Pocket Symphony: A Beach Boys Podcast

"Part movie watch-along and part pop culture deep dive, but mostly an exploration of why we, two Asian-American millennial women, keep talking about a white boy band whose best hits lived and died before we were even born." Best friends Rosie Alejandrino and Krista Kurisaki are experts at falling down internet rabbit holes. So... how did they end up making a narrative podcast about the Beach Boys? Using the 2015 biopic "Love & Mercy," Rosie and Krista break down each scene and uncover the real-life events that inspired the movie. SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US: INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“Discovering the Beach Boys’ music has only made my love for other things stronger. I’ve learned to love so many other types of art, music, movies because of discovering this band.” Even if you don’t know the Beach Boys, you probably know their signature tune “California Girls.” But, who exactly are the California Girls... and why are they hosting a podcast? Rosie and Krista discuss the California Girl stereotype and their own origin stories growing up in the Golden State, as Beach Boys fans and best friends. Krista explains the concept of a “Pocket Symphony” badly and Rosie reminds everyone that David Bowie is dead (RIP). SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“There’s drugs, there’s sex, there’s girls! There’s an evil psychiatrist who tries to take over his life! There’s marriage and divorce and family drama and cousins trying to sue each other. There’s intergenerational trauma, fast cars, there’s John Stamos, and very questionable haircuts! What more could you want? You could not write a fiction this compelling if you tried!” You know ‘em, you love ‘em, you might love to hate ‘em! They’re the Beach Boys! Rosie and Krista introduce the classic lineup of “America’s Band” and their movie focus this season: the 2015 film Love & Mercy. Rosie brings up the Jonas Brothers for the first time on the pod and Krista forgets Heath Ledger’s name for a minute straight. Both hosts do their best to describe Beach Boys vocal parts. SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com   Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“They take up the mantle of being ‘America’s band’ while writing albums overseas, and secure that reputation by becoming peak boomer nostalgia music for an era where gas was cheap, roads were wide open, and the ocean was a playground if you had the privilege of rebellion.” Don’t touch that dial! We’re about to put you onto some hot rod music. The Beach Boys hit it big by riding the wave — pun fully intended — of California culture spreading across the country. But were they really surfers? Or just total posers? Rosie tells Krista about the 60s car culture craze and special guest Rayanne Piaña joins in to teach us the not-so-secret history of surfing. Rosie reveals the sheer number of Beach Party movies she watched as “research” and Krista shares her favorite section of Mandy Moore’s classic bop “Candy.” Both hosts think they could’ve written the Beach Boys’ first single “Surfin.’”  SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“Resurrected like some Hawaiian shirt-clad phoenix every ten years or so, the Beach Boys became the act as synonymous to boomer nostalgia as the Beatles are to youth counterculture.” As soon as Beatlemania hit US airwaves, the Beach Boys were pitted against the mop-topped Fab Four… even though the Beach Boys formed first. Throughout the early 60s, the bands exchanged iconic albums like knock-out punches, with each release forcing the opposing group back to the studio to prepare for the next round. The rivalry between the Beach Boys and the Beatles gave us some of the most iconic music of the decade, but by its end, only one was left standing — and it’s not the one you think. Krista tells Rosie the origin story of her favorite boy band and how a break-up might’ve been the best thing that ever happened for their legacy. Rosie confuses George Harrison and George Martin (fair) and Krista admits that this whole thing was improv. SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“We’ve come a long way from Hawthorne, California, and now the Boys are handing over their literal likenesses to a company that’s willing to give them the Tupac treatment so that Mike Love can finally put the band to rest.” Oh no! The podcast has gone on so long that we’re now in the later, more commercial stages of our career! 2021 marks sixty years of the Beach Boys and ongoing efforts to capitalize on the band’s legacy, even if that means… a future hologram tour? Rosie takes Krista on a wild ride of “God Only Knows” covers that tell the commercial history of the band and the many bumps in the road along the way. Rosie untangles the mess of the Beach Boys’ legacy by revisiting a 2017 trip to Elvis’ Graceland and Krista can’t stop thinking about the phrase “Mamma Mia! for boys.” Both hosts wholeheartedly stan the Bowie cover.  SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

“Rolling Stone is no longer like 50 Cameron Crowes, extolling the ‘never to be experienced again’ majesty of the 70s rock age to anyone curious about music history.” Today, Pet Sounds is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time, but it was met with a lukewarm response from American audiences. Since then, there have been many theories as to why: band infighting, bad marketing, or that it “just wasn’t made for these times.” The album would fall into relative obscurity until it was reclaimed in the 90s as the holy grail of hipsterdom by cool older sisters and obnoxious record store guys alike. Krista tells Rosie the story of how Brian’s passion project made the uncool cool… and how gatekeeping only furthered the legend. Rosie goes off on a DayQuil-fueled rant against the rock canon and Krista’s dog insists on making his own pet sounds while she’s recording. Both hosts cry over a 90s Doonesbury comic. SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US:INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend

"Kind of wild that every major public update on Brian’s well-being occurs on the Beach Boys’ album cycle, almost like the capitalist desire to keep him working overrides the desire to keep him healthy. Makes you think, huh?" CW: This episode deals with the subject of physical and mental abuse. The movie LOVE & MERCY details some of that abuse, and those scenes will be recapped in this episode. It's our mid-season finale, and we finally tackle the elephant in the room — Brian's fraught relationship with Dr. Eugene Landy. In order to paint the picture more clearly, we've dug into years of archival research and set parallel paths between Brian and Britney's stories to uncover the dark side of the spotlight. Rosie talks Britney while Krista talks Brian, and both draft their favorite Brian Wilson track. SHOW NOTES & SOURCES — FOLLOW US: INSTAGRAM @beachgalspod TWITTER @beachgalspod EMAIL US AT pocketsymphonypod@gmail.com Art by @HVNNart Theme by @mikeylegend