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Brian Wilson is near the end

Gil Bang

By Gil Bang
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25912

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LOS ANGELES — The management team of Brian Wilson has petitioned to place him in a conservatorship because of his mental decline and the recent death of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who managed his daily life.

The 81-year-old Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind has a “major neurocognitive disorder” and is taking medication for dementia, according to a doctor’s declaration filed with the petition Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The petition asks a judge to appoint two longtime Wilson representatives — publicist Jean Sievers and manager LeeAnn Hard — to be conservators overseeing his personal and medical decisions because “Mr. Wilson is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.”

The two women “have had a close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for many years, and Mr. Wilson trusts them,” according to the filing.

Ledbetter — whose husband credited her with stabilizing his famously troubled life — had managed his daily needs before her death on Jan. 30, the petition says.

The move came after consultation between Wilson, his seven children, caretaker Gloria Ramos, and his doctors, according to a statement posted Thursday on his social media accounts.

“This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of,” the posts said. “Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.”

Judges in California can appoint a conservator for the person, their finances — referred to as the estate — or both, as was the case with Britney Spears, whose court fight brought broad new attention to the legal standing.

The Wilson petition seeks only a conservatorship of his person, saying he does not need a conservator of the estate because his assets are in a trust, with Hard as a trustee.

Deeply revered and acclaimed as a member, producer, arranger and chief songwriter of the Beach Boys, Wilson struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues that upended his career in the 1960s.

He met Ledbetter when he was a customer at a car dealership where she was working in the mid-1980s. At the time, Wilson had for years been under the close supervision of psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy.

Ledbetter and others believed Landy was exploiting and mistreating Wilson, and feuded with Landy for years before he was barred in 1992 from any contact with Wilson.

Ledbetter died unexpectedly on Jan. 30, according to a Wilson spokesperson.

“Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost,” Wilson said on his web site. “Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior.”

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

The 81-year-old Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind has a “major neurocognitive disorder”

As in - he's even more batshit insane than usual?

Always loved this one.

 

 

Edited by ztejas
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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2907

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57 minutes ago, SizzleChest said:

Don't remember how this one came about.  Same song, different title/words.

 

The song was rewritten after Mike Love voiced objections to the lyrics.[16][17] Love stated in a 1993 interview that he found the original lyrics "so totally offensive [and] nauseating" that he refused to sing them.[18] He told Wilson that he was strongly opposed to drugs such as LSD and did not wish for the Beach Boys to be associated with its culture.[19] In his recollection, he was aware of the fact that Wilson had experimented with LSD and knew that the "prevailing drug jargon [suggested] that doses of LSD would shatter your ego, as if that were a positive thing... I wasn't interested in taking acid or getting rid of my ego."[20] He said, "The people that I'd seen indulge in those things exhibited behaviors and mannerisms that left much to be desired."[16]

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Celery Man

Celery Man 20931

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Fuck Mike Love, imo

 

 my favorite off Pet Sounds is maybe Caroline No. But man, Wouldn’t It Be Nice is an all time great opening track and a fairly perfect song.

i was never a teenager in white 1960s middle America, but that album makes me feel like I was

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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2907

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Truly sad.  Hell he's 5 years older than my mom and she's in a nursing home unable to move basically, but still sharp mentally 5 years from now, who knows...).  But Jesus, let's see, blowing your mind on drugs (luckily able to somewhat come through it unlike Syd Barrett), having both of your younger brothers die before you (as someone who has lost a younger sibling, yeah, that will fuck you up the rest of your life), a cousin who went nutso and took you to court, and a "manager" who controlled your entire life and tried to steal you blind.  My mind would be mush too.  I don't think he is near the end, but I do believe he is totally done creatively, or even as a "prop" on any kind of tour or anything.  He was the ultimate man-child.  Just never grew up, wrote some of the most brilliant music and melodies ever, but accompanied by just simple, juvenile even lyrics.  He was just stuck in that "Great American Songbook" style of writing, from the 30s through the 50's, into the early 60's, but he could just never progress any further.  A true savant, we will never see his likes again.    Just a few favorites, again, the lyrics don't matter, it's the sound, the blend, the chords, the arrangements, that are true genius.

 

 

One of the most brilliant songs ever written, if you're musically inclined, just try to mentally figure the chord structure out as this is playing, where is the center?  You can't do it..

 

again, such a deceptively simple song, but track where the chords go, every way you 'don't' expect them to go..

 

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GhostOfTomJoad

GhostOfTomJoad 9323

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8 hours ago, UTCzech III said:

Truly sad.  Hell he's 5 years older than my mom and she's in a nursing home unable to move basically, but still sharp mentally 5 years from now, who knows...).   I don't think he is near the end, but I do believe he is totally done creatively, o

 

One of the most brilliant songs ever written, if you're musically inclined, just try to mentally figure the chord structure out as this is playing, where is the center?  You can't do it..

