Eurovision, Cocktails and A Beach Boys Anniversary: 60 Years Of “Pet Sounds”

Well, it’s a busy old Saturday for me as a lot of things are going on at the same time. This afternoon I am meeting up with DD and the friend I went to Eurovision with for cocktails, an early birthday celebration for me and a belated celebration for her. Ironically tonight is also Eurovision night which we didn’t know when we set the date. As I am a lightweight nowadays, I may fall asleep before the actual show begins which for many of my followers would be a blessing, but for me it would be a great shame. It’s back in Vienna again where we were 11 years ago for the contest, so of course I’ve had to get my trusty mug out of storage this week. Happy memories of a great few days but can it really be 11 years ago – how the years are flying by.

But back to the busy Saturday. I’ve already dived into Rol’s Snapshots challenge along with the rest of the gang, but didn’t get the link this week. No matter, there’s always next week unless Rol calls time on this bit of weekend fun as he has been hosting it for many, many years so must be running out of steam by now. Note to self – put together a guest Snapshots soon, to give Rol a week off.

As for the cocktails, this is the Capital of the Highlands, not the Island of Kokomo or Margaritaville so not quite as sun-drenched and exotic but I’m sure we’ll be ok if we don our padded coats (it’s a bit parky out there today). Cue Jimmy Buffet with his song from 1977.

Ok, so not many of my followers are fans of Eurovision and I’m pretty sure not many of them are followers of football, but this afternoon is a big date in the season’s calendar as in Scotland we have the match to decide who will win the Scottish Premier League title. It’s gone down to the wire as only one point separates the two teams who will play each other today. The team who has been at the top of the table all season (Hearts) hasn’t won the title since 1960, so anyone who isn’t a fan of the other team (Celtic) will be rooting for them. A stressful watch which I will miss but I’ll keep tabs on things on my phone as the afternoon progresses. For the record, here is their football song, Heart of Midlothian Anthem.

The last team to win the SPL title other than Celtic or Rangers was Aberdeen in 1985 under the auspices of their legendary manager Alex Ferguson. I lived in Aberdeen during the glory years and thought it was normal that our local team won titles and cups regularly. Turns out it was mainly due to the manager and as the players have admitted since, it wasn’t so much that they had an impressive will to win, it was more that they were terrified of what would happen to them if they lost! Yes, we’ve all heard the stories of Sir Alex’s locker room rants and it’s safe to say he wouldn’t be able to operate like that nowadays, but none of the players ever held it against him as they just wanted to win cups and trophies.

I’m going to have to head off and get ready for my afternoon out soon, but before I do I heard on the radio this morning that today is the 60th anniversary of the release of the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds. I have written about it many times around here as it’s up there as being one of the finest albums ever made. It has a rubbish, very literal cover but of course the pet sounds Brian Wilson included on this album were just that, Brian’s favourite, or pet sounds. The famous Wrecking Crew that worked with him on the album acknowledged his genius above all others they collaborated with. At this point in 1966, Brian was still aged only 24.

It wasn’t until I watched the film Love & Mercy about the life of Brian Wilson, that I understood what he went through as the Beach Boys became a phenomenon. He eventually had to step down from touring, and concentrated on songwriting and producing which is how Pet Sounds came about. When the rest of the band heard what he had come up with they were sceptical, but Brian proved them wrong (in the long-term anyway). Here is a song from the album that I haven’t shared around here before. Sloop John B was a traditional Bahamian folk song suggested by Al Jardine. Brian wasn’t very keen for a start but after changing some of the lyrics and giving it the distinctive Beach Boys sound it went on the Pet Sounds album and became one of their best-loved songs.

So, “What’s It All About?” – It’s annoying when too many things come along at the same time but I’m sure my jam-packed Saturday will pan out ok. I won’t be able to host a Eurovision party tonight as I won’t be around to get the food, drinks and scoresheets prepared. I will watch the show however and cross fingers for our entry by Look Mum No Computer, Eins, Zwei, Drei. Sam Battle is an electronics enthusiast who builds unusual musical equipment and has a museum where he shares it. A bit of a different pick for the UK and Sam doesn’t seem to have got the memo about everyone dressing in black or red this year. His song definitely stands out though and got good audience feedback in the semi-finals, but who knows what will happen tonight. I wish him luck.

Good luck also to Hearts in their match against Celtic. I just hope you can hold on to that one point lead in this, the last game of the season.

Congratulations to the remaining Beach Boys who celebrate the 60th anniversary of the release of Pet Sounds. Sadly Brian didn’t live long enough to see it, but he did have a long life considering the mental health issues he experienced throughout his life. An album that will go down in history.

Until next time…

Sloop John B Lyrics
(Song by Traditional/Brian Wilson)

We come on the sloop John B
My grandfather and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinking all night
Got into a fight
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

So hoist up the John B’s sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home
I wanna go home, yeah, yeah
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

The first mate, he got drunk
And broke in the captain’s trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff John Stone
Why don’t you leave me alone? Yeah, yeah
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

So hoist up the John B’s sail (Hoist up the John B’s sail)
See how the mainsail sets (See how the mainsail sets)
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home, I wanna go home
Let me go home (Hoist up the John B’s sail)
Hoist up the John B (Hoist up the John B)
I feel so broke up
I wanna go home, let me go home

The poor cook, he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Let me go home
Why don’t they let me go home?
This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on

So hoist up the John B’s sail (Hoist up the John B’s sail)
See how the mainsail sets (See how the mainsail sets)
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home, I wanna go home
Let me go home

Postscript:

As it turned out, Hearts didn’t win their match against Celtic, so on the last day of the season they lost their point lead in the SPL and thus the title. Devastating for all their fans.

As for Eurovision, our UK entry came last out of 25 songs with only 1 point. We’ve been there before so not unexpected but still a bit embarrassing. We really don’t take it as seriously as the rest of Europe. The winner was this song representing Bulgaria performed by a very perky teenager called Dara. I give you Bangaranga. Sofia here we come!