Thank you for bringing back the most innocent years of my life before the young men around me started being sent off to Vietnam to fight in an unwinable war. The Beach Boys truly showed us what heaven on earth felt like.
This is such a beautifully written thank you letter to the great Brian Wilson.
HOW SAD that you and Charlene sullied a truly terrific send up on the passing of one of the worlds greatest musical talents with your petty, personal, political perspectives. The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson were not Joan Baez, The Buffalo Springfield, or Pete Seeger. No politics were presented in the stack and you should have considered your comments before you hit "reply".
yes, and i loved much of their music also, Surfer Girl my favorite. but you say it so clearly, surf and the suburbs. it left out so much of the U.S, which was soon to be glaringly obvious (and still is). this is not a put down. i have a feeling that Brian in his genius saw it too. just an observation from not a genius.
When I launched Smoke Signals back in April, I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I had something to say—and I hoped there were still people out there who cared to listen. People who hadn’t given up on memory, or music, or the republic.
The response to Postwar Dreams, Pop Symphonies, and the Genius of Brian Wilson has been overwhelming in the most humbling way. Not just in views or shares—but in witness. In the stories you’ve shared. In the tears you’ve admitted. In the memories that spilled out like old photographs pulled from the attic.
You wrote about Vietnam, Jones Beach, eight-tracks and red Barracudas. About mixtapes on Highway 101 and The Warmth of the Sun playing through tinny car speakers while the world changed around you. About a time when harmony wasn’t just a musical idea—it was a national one. Fleeting, maybe. But real.
That’s what this is becoming. Not just a newsletter, but a place for witness. For remembering what was true—and what might still be.
So thank you. To everyone who read, shared, commented, or just quietly let the piece sit with you. You’ve helped shape what Smoke Signals is becoming. And I’ll take my cues from you.
That generation- from racing down the highway in our dad’s car - to my prom date disabled in Vietnam- to marrying a soldier. Haunted and strengthened by it.
You captured something about The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and the fleeting golden rays that I hadn’t been able to put into words before. Thank you so much.
On my second tour in Vietnam – I was CO of a minesweeper in the Mekong Delta – we played The Beach Boys, the Temps, the Tops, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, et al. We knew the numbers: 20 to 30% of us wouldn’t make it back alive or with all four limbs. Seriously, that was the data back then. So we were nostalgic for many other reasons besides just knowing and reliving good music – we were nostalgic for the lives that would be snuffed out Before they actually were.
Thank you for this. My father was a convoy commander in the Marines. The "rough rider" convoys in 68-69. I'd add the Doors, the Animals "we gotta get out of this place" and Glen Campbells "Galveston" to your soundtrack. He told me those were on rotation up north. He passed in 1985 from PTSD and agent orange. Semper Fi.
The Beach Boys was my favorite 60’s band growing up too (more than the Beatles & Rolling Stones). I thought I knew almost all his songs but never heard of “Surf’s Up.” Would never have guessed it was written by Brian Wilson! At first it sounded weird to me, but then I imagined it being sung as a choral piece and appreciated it a lot more. Loved “Good Vibrations,” “Warmth of the Sun,” “Sloop John B,” and “Little Honda” too. Thank you for sharing this fascinating tribute! Wishing him smooth and peaceful passage over the rainbow bridge. 💐🕯️🌅
I love The Beach Boys! Growing up in California near the beach The Beach Boys were always playing. I have a brother eight years older and a sister six years older who had their records, and even an eight track tape for the car. Does anyone remember those? I was probably nine years old. My brother drove a red Cuda! I think that was a Barracuda? My memory is driving to the beach in my big brother’s hot rod, with the windows down and The Beach Boys blasting. We would drive through Jack In The Box, when Jack had a head and not just a box! Haha! I always got those crispy tacos with some pasty stuff inside that was supposed to be meat. Those were the days. In exchange for the transportation to the beach I would have to help wash his car. What seemed like a chore has become a beautiful memory and The Beach Boys always bring it back. “Little Surfer, Little Girl” , “She’s My Little Duce Coupe” are forever imprinted in my mind.
Brian Wilson, RIP. Your music, vocals and lyrics were incomparable, brillant and beautfully executed. Carolina No, In My Room, California Girls , all inspired me as a young girl, to know beauty ,in the midst of chaos, can exist. Thank you for this lovely tribute to Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the dreams of a little girl.
Ah, to finally encounter someone else who recognizes the depth of "Surf's Up". I still prefer Brian's original with just his voice and the piano. The longing and the angst are laid bare and not covered by any production.
My Beach Boys collection, yes all of it, is now on my audio system. From their earliest demo tapes to the last song, my day will end when it does. Ah Brian, I will miss you. Thank you for leaving your music behind for all of us to hear and hear again.
