Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies
If you ignore their naf name, this is an interesting band, another Canadian group from the 90's.
This is a fine tribute song to Brian Wilson, and if you're a Beach Boys aficionado you'll get the "In My Room" reference in Steven Page's chorus:
"Lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did"
and others like "Smiley Smile" and "fun fun fun"
but the cool thing is that he's referring to the time after the scrapped legendary manque, the "Smile" album, supposedly Brian Wilson's masterpiece, when Wilson, battling depression, hardly left his home for several years, creating a recording studio in his house, and often recording songs in his bedroom, where he spent much of his time. Lots of his output from the albums Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Friends and 20/20 sound experimental, the musings of a musical genius going back to basics and face to face with his soul.
So here Page is saying that sometimes he gets lonely and low and feels fat but he consoles himself with the fact that Brian Wilson often felt the same but lay on his bed composing brilliant music. Simple and well expressed.
But the weird thing is, at the beginning of the track Page sounds disturbingly like Tracy Chapman and then when the beat and the bongos kick inon they then sound not so much like the Beach Boys as the Smiths! But maybe that's appropriate after all, as in those days one can imagine Wilson saying, "heaven knows I'm miserable now" Since's those days he's cheered up a lot, enjoying the kind of worldwide approval and acclaim that Morrissey also does. And Tracy Chapman ought to.