The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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matedog
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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Bonus Bits "Wipe Out" edition:
As this was a legit hit, the band needed to play it live. So I guess the decision was made to have their most ethnic touring member Billy Hinsche do the rap. Good lord:


I gave the Fat Boys 1987 album "Crushin'" a few spins for the "Wipeout" review. There's not too much noteworthy except one track "Protect Yourself/My Nuts." Props to the Fat Boys for promoting safe sex before it was trendy (I'm thinking Left Eye's fashion circa 1991 and Ice Cube and Snoop promoting them in various songs/videos in the early 90s), but man what a juxtaposition with the song it's paired with "My Nuts":
"It ain't under the shelf now it's on display
With all these diseases going around today
You need a piece of mind when you do the wild thing
So, a condom, brotha' - Don't forget to bring"

And within the same track:
"We're real close friends, as you can see
And my nuts are big and round like me
One is black and the other is white
And if that looks dumb...hey, that's all right"
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

Post by Dr. Medulla »

matedog wrote:
06 Sep 2022, 12:40pm
Bonus Bits "Wipe Out" edition:
As this was a legit hit, the band needed to play it live. So I guess the decision was made to have their most ethnic touring member Billy Hinsche do the rap. Good lord:
It kinda sounds like "Monster Mash." Regardless, it's many types of awful. Nobody within the camp had this "What the fuck are we even doing?" moment?
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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1988's "Kokomo" from the soundtrack to the 1988 film "Cocktail" and The Beach Boys 1988 album "Still Cruisin'"
Lead Vocal - Mike Love and Carl Wilson


I think it's safe to say that "Kokomo" is now just generally lumped in with the rest of the well known Beach Boys ouvre. It was once considered a late era hit, and it was, but enough time has passed I suspect that people who don't know who Blondie Chaplin is don't really differentiate it from "California Girls" or even "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Consequently, it may be surprising to the average listener the level of vitriol this song induces in some fans. I have my suspicions why and I'll get to those later. The Beach Boys were one of the first bands that I got into, I'm sure at the encouragement of my parents. I was probably six years old when I had the "Still Cruisin'" album. I don't really think this affects my current opinion of this song as I liked plenty of music back then that I think is god awful now (eg Michael Bolton's "Time, Love, and Tenderness").

The story of this song is well known, but this is yet another Melcher co-pen with Mike Love, but this time adding possible/probable daughter rapist John Phillips who we last saw pretending to play sax in the "California Dreamin'" video as well as Scott McKenzie (of the "Flowers In Your Hair" whatever San Francisco song). The genesis of the song is this demo from Phillips (and I guess McKenzie):
It fucking sucks. I'm not sure how the hell Love/Melcher heard that and thought, "this has potential!" Still, they tightened up the lyrics, added a two part chorus (one by Mike ("Aruba, Jamaica"), one by Terry (the Carl vocal). This is well known as being a #1 hit and their first #1 in 22 years since "Good Vibrations." Weirdly, the UK didn't seem to care as much for it, only peaking at #25. This means in the UK, "Cottonfields" and "Lady Lynda" charted higher. "Wipe Out" too for that matter.

Over the years, the song has developed a notorious reputation often being declared as one of the worst songs ever in spite of its chart success. Is the reputation justified or are music fans just too eager to shit on Mike Love's eternally loathsome self? Let's find out.

Lyrics:
We all know the damn lyrics. Money Mike wants to takes us to the tropics to like drink pina coladas and bone on the the sandy beach and listen to steel drums. The chorus name drops a bunch of similar places to reinforce the locale. It's an effective choice. There's a lot of character to these lyrics and yeah, it's not poetry, but it completely nails what it's going for. The last verse confirms this is a call to arms for every listener. "Everybory knows a little place like Kokomo", you don't have to be a wealthy jetsetter, Kokomo is a state of mind, man. People are going to groan about it not being the same level as whatever the fuck Van Dyke Parks is on about in "Surf's Up", but it is completely on par with early Beach Boys lyrical content and that's okay. And hey they even somewhat updated the approach to a more age appropriate choice for a bunch of 50 year olds. It's not even as cloyingly nostalgic as some of their other songs of the era. The Beach Boys singing about going to the beach is just fine.

