In 1966, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys created Pet Sounds—an album whose intricate harmonies, unexpected instruments and extraordinary studio craftsmanship changed popular music.
More than half a century later, a group of teenage musicians decided to learn it.
Not just the hits. The entire album.
At Los Rios Rock School, 13 young vocalists and six instrumentalists spent months learning Brian Wilson’s musical architecture: individual harmony lines, dynamics, blend, tuning, restraint and, perhaps most importantly, how to listen to one another.
Then, on May 26, 2019, they walked into Hybrid Studios in Santa Ana and attempted something remarkable: recording their Pet Sounds project in an extraordinarily concentrated studio session.
In this episode of The Common Room, from the Little Station on Commercial Street, we travel from Brian Wilson and the Wrecking Crew in 1966 to those young musicians in 2019—and then ask another question:
Where are those kids now?
Some continued making music. Some entered the music business. And one eventually returned to Los Rios to teach another generation.
Along the way, we’ll explore Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Sloop John B, God Only Knows, I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times, Caroline, No and Good Vibrations—and discover why recreating Pet Sounds required something very different from rock-and-roll showmanship.
It’s a story about Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds.
But it’s also about something larger:
How does a great work pass from one generation to the next?
Tradition isn’t keeping something old behind glass. Sometimes it’s handing the music to a room full of kids and saying:
Listen. Now you try.
🎙️ The Common Room — Chesterton Radio
Stories • Ideas • Wonder
