Tag Archives: The Beach Boys
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REWIND: The least appropriate songs for Father’s Day
Tupac Shakur performs at the Regal Theater in Chicago in March 1994. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images. Back in May, rather than covering uplifting songs about how important mothers are, my Mother’s Day column consisted of songs that you should not play at your mom’s party. Since I am fair,…
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REWIND: The least appropriate songs for Father’s Day
Tupac Shakur performs at the Regal Theater in Chicago in March 1994. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images. Back in May, rather than covering uplifting songs about how important mothers are, my Mother’s Day column consisted of songs that you should not play at your mom’s party. Since I am fair,…
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REWIND: Welcome summer with The Beach Boys and Bananarama
Beach Boys in London in 1966. Clockwise from top left: Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Photo: DEZO HOFFFMANN/REX/Shutterstock. My last column was about the heat, but apparently it was technically still spring. I guess it depends on who you ask. Astronomically, each season…
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REWIND: With RIFF’s founder on vacation, his substitute has some changes
The King of RIFF, filling in this week for the vacationing founder, declares The Beach Boys the greatest American band. As of this column’s publication, our founder and illustrious editor Roman Gokhman is on vacation. That means, since I’m inexplicably the site’s Managing Editor, that I’m in charge. This…
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Insert Foot: Making classic music a family affair for these famous siblings
Insert Foot Vs. National Siblings Day. Saturday was Siblings Day, which we celebrate by posting photos on social media of siblings harmoniously pretending to get along, not trading blows and not throwing a deceased parent’s false teeth at each other at a funeral home. Don’t ask. I didn’t meet…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Weezer surprises with introspective ‘OK Human’
Weezer, “OK Human.” Think of the most on-brand thing that Weezer could do. Was your answer to surprise-drop a Beach-Boys-inspired album in the middle of a pandemic while everyone was still waiting a previously announced metal-inspired LP? If not, don’t feel bad. Even lifelong fans of the band couldn’t have…
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Obituary: Fairness demands remembering Phil Spector for who he was
Phil Spector photographed in the 1970s, and a recent booking photo. I heard Phil Spector died and immediately thought of the end of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” That’s happened every time I’ve heard Phil Spector’s name since 2003, when he killed Lana Clarkson, the actress who played the…
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REWIND: Appreciate the Beach Boys, you philistines
Beach Boys in London in 1966. Clockwise from top left: Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Photo: DEZO HOFFFMANN/REX/Shutterstock. This week RIFF has published an interview with the legendary Brian Wilson, musical genius and creative force behind The Beach Boys, as well as a…
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REVIEW: Brian Wilson mixes Beach Boys hits with deep cuts in Oakland
Brian Wilson and his band perform at the Fox theater in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2019. Photos: Karen Goldman. OAKLAND — Brian Wilson, founder and creative force behind the Beach Boys, changed American music in a way few ever have, with genres as diverse as indie rock and punk…
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Q&A: The incomparable Brian Wilson on the Beach Boys’ ‘Friends’
Brian Wilson. Photo courtesy of the artist. Brian Wilson is a legend. The Beach Boys cofounder, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Kennedy Center Honors recipient and Grammy winner is responsible for some of the best songs ever written not only by an American but by rock and pop artists…
