God Only Knows
October 8, 2014 3:45 AM   Subscribe

God Only Knows that this is an interesting production of one of your Beach Boy favorites. More here.
posted by HuronBob (80 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
A bit of "behind the scenes"
posted by HuronBob at 3:54 AM on October 8, 2014


They seem to have copied Haiku Salut's lamp show performance for the beginning of this video.
posted by dng at 4:02 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


They did something similar 17 years ago with "Perfect Day".
posted by Stoatfarm at 4:04 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Earlier today, the CDC and its British equivalent released a joint statement confirming rumors that the Hallelujah virus has spread. If urgent action is not taken, the agencies reported, mawkish, meaning-stripped versions of God Only Knows may affect upwards of 25 television commercials and 6 season finales in the coming year alone. If you hear a medley, cover, or instrumental version of this song, please contact your regional public health authority immediately.
posted by threeants at 4:05 AM on October 8, 2014 [40 favorites]


Very nice. Indeed.
posted by digitalprimate at 4:06 AM on October 8, 2014


That was lovely.
posted by flippant at 4:34 AM on October 8, 2014


This song always hits me right in the feels, and this version is no different upon first listen but I don't think I'll be adding it to my personal best of the year playlist; it's a little busy vocally (meaning the new vocalist for every verse & chorus) for me to want to listen to this version on the regular; it is an excellent advertisement, though.
posted by KingEdRa at 4:54 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


My favourite song. Shat on. What the hell Dave Grohl?. What the hell tragically multi-tracked Brian Wilson?

Why why why?
posted by gnuhavenpier at 4:55 AM on October 8, 2014 [8 favorites]


Wow. Fantastic. Thank you for posting this.
This is one of my all time favorite songs, off of one of the greatest albums ever.
posted by Flood at 4:57 AM on October 8, 2014


They couldn't get Lauren Laverne to sing? Bah!
posted by grahamparks at 5:02 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


This one of those eternal songs, like Cohen's "Hallelujah" or Wilson's "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," which should be accompanied solely by painful/joyful tears in the privacy of one's own home instead of trotted out like a sickly old race horse for the benefit of Mr. Kite every time some lazy ad exec can't come up with an actual idea.

Of course, the punishment for misuse should not be as severe as the price that ought to be paid by any singer who believes that they are special and wonderful enough to sing "At Last," because, dear hearts—no one ever will be again, and you'll burn in hell for a million years for every misbegotten note you caterwaul out into the world.
posted by sonascope at 5:04 AM on October 8, 2014 [11 favorites]


Fucking outstanding production. I enjoyed this very much.
posted by rmmcclay at 5:06 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


They seem to have copied Haiku Salut's lamp show yt performance for the beginning of this video.

I've seen other people saying this - a really breathtaking bit of plagiarism. Haiku Salut are wonderful and I hope they get the recognition they deserve.
posted by RokkitNite at 5:07 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Cute, but not a patch on the original.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 5:10 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


A bit of "behind the scenes "

Alright, right at the end there, around 2:30. Did they really replace the conductor with a more...conductor-y conductor for the video?
posted by damayanti at 5:11 AM on October 8, 2014


I did much better identifying the performers in the 'Can You Name These 60's Rock Stars?' quiz I took on Facebook yesterday.
posted by MtDewd at 5:20 AM on October 8, 2014


Beautiful production. But despite all that money and celebrity it didn't improve upon the original by one iota.
There's a moral in there somewhere.
posted by vacapinta at 5:22 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


My favourite song. Shat on. What the hell Dave Grohl?. What the hell tragically multi-tracked Brian Wilson?

Why why why?


OK, OK. We'll get off your lawn. Jesus, aren't old people grumpy?
posted by epo at 5:23 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


The split here is interesting -- I feel like the people enjoying it are enjoying it as a bit of a hot-mess mash-up marketing exercise/jam thing, and the people hating it are comparing it to, well, a real song written and performed by a real band. I enjoyed it as a "hey, look at all the shit we can cram into three minutes while doing a kooky take on this classic song" artifact, but I wouldn't for a second say it improves on the original.

