[Jung Roe]

That looked like a lot of fun Sara!

[Jung Roe]

MLT’s San Francisco brings me joy to no end. To think this and the other two California Dreaming songs started it all off for MLT on Youtube. Their San Francisco was my first MLT experience, and this one will be forever special to me. It show cases the absolute super natural beauty of Mona and Lisa’s musical talent that can stir and move the soul, that carries on in everything they do to WHY? today. In 2017 this video was at 600K views, and now at 2.4M quadrupled.

https://youtu.be/kiJ9mob9veU

[Jung Roe]

Hi Jacki, really beautiful, I feel a songbird connection with the Wings of MLT. Real creative magic poetry! Thanks for this.

[Jung Roe]

Did you know Brian Wilson employed the Hammond organ and Leslie speakers in Good Vibrations. The description below of the studio work the Beach Boys did to create Good Vibrations, to me is like listening to Mona, Lisa talk about their work in the studio on WHY? with Papa Rudi.

The Beach Boys to the Beatles to Good Vibrations and beyond.

As a young boy, Wilson’s mother often talked to him about the “cosmic vibrations” in the world, and a dog barking is often in response to a person’s bad vibrations. With lyrics written by both Wilson and Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, Brian Wilson wanted to create a magnum opus about good cosmic vibrations. Brian’s brother Carl sings lead, and the song begins with no introduction. The first thing we hear is the trademark falsetto Beach Boys sound. Time is kept by a Hammond organ fed through a spinning Leslie speaker and a repeating counter melody on the bass.

I, I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that left her perfume through the air

A snare drum kicks in with the third line with accentuating sleigh bells, and we are brought into the chorus. But this just isn’t any chorus, this is the chorus to “Good Vibrations!” This is the chorus where the song finds its footing while breaking all the rules. This is the chorus that harkens back to the vocal groups of the 1950’s while somehow sounding like something from the future. This is the chorus that has cellos, full tonal steps with every line, and a kick-ass rock band in the background moving everything a long at a rapid clip. Mike Love sings the bass part to start things off, then we hear the comfortably familiar shimmering Beach Boys harmonies coming in behind him, sounding just like a doo-wop group standing under the corner street lamp.

I’m pickin’ up good vibrations
She’s giving me excitations (Oom bop bop)
I’m pickin’ up good vibrations (Good vibrations, oom bop bop)
She’s giving me excitations (Excitations, oom bop bop)
Good, good, good, good vibrations (Oom bop bop)
She’s giving me excitations (Excitations, oom bop bop)
Good, good, good, good vibrations (Oom bop bop)
She’s giving me excitations (Excitations)

And floating above everything is the other-worldly sound of the Electro-Theremin, played by its inventor Paul Tanner. Harnessing electric currents to make sometimes unpredictable noises, the Theremin turned out to be the perfect counter-weight to the 16th notes being played by a cello underneath. Voices come in, layered on top of each other. Traditional rock band and vocal group stylings. Futuristic Theremin noises, beautiful orchestral sounds. In the wrong hands this could have been a sloppy mess, but everything here works. The sounds are logically layered on top of one another, woven together to create a complete sound, escalating to a crescendo until it stops with a sudden tape splice, and we hear Carl Wilson singing by himself for the next verse. The Hammond organ returns, and we hear the now familiar bass melody.

Close my eyes, she’s somehow closer now
Softly smile, I know she must be kind
When I look in her eyes
She goes with me to a blossom world

Again we hear Carl Wilson’s plaintive voice starting out alone. Again we hear those shimmering melodies coming in at the third line. The lyrics are poetic. Words are bent and shaped to fit the melody, adding to the mystique and mystery of the song.

After another chorus, a chorus filled with futurist 50’s call and response, beautiful harmonies and a killer backing rock band, we come to the bridge, a bridge that leans hard into the ethereal landscape only hinted at in the first and second verses.

The first part of the bridge evokes the first and second verse, but somehow sounds completely different. An aural salad is spinning around in our heads, everything is background, only with the line “I don’t where, but she sends me there” in sharp focus, completely clear and distinct from all else that his happening. Wilson is pounding the piano into smithereens, the cymbals are crashing, the Theremin is wailing.

