201. THE BEST SHOW’S TOM SCHARPLING ON THE BEACH BOYS’ PARTY! (PLUS THE SEMINAL STEPPING STONES EN ROUTE TO PET SOUNDS)

The Best Show’s Tom Scharpling has been a Beach Boys obsessive for over 40 years, and the idea behind bringing him on for Party!, The Beach Boys’ oft-dismissed 10th LP that also served as a stopgap measure allowing Brian Wilson to buy time to shape Pet Sounds, was to feature a guest who took this record seriously. In addition, the various unreleased experiments in which Brian was engaging during this era are some of the most fascinating studio visits Brian would ever make in his life, and each and every one is covered in forensic detail (especially in The Director’s Cut edit). Greatness was not just around the corner…it was already here.

Here’s just a few of the many things that Tom discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

• How Tom initially became deeply, deeply obsessed with The Beach Boys in the early 1980s, and the burnout he eventually incurred via oversaturation;
• The time in the late 1980s that a young Tom contacted a radio call-in show that featured Brian, only to harangue him about when Smile was coming out;
• A fascinating series of unreleased studio experiments that paved the way for both Pet Sounds & Smile;
• A discussion about whether or not The Beach Boys are an inherently funny band…or not at all in the least;
• A debate over whether covering their own material on Party was proto-Weird Al or just a complete misfire;
• And a track-by-track rundown of the Party! LP.

Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti

I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income. 

If you’re a Beach Boys superfan like me, you’ll want The Director’s Cut of this episode. It’s ad-free and features 13 additional minutes of essential material. Purchase it as a one-off, get the entire Season 2 Series as a bundle (listed under Collections), or better yet…

Subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. And now with our 2025 Patreon Membership Drive, you’ll also get an episode all about YOU and a FREE copy of Metal Machine Muzak at the Lieutenant Tier or higher: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

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