I'm always a little puzzled when an institution as national as the BBC ("British" is the first word in the name, for Pete's sake) goes American for major public-facing media decisions. They do it here on the CBC in Canada too. Sure "God Only Knows" is a great song, but in the ridiculously vast canon of sweeping British rock, weren't there one or two options that could have launched a British Broadcasting Music Service?
posted by Shepherd at 5:24 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


I thought I heard on the news that money from the sale of the song goes to homeless youth, and checking around, it's going to the BBC's Children in Need. So at least it's for charity.
posted by gryftir at 5:26 AM on October 8, 2014


Jesus, aren't old people grumpy?
Given the proper provocation.
You'll get grumpy too, some day, if you live long enough.
posted by MtDewd at 5:30 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


Nice to see Chrissie Hynde in there. I didn't recognize half those people, though.
posted by DarkForest at 5:39 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Here you go, grumpy folks, a little musical smudging for this thread. :)
posted by HuronBob at 5:39 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


A++++ for Art Direction. Beautiful.

Watched it first thing this morning on my mobile and went over to the big monitor to see it again. Musically though, this is my favorite version.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:40 AM on October 8, 2014 [4 favorites]


I'm generally the sappiest sentimentalist I know, but boy did I hate this.
posted by svenx at 5:42 AM on October 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


I'm always a little puzzled when an institution as national as the BBC ("British" is the first word in the name, for Pete's sake) goes American for major public-facing media decisions. They do it here on the CBC in Canada too. Sure "God Only Knows" is a great song, but in the ridiculously vast canon of sweeping British rock, weren't there one or two options that could have launched a British Broadcasting Music Service?

Not to mention Pharrell Williams sort of opening it up. And Stevie Wonder, Chrissie Hynde etc..
posted by vacapinta at 5:53 AM on October 8, 2014


The thing that struck me was the difference between the artists (generally the younger ones) who are obviously at home with green screen/special effects/television wizardry and the ones sitting very very still and trying not to look like they're wondering what the fuck is going on around them.
posted by fight or flight at 5:53 AM on October 8, 2014


They do it here on the CBC in Canada too. Sure "God Only Knows" is a great song, but in the ridiculously vast canon of sweeping British rock, weren't there one or two options that could have launched a British Broadcasting Music Service?

That's the marketing angle. Imagine the meetings - "well, we could go for that Sherlock / Dr Who British idiosyncratic charm thing, but our research shows that there is a perception amongst the target (US) audience that the BBC is a stuffy institution, and that our best way forward is to represent ourselves with something American and vaguely countercultural. It worked so well with Perfect Day 17 years ago ..."
posted by iotic at 5:56 AM on October 8, 2014


but in the ridiculously vast canon of sweeping British rock

Because the BBC is a grown-up media organisation confident enough in its output to focus on music not geography?
posted by fatfrank at 6:01 AM on October 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


You can throw whomever you want at the vocals of this song and I'll deal with it, but when you drop the percussion triplet in the bridge you might as well invite Kenny G to solo over the whole thing.
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:02 AM on October 8, 2014 [7 favorites]


And if you want to hear the moment when that fill was born, start at about 2:30 here:

God Only Knows (Highlights from the Tracking Session)
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:09 AM on October 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


I just had a big NO NO NO reaction during the entire running time of that thing, but yes I'm an acknowledged and verified hater and by all means you should ignore my opinions.
posted by naju at 6:13 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


This was interesting and I didn't hate it, but there are a very few works of art in this world that are literally perfect, the original of this song being one of them.

You may as well try to re-do the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
posted by seymourScagnetti at 6:16 AM on October 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


They do it here on the CBC in Canada too. Sure "God Only Knows" is a great song, but in the ridiculously vast canon of sweeping British rock, weren't there one or two options that could have launched a British Broadcasting Music Service?

