Quotes from Mike Love

I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He's my cousin by birth and my brother in music.

Writing songs with Brian and performing them with Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, David Marks, Bruce Johnston and many other brilliant musicians over the years is my legacy, and something of which I am very proud and protective.

The original Beach Boys are Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Alan Jardine.

If you look at the history of music, you have classical composers, church music, pop music, etc. Music that's existed for centuries. I think there are some songs that are close to immortal. They will last longer than we will in this lifetime.

One of the most important lessons we can glean from the environmental movement is to 'think globally and act locally.'

I love playing the Hard Rocks; they've got a great stage, great lighting, great sound, and not so humongous; its more intimate, so we love playing theaters and clubs where the audience has a really good chance to see and hear the group and where the acoustics are good. I like it when we can hear what we're doing.

There is so much to life; my heart breaks watching someone held captive by addiction.

I've had an incredible life with a lot of triumphs, my share of heartbreak, and some pretty amazing experiences.

I actually have heard of acts who only do their new album, and don't do their hits. I've never been in that mind set.

I've got different things going on - part spiritualist, part humanitarian, part brat.

Every summer, my grandparents would rent a house on Balboa Island. They had the house next to Bob Hope's. I've been going down there all my life, to that whole area.

Love is probably the most powerful force in the cosmos, capable of creating miracles.

Some people are denizens of the studio. I'm more of a denizen of the live appearance. I love the live thing.

I wrote all the lyrics on 'Good Vibrations' and most of them in 'Kokomo.' 'Kokomo' was extremely popular and fun to sing - it's probably one of the bigger sing-along songs in our show. But then 'Help Me Rhonda,' 'Surfin' USA' and 'California Girls' and 'I Get Around' and 'Fun, Fun, Fun' are great songs as well.

'The Warmth of the Sun' was a very beautiful song that Brian and I wrote in the time period associated with President Kennedy's assassination. We didn't write words about that, but it was around that time we recorded that song, and there's a lot of emotion involved there.

I know there's millions of problems in the world, but if you dwell on those, then you're going to be miserable. I think my meditation helps me to transcend and get beyond the grip of all the negativity and regenerate from within a more positive attitude, which comes in very handy when you're going to do 150 concerts a year.

People meditate themselves because they are just trying to feel better, and transcendental meditation is a natural mental technique that you can perform and that provides that relaxation and also a little bit of broader perspective.

I never thought of myself as a really particularly great singer.

In the spring of 1968, The Beatles and I were invited by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to travel to Riskikesh, India. Riskikesh has been an important spiritual place to many millions of people over the years. It is situated where the Ganges River flows out of the Himalayas, and to be in that atmosphere was something incredibly special.

I think the Beach Boys' legacy is 'Fun, Fun, Fun,' you know? We're calling our next tour '50 Years of Fun, Fun, Fun.' By and large, the Beach Boys' legacy is about incredibly positivity. We've traveled around the world and uplifted the spirits of hundreds of millions of people. Our sound is one of the most recognizable in all of music.

As a songwriter, your songs are, in a way, like your children - you want them to be appreciated.

Meditation was a turning point for me. It helped me deal with a lot of stress and has given me a lot of relaxation.

During meditation your metabolism and your breath rate go down to a level of rest, twice that of deep sleep.

The history of mankind is a history of war.