Artist blog | God Only Knows I Tried – Joe Innes’ favourite Beach Boys songs

Brian I'm A...

Releasing music is probably one of the most stressful, god awful things you have to do as a musician. Sure, when you’re writing and recording, you’re having the time of your life. You’re hanging out with Dave Gerard, sitting in his studio drinking tea and making jokes about phantom power (why was the mic afraid of the mixing desk?). Then you have to come down from that and start organising digital distribution, email thousands of complete strangers to make them interested in this thing you just made and get the people of the world to listen to it *facepalm*.

I love writing songs, I love singing them with my friends. I hate having to “sell” them.

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So, with that in mind, I will now try and sell you my new EP. It’s called ‘Brian, I’m a Genius Too‘ and it’s being released on the 16th June. The title is a reference to something Brian Wilson’s dad Murry once said during a famous session for ‘Help Me Rhonda’. It’s one of those things that reverberated over and over in the back of my mind – perhaps because Murry Wilson was a washed up songwriter, and lots of songwriters get washed up, and how the hell am I gonna feel 30 years from now when my son writes a song like God Only Knows and gets really famous, will I resent that? I don’t want to be that guy.

That’s where I think it all came from.

We’re having a big launch party tomorrow at The Slaughtered Lamb, or tonight (depending on when this goes up). The date is Saturday the 31st May if there’s any confusion. Worry Dolls and Effra are playing (who also contributed to the EP) and we’ll be dancing to some sweet indie tunes until 1am, it’s going to be a great time – there’s nothing better than a record launch party.

With that in mind, and because of The Beach Boys theme, here are my favourite Beach Boys songs and videos for you to vibe to, and I’m not bitter at all that I didn’t write the songs…

Wild Honey 

Kokomo – by Ben Kweller and Adam Green who inject some much needed Brian Wilson lethargy into Mike Love’s trashy pop hit

God Only Knows – The best song ever written

Surf’s Up – Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks done a masterpiece, Mike Love said: “I appreciate them for their artistry. It’s like if you were to go to a modern art museum… maybe you don’t understand [the art], but you can appreciate that it’s beautiful.” Jerk.

Barbara Ann

Good Vibrations – Live in the studio, amazing to watch

Brian I’m a Genius Too – And finally, make sure to listen to the session of Help Me Rhonda, where Murry Wilson mutters the immortal line.