The Beach Boys And California Mythology

The medicine of the border Boys during their peak creative period (1961-1967) is a rudimentary element in the atomic number 20 myth, which depicts the states culture as a youthful, exuberant nirvana made possible by cornucopia, technology, and climate.It presents to the man in image of the state (particularly its southern coast) as an ideal manoeuvre for the young to racket the climate, their freedom, and the benefits of an affluent society an image that belied many of the areas social realities and presented an appealing but ultimately warp picture.The euphony itself has little intrinsically calciumn about it. The vocals owe a gravid deal to white doo-wop from the late 1950s (particularly the intricate group harmonies), temporary hookup the music derives heavily from that of Chuck Berry (indeed, Surfin USA is merely a blatant rewrite of Berrys Sweet Little 16). However, their lightness and upbeat, propulsive sound coupled nicely with Brian Wilson and Mike get it ons lyrics, which celebrated their own yearnings and their idealized deal of atomic number 20 culture.During their beginning(a) six years of recording (before Brian Wilsons mental illness became evident), the set down Boys promoted southern California as a teenagers paradise. dilettante Jim Miller writes that, at their peak, the group propagated their own variant on the American dream, painting a dazzling picture of beaches, parties and endless summers, a paradise of escape and created odes to affluent hedonism (DeCurtis 192).Numerous songs render life there as a near-constant revel, in which teenagers had easy access to cars and thus to parties or the beach, where surfers dominated and single could bob up numerous opportunities for romance. The image of the sun-tanned, affluent, young white surfer circularise internationally shaped perceptions of California throughout the world. The picture they presented repeated the selfsame(prenominal) message that California was a place where one and only(a) could find pleasures untouchable elsewhere.Several of their songs, such as 409, Fun, Fun, Fun, and Little Deuce Coupe (and more whimsically, Little previous(a) Lady from Pasadena) exalt the automobile as a key dower of their lifestyle indeed, cars made the beach more accessible, accommodated dating and socializing, and liberated teenagers to a great degree. Furthermore, these cars had to be not simply serviceable, but also tidy and impressive owning a hot rod was a status symbol in Beach Boys songs, giving one the nearly prestige and the most appeal to the enemy sex, as made evident in I Get Around (which combines cars, fun, and prestige in no uncertain terms).Regarding the opposition sex, their tunes celebrated California women as an ideal, attracted by fast cars or surf prowess and blessed with good looks and warm, liberated personalities one could never find elsewhere. California Girls in particular spread the image of the young California as blond e, frequently found at the beach, and responsive to affluent phallic surfers with fast cars and status among their peers. They also helped make California synonymous with surfing, though one solo one of the group (drummer Dennis Wilson) actually did it.Surfin USA and Surfin movement depicted it as a nearly-ideal outdoor activity, which let one enjoy the mild climate, attract members of the opposite sex, and live in a voluptuary and relaxed atmosphere seemingly devoid of troubles or pressures. The affluence of the California they depicted made cars available, and, by extension, dating and fun impossible to find elsewhere, and the Beach Boys combined these in their material. Miller writes that the groups pursuit of fun, whether on a surfboard or in a car, set them unconnected and assured them . . .of an audience, no matter how restrictive the specific motifs, although surfing, cars, and the California venue all became emblematic (DeCurtis 194). Though the Beach Boys material off ered the promise of California as a virtual paradise of fast cars, status, and opportunities for romance, they neatly hid the broader realities of California life, creating the paradoxes that Rawls mentions. Most importantly, this vision did not apply to much of California, especially its blue half, a diverse region of mountains, urbanized areas, agriculture, and a much colder coastline.Also, the groups members hailed from industrial backgrounds, and the Wilson brothers (only one of whom actually surfed) came from a violent, hardly idyllic home. Their songs glorified not only a lifestyle that the groups members generally did not practice, but it also celebrated a happiness that the troubled Brian Wilson could only yearn for, as well as eternal youth an impossible action which seemed less relevant as the members aged.It also managed to present a distorted picture of the Los Angeles region by focusing on a pocketable class of young people. According to scholar Mike Davis, It was the mesmerizing vision of a white kids car-and-surf-based Utopia (Davis 66) that was generally not relevant to poorer youth or people of color. Their picture of California also excludes the regions racial tensions indeed, the Watts riots of 1965 erupted during this period, expressing realities that never figured in the Beach Boys music.The Beach Boys early music summed up California life as rooted in affluence and dependent on fast, flashy cars, which made leisure and attraction of the opposite sex possible. They presented an idealized and rather sanitized picture of a diverse, sometimes conflicted region. Indeed, class differences, racial tensions, and the more disturbing realities of the 1960s seem invisible, wrapped by the image of California as a place where one could have constant fun and revel in constant youth.Though they created a distorted, highly selective picture, the image remains potent to people immaterial the state and still colors many peoples perceptions of southe rn California. REFERENCES Davis, Mike. City of Quartz. New York Vintage, 1992. DeCurtis, Anthony, James Henke, and Holly George-Warren, eds. The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of contention & Roll. New York Random House, 1992. Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon, eds. California Dreams and Realities. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2004.