Friday scent of the day 6/20 :: Now Smell This
Happy Friday and happy Summer Solstice! It’s also World Refugee Day and National Ice Cream Soda Day. Our community project for today: celebrate Brian Wilson’s birthday (and the summer solstice) by scenting a Beach Boys song, or honor Brian Wilson with your fragrance in any other way you see fit.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
If you asked me to name my top 20 recording artists, The Beach Boys would not make the cut. I like their music well enough but they get only a tiny fraction of my listening time. That said, I do think Brian Wilson crafted at least two, maybe three, of what I’d call the Top 10 Perfect Pop songs, and without hesitation I’d put God Only Knows at spot #1 (and I’m not alone). Carl Wilson sings lead, but it’s Brian Wilson’s genius as a writer, producer and arranger that makes the song “one of the most complex—and beautiful—songs in the annals of American popular music”. The only thing I could think of to match it (that I was willing to wear on a hot June Day) was Diorissimo.
Reminder: 6/27 is National Orange Blossom Day…you know what to do! (This is another repeat.)
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2025, where I’ll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image shows Brian Wilson at the controls during the recording of the Pet Sounds album.
Bonus video: the official Beach Boys video for God Only Knows, made for the Beach Boys 60th anniversary in 2022.
More videos: Isolated vocals can be found here. Some covers of God Only Knows: Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett, BBC Music. You can find a complete list here. The recording process: Behind The Sounds: God Only Knows Part 1, Behind The Sounds: God Only Knows Part 2.
More reading: Paul McCartney and John Lennon listen to the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”. Five musicians who call ‘God Only Knows’ the greatest song of all time at Far Out. The Case for “God Only Knows” as the Best Pop Song Ever at Medium.