Brian Wilson: The Barenaked Ladies's Portrait of Loneliness
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of Anxiety Disorders, Disordered Eating, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, and Schizoaffective Disorders Have you ever felt alone? I mean, really alone? The kind of alone where the thought of laying in bed and hibernating for years on end not only seems reasonable, but necessary? That's exactly what Brian Wilson, the genius behind The Beach Boys, did. Burnt out on drugs, drink, and failed attempts to produce a follow up to his magnum opus, Wilson retreated to bed for three years. He only left his bed to go to the kitchen for his meals. Eventually his mental decline worsened for the next two decades and new work and public appearances from the greatest producer-musician of the 20th century became increasingly rare. Coinciding with Wilson's reemergence into the musical sphere during the 1990s, Canadian Rock band The Barenaked Ladies released the song, 'Brian Wilson'. Using the cultural caché and public fascination surrounding Wilson's wildern...