without words

This will probably only mean something to one person besides me, but when I think about beauty and dignity under pain, I think about the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)” — not the song itself, which is about something else, but three obscure fragments of it: Brian’s initial demo of the tune as a piano sketch, the achingly beautiful string overdubs, and an unused vocal harmony. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything so fragile and yet so present. All are from The Pet Sounds Sessions box set. And for sublime hope against the odds, here is “Our Prayer”, from Smile. I’m being very literal, but hey, sometimes that’s okay.