"There's a Place" vs "In My Room"

Several weeks ago, as I listened to "There's a Place" many times through, another song from that period kept coming to mind: the Beach Boys' disarming, achingly beautiful "In My Room." Upon comparison, the parallels between the two songs are obvious. Both represent early triumphs of emotion and introspection for the bands in question. Both concern themselves with places, whether physical or cerebral, that provide comfort to those afflicted. On a related note, both were at least partly written by complex and often distraught individuals (though I should stress that John Lennon and Brian Wilson possessed wildly divergent personalities). Perhaps less insightfully, both songs draw a sizable amount of their aesthetic power from skillful vocal harmonies. And even less insightfully but most on target, both are incredible pieces of music. Treat yourself by giving them back-to-back listens.

"In My Room"


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