TY - JOUR
T1 - Uncovering the Cornfield
T2 - Revisions of History in Smile's 'Cabin Essence'
AU - Carter, Dale
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Observers agree that a pivotal factor in the abandonment of the Beach Boys’ Smile album in 1967 was the hostility shown by group members to some of Brian Wilson co-writer Van Dyke Parks’s lyrics. The latter still tend, however, to be cited more than they are analyzed. This reading of the song occasioning most friction – ‘Cabin Essence’ – argues that it was neither disorganized nor unintelligible. An encapsulation of Smile’s concerns informed by the new left and counter-cultural contexts of its creation, it offered critical snapshots of the nation’s historical experience and identity, and a complex vision of national redemption.
AB - Observers agree that a pivotal factor in the abandonment of the Beach Boys’ Smile album in 1967 was the hostility shown by group members to some of Brian Wilson co-writer Van Dyke Parks’s lyrics. The latter still tend, however, to be cited more than they are analyzed. This reading of the song occasioning most friction – ‘Cabin Essence’ – argues that it was neither disorganized nor unintelligible. An encapsulation of Smile’s concerns informed by the new left and counter-cultural contexts of its creation, it offered critical snapshots of the nation’s historical experience and identity, and a complex vision of national redemption.
KW - Van Dyke Parks, Smile, Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, Popular Music
U2 - 10.1080/03007766.2014.970858
DO - 10.1080/03007766.2014.970858
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0300-7766
VL - 38
SP - 565
EP - 585
JO - Popular Music & Society
JF - Popular Music & Society
IS - 5
ER -