Not too familiar. Yeah, I know. It's kind of a kids program. And when I mentioned that's more of an adult program. Have you guys ever seen the TV show Wilfred? Yes. I really liked that. It was weird. Yeah, you've seen it? Yeah. It's a feature is Elijah Wood and his neighbor's dog is played by this human character who dresses in this dog suit. It's kind of like his imaginary friend. Oh. And they like they smoke weed together and they hang out and go on adventures.

It's really funny. Yeah. Elijah Wood's character I believe has some diagnosable issues as part of- Yeah, he's got some mental problems. Yeah. It's funny. But it's based on a British. I think there was a British show, Like It First that they based it on. All good US shows pretty much have a British component to them. How about you, dude? Scooby-Doo. Oh, there you go. Good one. Yeah. Scooby-Doo is what came to mind first.

I mean, most of the ones that came to mind were like Snoopy, Garfield, cartoons. Cartoons. Yeah. But I think it's mostly movies and TV stuff. Betty, the Chihuahua on Will Trent. Love that dog. She's adorable. I don't know that reference. It's about this Atlanta cop. He's kind of quirky and this dog kind of evens out his character a little bit. Like Turner and Hooch. There you go. No. Is that yours, Don? No. But I do have another movie. Do you guys ever see the original Amityville Horror?

Yeah. Yes. So the dog, Harry, of course he's down in the basement. He knows something's up. He's like digging at the wall. But he actually rescues George. He kind of pulls him out of that pit of blood and hell. But my favorite part of the movie is George, he's out in the car, the family's safe, out in the road and he actually goes back in to save Harry, which I just think is really nice. Because I think I would do the same thing. Of course. Yeah, you'd be a good dog, though. Definitely.

I mean, your dog pulls you out of blood and hell. Yeah. You better go save him. That's Snoopy's laugh. Oh, that's true. I can't believe I forgot Snoopy. That's Snoopy? Wow, I thought it was like the demons in the blood pit. Snoopy was kind of mean. Charlie Brown was a blockhead, dude. He was. Terrible pet owner. All right, well, what are your favorite pop culture pets? Let us know. Hit us up on the socials, Facebook, Instagram threads, also on our website, albumnerds.com. Can you dig it?

Can you dig it? Can you dig it? All right, well, we immersed ourselves in one of the... One of the all-time great albums this week, but what else were you checking out and digging? I got a few hip hop albums in my baggies here, guys. You want to check them out? Baggies? Yeah, my little swim shorts. Okay. I think we've talked about those before and confused everybody. Was that what I thought was cool-lots? I don't know. No, those were clam diggers? Clam diggers, that's right.

We were talking about those. It's a lot of different kinds of bands. More than just the band. It's a lot of different kinds of bands, more than you'd expect. All right. First one up for me is from New York City rapper JPEG Mafia. Wow. It's got a new album out called I Laid Out My Life For You. Sounds better than the rivals, the Jiff Mafia. Is it Giff or Jiff? The MP3 collective, I think, is my favorite. MP3 collective.

Well, in all seriousness, this is one of the more interesting hip-hop albums I've heard this year. It's got some very futuristic production, some cool samples from a lot of the interesting artists in and around the space, Denzel Curry, Penn Staples, quite a few other guys make appearances. It's probably my favorite hip-hop record of the year so far, I would say. I think you mentioned Denzel Curry like last week, didn't you? Yeah. I feel like he had to choose a stage name.

He's like, all right, well, the best actor is Denzel. Favorite basketball player is Denzel Curry. That'd be a good approach. Artist's birth name, which I also appreciate when performers do use their name instead of like a rap name. I think that's always refreshing. Oh, yeah. That doesn't happen too often, does it? All right. The next one for me is a, I think you could call this a hip-hop record, though it's really more of an in a jazz space. The artist is Michelle... Oh, boy. Indigo cello.

Yeah, okay. Indigo cello? Indigo cello, I think is how you say that. Yeah, indigo. Oh. Indigo cello. Indigo cello. Yeah, that is what it is. The album is called No More Water, the Gospel of James Baldwin. It's kind of a concept record. There's different speeches and letters from James Baldwin kind of interjected, read by different artists throughout the album. There's also some really interesting just kind of spoken word poetry and just kind of bass playing.

There's a little bit of a jazz element to it, but there's also some hip-hop too. She's been around a while, solo work, Wild Nights with John Mellencamp. Oh, that's her? Yeah. Yeah, like the 90s, right? Yeah. She's been doing stuff. Bass player primarily in those days. Yeah, the record's really interesting. It's kind of all over the place musically, but I've been enjoying it since. Cool, you get some James Baldwin intermix there as well. Okay, last one up for me is from hip-hop artist.

He does not use his real name, Action Bronson. Are you sure that's not his real name? That'd be a great real name. He has a new album out called Johann Sebastian Baklava the Doctor. Of course. He calls himself Baklava, which I kind of love. He's a rapper as well as a chef, if you guys do not know. He has a cooking show called Fuck That's Delicious. Really? Is he Greek? He's from Queens. Let's play the cut. Yeah, he's a really good lyricist.

