Smart Girls
"Smart Girls" is a song by American musician Brian Wilson from his unofficial 1991 album Sweet Insanity.[2] It was produced by Wilson, his former psychologist Eugene Landy, and Matt Dike.[1] The publishing credits Wilson as the sole writer, while an original acetate credits Wilson, Landy, and Alexandra Morgan for writing.
| "Smart Girls" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Brian Wilson | |
| from the album Sweet Insanity | |
| Published | 1991 |
| Recorded | August 23, 1990 |
| Studio | Studio Ultimo |
| Genre | Surf rap[1] |
| Length | 4:09 |
| Label | Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros. (rejected) |
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Audio sample | |
| |
The song is a hip hop pastiche containing numerous Beach Boys samples, self-quotations, and autobiographical allusions.[3] Its lyrical content encompasses Wilson's infatuation with intelligent women as he illustrates that his old Beach Boys songs only showed a superficial appreciation of women.[4] The recording was reportedly at Landy's insistence.[5][6] In 2015, Wilson was asked about "Smart Girls" and said, "Yeah, we were just having a good time. Yeah, it was fun. We were just kidding."[5]
Reception
Author/musician Jason Hartley wrote: "What is important was that Wilson was embracing rap when many older rockers thought that rap wasn't real music. As ridiculous as 'Smart Girls' may seem to you today, at the very least, Brian Wilson was on the right side of history."[4]
References
- Stereogum (December 3, 2007). "Brian Wilson's Psychotic Surf Rap". Stereogum.
- Vena, Jocelyn (March 26, 2015). "Brian Wilson Explains Scrapped Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey Collabs". Billboard.
- Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: the Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Continuum. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-8264-1876-0.
- Hartley, Jason (2010). The Advanced Genius Theory: Are They Out of Their Minds or Ahead of Their Time?. Simon & Schuster. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4391-1748-4.
- Herrera, Dave (July 10, 2015). "A Q&A with Brian Wilson". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
Further reading
- Reiff, Corbin (October 4, 2019). "The strange story of Beach Boys visionary Brian Wilson's lost rap song". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved October 9, 2021.