I'm not sure how much this means to most of you, but
Smile was released today. This is the album that Brian Wilson was going to make with the Beach Boys as a follow-up to the spectacular
Pet Sounds, but unfortunately he wound up having a nervous breakdown before he could finish it. All evidence (i.e. bootlegs and
Smile songs that the Beach Boys reworked for later albums) pointed to
Smile being just as amazing as, if not more amazing than, its predecessor, and many critics believe that if it had been released, we'd be referring to the Beach Boys rather than the Beatles as the best popular music group of the Sixties. It's been called the greatest album never made.
Well, after years of resisting the idea, Wilson's finally decided to properly issue the album, re-recording the entire thing and mixing it the way he had originally intended. The album can be listened to, in full,
here.
Like I said, I doubt many of you give a shit, but I've been practically creaming my pants in anticipation for the past month, and I just had to share. This is arguably the most mythical album in the history of popular music.