Sunday, October 16, 2011

Eerie, Yet Terrific

Now let me share with you a childhood memory of mine. Even though it isn't winter yet, this song is just perfect for this moment – despite the fact that the darkening evenings and cold weather rather tend to make me choose my sunniest sunshine pop hits...

A couple of months ago it occurred to me once again that my favorites, the Beach Boys have also made a version of California Dreamin' which was originally performed by the Mamas & the Papas in 1965. When this Beach Boys version first came out in 1986 I hardly had been born but I remember hearing this sometime later, when I was still only a child. It was the early or mid-90s and for some reason this music video was aired on Finnish TV, possibly even a few times, actually. The video seemed to make a huge impact on me because it looked really familiar when I watched it again many, many years later.

I still find this video impressive. It is definitely gothic and eerie, which is always unusual of the Beach Boys. Seeing the guys here is really nice even though it leaves me feeling kind of melancholic. Roger McGuinn makes an appearance with his 12-string Rickenbacker (wow...) and there are also alto sax solos (arguably the coolest instrument there is) by John Phillips. I also enjoy the 80s-styled production, not to mention incredible vocals from Al and Carl! I could listen to this for hours.

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