When I was a kid we listened to The Beach Boys. We envisioned ourselves as cool surfers, despite the fact that our local beach was nothing like the California beaches, we tried anyway.
The Beach Boys were hot stars and girls had crushes on them variously. In my gaggle of girls, it was a debate between Dennis and Brian – sometimes Mike Love. But when the hit “Caroline, No” came out, that was a game-changer for me. It was Brian I fixated on. Of course, this faded over time, but I still felt like he was an incredible influence on music from then on, despite the band itself going in and out of popularity.
Brian Wilson is a musical genius I followed not for his rock star typical groupie appeal, but for his inner poetic harmonic over the top genius. The guy behind it all – beginning at an early age, that sound – the lyrics – the haunting ones in some of those songs that are hidden gems – he was truly amazing in his life achievements.
It was also so sad to see him essentially destroyed by what is reportedly having taken one too many acid trips – a situation which I personally understood having had an extended family member who fell into the same fate – but never had the same care that Brian had. My cousin lived rough, and was finally saved by some really nice people so that he could live the rest of his days in some semblance of normalcy. Brian on the other hand lived under care from the time he began to struggle. Fortunately for him, he had those means of support that enabled this.
Susceptibility to developing schizophrenia conditions is still under study, although more is known now that was back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It is however understood that it is not just one condition – it is more than one and the causes are still not well understood as to what triggers these conditions to just turn on or gradually come on. Drug use of psychedelics is one of those that was an early recognized trigger back in those decades.
The profiles of my cousin and Brian are similar – the abusive dad – the rebellion – drug abuse – and having studied psychology as a major in university, I know that those components go hand in hand in causing major issues down the road, especially with the father-son dynamic.
What is especially tragic is that both of these people had gifts that they shared with the world, but could not fulfill their full potential because of the handicaps imposed by abusive overzealous fathers who thought they knew better about everything and used a stick to make the point.
Fathers take note, mothers, too. You can really screw up things if you think you know everything and feel entitled to dominate. Look inside and figure out why that is. Insight is everything because hindsight is usually 20/20.
Back to Brian Wilson, it was especially sad to see him go. As long as he was still here, we knew he was still here. The passage of time and people with it is a constant reminder that we should live and love every day because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
RIP Brian Wilson – you are missed.
