Date: 10/19/00 Article: Loss of ego? So maybe "Friday Night (I'm In Great Shape)" really IS "I'm In Great Shape" meaning rebuilding of the ego in great shape after the cleaning fire?

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Article:
Yeah, there are 4 elements but only 3 are done in The Elements. That's my take on it and it agrees with both Anderle and those quotes you mention. I think The Elements has more to do with ego loss than anything else.

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There is a contemporary article in LLVS I believe in March, at any rate after the lawsuit was filed against Capitol, which says: "they want the money and a release from their contract. Meanwhile, Brian is worried about one track in their new "Smile" album titled 'The Elements.' It has sections on Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The studio across the street from where the piece was recorded burned down one night and Brian fears the music might cause more fires . . ."

Another piece from March mentions "tracks from the next Beach Boys LP include 'The Elements' (a composition in four movements), Heroes and Villains (their next single, weighing in over four minutes), The Child is the Father of the Man and something about going out in the yeard to eat worms."

Which is interesting because that means Worms and The Elements were still in consideration for the "late Smile" lineup - I've argued before that these had been dropped, along with Cabinessence and Old Master Painter, in favor of new tracks (With Me Tonight, Dada, Tones, I Don't Know). But Brian was still considering the Elements, despite the fire scare at least a couple of months previously.

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Article:
I think that you have to go with David Anderle on this and stick to Fire, Water and Air(LLVS pg 230.)

Personally, I like the Buddha's references to the elements because it ties the commonly assumed 4 elements to ego loss which in turn ties into Pet Sounds and "Let Go Of Your Ego." http://pages.cthome.net/tobelman/page04.htm
Bill

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Article:
This is very interesting and I'ld like to read Bill Tobelmans' opinion on all this too.

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In a thread below, there was some discussion about "facts" and "assumptions". We're always assuming that "The Elements" comprises the four ancient Greek elements fire, air, water and earth. Question For the pros: Is there any contemporary document giving us the evidence to make this assumption a fact? I don't remember one, that being no proof to the non-existence of evidence, though. Maybe some of you remember something and find it in LLVS or somewhere.

But if there actually is no evidence for this assumption, I've stumbled over something worth thinking about. My girlfriend is interested in Chinese astrology, and there is another set of elements attached to the signs there!

There IS evidence that Eastern philosophy was an issue of interest in the Wilson/Parks songwriting team. There is the Chinese coolie building the dam and working on the railroad, and the line "Fresh Zen air round my head" in Eggs & Grits. So here's the five (!) Chinese elements: Fire, water, earth, metal, and wood (surprisingly there's no air).

We know only one piece of music we know it would have been part of "The Elements" (Fire), and one that seems very likely to have been part (Water Chant). But lately, there has been speculations about another piece being part of "The Elements", that's " I Wanna Be Around / Friday night" .Jon pointed out that it does indeed fit keywise. And what do we hear in the latter? WOOD noises (hammers, saws, nails). On "Fire" there's the crackling, so that would indeed fit. And Wood is a Chinese element.

The only contradictory thing I can think about so far is that Brian has been asked about "air", which is NOT a Chinese element, and he said vaguely that there was a cut. But did he remember rightly or did he once again say something just to satisfy the interviewer? Does someone know where the whole interview can befound?

What do you think about this?