Being from the Midwest (not a farmer’s daughter but many friends were) the Beachboys filled us with a longing to escape to the golden sun of California beaches. Never the less, Brian & the Boys music was the theme of our summers at the local pools, gravel pits, farm ponds & cottages at the lake. Campfires, making out under a star filled country sky! Great road trips & convertibles always had the radio blasting WLS Chicago! It was the mid to late 60’s. Before Nam took too many friends and we learned hard lessons we didn’t want to know. But oh how sweet it was to be alive! The memories a Brian Wilson song can take you back to will never cease! Love and Mercy Brian!
So true, evocative & so beautifully written it brought me to tears. I spent many summers on Jones Beach & watched many friends leave for Vietnam, never to return. Thank you.
I grew up in Southern California in the 70’s. The Beach Boys were still so popular and we’d turn up our mixtapes while driving the 101 looking for a parking place at the beach. Their songs will always remind me of the carefree days in high school when we were all trying to live his dream
Thank you for this amazing tribute to Brian. I really appreciate you taking us back to "Surf's Up." It didn't quite register with me at the time, in 1971, although I wanted it to. I can't explain why. I did buy the album. Now I can hear it. Again, thank you for your insightful analysis of the piece and its place in the times.
Brian was a uniquely brilliant songwriter, but he wasn't much of a lyricist. He almost always had a co-writer. An example of a song he wrote entirely by himself is a quirky bossa nova from the "Friends" album, "Busy Doin' Nothing." It's a recitation of all the things he did that day, including sharpening his pencil and providing instructions for how to get to his house...with not a rhyme in sight.
All the profound songs you mention were written with someone else: for instance, the Pet Sounds album ("Wouldn't It Be Nice") with Tony Asher; Smiley Smile ("Surf's Up) with Van Dyke Parks; plus my favorite Beach Boys song, "The Warmth of the Sun," written with fellow Beach Boy, Mike Love. And there were others.
It's worth noting that Brian was deaf in one ear. Yes, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century had a stereophonic mind but only one monophonic ear. Legend had it that he was hit in the head by his violent father, Murray, but in Brian's autobiography he attributes his hearing loss to a local kid hitting him in the head with a lead pipe.
The genius of Brian Wilson was that despite a profound disability, he communicated his feelings not so much through lyrics, but through some of the most beautiful, transcendent melodies and harmonies in pop music.
Thank you for bringing back the most innocent years of my life before the young men around me started being sent off to Vietnam to fight in an unwinable war. The Beach Boys truly showed us what heaven on earth felt like.
This is such a beautifully written thank you letter to the great Brian Wilson.
"Thank you for bringing back the most innocent years of my life" -- Great Statement!
Being an aging boomer - love to have the days back when this country was truly "The United States".
Today we are parading tanks through our streets of D.C.
HOW SAD.
RINO -- Ed
HOW SAD that you and Charlene sullied a truly terrific send up on the passing of one of the worlds greatest musical talents with your petty, personal, political perspectives. The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson were not Joan Baez, The Buffalo Springfield, or Pete Seeger. No politics were presented in the stack and you should have considered your comments before you hit "reply".
We all have our own memories. The Beach Boys were big waves and great muscle cars. Then times changed and Woodstock became a real turning point.
"he gave his symphonies to the surf
and his psalms to the suburbs"
your sublime epitaph
brings tears
yes, and i loved much of their music also, Surfer Girl my favorite. but you say it so clearly, surf and the suburbs. it left out so much of the U.S, which was soon to be glaringly obvious (and still is). this is not a put down. i have a feeling that Brian in his genius saw it too. just an observation from not a genius.
Thank You—for the Harmony
When I launched Smoke Signals back in April, I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I had something to say—and I hoped there were still people out there who cared to listen. People who hadn’t given up on memory, or music, or the republic.
The response to Postwar Dreams, Pop Symphonies, and the Genius of Brian Wilson has been overwhelming in the most humbling way. Not just in views or shares—but in witness. In the stories you’ve shared. In the tears you’ve admitted. In the memories that spilled out like old photographs pulled from the attic.
You wrote about Vietnam, Jones Beach, eight-tracks and red Barracudas. About mixtapes on Highway 101 and The Warmth of the Sun playing through tinny car speakers while the world changed around you. About a time when harmony wasn’t just a musical idea—it was a national one. Fleeting, maybe. But real.
That’s what this is becoming. Not just a newsletter, but a place for witness. For remembering what was true—and what might still be.
So thank you. To everyone who read, shared, commented, or just quietly let the piece sit with you. You’ve helped shape what Smoke Signals is becoming. And I’ll take my cues from you.
There’s more to come.
Gratefully,
Mark
That generation- from racing down the highway in our dad’s car - to my prom date disabled in Vietnam- to marrying a soldier. Haunted and strengthened by it.
And still protesting..
You captured something about The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and the fleeting golden rays that I hadn’t been able to put into words before. Thank you so much.
On my second tour in Vietnam – I was CO of a minesweeper in the Mekong Delta – we played The Beach Boys, the Temps, the Tops, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, et al. We knew the numbers: 20 to 30% of us wouldn’t make it back alive or with all four limbs. Seriously, that was the data back then. So we were nostalgic for many other reasons besides just knowing and reliving good music – we were nostalgic for the lives that would be snuffed out Before they actually were.
