Brian Wilson (1942–2025)

Brian Wilson has died at the age of eighty-two. Here are four obituaries, from The Guardian , The New York Times , Rolling Stone , and The Washington Post .

I was a latecomer to Brian Wilson’s music. I found my way to it by chance — I rented, out of idle curiosity, a videotape (remember renting videotapes?) of I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times (dir. Don Was, 1995). As a young musical snob (first Beatles, then pre-war blues, fusion music, and jazz), I had never thought to take the Beach Boys seriously. Jeez, was I wrong. I told the story in this post: Being wrong about beauty.

I feel fortunate to have heard Brian in concert twice, on the Pet Sounds tour in 2000 and the SMiLE tour in 2004. To hear the opening notes of “Our Prayer” sung from a stage — not so many years before, no one would have thought it possible. So much suffering in one lifetime, and so much imagination and generosity — and resilience.

“Love and Mercy” to Brian’s family and friends.

Related reading
All OCA Brian Wilson posts (Pinboard)