Well, the canonical version of "God Only Knows" is surely son of Albion David Bowie's cover on Tonight?
posted by running order squabble fest at 6:16 AM on October 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


No Psy? Does 2.1 billion views not get you at least a split-second part playing triangle in the orchestra?
posted by Wordshore at 6:39 AM on October 8, 2014


The sad part is that I'd have quite enjoyed seeing this group doing a full-tilt version of something else.

"Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite," perhaps?
posted by sonascope at 6:41 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I thought it was a lovely production. As far as using an American song, I suspect that most of the intended audience won't think twice about it. On the other hand, I'd love to have seen the shitstorm of MeFi complaints had they gone with Bittersweet Symphony.
posted by Ber at 6:42 AM on October 8, 2014


I had to turn it off as soon as I saw Pharrell due to a persistent case of Happy PTSD.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:44 AM on October 8, 2014


I don't usually like anything to do with the Beach Boys -- I had hopes for that tiger being hungry -- but the video is pretty and Chrissie Hynde sang.

(Why is Stevie Wonder's harmonica always so recognizable?)
posted by pracowity at 6:51 AM on October 8, 2014


I'm ambivalent about it. It's enjoyable, but there's something vulgar about it too. There's a quality of humbleness to the original that gets lost in translation (Bowie's aforementioned cover suffers from this too imho). And as others have said, it's a lovely song but surprising that they didn't go with the work of a British recording artist given the intent.
posted by kryptondog at 7:03 AM on October 8, 2014 [4 favorites]


RokkitNite: Haiku Salut are wonderful and I hope they get the recognition they deserve.

Haiku Salut have been shared in a MeFi FPP previously, for whatever that's worth.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:12 AM on October 8, 2014


Trippy
posted by DonnyMac at 7:19 AM on October 8, 2014


I thought this was utterly charming and delightful, but I wouldn't want this on my iTunes necessarily.

Here's a video of the Perfect Day production that Stoatfarm mentioned.
posted by Phire at 7:23 AM on October 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yeah almost any song can be made better by having a rotation of celebrities (a tasteful mix of august elders and the currently fashionable) sing fragments of lines of the song in turn. I mean, what is music but a vehicle for a succession of "hey, I know who that person is!" moments. Giving each person about 8 words apiece is plenty of room for each to make a fully realized musical statement that not only expresses the individual artist, but builds and coheres with each subsequent turn. I mean, I'm saying, this is not at all like watching a song just get chopped into slurry in order to accomodate as many cameos as possible until there is no content left at all.
posted by anazgnos at 7:24 AM on October 8, 2014 [9 favorites]


¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫ God only knows that I'm really famous ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪
posted by naju at 7:30 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


anazgnos - well, tonight thank god it's them instead of you
posted by iotic at 7:40 AM on October 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


Before expressing my opinion, Id like to make very clear, in no uncertain terms, to everyone who enjoyed this , that my opinion is in no way any kind of negation of your personal enjoyment of this reworking of Brian Wilsons wonderful song. If you derived pleasure from it, I am more than happy for you. Id also like to make clear that my opinion is not indicative of any sort of *my tastes are superior to yours* thinking, or any suchlike. Note also that my opinion does not constitute *hating*. It's just an opinion. But...

I'll stick with the original. That "We Are the World" treatment just never worked for me.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:42 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


You know what was cool was the original video for Ray Parker Jr. "Ghostbusters". It had all those celebrities who weren't even in the movie. It was unapologetically just about putting other famous people in the video for no reason besides that they were famous.
posted by anazgnos at 7:48 AM on October 8, 2014


Beautiful production. But despite all that money and celebrity it didn't improve upon the original by one iota. There's a moral in there somewhere.

Well, hey, the moral is as plain as the nose on your face: that money and celebrity are not the building blocks of great music. Matter of fact, tit could easily be argued that they are often (increasingly) obstacles to creating great music. An enormous percentage of the greatest music ever made was made for little to no money and by people who weren't *celebrities*.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:51 AM on October 8, 2014


Yeah, I don't understand this at all. Starting with the fact that I've never understood the amount of praised heaped on "God Only Knows" -- musically, I think it's bizarre and repetitive. (If someone wants to explain why this is considered a great song, I'm open to having my opinion changed.)

