If the Rock Daily TiVo hadn’t malfunctioned, right now you’d be watching an astonishingly weird clip of Brian Wilson being celebrated at last night’s pre-taped Kennedy Center Honors. After a touching look back at the Beach Boy’s life narrated by Art Garfunkel, Lyle Lovett warbled “God Only Knows.” Then the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, Hootie & the Blowfish!” echoed through the theater and Darius Rucker and Co. took the stage in matching green and blue flannel shirts to perform passable versions of “I Get Around” “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “California Girls” (which were noteworthy mostly for the reaction shots of George Bush jerking his head off-beat in the balcony). An English boys’ choir wrapped things up with a sweet rendition of “Love and Mercy” and as beach balls floated down from the ceiling, Wilson’s neighbor Diana Ross — who was honored by Jordin Sparks, Ciara and gospel star Yolanda Adams, and spent much of Wilson’s tribute stealing his camera time with exaggerated gasps and crazy eyes — reached out and plucked one from the air for him. It was a touching moment. …
But seriously, Hootie? Brian Wilson is the patron saint of indie rock, so certainly they could have found anybody else to come play this gig. Paul McCartney? John Cale? Animal Collective? (We can imagine the post-show now: “Mr. President, I’d like to introduce you to Panda Bear.”) Heck, even John Stamos has proven himself more devoted to the Beach Boys’ catalog.
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