Hanif Abdurraqib on The Beach Boys' "Surf's Up" (1971)

The Beach Boys are often regarded as one of the most prolific and influential American bands of all time. However, the group has has its fair share of missteps and controversies over the years. They found early commercial success with songs like "Surfin' USA" and "I Get Around" and critical success with the album Pet Sounds. As time went on and the musical landscape changed, the band struggled to find their voice. Their follow up albums flopped commercially and critically, inner turmoil created division in the band, and rumor was that they were on the brink of breaking up.
In 1971, The Beach Boys released Surf's Up , their most socially-aware and emotional album up to that point. Gone were the band's matching outfits and singing about girls and surfing, and in it's place were more downtempo tracks about the environment, protests, and taking good care of your feet.
Writer and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib sits down (remotely) with us to discuss one of the weirder entries in the Beach Boys' discography. We talk about the sudden shift in image for the band, The Beach Boys' place in American pop music, and why they struggled to keep up with music trends.
More on Hanif Abdurraqib
Preorder Hanif's new book A Little Devil In America
Hanif's incredible music project SixtyEight2OhFive
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More on Surf's Up
That Time The Beach Boys Tried to Pull It Together for Surf's Up (Ultimate Classic Rock)
Surf's Up: The Socially Aware Album That Made The Beach Boy Cool Again (uDiscoverMusic)
Rolling Stone's original review for Surf's Up
Show Tracklisting (all songs from Surf's Up unless otherwise indicated):
Feel Flows
Don't Go Near The Water
The Beach Boys: I'll Be Home For Christmas
Long Promised Road
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
Surf's Up
Don't Go Near The Water
The Coasters: Riot in Cell Block No. 9
Student Demonstration Time
A Day In The Life of A Tree
Don't Go Near The Water
Feel Flows
Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)
Disney Girls (1957)
Take A Load Off Your Feet
Feel Flows
A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Bullion: God Only Knows
Sly & The Family Stone: Just Like A Baby
Bill Withers: Hope She'll Be Happier
Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
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