 

 

Dude, he's 81 fucking years old. How much runway do you think he has left to use?

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yoladu

yoladu 4090

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feel like he has been living on borrowed time, considering the state of his health in the 80s.

Love the Beach Boys listening to the isolated vocals of songs from Pet Sounds on YouTube is a revelation.

Quote

I love my Carl
I love my Brian my Dennis and my Al
I could even find it in my head to love Mike Love

 

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17659

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Fuck Mike Love, imo
 
 my favorite off Pet Sounds is maybe Caroline No. But man, Wouldn’t It Be Nice is an all time great opening track and a fairly perfect song.
i was never a teenager in white 1960s middle America, but that album makes me feel like I was

All of this. Couldn’t have said it better. Mike Love is the reason why The Beach Boys stopped progressing and became a novelty/nostalgia act.*



*Also Brian losing it a bit maybe contributed.
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G650

G650 14233

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19 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Aside from his own music, I believe he had a fairly profound influence on the direction of the Beatles’ later years. 

They has a symbiotic relationship for sure.

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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3479

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8 hours ago, Celery Man said:

McCartney has said that Pet Sounds spurred them to make Sgt Peppers. I think Rubber Soul was an influence on Wilson making Pet Sounds.

 

If The Beach Boys were a real band, they’d be pretty easy to call the greatest American band.

Pet Sounds was in part a response or reaction to Revolver.  Sgt. Pepper was in part a response or reaction to Pet Sounds.

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withinyourreach

withinyourreach 22

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On 2/16/2024 at 11:56 PM, Celery Man said:

Fuck Mike Love, imo

 

 my favorite off Pet Sounds is maybe Caroline No. But man, Wouldn’t It Be Nice is an all time great opening track and a fairly perfect song.

i was never a teenager in white 1960s middle America, but that album makes me feel like I was

I love Caroline, No, Wouldn’t it Be Nice and Here Today.  Great music.

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withinyourreach

withinyourreach 22

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On 2/16/2024 at 11:49 PM, UTCzech III said:

The song was rewritten after Mike Love voiced objections to the lyrics.[16][17] Love stated in a 1993 interview that he found the original lyrics "so totally offensive [and] nauseating" that he refused to sing them.[18] He told Wilson that he was strongly opposed to drugs such as LSD and did not wish for the Beach Boys to be associated with its culture.[19] In his recollection, he was aware of the fact that Wilson had experimented with LSD and knew that the "prevailing drug jargon [suggested] that doses of LSD would shatter your ego, as if that were a positive thing... I wasn't interested in taking acid or getting rid of my ego."[20] He said, "The people that I'd seen indulge in those things exhibited behaviors and mannerisms that left much to be desired."[16]

Great explanation.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12451

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On 2/16/2024 at 11:13 PM, UTCzech III said:

Truly sad.  Hell he's 5 years older than my mom and she's in a nursing home unable to move basically, but still sharp mentally 5 years from now, who knows...).  But Jesus, let's see, blowing your mind on drugs (luckily able to somewhat come through it unlike Syd Barrett), having both of your younger brothers die before you (as someone who has lost a younger sibling, yeah, that will fuck you up the rest of your life), a cousin who went nutso and took you to court, and a "manager" who controlled your entire life and tried to steal you blind.  My mind would be mush too.  I don't think he is near the end, but I do believe he is totally done creatively, or even as a "prop" on any kind of tour or anything.  He was the ultimate man-child.  Just never grew up, wrote some of the most brilliant music and melodies ever, but accompanied by just simple, juvenile even lyrics.  He was just stuck in that "Great American Songbook" style of writing, from the 30s through the 50's, into the early 60's, but he could just never progress any further.  A true savant, we will never see his likes again.    Just a few favorites, again, the lyrics don't matter, it's the sound, the blend, the chords, the arrangements, that are true genius.

 

 

One of the most brilliant songs ever written, if you're musically inclined, just try to mentally figure the chord structure out as this is playing, where is the center?  You can't do it..

 

again, such a deceptively simple song, but track where the chords go, every way you 'don't' expect them to go..

 

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-beach-boys/god-only-knows-chords-1050794

This attempt to map it shows 22(!) chord variations.  Jesus.

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boilerhorn

boilerhorn 1373

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Beach Boys was the first concert I ever saw.  1981 in the Erwin Center w/ opening act - Randy Meisner.  Great show, esp. for a youngster.  Pretty sure Brian did not tour with them even then.  And only played live on occasion.

That said, he was one of the great songwriters of the 20th century.

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