There's lots of lyrics about eating food and just kind of goofy things in and around the food space if you're into that in your hip-hop. Check out Action Bronson. What you been digging on, Darren? Well, I've been listening to the latest album from Nathaniel Ratliff in the Night Sweats. Somebody I haven't – I mean, I've heard the name. I've never paid attention before. American artist from Denver, kind of Americana-ish, I guess. This is his fourth studio album with the Night Sweats.

Here's a song called Heartless. I think I neglected to mention the name of the album is South of Here. I'm not sure where Here is. It's to the north. Another group, the Heavy Heavy English duo featuring Georgie Fuller and William Turner have an album coming out called One of a Kind on September 6. Here's a song called Because You're Mine. I said I love you baby. Oh, these other seven guys I listened to a while ago?

Yeah. I couldn't remember if we ever talked about them on the show, but I remember when we were researching a new release show, I remember spending some time with their last EP. Kind of a sort of 60s rock sound. Did Mike Love at the baby? Did he do that? Get some cash? No, it sounded good. I remember their name. It sounded a little bit bigger than I remember a previous record sounding. Yeah, and I've been stuck in 1967 for a while.

Another artist that I recently discovered is Love featuring Arthur Lee. It was kind of the brains behind that operation from Los Angeles. This was an album called Forever Changes and a song called Alone Again Oar. I heard a funny thing, somebody said to me. Yeah, I've come across this. It's an interesting record. Whenever I've tried to listen to it, it just sounds very art rockish, I guess. It's time, of course. Well, if we ever do a 1967 show, I'm all set. What are you digging, dude?

I'm digging Jack White. So kind of a surprise release, it's called No Name. Of his solo stuff, it's the most white stripesy and blues, rocky and garagey, I think, that I've heard anyway. I guess at the third band stores, they were slipping these into people's bags unlabeled for free. Really? And then it came out on streaming. It's cool. Let's check out a little bit of that's how I'm feeling. I gotta say I do miss Meg a little bit. Yeah, the stump. Yeah, but this sounds really good.

I've been enjoying it. It's what a lot of people want to hear from Jack White and it's nice to hear it again. It's been a while. Yeah, it seems like he has to kind of get some of that weird stuff out of his system and he goes back to the blues rock every once in a while. It's nice. All right. This band I've loved for quite a while, they've been around 20 years coming up on, which is shocking to me. They were very young when they started, but this is a single called Darlin' Baby by the Sheepdogs.

This one has a little bit of an Eagles vibe to it, I think, but they still have that Allman Brothers kind of vibe to them overall. But Canadian band, not sure if this is, if an album is forthcoming. All I could find was that they will be announcing a project later this fall. So hopefully it'll be part of an album. They haven't put one out since 2022.

So with Aerosmith being in the news with them canceling their tour and they're going to be done, I think, retired as a band because Stephen Taylor was having some issues with his voice that they just could not rectify. I went back in my collection and dug out a copy of Permanent Vacation on vinyl. Been listening to that a lot the last week. Let's hear a little Dude Looks Like a Lady. Now I know it's kind of sacrilege, but my favorite period is this album and Pump. That 80s comeback.

I know that the classic albums like Toys in the Attic and all that stuff, they're great. I do like them. But this was what I heard coming up. I love that song. Like Love in an Elevator and Jamie's Got a Gun on Pump. Oh man, those are incredible songs. Maybe we should do an Aerosmith show at some point. They have good discography. So what are you digging? Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads. Also our website, AlbumNerds.com.

It will be a discovery of extraordinary value. Well, it's about that time on the show and I'm reminded of the great American comic Rodney Dangerfield. Thought maybe we'd share a few of his classic one-liners here about our four-legged friends. I worked in a pet store and people kept asking how big I'd get. There it is. When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up. I tell you. I tell you, what a dog I got. His favorite bone is my arm. This is bad. All right.

Well, with that in mind, my apologies, Mr. Dangerfield. And listeners. Let's bring out my friend and yours, Wildbot, to see what we'll be talking about on next week's episode. Playtime is over. The summer is coming to a close and it is time to get back to work. Next time, you will be exploring albums that perhaps you did not appreciate at first, but over time you grew to love. Yeah. There's quite a few albums that don't mean much to you at first and then over time they get the hooks in you.

That's what we'll be talking about next time. Cool. It's more of a goer versus shower situation. Is that what you're talking about? Could be. All right. Don't forget, you can suggest topics for the Wheel of Musical Discovery on our website, albinoards.com, as well as vote for any ongoing Album Nerds Hall of Fame nominations. Is the Album Nerds podcast growing on you? What else are you listening to? Leave a comment on our website or email us at podcast at albinoards.com.

You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and threads at albinoards. Please subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app. If you'd like to support the show, you can do so via PayPal at albinoards.com slash support. Thank you again for joining us here on the Album Nerds podcast. Our hearts are going to grow a few sizes next week as we learn to love. Thanks for listening everybody. See you then. God only knows what I feel without you. God only knows what I feel without you.

Oh, I lost it. Terrible. I'm so upset about the Beach Boys. We pretty much just spit on them with that harmony. This record for two weeks straight and now this is what we had to show for. I'm so sorry. Hey. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow.