The Beach Boys -- "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
The earnestness of the sentiment expressed here belies the utter sophistication of the recording. It's harder than ever now to believe that this track (along with the rest of Pet Sounds) was put together with 2-track technology.
I've always suspected that there's a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek attitude to this song -- but only a little bit. In the days before safe, reliable contraception achieved widespread availability, the option for a lot of kids was marry or abstain. There's a sweetness to the emotion being expressed here that is naive but also winning, and, I think, more genuine than not. The innocence wouldn't last forever for the Beach Boys. But here they are at their peak, poised at a moment when everything was on the verge of change but hadn't quite changed yet. This song, and the accompanying album, capture that moment in more ways than one.
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