Beach Boys' Pet Sounds by Fusilli Jim

Author:Fusilli, Jim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing
Published: 2009-04-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“I Keep Looking for a Place to Fit in …”

Despite the instrumentals and “Sloop John B,” Pet Sounds is defined by its highly personal look at love and its place in a young man’s life. To a great degree, it’s Brian Wilson’s worldview based on what he’s observed and experienced, and what he expects; only Tony Asher seems to have had input on the thematic concept and often he was interpreting Brian’s feelings and notions.

Pet Sounds conveys wide-eyed Brian’s sense of discomfort in a world where he lacks the control that he has in the recording studio. What’s so striking about many of the songs is how openly they reveal the level of Brian’s self-knowledge. Clearly, he explored his own insecurities and knew them painfully well. He knew his shortcomings, real and perceived, and demanded more of himself. He articulated what he discovered about himself, the world he inhabited and the one he wished for, and he did so largely without guile, without pretense. His words and music are startlingly frank.

Such is the case with “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” This is the song that told me I was not alone. If you are an ardent fan of Pet Sounds, I suspect it is the same for you. What a remarkable thing it is to know that there’s someone out there who understands how you feel and feels the same way—and who not only feels as you do, but can articulate your feelings better than you can.

I love Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen, all of whom have written lyrics that gave me insight into myself and the world around me at least as well as any other works of art I’ve explored. But to this day I am astonished at the power and precision of the lyrics Brian and Asher wrote for “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.”

I keep looking for a place to fit in where I can speak my mind.

And I’ve been trying hard to find the people that I won’t leave behind.

They say I got brains but they ain’t doing me no good.

I wish they could.

Each time things start to happen again,

I think I got something good going for myself,

But what goes wrong?

Sometimes I feel very sad.

I guess I just wasn’t made for these times.

Isn’t that the purest expression of a child’s insecurity that you’ve ever read? My goodness, that’s The Catcher in the Rye in one verse and one chorus.

And Brian at this point was twenty-three; he was married to a lovely, dedicated young woman; he was the leader of the most popular American musical group; he could ask virtually any musician in LA to record his music and they would willingly do so, which meant he was respected for his achievements and his potential. People loved him: Audree, Carl, Dennis, Marilyn. Marilyn’s family. Mike and Al too. Murry, in his own perverse way. He had friends and caring associates like Blaine, Carol Kaye, and Chuck Britz. Brian even had two dogs, Banana and Louie.

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