Masterpiece Crate #6: Why The Beach Boys will never get old, and why SMiLE is the greatest album that never was, but now is, thanks to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys fan community

The Beach Boys' SMiLE, And The Best Music Fanbase Of All Time

This article is a deep dive into this fan community’s endless fascination with The Beach Boys, how the community will always keep the group and their beautiful music alive, and why their fanbase will always remain at the top tier of all other music fandoms.

For more on my Masterpiece Crate series doing album deep dives you can go here.

A Tribute to Brian Wilson & A Smile-Core Albums Collage Project Powered by r/thebeachboys Subreddit

 

My Tribute to Brian

I was in the midst of this album collage project with help from The Beach Boys fan community on Reddit when the sad news of Brian Wilson’s passing rocked the world on June 11, 2025, 9 days before his 83rd birthday. As fans, we all knew this day was approaching since the news of his dementia and being assigned a conservator. I had a very hard time dealing with his death that day.

 

Roger Waters, former frontman of Pink Floyd, releases his own version of the classic album, The Dark Side of The Moon Redux, for better or worse

Roger Waters - The Dark Side of The Moon Redux Analysis and Review

Introduction

For the past 50 years we've been graced with one of the most defining albums of all time. One would think that any attempt to "redo" or remake an album of this magnitude, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of The Moon, which we reviewed a few weeks ago, would be a foolish task, but the world's been shown that there are creative ways to honor and cover the original material. Back in 2003, reggae collective Easy Star All-Stars released their marijuana smoke-infused Dub Side of The Moon, and then in 2010, Dubber Side of The Moon. The Flaming Lips did their own take with Stardeath and White Dwarfs, giving their remake the same name to a more mixed reception. Overall it shows the appreciation and influence these talented artists have felt from the 1973 masterpiece so much so that paying tribute is mostly a badge of honor.

Masterpiece Crate #5: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of The Moon

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary Analysis and Review

Update: our review of Roger Waters’ The Dark Side of The Moon Redux is now live for those who want a comparison review of this classic album.

Time keeps on changing, but what is timeless remains the true feat of human and artistic achievement. When it comes to our Masterpiece Crate series, there is one guiding principle through each of these albums: they are undisputed, stone-cold classics. Nothing can be more true then for this album we have been gifted 50 years ago by one of the most forward-thinking bands of their time, Pink Floyd, with arguably the most successful worldwide album in modern music history, The Dark Side of The Moon.

The Beach Boys - Sail on Sailor - 1972 Boxset drives home the brilliance of this magical and underrated period of Beach Boys history

The Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor - 1972 Boxset Review

 

Click here to read my tribute to Brian Wilson and about the latest Smile-core album collage project that I completed in honor Brian’s greatest masterpiece, Smile.

We live in a time where the excess of everything in media can feel overwhelming; that there's so much music, film, and entertainment to consume that nothing feels sacred anymore and nearly everything that's made has been touched upon before. The question of deep and soulful music that stands out in the sea of music past and present can be answered with the many greats who have graced our collective culture, however, none of them have had as varied and tumultuous of a career as the brilliant yet personally flawed Beach Boys. Their latest archival boxset of unreleased live and studio recordings focuses on a time when the magic of music made them and changed them for the better. 

My Top 100 All-Time Albums

My Top 100 Music Albums

After stumbling across an excellent website, Topsters, I realized I would take a crack at putting together a top-100 album list for myself. The resulting list is my top 100 albums of all time, drawn from my own personal music journey. 

Earth’s Full Upon Her Burning Lips (2019) is an awesome showcase of doom metal, and probably the ultimate example of metal you can chill to

Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips Review

Earth, a group that helped to define and form the genre of ambient metal, doom, drone, or stoner metal, has had multiple releases since the early 1990s. Taking elements from grunge and other forms of heavy metal music, Earth's founding member Dylan Carlson was notably friends with Kurt Cobain. Earth's origins in Seattle also explain this emerging hub of hard rock music that continues to be a haven of major and independent music to this day. Their latest release was last year's Full Upon Her Burning Lips, and while I am guilty of sleeping on this instrumental album, Earth has remained a personal favorite of mine, as they defined the perfect form of metal that you can relax to. Full Upon Her Burning Lips builds upon their previous releases and makes for an engrossing showcase of strong and steady guitar riffs and atmospheric drums and percussion. 

System Of A Down’s first music in 15 years, Protect The Land, and Genocidal Humanoidz, brings to light immediate atrocities committed in their homeland

System Of A Down - Protect The Land / Genocidal Humanoidz Review

Now is a pivotal time in world history, which should go without saying. Not only are Americans and worldwide citizens bearing witness to a historic election year, but a once-in-a-century worldwide pandemic has rocked the world. If there could be any more unpredictability, it is that ISIS terrorists from Syria, along with the corrupt regimes of Azerbaijan and Turkey have declared war on the independent Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, committing unspeakable crimes against humanity. These atrocities that are being committed have brought out from hiatus System of A Down, who are releasing their first new music in 15 years. 

