Greatest Song Evah 5/2/25
Good Vibrations
For the second week in a row I have made a selection that is firmly in the Canon Of Great Songs. It’s not exactly a hot take to proclaim the greatness of Good Vibrations, but why not take a crack at it?
When you break this record down you can see what an extraordinary achievement it is. Multiple movements, multiple tempo changes, an insanely large array of instruments, all done within the confines of a three and a half minute record. It’s been said that there is nothing Phil Spector did that Brian Wilson did not do better. This is a great example. Spector described his productions as “little symphonies for the kids.” Good Vibrations actually does play out like a mini symphony.
Wilson was one of the chief pioneers of the concept of the recording studio as an instrument in its own right. This song took months to record and cost tens of thousands of dollars; both of those facts were practically unheard of at the time. It contains so many instruments that were surprising to hear in a pop record - there’s a cello, there’s a harpsichord, there’s an electro-theremin. None of those flourishes felt gimmicky; they all came together to create an atmosphere. A good vibration if you wish.
In addition to the instrumentation, this is another prime example of the impeccable harmonies of The Beach Boys. Carl Wilson’s lead vocals are well surrounded by a wonderfully complex vocal arrangement. It’s not easy to pull off what they did here. It is both a perfect pop record and a piece of great art at the same time. Was this song the pinnacle of The Beach Boys’ career? It’s certainly up there. It sure beats Kokomo.
More On The Hall
Once again when announcing the results the Hall simply listed the inductees alphabetically, without listing the specific category for each. That is the Hall’s way of telling people that all are considered to be equal; no back door entrances. The side category honorees are treated vastly differently in the actual induction ceremony, but that’s another issue.
I am not a voter, but I do go through the charade of participating in the fan vote. There are a couple of misconceptions concerning the fan vote. First off, the Hall is honest about its significance; the results are consolidated into one fan ballot which counts as only 1 of the more than 1,000 votes. The fan vote isn’t a drop in the bucket, it’s a drop in the ocean. It’s a nice gesture that fans have a small say, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that the fan vote makes a difference. Which leads to the second misconception. It’s not a weighted ballot, the 7th place finisher in the fan vote counts just as much as the 1st. Phish predictably won the fan vote, yet fell short of election. On the other hand, 5 of the top 7 vote getters among the fans did. Maybe it’s not a great look that the top fan choice is on the outside looking in, but as a whole the choices of the voters align closely with the wishes of the fans. The other fan choice who fell short in the actual vote was Billy Idol. Outkast and The White Stripes finished outside of the top 7 according to the fans.
I had the same percentage. 5 of the artists for whom I voted are now Famers. The larger voting bloc ignored my pleas for Joy Division/New Order & Oasis. I voted for Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes as well as Joe Cocker. That sounds like a contradiction, as I had stated that I wish the Nominating Committee would have moved past his era by now. At the same time, I do admit that Joe Cocker was one of the 7 most deserving artists on the ballot. That leaves Bad Company, this year’s example of the fact that the large bloc of Baby Boomers will not rest until every single classic rock artist enters the Hall, and Chubby Checker.
I’ll be kind to Chubby Checker. The biggest factor in his favor is that The Twist was such a huge social phenomenon that it is impossible to write a complete history of rock & roll without prominently mentioning him. In addition, even though in 2025 he is remembered for one song, it is inaccurate to call him a one-hit wonder. He had more than 2 dozen top 40 hits in the early 60’s. I would argue that with the exception of Elvis Presley he was the single most successful recording artist in the years from 1960-1963. I can’t get behind his election for two reasons. First, he may have been very popular but his body of work is not very special. Which leads to point #2. He has been eligible for induction since the very first year of the Hall. Generations of nominating committees have had 39 opportunities to place his name on the ballot. If he is really HOF caliber, he would have been nominated long ago. I’ll leave it at that. Who am I to begrudge a high honor given to an octogenarian, particularly since he has made it so clear for so long that he really wants this?
All told, when the assorted members of groups are counted, 24 individual people comprise this year’s class. Women make up 25% of the class: Lauper, Carol Kaye, Meg White of The White Stripes, and Salt, Pepa, & Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa. There’s still a ways to go to achieve acceptable gender parity, but at least it’s progress. 6 of the inductees are deceased: Cocker, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and Boz Burrell of Bad Company. There is little controversy concerning which specific band members are included; original Soundgarden bassist Hiro Yamamoto is on the inductee list, which is a nice gesture, but I don’t see any clamor to include any of the later Bad Company lead singers or the original Spinderella.
The ceremony will take place in November, but it’s never too early to speculate on the details. Next week I’ll try to take some early guesses.
One Month In
Once I get the standard “this guy is on pace for 486 RBI” jokes out of the way in the season’s first couple of days I try to avoid focusing on individual stats too much in the early portion of the season. Advanced stats and Statcast data can be instructive as to who is benefitting from good luck or suffering from poor luck but I like to wait until 30 games or so into the year until there is a large enough sample size to begin drawing conclusions.
Well, we are at that 30 game portion and it reveals the stunning news that Aaron Judge is pretty good at this baseball thing. We can see that the real Corbin Carroll is the player who played so well in last year’s second half, not the one who struggled in the first. Now that he is healthy Jung Hoo Lee is showing what he can do. And cover your eyes, my fellow Mets fans. Pete Crow-Armstrong sure looks like the league’s next big star.
