RIP Brian Wilson and Sly Stone

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has passed away today. And Sly Stone of Sly and The Family Stone has also recently passed, two musical innovators within the pop world. RIP

Edited by Captain Midnight - June 11 2025 at 17:28

RIP


So many greats dying in the last handful of decades with no one to even come close to filling that void.

Hi,

I really don't know what to say here. This is very personal for me and my history.

I did not get to know the Beach Boys until 1971 or 1972, when we moved to Santa Barbara, and by that time, I was already into more meaningful music, than the fun thing that BW and the Beach Boys had created. Thus, the BB did not grow on me as much.

Sly is another story. Being in Madison, WI for 6 years and working at the Student Union (Rathskeller) made me very close to a lot of things that defined the time and space. During the Kent State shooting, the whole of that building, and others at UW in Madison was a serious issue and being frisked every day on the way to work and out, was not fun. The women had it worse, with the NG making sure they could touch up the women ... and it was so obvious, it was not funny, and even the older ladies working there were not happy!

A lot of music was important, and some of it was made so by the Woodstock film, and we had some friends that were going to Chicago (3 hr drive from Madison) to see Sly and .... and ... and ... they ended up getting bashed by Chicago's police, as Sly was late, and eventually did not show up and it got a large groups of folks hit on, as the concert spot was evacuated. It was fun to see some of your friends come home with blood in their person. It took the appreciation of a band, down to a zero in my book, and I felt the "higher" thing was fake and not important, and gave it up for advertising and over blown crap.

By then, I had left a lot of the American music scene for the Europeans non-stop and our record collection ended up nurturing Guy Guden's show, though the credit goes to him for his choices. His special show had no American music in it, and it was intentional to focus on European and other countries from around the world.

50 years later, I like the BB much better, but find their focal point, really a drag, and having lived and gone to school in Santa Barbara, it was too much, and a party for tourists, not the locals per se. But, at least the music was more on par with the life in California beaches (so to speak), but not exactly the thing in Stockton or Fresno, or Sacramento!

Brian's work was very neat for me to listen to, but I can't say that it was as valuable or as important as so much other music out there, although folks tend to say at least one album led to Sgt Pepper's, but for me, it was like saying that London and Liverpool didn't have dope or psychedelics ... the story gets strange here, and probably out of sync for a reason or another ... like someone can not do something weird for the sake of it, which I think the Beatles did with ideas and thoughts from the 5th Beatle in the studio.

When seeing from a global perspective, I see things differently ... but I will not say that they were not important or a part of the history of it all, although, for me, Sly and the Family Stone, was too close to home and gave a lot of folks a really ugly and bad impression, though seeing the Woodstock movie, for example, makes it look like it is way better than that ... but it was like it was telling folks to get ripped and stoned some more than it would have been a spiritual idea or song. The mix, for me, was not a good idea. You didn't go to the church to get stoned, and the mix hurt the idea ... bring stonies to the church, or being the household church cavalry to the concert ... either way it would be a bad experience, and wrong. Wrong people in the wrong place kinda thing.

But at the time, the black music thing had already started on the dope thing, and it was just a matter of minutes (so to speak) that you ended up getting Funkadelic and other bands that took thing into a much more honest detail.

Edited by moshkito - 16 hours 46 minutes ago at 05:58

MortSahlFan wrote: So many greats dying in the last handful of decades with no one to even come close to filling that void.

Hi,

It's probably the hardest thing in life, for me, when an artist leaves us.

The one ting that is valuable for me, is that my generation had an incredible number of outstanding artists of all kinds, and as such they were all an influence in me,although I tend to stay away from the rich and the famous (so to speak) as too many of them end up feeling like they can do anything and we're supposed to buy it and love it. I get tired of that attitude real quick. You don't want to know the names and numbers of writers that went through our house and their over sized this or that. It was sad, even if for some of them it was a kind of protection cloak.

But, it's a part of life ... and we simply have to admire the moments of their life and living that inspired us, and thank them for it ... and that's all we can do.

For me, one moment was important .. when Daevid said thank you for some of the nice things, and the pictures, and Gilly did the same. I thought it was far out, that some folks that inspired me so much, actually thanked me for some things I did, a photo they used for a whole tour and the same photo was used on a book, and I made sure that a set of the pictures (all 5x7's!!!) went to all the members, care of GAS and Johnny.

I've cried for 2 folks big time. Edgar Froese and Vangelis, because their inspiration to my life and my writing is impossible to describe, and their constant fight against corruption and the pop music thing that tried several times to sidetrack them ... they made it through ... and they were the prime example of the utmost artistry all the way to the end. The kind that many of us don't like sometimes. They were Picasso for me ... non stop work.

And I said my thank you's, made a cup of tea, and then wrote a poem ... and moments later went to bed ... and dreamed the dream of the dreams, just like they did!

Edited by moshkito - 5 hours 37 minutes ago at 17:07