AirdriftSignals EXCLUSIVE: Barcelona-based alternative heavy metal group Obsidian Kingdom discuss their new LP, MEAT MACHINE

Obsidian Kingdom Interview

Our AirdriftSignals Artist Spotlight Interview series covers this time, Barcelona-based alternative heavy metal act, Obsidian Kingdom, who are promoting their brand new album, MEAT MACHINE!

AirdriftSignals: This third LP, MEAT MACHINE, is the first to feature primary female vocals in your songs, performed by one of your guitarists Irene, and the split vocal duties you bring is a welcome transition between the equally pleasing aggressive and tender moments of the album. Can you speak a little about how you came about deciding your latest lineup change and the addition of this contrast to your new songs?

Amorphous and constantly reinventing heavy metal-alternative rock group Obsidian Kingdom drop their third genre-smashing album, MEAT MACHINE - Album Review

Obsidian Kingdom - MEAT MACHINE Review

Obsidian Kingdom are no strangers to change, as we have seen from our exclusive interview with them. By their third full-length LP, they have proven themselves as masters of reinvention with a talent for displaying a wide swath of genre sensibilities. It all started with their debut maxi-single, Matter, a 5-track black-metal ode to the elements. Their follow-up EP, 3:11, showed a tighter production quality with 3 massive songs, but still treading familiar waters. What really set Obsidian Kingdom apart was their full-length debut, Mantiis, a sprawling single song concept album subdivided into 14 tracks that go from theatrical, to hard rock, to heavy black metal, and back, all with elements of electronic music and other styles. What it did essentially was take the overarching genre of heavy metal and lit it on fire. A Year With No Summer was no different. Released in 2016, the group blended more elements of drone metal, electronic atmospheres, and alternative rock. Now, just a month ago, MEAT MACHINE defines Obsidian Kingdom as their own trailblazers. 

Sufjan Stevens releases his 8th mainline studio album, the lush, electronic, and heartfelt The Ascension - Album Review

Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension Review

As an accomplished and fan-favorite indie musician marching to the beat of his own drum, Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-yahn) Stevens has mastered nearly every corner of electronic and indie rock productions, often recording either bare-bones recordings that put his breathy vocals and a single instrument in the forefront, or creating a lush atmosphere of electronic orchestrations. The Ascension takes all of this growth over the past 20 years of his career and places it affirmatively into a seminal album full of love and hope. 

Masterpiece Crate #3: Tool - Fear Inoculum

Tool - Fear Inoculum Analysis and Review

It is rare that I pass down perfect scores on albums, but when I do, it is entirely earned by the artists through pure ingenuity, vision, cohesion between members, and production value. Tool is one of those bands, and 2019’s Fear Inoculum is one of those albums. This review also serves as my masterpiece series entry number 50, as it fits chronologically after my 49th listed album that I still have to write about, and at the same time shifts my sequential writing order significantly since I have only written a couple of articles in this series thus far (my next article will be about the Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral). My masterpiece crate series will occasionally grow beyond the big 5 0 and my original 49 album collage in my introductory article, but for all intents and purposes, this needs to be done to keep up with the release dates of current albums which rise to this rare occasion.

The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger Review

After 11 years, the Jack White-led blues-rock band The Raconteurs finally released their follow up album to 2008's Consolers of The Lonely, Help Us Stranger, on June 21st of this year. As far as why the long wait stretched beyond a span of a decade may be due to lead guitarist Brenden Benson's solo music career, as well as the prolific post-White Stripes career of Jack White, who leads his own solo act as well as another blues-rock band, The Dead Weather. The time between both of these albums was so long that most fans were pretty certain that there might not have been another album coming, especially since the reports were unlikely as far back as 2015 that there was hardly any new material recorded at all, according to Benson in an interview with The Guardian newspaper. Finally, in 2019, The Raconteurs surprise their fans with the release of their third album, the hard-rocking, and blues-licking, Help Me Stranger.

Various Artists - The Music Of Red Dead Redemption II: (Original Soundtrack) Review

Today released an original soundtrack from the makers of the wild west, cowboy masterpiece of last year, Red Dead Redemption II. A fully alive world of the west, Red Dead was instantly hailed as an undisputed classic in modern cinematic and interactive storytelling. It's awe-inspiring immersive characters, setting, and story were brought to vivid life not only by its beautiful, picture-perfect graphics but also by its swooning music, which could quietly enhance a scene or break out in full bravado, placing any player right in the middle of a classic western film. Rockstar shows the world again that their release last year was more than just a video game, but an arresting piece of art that deserves another look this summer, in the form of RDRII's original soundtrack.