“(Ahh)
(Ah, my my, what elation)
I don’t know where but she sends me there
(Oh, my my, what a sensation)
(Oh, my my, what elation)
(Oh, my my, what)

And then, again, everything stops. Only a quiet tambourine with the organ playing whole notes underneath. Very quiet, very subdued. One voice. Then a bass. Then more voices. Then then very high notes on the organ. The voices fade.

Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’ with her
Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’ with her
Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’“

A chorus of harmonic voices comes in as the music comes to as the music stops, and then we are back to the full throated chorus which then dissipates into the rockingest cellos you’ve ever heard. The harmonies return as transition to the fade out ending of the song.

At 3:34 long, “Good Vibrations” is relatively short by today’s standards, but in 1966 it pushed teh envelopes of duration, structure, and instrumentation. Rock and roll music was forever re-defined as a platform for new ideas. For stretching preconceived notions. Embracing the past while mapping the future. There were new rules, and the World War of Rock and Roll was forever won by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. Listen to Who’s Next, but then move on. Blonde on Blonde is a truly monumental album. But everything begins with “Good Vibrations,” and people have been trying to catch up ever since.

They were not in a vacuum. Music was changing everywhere. Culture was evolving. The mid to late 1960’s brought a veritable explosion of psychedelia, folk-rock, experimental electronic music, and even the beginnings of heavy metal. The idea of rock and roll was expanding, and the great musical groups of the day found themselves in a creative arms race of talent and ideas. Who would fire the next shot? Who would win the war?

The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Beach Boys. The Who. Bob Dylan. Everyone was listening to each other. Everyone was finding inspiration. Everyone was exploring, experimenting, stretching to showcase their creativity, to inspire whoever and whatever would follow.

Listen for the Hammond. You can’t miss it, right from the get go.

https://youtu.be/mdt0SOqPJcg

[Jung Roe]

Hi Phil

So glad you joined, and wish you all the very best and enjoyment checking out all the content here. I recommend checking out all the Duo Sessions, and then heading on over to the Behind the Scenes, but you really can’t go wrong wherever you begin.

I remember when MLT posted their Nowhere Man cover, and I was just blown away, it’s so awesome. Ever since they first mentioned Nowhere Man while rehearsing in their room, I waited in great anticipation for that song. Here is a fun behind the scenes where you get a sneak peek at their early try at Nowhere Man.

https://test4.monalisa-twins.com/rehearsing-mike-masse/

[Jung Roe]

This discussion reminds me of the Mona Lisa portrait. 500 years after Leonardo Da Vinci painted it, the world is forever fascinated, and even to this day there is speculation and debate about who the subject of the painting really is, and fascination with the smile, eyes, layering of the paint, the 3 dimensional aspect never before seen in it’s time etc… It’s the archetypal masterpiece, the best known, most visited, most written about work of art in the world because it intrigues and is open to interpretation.

I always said about MLT, their albums when I listen to it I can get a fresh experience, something new, a different perspective, new idea, or inspiration. They are master song writers. Open to interpretation, can mean something for one person, and something much different for another, but there is no right or wrong interpretation. Mona and Lisa intentionally kept their songs open to interpretation.

I recall someone famous once said about good art: When a person writes a song they can have one interpretation, but it’s not contingent on the audience getting the same interpretation to like it, resonate with it, or feel it. In some ways the best art is open enough where the artist gets to have their experience when they make it, and the audience gets to have their experience when they listen, and it doesn’t have to be the same.

[Jung Roe]

Now while this might sound juvenile, but I found the best way to listen to the song WHY? to maximize the enjoyment is to crank it up on your best speakers really loud. Then you will hear the nuanced interplay between the bass, organ, and strings to the vocals, and then mid way into the song, the drums do some fireworks. Then you feel the build up between the vocals and strings until that final exploding chord ends the song. It has to be ultra loud to feel the full might of that exploding chord at the end. This will leave you feeling breathless and in a satisfying peace, like you ran an emotional marathon.

