Stale Book Review #18: Wouldn't It Be Nice

Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story by Brian Wilson

Cost: $0.75US

Page Count: 390

Wouldn't It Be Nice is the autobiography of the Beach Boy legend, Brian Wilson.  Admittedly, this book took me an abnormally long time to finish.  I will get to my reasons why this was so in a minute.  However, the book covers the early years with the Beach Boys, as well as some early family stuff, which I'm not normally into but, in Wilson's case is critically important to the story.

So, Brian Wilson is a musical genius.  Totally true.  The man has a gift for harmony and putting together pop tunes that were the absolute shit when my mother was a kid.  However, Brian Wilson is totally fucking nuts, too.  Not "Hey watch him snort a line of ants"-nuts...more like, "Hey, the dude hasn't showered in a few weeks nor has he come out of his house in six months"-nuts.  There is a hug difference.  One is amusing, the other is just sad.

This was easily the saddest book I have ever read.  The mental decline of Wilson brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.  This, my dear friends, never happens when I read.  Ever.  

Brian Wilson, while I am sure no saint in the eyes of many, is just a tragic figure in pop history.  Albeit homeboy isn't dead yet.  He sure came close, though.  The tragedy of him recounting the successes and meteoric rise of the Beach Boys and then in the same breath reliving his slow descent into madness just made my heart sink.

As far as "music biographies" go, Wouldn't It Be Nice is a good one.  Far heavier than I ever thought it would be, the story is gripping and the characters...well, the characters you should all know by know.  An emotional read, sure.  But, you won't be disappointed in the end.

Here are few random notes after reading:

1.  Brian Wilson was THE reason the Beach Boys were famous.  The others should kiss his nuts whenever they see him.

2.  The Wilson father was a twat.  Greedy, conniving, just a complete douche.

3.  Mike Love came off as another big piece of crap.  Maybe he is or maybe he isn't, but I do like his voice.  However, it's still kind of sad that a 70+ year old man is singing these songs.  But, I guess if Ozzy and the Stones can do it...

4.  Dennis Wilson was friends with the Manson Family.  That is just way too crazy for me.

5.  There was this big hoopla about Wilson's relationship with Dr. Landy.  It was a big part of the book since the man essentially saved Brian's life.  There was also rumor that this book was actually written by Landy and he slapped Wilson's name on it.  That I doubt.  But, the Beach Boys hated this doctor even though he helped their cash cow save himself.  Personally, I didn't find the Dr. Landy thing in the book to be that big of a deal.  Yes, he was important but he wasn't THE story for me.

Cool book.  Very sad but at least it had an uplifting ending.