Music:
The song intros with some fairly dated but nicely syncopated percussion leading to a solo Mike singing the bass harmony of the chorus. He doesn't make his way through the entire chorus before abruptly shifting to the verse which is cued by some kind of whip crack and vibraslap. Mike's hushed vocals seem to try to set the mood, but are often a bit unsettling and creepily over-enunciated. Throughout the verse, the instrumentation remains sparse and understated - simple bass line and some appropriately soft strumming acoustic guitars with some light conga percussion. Halfway through the verse some steel drums enter portending forthcoming lyrical allusions. The vibe remains light and airy, like a chill sesh at the beach. However, that mellow ends real quick when the chorus drops like a fucking anvil. A very simple drum/percussion fill barely gives any kind of warning about the absolute winner of a chrous that is about slam in your ears. The boys all join in for the killer hook sounding strong and tight. The instrumentation in the chorus remains tastefully sparse - no god awful 1985 synths to be found here. This allows the vocals to really shine, I don't even hear an electric guitar yet it still sounds hard. The boys didn't even finish their line when Carl interrupts them to fucking own the chorus with a tremendous solo vocal. It's a wonderfully dynamic two part chorus that continues to sell the song.

You know what the secret MVP of this song is? The accordion. I never associated accordion with "beach music", but it totally works here. It first appears as a light little fill before the chorus and then reappears for Carl's solo. You know what Van Dyke Parks, your lyrics don't do anything for me, but your accordion playing on late 80s, early 90s Beach Boys tracks redeems you in my eyes.

Each chorus is followed by a unique interstitial part song by Mike similar to the chorus, but shorter. It's a neat little transition. The second chorus is followed by a not terribly effective sax solo. It's...fine, but has that soul-less sound of so many sax solos of the era. The last verse rules too because it's half the length of the other verses leading to another surprise killer chorus. "Fuck this verse, let's get to the good shit." Parks' accordion massages the last verse as another nice changeup as is Mike doing a tight, barely perceptible parallel harmony throughout. The killer chorus is back and there is a filthy electric guitar power chord that pops up at the end of Carl's part before the chorus loops and fades out.

Video: A nice looking if a bit boring performance piece. I like the night time setting with some new beach side Disney hotel in the background and the band looks good together. Even Bruce leaves his god damn shorts at home for this one. There's way too many shots of the movie which made sense at the time. Given how forgettable the movie was, that aspect as not aged well. Mike also pretends to play the sax solo, taking a cue from John Phillips in the "California Dreamin'" video. This isn't even the last god damn time someone in the Beach Boys is going to pretend to play sax in a music video. Let's talk about the hot elephant in the room (or on stage): John Stamos makes his first of what are going to be many appearances in this video hamming it up pretending to play congas, bongos, and I guess steel drums. Get your leg off the god damn congas, Stamos:
Image

Song grade: A- This song is so well produced and arranged. They knew the strength of the chorus and made everything around it serve to shine a light on it. Mike's verses and the sax solo bring it down slightly, but let's not fuck around, this is a great song. I suspect the backlash largely due to the song's omnipresence in 1988 if you were alive and aware at the time. It's also very Mike Love-y but then again, so were a lot of their early hits. It's also not remotely cool or weird. Just an impeccably made catchy ass song. Like a Pitbull single. Lots to hate, but don't let that distract you from acknowledging the song's tremendous strengths.

Video grade: C. The setting is nice but It's pretty blah and the movie clips don't help beyond some of the Jamaica shots.

Choice Youtube Comment:
"This song reminds me of my next door neighbor Dan, from when I was growing up. He used to come home late at night. The winter sun in Michigan would be long gone by the time he pulled his Ford Ranger Splash into his small two track driveway. This song would rumble through the thin sheet metal and into my childhood bedroom. I’d peak out the window, between the blinds. Our backyards cascaded in red from his taillights. He’d always sit there, foot on the brake, and let these boys finish out their harmonies, idling away. Sometimes I’d crack my window and I swear I could hear the deep release of a man weeping. Hope you’re doing well Dan, hope you finally paid off that Splash. I hope one day the islands find you. That cold left leaning blue collar town really knows how to break a man." - James Semivan

Brian status - Nowhere to be found. You snooze you lose Brian. Your consolation prize for being late to the party is a prominent vocal on the inferior Spanish language version of the song (
Mike Love venom - Mike took a shit demo and turned it into a bona fide, enduring smash. He's the hero of this story. He doesn't even creep on girls 30 years his junior in the video.