I can’t remember where but I recall MLT commented about about a song that “it is best to be listened to loud” or something like that. Perhaps it was WHY? Actually the entire album sounds great loud.

[Jung Roe]

David, unfortunately not familiar with Suzi at all, but great Happy Days memory lane, thanks. I must have missed that Happy Days episode. It looks like Richie could tear it up pretty good on the guitar, I wonder if it was actually Ron Howard’s actual playing? That scene with Chachi/Scott Baio on the drums at the end, reminded me of my cousin who had huge crush on him at the time.

[Jung Roe]

Hi Chris

Great article on the Electro Theramin, giving some insight on this invention that is a variation on the Theramin. In the video for Good Vibrations, you can see Mike Love using it in post studio production performance, and I imagine the Beach Boys bought the unit to use in their concerts, until the electronic synthesizer was able to displace it.

With Good Vibrations, while it became the Beach Boys biggest hit song, I think Capital records though did the song dis-service by linking it back to the fun in the sun beach song image in the various ways Capital promoted the song, even though the lyrics has nothing to do with the beach. In a way this image the label tried to link to the song undermined the real artistry, and all the innovation Good Vibrations encompassed. I’ve seen so many videos of people playing beach volley ball, girls laying on the beach in bikinis, and guys waxing down their surfboard to Good Vibration. I think a lot of people dismissed Good Vibrations, despite it’s commercial success and critical acclaim from music critics, to another fun in the sun beach song, and did not give it it’s due credit as one of the great amazing cutting edge influential songs that made a big impact on the future of music for generations.

[Jung Roe]

Hi Chris. I didn’t know the inventor of the Theramin played on Good Vibrations. That is quite the unique science lab instrument. I remember in last years MLT Christmas Advent Calendars reaction videos, they discussed the Theramin. I agree, not an easy instrument for anyone to pick up, though I think Mona or Lisa have the musical dexterity to do so if they wanted. LOL!

[Jung Roe]

Hi David

Yes, here is the link to the article: The Beach Boys to the Beatles to Good Vibrations and beyond.

I did a search in Google, “did Brian Wilson use the Hammond organ in Good Vibrations” and got this gem of an article. I really love the description it goes into about the creative rivalry between the Beatles and Beach Boys that created amazing music, sounds, and studio technique/expertise by musicians. In that 2017 MLT video when Mona and Lisa said they were going to take a break from performing and go into the studio to create new music (that led to the creation of Orange and WHY? masterpieces), I immediately envisioned parallels to the Beatles taking a break from touring and focusing in on the studio creating Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sargent Peppers….as well as Brian Wilson stepping back from the band and going into the studio to create Pet Sounds, Smile, and Good Vibrations. In some places Good Vibrations is touted as the precursor to A Day In The Life, and Bohemian Rhapsody.

[Jung Roe]

Thanks Tom. I never realized until now the Hammond organ in Good Vibrations. It has one of the nicest bass line in any song, just like in WHY. The organ, bass and chorus in Good Vibrations and WHY? are stellar. The string arrangement in WHY takes it another, it is killer.

[Jung Roe]

Tomas, yeah that key board guy is doing a lot of stuff in the back. At 1:35 you can see him with his left hand playing the Hammond below while his right hand is playing the keyboard above.

[Jung Roe]

Hi Steve

I would be very interested in seeing the Mona Lisa portrait hanging in the Louvre. With the huge lineups, I wasn’t sure if they let people stop and take in the masterpiece for any length of time. It sounds like they give you some time to look and contemplate it’s magnificence. I heard it’s not a very big painting.

I don’t think I’ve ever been moved by a piece of visual art as much as music, though some paintings have captivated me. A beautiful piece of music, painting, sculpture, literature that can provide a moment of absolute beauty or divine insight is so cathartic.

[Jung Roe]

Tim and David,

Some impressive numbers indeed. At 27K views per day on average overall for all MLT videos on Youtube (that’s not counting Facebook I presume), if they tried to match that audience at a venue like the Cavern Club that can seat 250 (sitting and standing) at full capacity, they would have to do 90 shows a day to reach the same number of ears and eyes. Great plan they are on, creating new music while reaching so many with their music each day.