From: michdfalikdgfdfmatt@codfdfmcast.net   
      
   Some people will surely hate me for what I'm about to say......   
      
   I've been a loooooong time lurker and occasional poster here.  I'm a BIG   
   Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan.   
      
   Recently, there has been an endless stream of posts about what a masterpiece   
   "Smile" is.  How great "Smile" is.   
      
   I've been listening to various "Smile" boots for about 9 years.  I was never   
   really impressed.  Most of the music was a little creepy.  I went out last   
   week and bought the new version.  I'm still not impressed.   
   Can somebody please tell me what makes this album so great?  What makes it a   
   masterpiece?  Is it because it went unreleased for almost 40 years?  Is it   
   because it was SUPPOSED to be groundbreaking in the late 60's?  Is it   
   because everybody thinks of it as an artsy-fartsy album?  Is it simply   
   because it's an album written by Brian Wilson?   
   It CAN'T be because the music is great.  With the exception of Good   
   Vibrations and Heroes and Villains, the songs were average-to-below average.   
   Most of the Smile songs are creepy, with creepy lyrics that mostly don't   
   make any sense!  Please!  Somebody explain this to me!   
      
   Another comment I have has to do with Brian's Leno performance, and his   
   public appearances in general.  The best thing I can say about the Leno   
   performance is that he wasn't TOTALLY out of tune.  But he looked like he   
   was paralyzed.  It was sad.   
   The first time I ever saw him in concert was in Ann Arbor Michigan on his   
   first tour (I think it might even have been his first concert).  He sounded   
   pretty good.  The second time I saw him was on the Pet Sounds tour.  He   
   sounded awful.  My date was embarrassed for him.  I was embarrassed for him.   
   It was truly sad.  Same goes for interviews.  He ISN'T a good interview.  He   
   often doesn't make sense, and he gives conflicting answers to simple   
   questions from interview to interview, indicating that he's either so   
   nervous that he can't concentrate, or that he's losing his mind (I tend to   
   think it's more the former than the latter, but you never know).   
   Back to the Leno show....some people were giving him high praise for (get   
   this) smiling on stage and offering a handshake to Bill Cosby.  I don't mean   
   to be cruel, but the praise some people give Brian is analogous to the   
   praise you would give a retarded child who ran a race in the Special   
   Olympics.  "Great job, Brian!  You shook somebody's hand in public!".  Come   
   on.   
      
   I'm still a Brian Wilson fan.  But some of you people make me sick with the   
   way you pat Brian Wilson on the back simply because it's Brian Wilson.   
      
   M   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)