But the whole overproduced thing here just makes it worse. The syrupy orchestration, the disconnected cameos (an odd mix of boomers and newbies, for equal-opportunity pandering), the weird green-screen stuff (clearly, no two artists were ever in the same room while making this), Brian Wilson's dead-eyed stare (Dr. Landy, tell me you're not just a pedagogue).

If the purpose of this was a commercial for the statement that "music is awesome," I don't think the end product supports the hypothesis.

(Tangent: There are FIVE PEOPLE in One Direction. Why do they only ever sing in unison, or at most, two-part harmony?)
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:12 AM on October 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Well.. THAT certainly cost a lot of money. What crap.
posted by ReeMonster at 8:17 AM on October 8, 2014


That "We Are the World" treatment just never worked for me.

O, brother.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:24 AM on October 8, 2014


I think these celebrity assemblies were easier when celebrities needed cocaine money.
posted by sonascope at 8:32 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


O, brother.

What. The. Fuck. Canada.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:03 AM on October 8, 2014


(If someone wants to explain why this is considered a great song, I'm open to having my opinion changed.)

Brian Wilson's ability to write choral harmonies that draw a direct line from Monteverdi straight to Hermosa Beach paired with a simple instrumental backing and conflicted lyrics that directly evoke the ancient and infinite longing of love from a band who is equally well known for chirpily parroting about getting sand in one's nethers is why this is a great song. It is short, to the point, and sounds like a choir of angels singing about those good old days when they were still human.

*ok, maybe not SIMPLE instrumental backing but you can still play it with a single guitar and get something grand.
posted by annathea at 9:09 AM on October 8, 2014 [7 favorites]


Not, of course, using public money to campaign for a bigger slice of public money; not accidentally revealing the immense vanity and stodgy complacency of the corporation; no, just a little reminder that without the BBC licence fee none of these great artists would ever have been so much as heard of. God only knows whether music itself could have survived!
posted by Segundus at 9:47 AM on October 8, 2014


Ha. 30 secs before I saw Metafilter's link, I said to my partner: "God Only Knows? For something that lasts two minutes, it sure feels like it goes on for three hours."
posted by kariebookish at 9:52 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Can I just get Lorde's vocal track by itself? Please, BBC?
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:17 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Beautiful art direction in service to another one ...these things.

For my money it's got nothing on realizing God Only Knows works as a barbershop quartet
posted by The Whelk at 10:44 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


Yeah, I don't understand this at all. Starting with the fact that I've never understood the amount of praised heaped on "God Only Knows" -- musically, I think it's bizarre and repetitive. (If someone wants to explain why this is considered a great song, I'm open to having my opinion changed.)

It's one of those things that you need to have two ears and a heart to understand.

I kid. It's just that it's really not at all something that can be explained. Pet Sounds is just the definition of sonic beauty to me, and this is arguably THE standout.


Also, y'all are being a bunch of grumpuses. I thought it was a cool and fun salute that was trying to recognize the achievement of the original, not improve upon it. (In addition, of course, to being an ad).

I don't really have strong opinions on either, but I would love to hear a full cover by either Chris Martin or Sam Smith. Both just fit the song perfectly.
posted by graphnerd at 10:55 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Still prefer the Bioshock Cover!
posted by Perko at 11:30 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Were I a TV owner, and hence licence payer, I am sure I would be thrilled, positively thrilled, to consider that Auntie was using my cash to do something so utterly, utterly valuable. As I am not, I shall merely appreciate and marvel from the sidelines.
posted by Decani at 12:27 PM on October 8, 2014


As a TV owner, and licence payer, I am thrilled that Auntie is using my cash to raise money for charity, as they did with Perfect Day (£2m raised).
posted by threetwentytwo at 12:41 PM on October 8, 2014


So, I am not sure entirely how this happened, but this song made me both feel verklempt and snort with laughter (I'm looking at you David Grohl).
posted by chatongriffes at 12:55 PM on October 8, 2014


I enjoyed the waterfall of interesting visuals as they washed over me. It was enjoyable. I'll listen to the song tomorrow, when my sweetie's not asleep.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:45 PM on October 8, 2014


Sys Rq, that was so bad! I'm still laughing and cringing. I didn't realize in 1992 that we were basically reliving 1982.

