The City Is Blinking

I have loved The Beach Boys for over 20 years. When I was going through some of my hardest times growing up, they were a constant and powerful uplifting presence in my life. I have seen Brian Wilson live, three times, and was there in Glasgow on the SMiLE tour when he and Van Dyke Parks finally finished the album. The Beach Boys were among the first true musical obsessions of my life. They overtook all other concerns and considerations, and dominated my life for many years. Their music was responsible for my choosing writing as my main creative medium. Writing on the old SMiLE Shop message board, and later having a small part in my first writing being published there, helped me hone my skills and become far more adept in debate and criticism. That is somewhat beside the point however; the point being that The Beach Boys are one of the great musical/artistic loves of my life. In fact, the love I have for them is on the same level that I have for my family, my friends and my infrequent, ...