Uncanny

MITCHELL DAILY REPUBLIC "The Beach Boys concert at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village was an artistic success, according to organizers and attendees ... But there were two dark events, one the night before the concert and a second event after it was over, that cast a shadow over the event. Kent Boline, the manager of the Indian Village, died at his home Friday night. No other details were available ... Early Sunday, after the show was over and Indian Village staff, board members and volunteers had cleaned up the grounds, vandals overturned trash bins, raced golf carts and damaged the stone monuments in the village."

ROLLING STONE "The Healing of Brother Bri: Interview with The Beach Boys"

EXCLAIM.CA "Despite his limited yet erratic movements and sporadic conversation, [Brian] Wilson appeared genuinely excited to be in Toronto."

NOW TORONTO "Brian Wilson has more passion for his new George Gershwin project than he does his Beach Boys hits written some 40-plus years ago. Unfortunately for him, the crowd at his Massey Hall NXNE show were in an opposite mood. Wilson cycled through the biggest hits of his Beach Boys career in the first of two sets, with Add Some Music, Salt Lake City, and Sloop John B being a few standouts. And those were standouts mainly because Wilson handled the vocals all on his own – Don’t Worry Baby, Darlin’, and nearly every other hit was spread around between his band. As proficient a 13-piece band as they were – probably tighter live than the Boys ever were – they were mostly a distraction. Who wants to hear a cheesy L.A. session musician sing Surfin’ Safari while doing the Swim when the man who wrote the song sits centre stage doing nothing?"

MOVIELINE "[Diablo] Cody said she hadn’t begun a script 'even in terms of research' about the fabled Beach Boys frontman, but it’d be her dream assignment. That confession isn’t much of a surprise considering she met her first husband on a message board for diehard Beach Boys fans (as chronicled in her 2006 memoir Candy Girl), and she once blogged about meeting the rock legend himself."

INDIEWIRE/THE PLAYLIST "[Diablo] Cody told the crowd that one idea she’s been dreaming of being involved with is a biopic of famed Beach Boys frontman, Brian Wilson, whose illustrious career and battle with drugs and mental illness would provide ripe source material for any film adaptation. Any substantial development on that front is quickly ruled out, though, as Wells notes that Cody 'hasn’t begun working on [it], not even in terms of research' and that it simply was 'her dream writing project.'"

HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE has even more, including some video

OTTAWA CITIZEN "Brian Wilson turned 69 years old on Monday while simultaneously turning back the clock to a simpler time when all that mattered in life was frolicking in the surf and rhapsodizing about scantily clad California girls."

TORONTO SUN "Brian Wilson can still charm a crowd"
TORONTO STAR "Brian Wilson: Talking about ‘Plenty o' Nuttin'"
THE EXAMINER "Brian Wilson kicks off Canadian Gershwin-Wilson Songbook tour at NXNE"
MONTREAL GAZETTE "Concert review: Brian Wilson at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts; June 17, 2011"

ISTHMUS "[A] copy of the Australian album Brian Wilson Rarities turned up here in town. It's a completely different album than the American Rarities, with only a few songs -- primarily drawn from singles sides late in their Capitol tenure -- in common between the two discs. In fact, the Australian LP packs in 20 tracks, two-thirds of which are actually in the 'related artists' category rather than by the Beach Boys. In many cases, branding an LP as by a band when it's mostly not by said band would be a reason to cry foul, but those familiar with the Brian Wilson universe know the twists and turns make the material here a special case."

THE MITCHELL DAILY REPUBLIC “The essential ingredient to Beach Boys music is love,” says Mike Love.

MONTREAL GAZETTE "There's a built-in awkwardness to a group of people, mostly way past their 50s, singing anthems of youthful innocence and fun, led in song by the haunted genius who wrote them, but now seems neither in that world nor in this one. It's been that way with Brian Wilson concerts for many years now."

BELFAST TELEGRAPH Brian Wilson says that, "My favourite music is George Gershwin, doo-wop songs and Phil Spector's recordings. I don't listen to modern music. It's a bunch of c***. Don't say 'c***'. You should write that I said, 'Baloney... new music is a bunch of baloney'."

THE COAST "I'd never really considered Brian Wilson's genius until, ironically enough, I attended a launch in New York for a book of essays called Kill Your Idols, where music writers wanked on and on, ripping classic rock albums to shreds. I figured if a music writer felt compelled enough to write thousands of words why The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds sucked so badly, it was worth a closer listen. That's when I discovered the brilliance: deceivingly simple, rich layer upon layer. It is the blueprint for pop music. But seriously, why would anyone want to interview the notoriously reclusive, awkward artist? I applaud those who try, but maybe Wilson should be considered a wonder like Stonehenge, and leave it at that. It was a lovely idea to present him with the NXNE Lifetime Achievement Award, but to expect anything other than the shortest acceptance speech in the world was silly—I arrived at the ceremony as it was wrapping up, no time for cameras."

EXAMINER.COM "Brian Wilson was honored on Thursday night receiving the inaugural Now Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award at NXNE 2011. The inaugural award for the event it was part of the evening festivities that gave everyone a chance to honor a legend. Brian Wilson is known for his music as the Beach Boy member and solo artist has been strong in the music business for decades."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL 1 "'I was very proud to be able to work with Gershwin,' Brian Wilson says toward the end of a telephone call from Los Angeles."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL 2 "What would make a musician think he could match – indeed, complete – the genius of a long-dead master? Arrogance, perhaps – although vanity likely plays a large part – combined with ambition or greed on the part of the dead genius’s estate. An unfinished work, after all, is one which produces no revenue, and it’s not hard to see how the potential for new royalties would leave a composer’s heirs (or his publishing company) inclined to let some third party midwife a few new works into being. That’s essentially what happened when the estate of George and Ira Gershwin contacted Brian Wilson about recording an album of Gershwin material. Wilson wasn’t simply encouraged to put his own stamp on existing classics; in addition, the former Beach Boy was given piano demos for over 100 unfinished or unpublished Gershwin songs and allowed to rework the material."