The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

[JennyB]

Jesus. Last time I saw them it was less than half that.

Clearly he's getting much better with age and with a better band behind him, so the experience is worth more. Duh.

Does he play Kokomo?

He'd better lead with it and make it the encore, with explanations of its deeper meaning and detailed sales figures and chart placing.

Kokomo or GTFO

Have you heard Flex's Kokomo story from when he met Mike Love? It's not for me to tell, but it is basically history's greatest moment.

[revbob]

Clearly he's getting much better with age and with a better band behind him, so the experience is worth more. Duh.

Does he play Kokomo?

He'd better lead with it and make it the encore, with explanations of its deeper meaning and detailed sales figures and chart placing.

Kokomo or GTFO

Have you heard Flex's Kokomo story from when he met Mike Love? It's not for me to tell, but it is basically history's greatest moment.

No I don't recall that one

[JennyB]

Does he play Kokomo?

He'd better lead with it and make it the encore, with explanations of its deeper meaning and detailed sales figures and chart placing.

Kokomo or GTFO

Have you heard Flex's Kokomo story from when he met Mike Love? It's not for me to tell, but it is basically history's greatest moment.

No I don't recall that one

I will give Flex 24 hours and then I'm going to spill the beans.

[WestwayKid]

Tix for the Mike Love Boys start at $125 pop at their stop nearest me (Beaver Creek, but still), which, lol

Jesus. Last time I saw them it was less than half that.

Clearly he's getting much better with age and with a better band behind him, so the experience is worth more. Duh.

They played Milwaukee last summer and the tickets were about the same price. The last time I saw the Love-fronted Beach Boys I saw them at a county fair for the price of admission. I'm a big BB fan - but I cannot fathom that much for seeing the Mike & Bruce Show.

[Flex]

No I don't recall that one

FROM THIS VERY THREAD!

Okay, breakdown of the day:

I actually met Mike Love at a coffee shop by the bookstore prior to the signing. He was ordering some coffee and food with his family. Jon sagely suggested that I go up to him and tell him Kokomo changed my life. So I did. Mike seemed quite pleased by that, and said he was glad to hear it and don't forget, The Beach Boys are playing some December dates in Colorado! Magnificent salesmanship. He was actually quite gracious. I didn't want to interact too much further, since he was obviously spending some times with friends and family.

Th Q&A for the book signing was reasonably interesting. Mike is pretty much as much of an ungracious ass as you'd hope: he spent some time putting down studio recording as unpleasant and secondary to live performance; when asked about the beatles he said "I was never threatened by them, Brian was threatened by them because of his own insecurity or whatever." He spent some time complaining about how Dennis was roommates with Charles Manson, and told some weird, passive-aggressive stories about his mother (she made him play music, which he didn't enjoy. Which, LOL). He claimed the reason the Beach Boys aren't reunited is because Brian isn't "allowed" by his handlers to play with Mike Love.

When asked about his top 3 favorite Beach Boys songs, he listed Good Vibrations and gave a reasonable but dickishly put answer about how that was the best fusion of broad commercial appeal and experimentation (he went off on a tangent about how musical experimentation has no value of it doesn't sell records), then of course Kokomo where he got into some painful detail about who wrote which lines of the song, and then The Warmth of the Sun, and he gave a fairly poignant retelling of the bit about how he and Brian wrote it and then learned about the JFK assassination. So, him taking a reasonable stance but as dickishly as possible, him being a self-aggrandizing narcissist, and then an actual moving anecdote about a classic moment of American culture. That's sort of the Mike Love Experience in a nutshell.

Then, of course, the book signing and the magnificent photo that I already shared.

[revbob]

Was he driving the van?

[JennyB]

HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE.

[revbob]

HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE. HE TOLD MIKE LOVE THAT KOKOMO CHANGED HIS LIFE.

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

[Flex]

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

Technically, I don't think you have any way of knowing this.

[revbob]

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

Technically, I don't think you have any way of knowing this.

The victims of the violence it has inspired would argue differently.

[Wolter]

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

Technically, I don't think you have any way of knowing this.

The victims of the violence it has inspired would argue differently.

Careful. This thread is admissible as evidence.

[revbob]

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

Technically, I don't think you have any way of knowing this.

The victims of the violence it has inspired would argue differently.

Careful. This thread is admissible as evidence.

My attorney will mount whst will be known as the Kokomo defense.

[Flex]

Careful. This thread is admissible as evidence.

oh fuck

[WestwayKid]

The only decent part of Kokomo is Carl's tag at the end of the chorus and that's only because he could sing the phone book and I'd still like it.

The best part of the video is when Mike pretends to play the sax solo.

...and I should mention that Mister Love has been nominated for induction into The Songwriters Hall of Fame!!

[Dr. Medulla]

It changed mine too, not for the better though.

Technically, I don't think you have any way of knowing this.

The victims of the violence it has inspired would argue differently.

Careful. This thread is admissible as evidence.

My attorney will mount whst will be known as the Kokomo defense.

You were seduced by the writings of a paedophile?