Thank you for this. My father was a convoy commander in the Marines. The "rough rider" convoys in 68-69. I'd add the Doors, the Animals "we gotta get out of this place" and Glen Campbells "Galveston" to your soundtrack. He told me those were on rotation up north. He passed in 1985 from PTSD and agent orange. Semper Fi.
The Beach Boys was my favorite 60’s band growing up too (more than the Beatles & Rolling Stones). I thought I knew almost all his songs but never heard of “Surf’s Up.” Would never have guessed it was written by Brian Wilson! At first it sounded weird to me, but then I imagined it being sung as a choral piece and appreciated it a lot more. Loved “Good Vibrations,” “Warmth of the Sun,” “Sloop John B,” and “Little Honda” too. Thank you for sharing this fascinating tribute! Wishing him smooth and peaceful passage over the rainbow bridge. 💐🕯️🌅
Beautiful, especially that closing line. This one hits hard. RIP, Brian.
I love The Beach Boys! Growing up in California near the beach The Beach Boys were always playing. I have a brother eight years older and a sister six years older who had their records, and even an eight track tape for the car. Does anyone remember those? I was probably nine years old. My brother drove a red Cuda! I think that was a Barracuda? My memory is driving to the beach in my big brother’s hot rod, with the windows down and The Beach Boys blasting. We would drive through Jack In The Box, when Jack had a head and not just a box! Haha! I always got those crispy tacos with some pasty stuff inside that was supposed to be meat. Those were the days. In exchange for the transportation to the beach I would have to help wash his car. What seemed like a chore has become a beautiful memory and The Beach Boys always bring it back. “Little Surfer, Little Girl” , “She’s My Little Duce Coupe” are forever imprinted in my mind.
Thank you for you beautiful post.
Brian Wilson, RIP. Your music, vocals and lyrics were incomparable, brillant and beautfully executed. Carolina No, In My Room, California Girls , all inspired me as a young girl, to know beauty ,in the midst of chaos, can exist. Thank you for this lovely tribute to Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the dreams of a little girl.
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Ah, to finally encounter someone else who recognizes the depth of "Surf's Up". I still prefer Brian's original with just his voice and the piano. The longing and the angst are laid bare and not covered by any production.
My Beach Boys collection, yes all of it, is now on my audio system. From their earliest demo tapes to the last song, my day will end when it does. Ah Brian, I will miss you. Thank you for leaving your music behind for all of us to hear and hear again.
Being from the Midwest (not a farmer’s daughter but many friends were) the Beachboys filled us with a longing to escape to the golden sun of California beaches. Never the less, Brian & the Boys music was the theme of our summers at the local pools, gravel pits, farm ponds & cottages at the lake. Campfires, making out under a star filled country sky! Great road trips & convertibles always had the radio blasting WLS Chicago! It was the mid to late 60’s. Before Nam took too many friends and we learned hard lessons we didn’t want to know. But oh how sweet it was to be alive! The memories a Brian Wilson song can take you back to will never cease! Love and Mercy Brian!
So true, evocative & so beautifully written it brought me to tears. I spent many summers on Jones Beach & watched many friends leave for Vietnam, never to return. Thank you.
I grew up in Southern California in the 70’s. The Beach Boys were still so popular and we’d turn up our mixtapes while driving the 101 looking for a parking place at the beach. Their songs will always remind me of the carefree days in high school when we were all trying to live his dream
Thank you for this amazing tribute to Brian. I really appreciate you taking us back to "Surf's Up." It didn't quite register with me at the time, in 1971, although I wanted it to. I can't explain why. I did buy the album. Now I can hear it. Again, thank you for your insightful analysis of the piece and its place in the times.
Brian was a uniquely brilliant songwriter, but he wasn't much of a lyricist. He almost always had a co-writer. An example of a song he wrote entirely by himself is a quirky bossa nova from the "Friends" album, "Busy Doin' Nothing." It's a recitation of all the things he did that day, including sharpening his pencil and providing instructions for how to get to his house...with not a rhyme in sight.
All the profound songs you mention were written with someone else: for instance, the Pet Sounds album ("Wouldn't It Be Nice") with Tony Asher; Smiley Smile ("Surf's Up) with Van Dyke Parks; plus my favorite Beach Boys song, "The Warmth of the Sun," written with fellow Beach Boy, Mike Love. And there were others.
It's worth noting that Brian was deaf in one ear. Yes, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century had a stereophonic mind but only one monophonic ear. Legend had it that he was hit in the head by his violent father, Murray, but in Brian's autobiography he attributes his hearing loss to a local kid hitting him in the head with a lead pipe.
The genius of Brian Wilson was that despite a profound disability, he communicated his feelings not so much through lyrics, but through some of the most beautiful, transcendent melodies and harmonies in pop music.