On the flip side, I am officially concerned about Mike Trout. He has 9 home runs, but he’s hitting under .200, his OPS+ is barely above league average, he has a negative WAR, and now he is on the IL with a bone bruise on his knee. Not good. And with the exception of Cedric Mullins, all of the Orioles hitters appear to be mired in quicksand.
Looking at pitchers, Hunter Brown is showing signs that he is making the same breakthrough into stardom that Tarik Skubal did last season. Fingers crossed that Hunter Greene can remain healthy; he has been so impressive. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been unhittable. We are also unfortunately seeing the volatility of closers; Devin Williams and Emmanuel Clase have been throwing batting practice so far. I want to see him remain healthy for at least a half season, but so far Jacob deGrom’s results have been promising. Even better, he only picked up his first victory this week because he hasn’t been getting much run support. Nature is healing.
I mentioned the Orioles two paragraphs ago; they are far and away the most disappointing team thus far. The bold off-season strategy of refusing to sign a good pitcher did not pay off, Cotton. Silly me thought that their offensive firepower would be enough to compensate for the subpar pitching, but the bats have been quiet and the results ugly. And I honestly thought the Twins would be a strong squad. I whiffed on that one. Thus far my belief that the Rockies would be the worst team in the league has been accurate. It’s much too early to do daily check-ins on their pace, but is it possible that they could threaten the White Sox’s one year old record for most losses in the modern era? Unlikely, they are red hot at the moment with a 2 game winning streak. That puts them on pace for… 131 losses. You can look at that roster and feel confident that multiple prolonged losing streaks are in their future.
I also predicted that the Braves would be the best team in the league this year. They have rebounded nicely from their awful first week, but Spencer Strider is already back on the IL, so it could be a bumpy road. When it comes to pitchers on the IL, that remains the fly in the Dodgers’ ointment. They have the league’s best record, but they continue to be unable to keep their pitchers healthy. They currently have 12 (!) pitchers on either the 15 or 60 day IL. Who could have possibly forseen that Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell would be on the shelf before the end of April, other than everybody?
The Giants have been the biggest surprise of the year, and if it lasts it will be an insane NL pennant race. Assuming that no NL Central teams are in wild card contention, there would leave 7 teams fighting for 4 spots. There are going to be some very good teams missing out on the postseason. That’s just one reason why the Mets’ hot start has been so important. Those wins they already have in the bank will pay off big time later on. I’m also guardedly optimistic about the Mariners. The lineup so far has been better than expected. If they keep that up, could they make it to the World Series for the first time?
Now THAT’S An Iron Man
Kudos are in order. This might be a bit inside baseball - both literally and figuratively - but my old college buddy Chris Majkowski achieved a major milestone this week. Maj has been the producer/engineer in the Mets radio booth since 1993. In that time he has only missed 1 game, just one reason why Gary Cohen refers to him as The Immortal Chris Majkowski. That includes every single road trip, both domestic and international. Wednesday night’s game was his 5,000th consecutive game, a work ethic that makes Cal Ripken Jr. look like a slacker. Congrats my friend, well done!
SNL Preview
If you remember from the sketch in which Tom Hanks introduced the concept of the 5-Timers Club, a host is generally asked back for a second time if their first show went well. On a related note, Quinta Brunson will host for her second time. As good as Abbott Elementary is, and as good as she is in it, the show doesn’t always give her an opportunity to fully display her talents. As the lead character, by necessity she often has to serve as the stabilizing force in the mix. To get a better sense of her comedic versatility, it’s best to look at other entries in her résumé. Brunson first caught my eye when she was a regular in A Black Lady Sketch Show, so letting loose on SNL is second nature for her. She was wonderful her first time around; I expect more of the same this weekend. Benson Boone is the musical guest.
50 Years Ago - Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndon is a movie that has spurred disparate reactions. It was not a box office success, and casual moviegoers generally look at it as an outlier buried in the middle of the insane run of all-time classics that Stanley Kubrick directed. Serious cinephiles feel much differently. It was highly acclaimed upon its release, earning several Oscar nominations - including a Best Picture nom - and 4 wins. It also ranks surprisingly high on assorted lists of the best films in the era.
Some of that lack of enthusiasm from the general public is understandable, and not just because the world eventually turned on Ryan O’Neal. It’s a long movie, and the pace is fairly languid. Set in mid-18th century Ireland & Britain, the titular character is a rogue who charms his way into, and climbs the ladder of, upper society before his inevitable fall. The movie actually benefits from having a lead actor as bland as O’Neal. Lyndon is a passive protagonist; things happen to him as opposed to him making things happen. I don’t think the movie would feel quite the same with a more dynamic actor in the lead.
My own feelings toward the movie fall somewhere between the two extremes. I am a huge Kubrick fan, but if I have any criticism about his work, particular in the later stages of his career it’s that his movies tended to be emotionally sterile. Barry Lyndon is a movie that I admire more than I love. It looks great, but I can’t say that I ever had much investment in the rise and fall of Lyndon.
In 1975 it was still unusual for a top notch director to have such long gaps between projects as Kubrick did. That meant that each new release would be a major event. It had been 4 years since A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining would not come out until 5 years later. Barry Lyndon served as a satisfying intermezzo between those two.
Closing Laughs
May the 2nd be with you all. Have a great weekend, folks and we’ll do this all again on Monday.
