SMiLE From The Inside: A Conversation with David Leaf

“Y’know, I’m a fan. I just took it to extreme, what I’ve done in my life.”

Welcome (or welcome back) to my channel! For the Vinyl Monday season 2 finale, I covered the “lost” Beach Boys album and Brian Wilson’s masterpiece, SMiLE.
In a strange and wonderful turn of events, nearly 2 years later, I got to speak with author, “Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE” director, and educator David Leaf. We talked all about his new book “SMiLE: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Brian Wilson” – out today in the US!

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Buy “SMiLE: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Brian Wilson” here:
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4fI5kmg
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/49czwn1

David’s website: https://www.leafprod.com

Timestamps:

intro – 0:00
why SMiLE? – 2:41
why did Brian shelve SMiLE? – 9:52
Pet Sounds vs. SMiLE – 12:07
what do people love about SMiLE? – 13:07
the SMiLE story – 16:15
Brian – 19:28
writing an oral history – 24:00
editing the book – 28:28
getting fans involved – 31:35
anthology – 33:31
balancing voices – 37:05
Brian and Melinda – 37:54
drugs – 39:45
challenging SMiLE – 41:09
working title – 42:45
crucial interviews – 43:53
who do you wish you got to interview? – 48:10
being a fan – 50:47
what is genius? – 52:40
finishing SMiLE – 54:27
favorite SMiLE song? – 58:00
final thoughts – 59:38
thanks for watching! – 1:02:53

Music:
Outtro Music: Ticket To Nowhere Man by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) Artist: http://audionautix.com/

#beachboys #brianwilson #smile