Pod Sounds

Cecilia shares some updates, including an article of hers that’s new in Longreads: “Let Go of Your Ego: A Reading List on Brian Wilson and PET SOUNDS” (https://tinyurl.com/2p879xzv). If you’re looking for some not-so-scholarly addenda to the whole first season of this podcast, then all you need is this list. If nothing else, it’ll give you some fun rabbit-hole reading to cap off the week. In the meantime, keep an ear out for our next Newman episodes, and catch up on the Beach Boys ones if you’re not caught up already.

We’re in a transitional phase at the moment, but hang in there—we’ll be back soon with the next segment of the Newman season. In the meantime, go catch up on Volumes 2 and 1!

We dive deep into the ethnic and religious demographics of Chicago for a song about a hastily arranged wedding. We discuss theories of short fiction. We pay our compositional respects to the Bard of Long Island, Sir William Joel, for his potential Newman references. And we take a stance as a staunchly anti-Rudyard Kipling podcast. Bases covered. Honorable mentions: “Volare” (the song and, apparently, the car) and THE IRISHMAN, a movie neither of us saw.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear a comprehensive history of the Hollywood cowboy and/or the American folk tradition, have we got an episode for you. If you’ve never wanted to be a cowboy, you’re lying to yourself. And Zooey Deschanel reserves the right to come on the pod whenever she wants. Visitations along the way from Tom Stoppard, Bob Dylan, the Three Amigos, and a singing bush.
(CW: mention of rape)

A regular love song for a change! No strings attached. We dissect the romantic counterpart to the platonic “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and shout out its special place in Gigliotti family lore. Old Randy might win the favor of the Suits after all. Also: Rickie Lee Jones foretells her work with Lenny Waronker, and Van Dyke Parks is the intersection of all notable California composers.

Today we dig into one of Cecilia’s favorite tracks, all about urban planning gone wrong. Where does Newman’s dismal portrait fit into the canon of Baltimore-themed media, from HAIRSPRAY to THE WIRE? Honorable mentions: the reggae movement and the diversely talented Nina Simone.

Jewish geniuses left and right! We talk appropriating American legend inside and outside the musical canon, distinction between types of travelers, Advanced Dream Interpretation, and little boys playing baseball in the rain. Plus…the true meaning of Christmas?

Happy week between holidays! While you get caught up on the first season and a half, we plug our new insta (@pod_sounds_podcast) and shout out some of this year’s Christmas tunes on rotation. Celebrate safe!

Step aside Netflix, we’ve got the latest true crime doc: the Vampire of Düsseldorf. Fritz Lang tells the story in his movie M (1931), then Newman retells it with a fascist twist. Not exactly suggested bedtime listening. Also: murder ballads in the Newman catalogue, and Marianne Faithfull (because everything can be improved by adding Marianne Faithfull).
(CW: mention of CSA and murder, discussion of Nazism)

Who says “jolly” or “coppers”? Fannee Doolee does!! #iykyk. Cecilia gives a brief history of Taylor Swift, Gil talks (more) about printed lyrics and how they can differ from sung ones, there’s a lot of perspective-examining and copaganda-diagnosing…and it all somehow relates back to our artist. Recommended viewing: Jon Ronson’s special I AM, UNFORTUNATELY, RANDY NEWMAN. Recommended reading: Cynthia Lennon’s memoir JOHN.

The title might remind Cecilia of a painting, but it’s one of those that look different to each viewer. Also we can’t say how many people are in it or how old they are. But other than that, a painting for sure. We talk nautical metaphors, funereal rituals, and (at last) TOY STORY. Join us for a musical-theatre ballad like no other. Plus: Lou Reed, Samuel Barber, and the late great Stephen Sondheim.

Sitcom themes! Slide guitars! What is a blackjack, and should you carry one just in case? We’re back to discuss our favorite armed robbers who have almost made it to the top (of the bottom). All to prove that the family that does crime together stays together, in pop music and on 30 ROCK. Honorable mentions: Jeff Lynne’s producer’s touch, Dostoevsky’s take on moral superiority, and Cruella de Vil’s choice of henchmen.

Cecilia fills us in on the difference between sarcastic and sardonic. We hear about height double standards, attempts to ban the song from radio, the world’s new tallest woman, a longtime alliance between Newman and producer Lenny Waronker, ice cream sandwich phones, and Gil’s infamous Reaction of the Suits. Plus: John Denver, Klaus Voormann, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ziggy Stardust (the character and the album)—but not all at once.

Oh you thought we were gonna move straight on to season 2? Not when “God Only Knows” has jumped up FOURTEEN SPOTS in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time!!! We examine the reshuffled list and you can bet we’ve got opinions.

Does any other song give you excitations? We thought not. Gil breaks out the Grammy stats, Cecilia talks about the blues, and the cellos never stop moving. There’s a reason a track that wasn’t finished in time for the album has eclipsed it in popularity. Who even cares about words? Plus: Arlo Guthrie, Anita Kerr, and whether you can love somebody strictly judging by the vibes they exude. *distant theremin noises*

An emotionally fraught, out-of-place song to round out the record. But what did you expect. Big-band origins, classical touches, and a sweet voice delivering a not-so-sweet sentiment. Also, trains. Gil offers up an alternate sequencing for side 2, and Cecilia traces the through-line from this track to—where else?—the Beatles’ late period. When is somebody gonna say yes to Caroline??