Next week: Ride the Kokomo-mentum with "Still Cruisin'"
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Why do people hate it? It's cheesy Jimmy Buffett music. I hated it when it came out and knew nothing about what a turd Mike Love is. It serves only to confirm it all.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 4:15pm
Why do people hate it? It's cheesy Jimmy Buffett music. I hated it when it came out and knew nothing about what a turd Mike Love is. It serves only to confirm it all.
Nah man, Buffett never dropped a chorus like Kokomo.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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matedog wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 4:40pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 4:15pm
Why do people hate it? It's cheesy Jimmy Buffett music. I hated it when it came out and knew nothing about what a turd Mike Love is. It serves only to confirm it all.
Nah man, Buffett never dropped a chorus like Kokomo.
Every Parrothead loves that song. I have no doubt about that whatsoever.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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I really need WWK or Flex to chime in here as they are the BB nerds.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

matedog
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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Oh whatever, they are the Beach Boys and singing about going to the beach. Let's not overthink this.

Buffett wishes he ever did a song half as good as Kokomo.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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matedog wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 5:38pm
Oh whatever, they are the Beach Boys and singing about going to the beach. Let's not overthink this.

Buffett wishes he ever did a song half as good as Kokomo.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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The difference is that in the early 60s, those songs were still reflective of the youth culture they were growing up in. By the 80s it was just sad bastard, culturally retrograde nostalgia. Much like the band by then. And the music is Charmin soft with any interesting elements smoothed away like a fucking yacht rock single. The production is of its time and its so, so bad.

In a comparison with Buffett, Kokomo somehow comes out worse. At least Margaritaville had the decency to suggest some ennui about the narrator's state of affairs. Kokomo is just Tropical Reaganism, I fuckin' hate it.

Changed my life, tho.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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That last line is chef's kiss superb. :lol:
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 5:53pm
matedog wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 5:38pm
Oh whatever, they are the Beach Boys and singing about going to the beach. Let's not overthink this.

Buffett wishes he ever did a song half as good as Kokomo.
Exactly. Did The Beach Boys ever do Margaritaville? Don’t think so. (At least my ten second search came up empty)

Fucking Stamos.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

Post by Dr. Medulla »

matedog wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 6:29pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 5:53pm
matedog wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 5:38pm
Oh whatever, they are the Beach Boys and singing about going to the beach. Let's not overthink this.

Buffett wishes he ever did a song half as good as Kokomo.
Exactly. Did The Beach Boys ever do Margaritaville? Don’t think so. (At least my ten second search came up empty)

Fucking Stamos.
I'm not certain this is the victory you're claiming it to be. :hmm:
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

matedog
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Re: The Thread to Ruminate About Mike Love's Rape Van

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Flex wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 6:00pm
The difference is that in the early 60s, those songs were still reflective of the youth culture they were growing up in. By the 80s it was just sad bastard, culturally retrograde nostalgia. Much like the band by then. And the music is Charmin soft with any interesting elements smoothed away like a fucking yacht rock single. The production is of its time and its so, so bad.

In a comparison with Buffett, Kokomo somehow comes out worse. At least Margaritaville had the decency to suggest some ennui about the narrator's state of affairs. Kokomo is just Tropical Reaganism, I fuckin' hate it.
I noted in the review that the song basically sounds like a more age appropriate take on a beach vacation. Basically going to a Club Med resort. It's lame, but at least they aren't singing about drag racing and cheerleaders. It seems to be something reflective of their age. Furthermore, I don't think this is really a yacht rock song. Perhaps if everything stayed in the style of the verse, that'd be so, but the chorus is too insistent and big. The production is dated, but it's certainly less dated than 1985 and I'd probably say even less dated than most of their 70s output where they meander between listless 70s soft rock and weird genre exercises that usually fall flat. Like "Long Promised Road" has a similar light verse, big anthemic chorus, but it sounds muddled and poorly mixed.
Flex wrote:
12 Sep 2022, 6:00pm
Changed my life, tho.
:cool:
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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