Another imposterism song
Tips, tricks, inspiration, and encouragement for storytellers of all stripes
Greetings from Sarasota—
About a month ago I wrote at length about imposterism—my much preferred term for “imposter syndrome”—and described how U2 had a heck of a time putting together THE JOSHUA TREE.
I cannot hammer on this point enough for anyone out there bashing their artistic heads against a story or poem or sculpture or song or screenplay or business plan or musical or painting—
Towering works only appear towering in the rearview mirror!
The right path is discovered as you walk it.
Another example I just learned about (and all credit to Andrew Hickey and his phenomenal podcast A HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL IN 500 SONGS) is “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys.
I would put “God Only Knows” into the top ten of all pop songs ever. Maybe top five. It’s that good. It’s that inevitable. Every note feels vital and every lyric snaps in place. Sorta like the best of Stephen Sondheim. Everything fits. There’s not a single unnecessary or extraneous note or syllable.
But that inevitability is the end result of work and happenstance and messy inspiration and throwing stuff at the wall. Inevitability doesn’t exist in the beginning. Rearview mirror, my friends.
Check it out—
Brian Wilson, for all his staggering musical ability, was only a ho-hum lyricist. To his credit, he knew that. He was working in a studio complex and happened to run into Tony Asher, who worked in the same complex for an advertising agency writing commercial jingles. Wilson dragged Asher into his studio and played him some demos. Wilson did this a lot, with various, random people. They chatted a bit.
Asher forgot all about it.
Wilson didn’t.
Wilson called Asher a few weeks later and asked if he wanted to write together. Something about Asher’s ability with turns of phrase just clicked for Wilson.
So Asher took a two-week sabbatical from his advertising job and cranked in the studio with Wilson on what would eventually become none other than the towering masterwork PET SOUNDS.
Random meeting. One-sided eagerness. Lucky break. Who’s the imposter?
On previous Beach Boys albums, Mike Love sang most of the leads. On PET SOUNDS, though, Brian Wilson sings most of the leads. But when he attempted “God Only Knows,” something was off. His voice and point of view made the song way too dark. They didn’t even bother having Mike try; they knew it would be wrong.
Because here’s the thing. Lyrically, the narrator never actually says “I love you.” So is it a song about declaring love to someone or about convincing someone you love them? Hmmmmm. The second verse could easily be read as manipulative gaslighting, the narrator threatening self-harm to strongarm the object of his “affection” into staying with him—
If you should ever leave me
Well, life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me?
While Asher delighted in his lyrical ambiguity, no one involved wanted the song to explicitly lean dark. How to keep this song from taking that uneasy turn? Different lead vocalist.
They turned to younger brother Carl, who almost never sang lead. But his youth and innocence counteracts the ambiguity in the lyrics to produce one of the most stunning lead vocal performances ever.
The “inevitability” doesn’t stop there. Early takes included a wretched saxophone solo. And the middle section was an unworkable mess until the session pianist—the hired gun, not even a member of the band—suggested that now irreplaceable staccato break.
And the gorgeous, weaving harmonies of the end? Wilson originally recorded that as a huge, overlapping mass: five voices from the Beach Boys, three voices from The Honeys, and producer/singer Terry Melcher (who eventually joined The Beach Boys). Nine voices. Can you imagine the ending of “God Only Knows” being that overwrought?
When Wilson heard it, he stripped it way back to the three voices we now know and love—Wilson himself on top and bottom, and Bruce Johnston in the middle.
Imposters and experiments and happenstance everywhere.
So, as I said back in July, imposterism—as icky as it feels—is a sign you’re on the right path. Self-doubt is evidence you are doing the work.
All the obstacles, detours, dead-ends, and backtracking are part of discovering the right path.
The Loose Cannon
Ever feel like you’re just sitting in the merge lane of a conversation with your blinker on?
11 DAYS
I am incredibly excited to share this with you all. The official announcement just dropped last night, so you all are among the first to learn about it!
You’ve heard me talk a lot about the show LAST OUT and my dear friend/colleague/fellow storytelling coach Ret. Lt. Col. Scott Mann.
Well, he’s at it again.
I have been working with him to adapt his NY Times Bestseller—OPERATION PINEAPPLE EXPRESS—into a one-man show, which he will be performing, and I will be directing.
The world premiere will be this coming December in the Mainstage Theatre at HCC Performing Arts Ybor City.
Here’s the blurb—
In August 2021, as Kabul fell and the U.S. ended its longest war, chaos erupted at the city’s airport. Amid the turmoil, hundreds of Afghan allies—men and women who had fought beside American forces—were left trapped behind enemy lines.
From living rooms, basements, and kitchen tables across America, a small band of retired Green Berets, Navy SEALs, CIA officers, and aid workers came together for one final mission: to keep a promise and save as many lives as possible.
In 11 DAYS: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express, retired Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann—who led this extraordinary rescue—takes you inside the tension, heartbreak, and courage of those critical days. In a gripping one-man performance, Scott weaves personal experience, real messages from the mission, and the raw human cost of war into a stage event that feels like you’re right there in the room where life-and-death decisions were made.
This performance is more than a story—it’s a mission in motion. Proceeds from 11 DAYS benefit Task Force Pineapple, a nonprofit committed to honoring our nation’s defenders and allies through advocacy, healing programs, and life-saving interventions. Your ticket doesn’t just reserve your seat—it helps keep a promise, supports veterans and their families, and continues the fight for those left behind.
Join us in Tampa for a night that will move you, challenge you, and remind you that courage doesn’t quit—even when the war is over.
If you’re at all familiar with the novel THE THINGS THEY CARRIED or its one-man theatrical adaptation, you’ll see a similar path forged by 11 DAYS. What THE THINGS THEY CARRIED did for the Vietnam generation, we intend 11 DAYS to do for the Afghanistan and GWOT generation.
You can get your tickets by mashing that purple button below. I know we’re a few months out, so I’ll remind you when we’re closer, but insider tip: grab tix to Dec 19 as soon as you can. That night, several of the real people that Scott portrays in the show will be present. It’ll be an incredible night.
Quick reminder that you are welcome to comment on this newsletter. I do my absolute best to respond to every comment, so if something I’ve offered above tickles that question/comment/complaint nerve in your reader-brain, I’d love to hear about it.
And if there’s a storytelling topic or issue you’d like me to address—writing, acting, directing, speaking, whatever—email me directly at jason@jasoncannon.art. If I don’t have a ready answer, I’ll make it my mission to go find one.
Thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend—
Jason “What I’d Be Without You” Cannon