Bond, bossa nova, and Barry (Manilow)—what don’t we cover in our discussion of the title track? We try to determine the purpose of this piece, to mixed results. Honorable mentions: the theatrics of Adele, effects that make instruments sound like other instruments, and the role of a producer in studio.

Some lyrics fall apart if you look at them too closely. You can probably guess where this is headed. What does it mean to be made for one’s times? Is the word “thing” interchangeable with the word “theremin”? Oh, and Cecilia presents her nominee for Beatles Song With Biggest Debt To PET SOUNDS. Honorable mentions: Ross and Phoebe’s musical innovations on FRIENDS, the purpose of science fiction, and Paul Anka yet again.

What do this track, the Roman poet Horace, and Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” have in common? We express all the thoughts. Will Cecilia ever shut up about tambourines? Unlikely. Also mentioned: DEAD POETS SOCIETY, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, and the pros—but mostly cons—of reading song lyrics on the page.

Hang on to your ego, because…that’s what this song should still be called. We explore two drafts of a lyric and everything it lost along the way. We talk about the incident that deafened Brian in his right ear. We wonder whether censorship can ever be done well. Plus: Ella Fitzgerald, Petula Clark, the chance invention of LSD, and why the state of Kansas is not to be trusted.

God only knows how we expected to cover this song in our usual timespan. We parse Brian’s marriage to Marilyn Rovell, the qualities of a Great American Songbook standard, and the mystical tonal shifts that make this baroque-pop B-side the jewel in the band’s crown. Is a realistic love song better than a fantastical one? Can Beach Boys lyrics be read in a queer or non-heteronormative context? What is the Brian Wilson Two-Note Fall, and why should you care about it?? Cameos from Tchaikovsky, Bach, Brahms, Herman’s Hermits, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and every other musician who ever lived. Sing it, Carl!!
(CW: mention of suicide ideation ~43:00)

Sequencing strategies, TikTok sea shanties, and temple blocks—welcome to the album’s only (and very intentional) cover tune. We get into the song’s folk roots and the blend of cultural traditions stamped on it, as well as music videos that have nothing to do with their lyrics and the expansive catalogue of hit-or-miss drug references. Honorable mentions: LOST IN SPACE, the phenomenon of “Boone-ing,” and artists who tell you to turn the record over.

The return of Rhonda! Or is it? Today we tackle a song that in our opinion should have been a single. Gil wants to be a Capitol exec from the future, and Cecilia likes Brian’s newfound confidence. Also mentioned: when Wilson met Dylan, tritones in the timeline, the Monkees’ “Randy Scouse Git,” and two songs that made (and didn’t make) SGT. PEPPER.

Shut up and listen—to our heart beat. The singer could be dreaming, or just talking to himself, but we’re here to test all the theories. Forever’s gonna start tonight. Plus: Paul Anka, Hollywood’s transition from silent to talking pictures, and the 1984 fake-rock-movie STREETS OF FIRE.

Did they do this song backwards? We take a magnifying glass to the Wilson-Asher team’s apprehensive post-adolescent anthem. The lady doth like the tambourine *way* too much. You could probably play this tune in church and no one would notice. Honorable mentions: Thomas Gray, Carly Simon, and Wurlitzer organs.

You know perfectly well this is where you should be to learn about track two. And boy does it throw us into the lyrical deep end. Lots to unpack in the mind of a narrator who may be no different from his creator. How does Brian use the musical scale, and how do his bandmates use the syllable “ah”? Also discussed: Phil Harris and the Aristocats, Puritan memoirist Mary Rowlandson, and what part of speech the word “should” is.

And now for the songs! Today we do a close reading of the iconic opening track. How does Brian pull off bitonality? What are the veiled complexities of the lyric? Is this the greatest bridge of all time?? Also touched on: the Bee Gees’ songwriting history and why timpani are the sexiest drums.

Today we get into the specifics of the album—who was involved in it, where and how it was made, what sounds are on it besides those made by the pets. We also discuss Paul McCartney’s bass-tone origin story, Rolling Stone magazine’s revamped “greatest” lists, and various groups who have come under the album’s influence. Plus, Bing Crosby vs. David Crosby?

The inaugural episode finds us—Cecilia and Gil—introducing ourselves and telling personal and cultural histories of The Beach Boys. Shout-outs along the way to Annie Lennox, Frank Sinatra, and Sir George Martin, among others. We play “Is This Song About a Girl or a Car?” Then we ask the big questions, like who actually surfed and what insights (if any) Brian Wilson has to offer into his craft. Most crucially, who is Rhonda, and why do we need her help?

(there’s a bit of overlap in the audio but we’re working out the kinks. also sex work is work)

The Beach Boys’ PET SOUNDS turns 55 this year! Get ready for a deep dive into the history and mystery of the album with two music writers and fans. Coming soon wherever you get your podcasts.