Mike Love autobio

Not valid why? Talking about two top '60s songwriting duos there, so no reason the comparison isn't a valid one.

 

My point was it's a case of someone trying to redress some historical myth-making a little bit. That's all.

 

Well, I'm really late on this one , but I waited until I picked up the book for 10 bucks .

I'm not a Mike Love apologist or a Mike Love hater. The haters aren't going to like me, because I don't hate Mike.

Mike comes across poorly in video interviews but not so much in the book.

He makes a good case for why he sued for songwriting royalties, and although he disputes the "Don't... um..duck with the formula " quote, he doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time whining about it either.

I was most surprised by the amount of failures he admits to , personally and also the ups and downs of the band .

Anyway, I found it an interesting read and it was informative to hear his side of the story, because I am much more familiar with the Brian-centric take on the various issues .

 

I’m currently reading Mike’s book and will post a review as soon as I can, but so far I’m really enjoying it, currently at Good Vibrations

 

Late to the party here but just finished reading it- was surprised how much I enjoyed it and how it made me rethink his underrated and overlooked contributions to the band. Nice counterpoint to a lot of the sometimes-overboard worship of Brian Wilson. His battles over getting his deserved writer's credits on a lot of the classic songs was pretty eye-opening.

 

This song pretty much sums up the Brian vs. Mike issue:

 

I was fascinated by interviews he’s done of late with his wife.

Peoplevrecoil from him for a reason.

His wife said he was diagnosed NPD. What is it like living w him?

12 Things Narcissists Think

 

One of the members of my family (now deceased) had Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It was hell. I can only imagine how much worse the narcissism would have been if he had the money/fame that Mike Love has.

I empathize with Mike’s family and the Beach Boys members. It is an impossible situation. The guy is a complete d-bag.

 

Source?

 

NPD? That's not good, could even make it difficult for him to tour.

 

In his book, Mike expresses love for his cousin and is open about his own shortcomings.

Brian, on the other hand, assumes blame for nothing and has little or no love for Mike. This is much more in line with someone who has NPD. You will never in a million years get an apology from a narcissist.

This is only meant as a response to the person who brought NPD into this. I don't believe either of them have it.

 

Yes, I think Brian has enough problems already.

 

I wrote that his wife said he had the diagnosis.


I didn’t address the mental health of Brian Wilson.


If you believe NPD will not ever apologize, you’re likely not familiar with the topic.

 

His mental health issues have long been public.

 

I'm not a McCartney fanatic, but I'd say that there was a significant difference between the Lennon/McCartney partnership and the Wilson/Love songwriting team. In the case of Lennon/McCartney, they were both strong individual songwriters who sometimes collaborated but they were perfectly capable of delivering strong hit material individually and they both went on to have successful solo careers. Different fans might prefer one over the other, but they were more or less equals. I'm not a knee-jerk Mike basher, but he rarely wrote songs on his own and virtually all of his most famous songs were made with Brian (the notable exception being "Kokomo" which also featured several co-writers). It is very hard to imagine Mike thriving as a solo artist, so he really does owe much of his success to Brian.

 

Absolutely, but you'll never hear the luvster actually thank Brian for what he's done for him, except for a future death bed confession and most likely not then either. Being the NPD poster boy that he is, I'm sure that 5 wives later, he must be more than difficult to live with, work with and just generally be around. I would not be surprised in the least if Brian along with others in the group perhaps thought seriously of ditching this clown and moving ahead. How he garnered so much power in the group is beyond me especially being the least talented member of the band. Power corrupts, especially in his case.

 

My point was not to pit Mike against Paul in terms of talent but rather to point out that both men have felt this need to reinforce their own role and worth in relationship to their songwriting partner. Of course Mike owes much of his success to Brian and, unlike McCartney (well, vintage McCartney, anyway), Mike doesn't have much to offer as a solo writer. That's all.

 

I don't get the focus on Mike writing "virtually all of his most famous songs with Brian", as the same applies to Brian Wilson, whose most famous co-writes were with by far with Mike Love. They both have the ability to work well with each other. All it takes for their writing relationship to bear fruit is acknowledging that they write well together and realizing the importance of making a commitment to doing things that one is good at.

Brian Wilson is much better at writing with Mike Love than he is with writing with Joe Thomas. Making a commitment to doing what one is best at requires Brian to make the effort to sit down and write with his cousin. It's a matter of a lack of effort on Brian's part to write with his cousin that has resulted in missed opportunities for the pair to do what they are best at.

 

Oh, I see, so it comes down to being all Brian's fault, according to you. Did you ever stop to think that Brian does not want to really write with the luvster? Perhaps Brian has moved on and realized that he doesn't need to relive those days of yore with his manipulative, degrading cousin. Perhaps you're looking to return to those days, but it appears that Brian has done well without the lovester but the lovester has not done well in the writing department without Brian.

 

Mike and 'unleash the love'.... not often does he ever forget the words.
Hope you all watch and go through his hand signs while pleasurably listening.

 

I probably shouldn't even say this out loud here but I was playing his album last week again. I still really enjoy it. I think it has a lot to offer. Disc 1, at least.

 

The only thing missing apart from his mustache is the black leather and costume police hat which could easily be substituted for a "captain" hat.

 

Mike Love is a great talent. The fragility that he protects fiercely earned him the nickname "a**hole"... Some develop narcissistic traits due to success, while others have it from childhood. The R & R Hall of Fame was insight into how little self awareness NPD people have.

So much talent is born from the ashes of childhood crisis.

 

I wish Mike had of brought this one into the 'TWGMTR' album instead of 'daydream over the ocean'.
It was already around as it already appeared on an earlier release.
Really dig this one, imagine this with the Brian, Al and Bruce:

 

The library nearby had Mike's book in the sale stack for 50 cents.
I finally get to read this!