Learning the Secrets of the Universe Through 88 Keys
Brian Wilson is one of my favorite musicians, but I’m a mere tourist in terra Wilsonis compared to my friend Tommy. Without Tommy I’d have never known about the episode of The New Leave It to Beaver where Brian Wilson plays a substitute teacher, or the Good Morning America appearance where a drunk Dennis Wilson falls asleep and a clearly unwell Brian responds to Joan Lunden’s question “What kind of music do you like to listen to?” by nearly shouting, “I LISTEN TO A RECORD CALLED ‘BE MY BABY’ BY THE RONETTES.”
Tommy is also my first ever regular music student. This past semester we’d meet every week after his Evidence class, head over to the music building and work our way through the Beach Boys catalog. We managed to get through most of SMiLE, about half of Wild Honey, and a few miscellaneous things like Do You Really Have A Heart by Dobie Gray. As a singer Tommy is largely indifferent to pitch but intrepid and totally un-self-conscious; I always got a kick out of the looks we’d get from the practice room regulars (generally a staid bunch) as they’d pass by us playing four-hand piano and belting out Beach Boys songs at the top of our lungs. I have to say it really made me feel good to see how much he enjoyed his lessons.
“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to finally be able to play these songs! I feel like I’m learning the secrets of the universe!”