From the description: In 1992 we asked the music industry to sing the National Anthem, for free - to put a copy in every school in Canada - for free. We did it!
Some said YES and couldn't make the schedule (Geddy Lee of RUSH for example)
Some said no thanks (you'd be surprised)


No, I would NOT be surprised. And Geddy Lee, you dodged a bullet.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:29 PM on October 8, 2014


What, no Morrissey?
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:00 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I really like the version of God Only Knows by Betty Everett (Shoop Shoop Song/It's In His Kiss) with arrangements by Gene Page, who also did arrangements for Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. It's from her 1975 Happy Endings LP.
posted by larrybob at 5:02 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I spotted this when it was trending on Twitter (and enjoyed it immensely), but the sole reason it was trending on Twitter is because one direction were in it for 5 seconds. Literally the only mentions had screenshots of the 1D lads. I realized then that there are dark and powerful forces on Twitter that live in areas that I dare not go (and I say this as someone fully aware of the Beliebers from back in the day)
posted by TwoWordReview at 5:53 PM on October 8, 2014


annathea is my new favorite Metafilter person.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:43 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, and aside from annathea's brilliant answer to why this is considered a great song, if you listen to this incredible live rehearsal version of God Only Knows and genuinely can't understand why this is considered a great song, well… I dunno what to tell ya!

Otherwise, I wonder if there's any of you out there who might do some of us old fogeys a big favor and list the personnel (in order of appearance?) in this video. Thanking you in advance!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:06 PM on October 8, 2014 [2 favorites]




^ Perfect! Much obliged!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:34 PM on October 8, 2014


Is there a book or anything that has some sort of music theoretical analysis of the Beach Boys' vocal harmonies?
posted by gucci mane at 1:27 AM on October 9, 2014


I watched this clip again, then listened again to the rehearsal recording I linked to above, and then listened to the Beach Boys finished, recorded version. And Im here to say that this BBC thing is in fact an insult to the serene and simple elegance of the original. Akin to dressing the Venus de Milo in some garish outfit and tacking moving mechanical arms to it.

Oh, but check this out: the soloed vocals.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:08 AM on October 9, 2014


In 1992 we asked the music industry to sing the National Anthem, for free - to put a copy in every school in Canada - for free. We did it!

The best part: It's pretty unlikely that any school in the country used that as their morning announcements' national anthem. It's more than six minutes long (even if you fade it out after the first verse as usual, it's still a full two-minute slog), and contains both a Randy Bachman guitar solo and a non-standard line of laughable rap courtesy of Maestro Fresh Wes. The Canadian music industry might just as well have set fire to a few tonnes of VHS tape.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:12 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


That rehearsal version flapjax at midnite posted is now my new favourite everything.
posted by annathea at 9:19 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Speaking as a unmarried person; observing most marriages; I'd say richer, thinner, and happier.
posted by QueerAngel28 at 6:56 PM on October 9, 2014


Upon repeated watching and listening, I still like it in a campy way.
I have to say though that it's awfully fitting to have Pharrell sing the first line. He seems like the kind of person who may not always love you.

I also found this cover version, which is rather more in line with the original, and very well sung. You may or may not enjoy it; I sure did.

Because of this FPP, this song is now my theme song for a difficult time (personal problems, health related). I listen to it, I sing it in the car, it cheers me up. It helps me get through the days. But it's hard not to let my voice quaver whenever I get to the words 'without you'.

Thank you very much for posting.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:51 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]




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