"Being called a musical genius was a cross to bear. Genius is a big word. But if you have to live up to something, you might as well live up to that."

“I wanted to write joyful music that made other people feel good. That’s what I tried to do for the past 27 years.”

“I went through a lot of changes in the years from when I first started out.”

“Humor — it helps to make the vibe better — it loosens up the vibrations.”

“Dumb Angel Magazine: Brian Wilson, Beach Boys”

“It's funny how people are pickin' up on our music now, you know? I think it's wonderful that people like our music.”

“It was very competitive in the '60s. And everybody caught the bug, y'know? It was like a “competitive bug.” And, as far as I could see, everybody was turning everybody on. … The Beatles were a part of that whole “competition” thing. Rubber Soul blew my mind. It really made me wanna record; it made me wanna cut. It sounds like a collection of songs that belong together, and it was an uplifting feeling. So I thought I'd make a collection of songs — called Pet Sounds — together. That's how I got that idea. … I'm proud of it. I think it's a very everlasting album. I'm very proud of the love that went into it. A lot of love went into that album. And people pick up on that too, and they really like it 'cause they feel the love.”