Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books and now writer/director of three award-winning films aired via PBS, including “Atomic Cover-up” and “Memorial Day Massacre.” Now watch trailer for acclaimed 2025 film “The Atomic Bowl” coming to PBS in July. Before all that, he was a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy. You can still subscribe to this newsletter for FREE. Sustain this newsletter by ordering one of his books.
Lot to get to today after my Brian Wilson tribute and Tulsi-Gabbard-uses-clips-from-my-film posts. More Brian below but let’s skip around first.
The Springsteen folks this morning dropped another tune, “Sunday Love,” from his upcoming collection of lost tracks. This one did not make his “Western Stars” and is firmly in that album’s Jimmy Webb/Bacharach-David mold.
Not always been a fan of David Byrne’s post-Heads music but this new single from his upcoming album is quite good and one could imagine the Heads doing it, with different instrumentation, back in the mid-1980s
Now, enjoy Trump getting lustily booed (along with a USA USA chant) at the Kennedy Center premiere of “Les Miserables” last night. And the hall was only two-thirds full, which will be the norm. Got to love him sitting there (though perhaps he nodded off) to watch on stage the great rebellion against a wicked king….as national No Kings protests nears this Saturday.
Now back to Brian. First, let me strongly suggest to subscribers that you go back to yesterday’s post which I updated with more of his songs and more tributes from others. A new tribute from McCartney:
Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special. The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time. I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while. How we will continue without Brian Wilson, “God Only Knows.”
Thank you, Brian. - Paul
Don’t miss this funny, fake but not so far out—when you remember the nasty feuding— “tribute” from horrid former band mate Mike Love.
I forgot that John Cale had penned a tribute, “Mr. Wilson,” decades ago.
I’m not sure that I ever saw long ago this star and superstar mashup—from Brian and Elton to Chrissie and Lorde—for “God Only Knows.”
When McCartney sang it with Bri:
But I’ll just leave you with this:
From Tunes to Toons
The BBC Music video of “God Only Knows” is too beautiful for words. I had to watch it several times, and I will probably dream about it tonight. Thank you. It has been the highlight of an otherwise gloomy day.
Brynes and Boos
Nice