In 1966, one of the most incredible records in the history of popular music was released. You may have heard of it. It’s called “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys. Even if you don’t much care for that era of music, you can’t ignore what the album does. It has lush arrangements, incredible vocal harmonies, and a haunting emotional atmosphere. It was the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort from the band’s creative force, Brian Wilson. If you haven’t experienced it, the San Diego Zoo is giving you a chance to do so in a unique way.
Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine performing at a Beach Boys concert in May 2012. (Louise Palanker, Wikimedia Commons)
We should probably take a moment to break some bad news to you. If you haven’t heard “Pet Sounds” before, you might be upset to find out it’s not actually a record of pet sounds. Actually, pets feature virtually not at all on the record. Well, okay there are some animals on the album cover. Also, there are some dogs barking at the end of “Caroline, No.” But if you take those out of the equation you’re not getting a lot of sounds of pets. That didn’t stop the San Diego Zoo from making a video for the album though.
If you head over to the official YouTube channel for either The Beach Boys or The San Diego Zoo, you can find a thirty-five minute video of animal footage with the entirety of “Pet Sounds’ in the background. It’s a kind of joint promotional push. “Pet Sounds” is celebrating its 60th anniversary with new releases of material from the sessions. Meanwhile, the band wanted to celebrate the San Diego Zoo and the imagery that helped creatively fuel the record. So, why not create what’s effectively a music video for the entire record with zoo footage?
San Diego Zoo YouTube Channel – [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Pl4emTq8Y]
Is this the definitive way to experience the record? Well, maybe not. But you could have fun trying to see if the footage lines up to the music. You know, like when people watch The Wizard of Oz while listening to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Maybe you can be listening to Sloop John B and suddenly a constable comes to take away the first mate. Who’s the constable? Well if the footage is anything to go by, it’s a penguin. Anyway you get the idea, just go have some fun and listen to “Pet Sounds.” Donate to the zoo if you have some extra cash as well!
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