I think that most anyone who enjoys sophisticated harmonies in popular music likely is pausing today in a moment of melancholy for the passing of Brian Wilson, a composer and arranger who against all odds and expectations managed to create a rock-styled music catalogue that did not need to apologize to any other format for a lack of complexity. I'll check my notes - but I'm not sure we'll find anything else in pop, rock, or folk where some of the tunes sport five part harmony. I mean, two part is easy, three is natural, and four is almost a choral standard, but 5? Please.

In the wake of Wilson's passing yesterday at age 82, social sites like Facebook are being flooded with memorials and reflections and the like. One that I found enlightening is linked here below, the songs according to family, friends, and Wilson himself that most strongly shaped his approach.

Be sure to check #24 on the list and acknowledge that Brian in some form did indeed pay for copping the striped shirts.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10234891749247346&set=pcb.10162698742939399