Masterpiece Crate #1: Nirvana - Nevermind

Nirvana - Nevermind Analysis and Review

September 24, 1991

Starting off this 49-album series is the worldwide commercial breakthrough of an entire genre and the monolithic rise of a band destined for tragedy. Another band I have been exposed to later in life followed a similar trajectory with their frontman just over 20 years prior, and that was The Doors, a band which had a frontman full of mystery, intrigue, and demons, who ultimately succumbed to a death that was equally as suspicious as our latter subject's demise, but this group was before my time, and so I digress.

Alice In Chains - Rainer Fog Review

As a group that has shown perseverance and evolution through its tumultuous beginnings and tragic loss, Alice In Chains has become a shining example of an act who's show can, and must, go on. Jerry Cantrell, original founding member and songwriter of the group, learned to find his voice after the tragic overdose of legendary vocalist Layne Staley left him with no other choice but to step in and become the lead. Of course, all wouldn't have been as easily possible without enlisting the help of close friend and co-vocalist William DuVall. Through this questionable decision to continue on without their chief vocalist Staley, Alice In Chains have been able to grow into a healthy, heavy, and critically acclaimed second act in their career, first with the release of their 2009 comeback album Black Gives Way To Blue, and then in 2013 with The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. The loss of Staley can be felt, but the alchemy between Cantrell and DuVall created a new future for a band that was originally thought to never be able to get back on its feet. Now, with an equal split of albums through two generations of Seattle's defining grunge and alternative metal band, Rainier Fog is another step in the right direction for Alice In Chains, despite falling for some of the cliches of an aggressive band getting older, and some thematic material getting recycled.

Gorillaz - The Now Now Review

In terms of an all-encompassing artistic package, few bands come close to the audio-visual experience that is the Gorillaz. The only group that immediately comes to mind who truly comes close to or possibly exceeds in their musical and visual cohesion may be an act such as Tool, but not many bands show as much complete dedication to their visual aesthetic as Gorillaz, a co-collaboration between British singer-songwriter Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett. These two members have worked in tandem with each other to birth a mythology of virtual cartoon band members to go along with their albums, singles, and music videos. These four members, named Murdoc, Russel, 2-D, and Noodle, broke through the rock, electronic, and hip-pop mainstream consciousness with their storied music videos and live, projected stage presence with Albarn and his backing band. Just a year after releasing their feature-stuffed, colorful, and somewhat polarizing album Humanz, their legacy continues with their spontaneously released follow up, The Now Now.

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch & the EP trilogy Review

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch and the EP trilogy Review

Prelude

After Nine Inch Nails's last studio album, 2013's Hesitation Marks, underpinning an even more polished and poised electronic-industrial Trent Reznor, expectations were reasonably high for his eventual follow-up album. However, Reznor had been neck deep in scoring feature films and television shows with multiple time collaborator and director David Fincher, and the eye-opening documentaries Before The Flood and The Vietnam War, essentially fulfilling his lifelong dream of writing musical scores for films, and winning a Grammy while at it. No one could blame Reznor for being so ambitious, but it seemed almost impossible to imagine how he could fit Nine Inch Nails into such a tight schedule. Nevertheless, Reznor announced that 2016 would see new NIN material, and so anticipation ramped up. That same year, Reznor's longtime collaborator, Atticus Ross, was announced as the first official member to join Nine Inch Nails (Reznor would always use repeated and dedicated touring musicians to help him fully realize his primarily solo musical visions on stage). During the final month of the year, Reznor and Ross made good on their promise, finally announcing Not The Actual Events, the first EP in a series of three planned releases to comprise of an EP trilogy to be released right before the end of the year. Although this is a review of their final release of the three, Bad Witch, this is also a retrospective look at all three releases, and how the trilogy fits together as a whole, starting with Not The Actual Events.

Anywhere - Anywhere II Review

As a fan of experimental and psychedelic rock, and of bands that push boundaries beyond what is normally accepted such as The Mars Volta, I was extremely pleased to discover that their frontman, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, became involved in a new project, including former musicians from grunge rock bands Nirvana and The Melvins, a band called Anywhere in 2012. Listening to their exclusive record store day limited pressing of their debut self-titled album, Anywhere sounded like a mix between tribal music, world, progressive rock, and transcendentalism, with Eastern European musical influences and a feeling like they travelled to the top of a Tibetan retreat to channel their music. Maybe it's this eclectic mix that gave them their name, as it sounds like the music itself originates from a multitude of places.

A Perfect Circle - Eat The Elephant Review

Almost a decade and a half has passed since the last release of a full-length proper studio album by A Perfect Circle, not counting their anti-war cover album eMotive, released in late 2004. One might ask themselves then, if too much time has transpired to give reason for releasing a third studio album, given A Perfect Circle's short timetable in the first place. It's this and other concerns which give Eat The Elephant a lukewarm return for the band, for it functions as a welcome back album that covers time-tested familiar ground, but also chooses to deviate, sometimes heavily, into newer, uncertain waters.