songs about growing up and losing innocence

On a first listen, “Pet Sounds” may seem simply like a positive piece of art. More than its status as legitimizing rock in the eyes of the public, the record is a monument to the hardships of growing up, and transforms the momentary pain of life into something permanent and sublime: a monument to our collective experience. When people write about “Pet Sounds,” its influence and technical innovation often become the focus, instead of the transcendent and deeply relatable aspects of the music. Masterminded by songwriter and producer Brian Wilson, “Pet Sounds” is often called the greatest record of all time, but I feel like this label has actually undermined the music itself. No matter the reason, I thought their barbershop quartet angle was cheesy, their constant falsetto annoying, and never felt a reason to turn them on when I could just listen to The Beatles instead.Īnd then I heard “Pet Sounds.” I’ve been a really big Beach Boys fan ever since. I found it really hard to take “The Beach Boys” seriously before high school ’cause I’d only ever heard their big hits like “Surfin USA” or “California Girls.” I guess you could say it’s because I closely associated them with cheesy pre-holiday break celebrations in elementary school where they’d blast Bing Crosby and a ton of other department store Christmas carol bullshit.

Songs about growing up and losing innocence