A defense of Mike Love

Good for Carl, I suppose. They had a set list to get through, and limited time. On with the show.

 

How was this reigning him in? Mike Love said thank you and finish his sentence and Carl introduced the song.

 

Because the consensus of the new enlightened orthodoxy seems to be that he's beyond the pale in these PC-straitened times.

 

Please God no, you just had to bring up PC.

 

The good news is that not every musician named Mike Love is a festering taint blister who sounds like a goat at the slaughter.

 

Mea culpa!
So I take it it's now un-PC to even acknowledge the existence of PC?

 

No, that Jeffrey Foskett - who would be in and out of the Beach Boys/BW circus for the next ~30 years.

 

No, it just reflects poorly on the people who do...

 

The thing is, 99% of us only know of Mike in relation to his fame. We know him after-the-fact, through stories we’ve heard and repeated. It’s easy to judge someone when you can second guess literally decades worth of actions.

Look, Mike’s not perfect. And I won’t argue that he is. He’s just a guy. But I think that’s what makes him so special. The sheer unlikeliness that three teenage brothers, their cousin and a friend from school would find the success they did - utterly transforming the world’s view of California through their pop hits and constant artistic development - just boggles the mind. Maybe Mike’s not who you wish he was, but he rose to the challenges and grabbed the opportunities where he found them. I’ve said it before, but I bet more Americans can recite Mike Love’s song lyrics than can recite a single poem by any major American poet. And yet, he’s just a guy, an imperfect human. I’ve ribbed Mike over the years, but man, when he’s gone there won’t be another.

 

Mike Love, Not War

Mike’s thing with the Wilsons is complex, but imo he had a lot to put up with, especially in the mid-late 70’s from all three Wilson’s hitting the drugs and booze pretty hard at times - especially Dennis, with whom there appears to have been some major mutual beefs between him and Mike. They had fist fights on stage.

That said, I think Mike’s touring Beach Boys band playing a convention for a trophy hunting group a few years ago was indefensible. Even Brian publicly condemned that one.

 

Never met the guy.

 

Just to set the record straight, Bruce Johnston is not an original member of the band. He joined the group in 1965 and replaced Brian on stage.

 

I see.
Your reply explains everything I need to know.

 

I’m beginning to think this thread has run its course.

Some folks don’t like Mike Love, and that’s fine.
Some dislike could be justified and some of it not. Mike’s human and he’s made mistakes. News flash, the rest of the guys were/are human and made mistakes, too. Nobody in the BB saga gets off scott free…except Al, probably. And maybe Bruce.

Then again, Some folks hate Mike Love, and there’s no justification for hatred. Not even if Mike pi$$ed on your Cheerios.
Dislike, fine. That doesn’t bother me. Hatred? That is sad, and a glaring symptom of this forum…dislike of one’s work brewing into something more unfathomable.

 

That's not the important issue, though. That he cared for the members of the band to the extent that he did with his fines, made his management rank highest among all BB managers.

 

If mike had died in a car accident in 1965...

A. Brian would still have had a breakdown in 1967 and mental problems for the rest of his life;
B. Dennis would still have had a troubled life, several divorces and died before turning 40;
C. Carl would still suffer with substance addiction in the mid-late 70s.

He's very very far from perfect, and had his own troubles throughout his life. I think marrying Jackie did wonders for him.

 

I don’t think he managed them for long enough to earn such a ranking.

But considering the management issues to follow, I suspect you might be right.

 

I honestly believe Mike would have got away with being Mike and not be hated by so many if he had a good head of hair.

 

As a confirmed non-fan of the Beachies, Mike's unpopularity is a curious phenomenon. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other original band member who attracts such opprobrium from a band's fanbase. As an outsider, all the Boys are/were somewhat comical for their own different reasons...but I woulda thunk Mikey would be a fan favourite, for keeping the band together for this long. (Are they still a functioning unit, idk?)

Could someone kindly list the generally accepted 'Top 5 Reasons Why Mike Love Is So Disliked By Beachie Fans'? I get the hair, so you can skip that. Thx.

(Also, which voice is his? Is it the ridiculous falsetto?)

 

I long ago decided that it was imperative to separate the art from the artist. Sometimes I like the person making the music and haven't heard anything bad about them (Tom Petty, Prince). Sometimes I don't.

Mike Love falls into the latter category for me. Does he come across like a smarmy, opportunistic, combative, pretentious a-hole? Absolutely. Does it affect my appreciation for his music? Not in the slightest.

Just got back from seeing Brian Wilson & the Wondermints (w/ Al Jardine and Blondie Chapman) open for Chicago with my mom, and we'll be seeing Mike Love's Beach Boys in a few months. Love 'em both. YMMV.

 

Straitened PC, no less. Couldn't we at least have some rich PC or some free range PC?

1. 
   /ˈstrātnd/
   
   
   adjective
   adjective: straitened
   1.characterized by poverty
   2.restricted in range or scope.

 

Ditto. After reading Love's autobiography, my view of him changed quite a bit, but I wasn't in the "hate Mike Love" camp by any stretch of the imagination. I had bought the "don't f-with formula" narrative and thought pretty negatively about Love for that...but I've come to believe that the story is far more nuanced than that simple story line.

In any case, all the discussion is fun I'm sure, but makes not a whit of difference to the fact that Mike Love was an original Beach Boy and an integral facet to the vocal sound and to the band. OK, nasal leads irk some but the way he fit those bass parts into the harmony stack were a vital part of the sound and, as people have pointed out before, not easy to do. But as you (@DolphinsIntheJacuzzi) point out, the art and the artist are not the same thing. There are any number of musical personalities who've made music I love but whose characters and on-display public life choices do anything from leave me cold to fill me with disgust. I don't think about that when I listen to the music.

 

I got the impression the 'straitened' was something akin to 'straitjacket' or something.

 

Begins and ends with the HOF speech.

 

Don't get ya -- wtf is a "confirmed non-fan" even doing here? Just felt like swooping in for some digs ... "Beachies"?

Scoot.