Posted on 02/28/2005 4:02:39 PM PST by tame
I accidentally came across an interesting thing at www.goodnews.org, the website for a ministry know as the Good News Defenders. The following video "feed" documents Brian Wilson's (and the Beach Boys) troubled past, and alledged ties to Satanism:
"THEY SOLD THEIR SOULS FOR ROCK AND ROLL"
I found it fascinating, but presumptuous to assume that Brian's well known auditory hallucinations are actual demons (or the like).
Good News Defenders goes overboard in drawing false inferences from certain facts. Still, there are some interesting things mentioned that Are, in fact, true:
)1) Brian Wilson DOES here voices (auditory hallucinations) that scream obsenities and say things like "We're going to kill you", etc. This was well documented by Brian himself, along with his wife Melinda, on Larry King Live.
Also, Brian's keyboardist, Darian Sahanaja, spoke in an interview about his own eyewitness of one such event in Brian's home. Brian apparently screamed to Darian that "they" were going to kill him (Brian). Brian was apparently referring to the voices he was hearing.
2) Brian Wilson DID "freak out", thinking that some of his recording sessions for the legendary SMILE album (alledgedly a track titled FIRE) caused a rash of fires in the Los Angeles area.
3) The Beach Boys (especially Mike Love) DID get involved in Transcendental Meditation. This included an overseas trip with the Maharishi.
4) Charles Manson, and members of his "family" DID live with Beach Boy Dennis Wilson for a while (see Vince Bugliosi's book, Helter Skelter).
5)The Beach Boys DID record a song written by Manson BEFORE the Manson family murders (I know, spooky, huh?).
There are other things that are clearly documented as well which are mentioned or alluded to in this video.
But here's the thing. The makers of this piece assume far too much, engage in fallacies (ad hoc, etc.) and therefore draw faulty conclusions.
For instance, the Beach Boys had NO idea how wacked out Charles Manson was. In fact, most of the Beach Boys' circle apparently viewed Manson--an unfortunate friend of Dennis--as an irritating hanger-on.
How did Dennis meet Charles Manson? Dennis happened to pick up a couple of girls hitch-hiking on the freeway who also happened to be members of Manson's "family". Now, this might be a sure sign you shouldn't pick up strangers (Ya THINK?). But it hardly demonstrates premeditation to get involved with a cult, much less a murderous cult.
Yet the good fight ministry video makers seem to imply as much.
Also, they seem to fail to recognize a certain possible distinctions between mental illness (which Brian Wilson clearly has), and demonic activity and possession.
The video makers indicate that Brian was merely a channel through which demons passed their music.
Sorry, I don't buy it. I believe in demonic influence, too be sure. But to generally assign ALL of the Beach Boys/Brian's music to Satan and his demons? No.
Still, I enjoyed the video footage of Sean Lennon's (John Lennon's son) interview of Brian Wilson, and the great footage of Brian performing California Girls.
ping
Of course we all remember that Beach Boy classic album "Surfin' With the Devil."
Sheesh. All this time I thought Mike Love was Satan.
Sure, Brian Wilson has had emotional problems for over 40 years. That's pretty hard to deny. But I don't think he's capable of any coherent philosophy of any kind. Yes, Mike Love went through his TM stage in the late 60s, but like many from that era recovered and is now a practicing Republican who was a friend of Ronald Reagan. Despite the flashes of weirdness in their personal lives, the music the Beach Boys will always be known for celebrated normalcy and good times. Now I feel a need to run over to the sound system and put on "I Get Around" and "Dance Dance Dance." My four speed dual quad positraction 409.
Dr. Landy was Satan.
Brian Wilson is known to have had mental problems (and a drug problem). To anyone living in the 21st century rather than the Middle Ages, the explanations lie in brain chemistry and narcotic self-medication, not "demons" unless you use that term highly metaphorically. Meanwhile, the Manson connection to Dennis, aside from being interesting trivia, doesn't have anything to do with anything.
It is not unreasonable, by the way, to postulate that his mental problems may have influenced his music to some extent, at least the material from perhaps Pet Sounds on. Note that in some cases (Pet Sounds certainly) the result was deeply beautiful, hardly "Satanic" or "demonic". One might indeed say, for example, that much of that material was the result of Brian Wilson "working through his demons".
But I sure hope you'd be speaking metaphorically when you say that :-)
rotflmao! too funny. love that tag line, btw.
Don't forget "Be True To Your Hell."
Now, now :o)
I couldn't get the video clip to open. I'll check back later.
Good point.
Since Brian was the author of one of the first pop songs with "God" in the title -- "God Only Knows" -- I have a bit of a problem with the allegation.
"Keep an eye on summer" and "your summer dream", too.
Oh my goodness. Witch! Witch!
Beach ping.
This reminds me of a Maranatha video I saw in college about backmasking. Their premise was that supernatural forces were to blame for the messages supposedly present on some music played backwards.
Here was the sum total of their stellar reasoning for eliminating other possibilities:
--- a deliberate act of the artists: "it's too hard. if you don't believe us, try it yourself."
--- total random chance: "if that's the case, then we should be just as likely to hear positive or neutral messages like 'worship Jesus' or 'eat toast' as we are satanic messages."
So you see, it just HAD to be supernatural.
Of course, even when they told you in advance what it was you were going to hear, it just didn't come through when they played the backwards music. Were you aware that one of Cheap Trick's songs played backwards says "Satan Holds The Key to the Lock"? Neither did I. Only despite the video's claims, it really doesn't.
There was, however, one exception: "Another One Rights The Bus" played backwards really DOES sound like "Start to Smoke Marijuana"---at least if the speaker has marbles in his mouth :)
Didn't Wilson once say that 'Smile' was his teenage symphony to God or something like that?
I meant "Another One Bites The Dust", of course. I managed to mix up Weird Al Yankovic and goodness knows what else there.
What happens when you play it backwards?
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