Brian Wilson”s new album features the Beach Boys legend collaborating with such artists as Kacey Musgraves, Lana Del Ray and Zooey Deschanel, as well as, possibly, Frank Ocean.
After Wilson broke the news on his website yesterday, citing an upcoming story in Rolling Stone, not all of his fans responded to the news positively. And that hurt Wilson”s feelings and made him mad.
Last night, he sent out a message- in total “Brianspeak” to the naysayers via Facebook:
To my fans: it kind of bums me out to see some of the negativity here about the album I”ve been working so hard on. In my life in music, I”ve been told too many times not to fuck with the formula, but as an artist it”s my job to do that – and I think I”ve earned that right.
I”m really proud of these new songs and to hear these great artists sing on them just blows me away. I love what we”ve done.
I would think that after making music for more than fifty years, my fans would understand that I”ll always do what”s in my heart – and I think that”s why you are my fans. So let”s just wait until the album comes out because I think you just might dig it as much as I do.
Love and Mercy, Brian
It”s hard not to agree with Wilson here. HIs fans haven”t even heard the music. While we”re sure he”d like to reach a younger fan base through these artists, his legacy is secure without having to resort to such tactics, so that probably isn”t the only reason for his reaching out. Plus, he also worked with such contemporaries as Jeff Beck (most likely before they went on tour together since Beck didn”t like how that turned out) and fellow Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks on the new album, so he”s not pandering to a younger demographic. If his work with these acts helps a new generation learn about his music, then what”s the harm in that? No matter how old they are, every music fan needs to have “Pet Sounds” in his/her collection. It”s as essential as any Beatles album, so if singing with Lana Del Rey makes it happen and the song isn”t total schlock, why not?
No word yet on when the new album will be released.