Free Republic

Now that it’s nearly over I’ve finally figured out why it hasn’t seemed a proper summer: not enough pet sounds. No, not the barking and meowing kind,the woofer and tweeter type. Specifically, Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys masterpiece that audiophiles have been talking about reverentially for 55 years. You're halfway through the album when you hear it — a heavenly harmony of instruments that features a harpsichord, organ, bass clarinet, string bass, sleigh bells, and a wonderful French horn. This is the intro to God Only Knows. While the music itself is the output of The Wrecking Crew, the legendary...

A giant sculpture of 'a queen's private parts' has sparked fury as it goes on display in the famous gardens of Versailles Palace. Following on from the controversy of Paul McCarthy's 'butt-plug' sculpture in Paris, which was vandalised last year, comes artist Anish Kapoor's Dirty Corner monument. The 60-metre long rusty metal funnel, surrounded by rocks, sits across from the stunning 17th century palace which was once home to the last French king, Louis XVI. British contemporary sculptor Kapoor claims the impressive structure represents 'a queen's vagina' taking power.

Vandals attacked a giant green inflatable sculpture in one of the most famous squares in Paris in the early hours of Saturday after its resemblance to a sex toy sparked an outcry. The 24-meter-high canvas artwork by U.S. artist Paul McCarthy was unveiled on Thursday in Place Vendome, famous for its luxury jewellery stores and the Ritz Hotel. "An unidentified group of people cut the cables which were holding the artwork, which caused it to collapse," police told Reuters. "The person responsible for the piece then decided to deflate it to avoid it being more seriously damaged." The deflated sculpture...

A GIANT inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a window before it landed again. The art work, titled Complex Shit, is the size of a house. The wind carried it 200m from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner. The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Mr Steiner said....