A number people have asked me how I felt about The Beach Boys’ performance on the Grammys last night, as well as the whole reunion in general. I kept my mouth shut about it (and the rest of the Grammys) on Facebook, but I will say a few things here.

• Initially I was angry about the reunion, but I’ve lightened up about it. Do I think it’s a marketing move? Absolutely— the whole 50th anniversary thing is too obvious. Do I think Brian Wilson really wanted to do it? Not really. However, knowing that The Wondermints are the backing band (with John Cowsill on drums) really made things a lot easier to handle; they’re capable of doing even the most obscure songs in The Beach Boys catalog. My friend Jason sent me a setlist that the Mike Love & Bruce Johnston touring Beach Boys did in England a few years back. It was actually a decent mix of hits and the oddities that all the hardcore fans would want to see.
• Will I see them in concert? The answer is looking more and more like a ‘yes’ everyday. Despite my insurmountable hate for Mike Love, I still acknowledge that getting to see a good chunk of the original members of my favorite (tied with The Beatles) band is worth something, not to mention that this might be a one-time only thing. The only reasons I would not go would be if they play anywhere that seats more than 10,000 people; I could do a venue like Camden’s Susquehanna Bank Center, but even that is stretching it. If they play a stadium or an arena, I will catch the inevitable dvd; there’s just no way I would be able to keep collected if a bunch of idiots are there that don’t know anything besides “Kokomo.” Call it pretentious for me to say, but people like that are a fucking disgrace. If they play at a theater though,I will drop everything I’m doing to buy my ticket. The other reason I wouldn’t go would be if I came to a moral decision that it’s not The Beach Boys without Dennis and Carl and that I couldn’t go, on principle.
• The Grammys— Maroon 5: Horrible. Everybody was spot on except Adam Levine who decided to belt out “Surfer Girl” in that weird yelp voice he has. Foster The People: Not bad. They looked cool. The singer had to sing it in a lower octave though, which is a big cop-out to me. It seems odd that such a new band would be granted such an honor. Despite my low expectations, I was actually really impressed by The Beach Boys’ performance— Mike Love, though showing no sign of turning down his douchebaggery, actually sounded very good. The rest of the band looked happy and humble; Brian looked happy enough. The Wondermints were flawless on all three songs, as expected. However, I do think the whole Beach Boys tribute thing has been done enough; were it just them the whole time, they would’ve been able to perform three songs, as opposed to just one version of “Good Vibrations,” in which the classic first verse was cut for no apparent reason. Also— show me a video of just the original members (meaning Brian, Al, Mike, Bruce, and David) singing a-Capella. Then I’ll make a more accurate assessment. I don’t think the reunion is in any way as significant as the release of The SMiLE Sessions, but it’s nice. Kudos.