The Beach Boys And The Satan
http://www.bloggernews.net/118291
Posted on October 22nd, 2008
by Simon Barrett
Wind your clocks back to the late 60's, it was a truly interesting
period. High in conflict, the Vietnam War was consuming Americas
youth in frightening numbers, and presidential approval was so low
that the only president with worse ratings is our current one, George
W. Bush. You need an electron microscope and a school full of PhD's
to discover GW's approval rating. My theory is that it is some small
community in the middle of Montana that has no access to TV, Radio,
or the Internet, and has no clue about the world outside of their 40 acres!
Aside from the political issues, the late 60's had huge amounts of
racial tension. Inner cities were burning, literally! The 60's also
gave us the summer of love. The Hippies ruled in Frisco and
Woodstock. The average middle class American was shocked by the idea
of Free Love, Drugs, and musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
Enter the Beach Boys. Happy surf dudes from sunny Southern
California, young, good looking guys surrounded by young bikini
wearing female fans. This must have caused apoplexy in the bible
belt, where there is an unwritten 11th commandment 'Thou shalt not
have fun'! For the rest of America though, they represented a new and
and exciting youth. The surfing music style had arrived.
The question is, were they what they seemed? And this is the question
that is explored in The Beach Boys And The Satan. The Satan in this
particular case is none other than everyones favorite cult leader,
Charles Manson.
What few people realize is that Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson was
part of The Family. He had drifted away shortly before the horrendous
murders of Sharon Tate and her friends, but he is forever a part of the story.
The Beach Boys And The Satan is a very well put together movie, using
vintage footage, contemporary interviews, and a thoughtful voice
over, it gives much food for thought. That summer of love, might well
have been something else.
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