Persons [ ] I Think In Terms Of Emotions | Brian Wilson, 1942-2025
Guy Webster: Brian Wilson, 1967
“You say how you feel, and songs don’t lie. Songs are the most honest form of human expression there is–there’s nothing that lies about a song.”
“I’m not a genius. I’m just a hard-working guy.”
“I think in terms of emotions. And feelings. So sometimes what I say may not always be clear. But creatively, there’s a lot to be said for that way of thinking.”
“I believe that music is God’s voice.”
Brian Wilson, recording the album Pet Sounds, L.A, California, 1966
“I still believe that something is right only when it feels right.”
“J.S. Bach was easily the greatest musical innovator in the history of the world. He was so advanced for his time. There’s a spiritual depth to his music. You can listen to it and it’s like meditation.”
“If there’s not love present, it’s much, much harder to function. When there’s love present, it’s easier to deal with life.”
Brian Wilson, L.A, California, 1968
“Humor – it helps to make the vibe better – it loosens up the vibrations.”
“Some people might think that sex is the highest experience you can have. I tend to think that music is.”
“The idea of taking a song, envisioning the overall sound in my head and then bringing the arrangement to life in the studio…well, that gives me satisfaction like nothing else.”
“I approach my music-making as an art-form–something pure from the spirit to which I can add dynamics and marketable reality. Music is genuine and healthy and the stimulation I get from molding it and adding dynamics is like nothing else on earth.”
The Beach Boys recording ‘Pet Sounds’ at Western Recorders studios, 1966
“I sit and I write automatically. I don’t really try to write. My subconscious mind takes over and writes the songs for me. Songs come very easily for me. When I’m inspired, it takes me 20 minutes to write a song.”
“I’ve never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.”
“I have an instinct for music, or a feeling about it, and I’ll have my feelings guide my hands.”
“I consider myself to be a crusader of love. I try to spread love around the world as best I can because I know I have a handle on love.”
Phil Spector with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bobby Hatfield, Gold Star Studios, California, 1965
“The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Phil Spector. Those were my idols.”
“I wanted to emulate Bob Flanagan, the high voice in the ‘Four Freshmen.’ I wanted to sing high like he did.”
“Being single is like liking a Phil Spector record.”
“I get off on hearing other people’s voices. I like voices: they’re my favourite things on records.”
“Surfing music is dead. It was just a summer craze for kids on the beach. I’m finished with it.”
Brian Wilson, L.A, California, 1964
“I play piano all the time. I’m always at my piano, playing music.”
“You’re called a genius by people, and then your whole life you become the part.”
“I’m just a shy and retreating kind of person. Sometimes I get in a real talkative mood – but not very often.”
“I earned my famous name.”
Brian Wilson, 1942-2025
Brian Wilson, L.A, California,1965
Also:
Persons [ ] Little symphonies for the kids | Phil Spector, 1939-2021
The Sixties | Photos by Roger Kasparian | The Who / Marianne Faithfull / The Beatles / The Kinks / Van Morrison / The Beach Boys / The Rolling Stones / Francoise Hardy
