In this interview, Blink 182 claim that they almost named their newest album "Our Pet Sounds," but ultimately common sense took over and they rejected it. This story does make me happy, though, in that a modern band like Blink has appreciation for the Beach Boys classic, which has been losing its luster in the music community for years. As opposed to the consistent popularity of the Beatles, the Beach Boys legacy has been tarnished by the buffoonery of Mike Love and lawsuits among the different touring groups claiming the Beach Boys name. Although it used to fight tooth and nail with "Sgt. Pepper" over the title of greatest album of all time, it's status has taken a beating. VH1's countdown in 2001 of the Top 100 Albums had "Pet Sounds" at #3, behind "Revolver" and "Nevermind" (!). Too many people now write the Beach Boys off as fluff, and aside from "Pet Sounds," the rest of their catalog is virtually ignored. Fortunately, there have been some encouraging signs of late. Rolling Stone's new issue on the 500 Greatest Albums has "Pet Sounds" at #2 (behind "Sgt. Pepper"), and many artists, including Scott Weiland, Sean Lennon, and Paul McCartney (perhaps the biggest "Pet Sounds" advocate there is) continue to praise the album in interviews. Also, Brian Wilson has been touring and playing the album in its entirety, to rave reviews. While I don't think that average Blink fans would go out and buy "Pet Sounds" after reading that interview, I can hope that they do. Not just for the sake of the legacy, but for the listener. "Pet Sounds" is beautiful music. Everyone should listen to it.

* Note - in my mind, "Sgt. Pepper" isn't the best Beatles album. Although it's terrific, no album with "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Good Morning, Good Morning" could be considered the best anything. "Abbey Road," "The Beatles" (aka "The White Album"), and "Revolver" are all superior.