Jokermen Podcast: Van Dyke & Brian—ORANGE CRATE ART
Date: November 17, 2025
Hosts: Jokermen
Topic: Deep dive into Van Dyke Parks’ 1995 album Orange Crate Art (with Brian Wilson)
Overview
In this episode, the Jokermen focus on Orange Crate Art, the idiosyncratic 1995 collaboration between Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. They discuss the album’s historical context, the unique intersection of these two legendary artists, how it relates to California’s storied mythos, and why the record has been both underappreciated and essential for fans of the Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, and American pop history.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Album’s Origins & Context
-
Van Dyke Parks’ Creative State: Parks describes finding inspiration in periods of emotional security:
"There's a certain degree of emotional security surrounding you... That's conducive to creativity.” (00:16, Van Dyke Parks)
-
Orange Crate Art is the result of Van Dyke and Brian reuniting after years apart—an attempt to reclaim a collaborative legacy interrupted after Smile:
“Here we are with Brian working once again with Mr. Parks, his longtime collaborator, to sort of reclaim a history that was dashed from them many, many years ago. Obviously, as everyone remembers, the Smile story…” (01:37)
-
The album is “more a Van Dyke album,” but is billed as a joint effort. It was Brian Wilson’s second significant release of 1995.
-
The hosts reference a little-known Dutch documentary ("Van Dyke Parks: Een Obsessi Voor Muzik") which sheds light on both Parks’ life and this project.
2. Documentary Anecdotes: Friendship, Failure & Artistic Outsiderdom
-
Candid banter between Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, and Brian Wilson:
“We were never embraced by the public. And, you know, I wanted to be anyway.” (05:30, Interviewer)
“I believe my best work is ahead of me, but some of it is behind me and it sure is here, which celebrates an old friendship, and it's important to me… I don't want Mike Love to write the history of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. Not good.” (07:39, Randy Newman) -
Parks recounts the creative spark Brian provided:
“When we finally made it, he gave me a spark, a little spark of love, you know, to get moving... He got me writing songs, he got me going, you know. But it all begins with that spark of love.” (07:58, Van Dyke Parks)
3. California & the Myth of ‘Orange Crate Art’
-
The hosts delve deep into the history of actual “orange crate art”—the colorful labels on crates of California oranges, which helped create the myth of California as an idyllic, bountiful Eden:
“In the inventive labels pasted upon each orange crate, the selling of California... became even more explicit. So appealing in its color, the orange inspired graphic ambitions… This was very much part of the California myth.” (13:35, Host 2 quoting Kevin Starr)
-
The evocative artwork is considered folk art, representing a nostalgic, sometimes lost vision of California—an idea Parks channels in his album:
“Literally hundreds of these designs... involved an idealized California landscape... suggestive of California as a place apart, a land of fantasy and dreams...” (16:25, Host 2)
4. Smile Revisited and Narrative Redemption
-
The album is cast as a spiritual revisitation of Smile—but one informed by decades of history:
“This is kind of like a streamlined version of that, where Brian is again being cast in this case... as a kind of the narrator or the voice of this kind of concept. And it's perfect because... The Beach Boys are pretty much, like, ground zero of the modern era version of that same thing.” (21:53, Host 1)
-
Van Dyke’s outspoken wish to reclaim the Parks/Wilson narrative from Mike Love:
“I don't want Mike Love to have written the story of Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson.” (09:48, Host 2 referencing Van Dyke Parks)
5. Music, Arrangement, and Lyrical Specificity
-
The album’s songs are “Van Dyke-ian”—densely lyrical, harmonically rich, and obsessed with specificity:
“There's a kind of specificity that is insisted upon that is also not obvious to anyone, perhaps, but the artist making it in terms of the significance of certain odd turns of phrase or conceptual angles.” (12:14, Host 2)
-
The music is considered more “streamlined” and accessible than much of Parks’ solo work—partly thanks to Brian’s involvement:
“Maybe if ever, like, I mean, the next song or the first song, and especially Sail Away is like. It's pretty hooky and catchy... more streamlined version of Van Dyke music than we usually get.” (32:56, Host 1)
6. Song-by-Song Impressions & Analysis
"Orange Crate Art" (Title Track)
- A nostalgic invocation of California; hosts praise the lyricism and distinct vocal style.
“What a beautiful song... That’s what you get here on this record.” (29:15, Host 2)
- Quote: “Orange crate table in a rocking chair / Barnyard gate waiting some repair / Trust in fate and sweet inspiration...” (31:24, Host 2)
"Sail Away"
- Seen as the album’s most “song” song; hosts recall Van Dyke’s knowing stage gesture referencing his fading memory.
“He like did a little gesture like put like, oh, my. My memory. Because he like forgot something earlier.” (37:41, Host 1)
- The song’s wistfulness is underlined, with subtle reference to Randy Newman’s “Sail Away.”
“This song kind of sounds like what you would expect a song, Sail Away, to be titled.” (39:55, Host 2)
"My Hobo Heart"
- A playful, Steinbeck-tinged number about romantic restlessness and roots.
“It's a nice song. I think it's just a funny. I mean, hobo, again, being very much intentionally chosen word image because it ties in so seamlessly with, like, the whole picture here.” (48:35, Host 1)
- The hosts muse over the overlap of Steinbeck, Beach Boys mythology, and California themes.
"Wings of a Dove" / "Palm Tree and Moon"
- Both noted for their lush orchestration and emotional resonance, even as the conceptual focus broadens beyond California.
“You could think of Orange Crate Art as a concept album in some sense, but these songs aren’t necessarily, like, explicitly about California... but here it sort of fleshes out the concept that he's working with on a more emotional level.” (55:03, Host 2)
"San Francisco"
- Hosts observe the song’s playful tone, and how Brian’s harmonies, arrangement, and performance add the signature touch.
“He can just kind of come in and sing these songs. He does the vocal arrangements, too. It should be noted that that's him... it sounds fantastic.” (73:05, Host 2)
"Movies Is Magic"
- Both hosts agree this is a highlight, a sweeping ode to the myth and escapism of cinema.
“I think this is a great, you know, one of the great songs that either one of them ever created.” (82:59, Host 2)
- Quote: “Movies is magic. Real life is tragic.” (83:19, Host 2)
Other Tracks
- The album’s closing numbers—“This Town Goes Down at Sunset” and “Lullaby”—are described as gentle evocations of simpler times, finishing the album on an elegiac note:
“That's it. Show's over, folks. Time to go home. Time to get in bed. Time to do it all over again in the morning.” (88:36, Host 2)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the Album’s Place in Their Catalogs:
“It's a very like. As much as it is an attempt to sort of make good on the promise of Smile... This is not Smile. This is not at all what they were trying to do in 1967. It's very much a Van Dyke led project with Brian kind of in a secondary role...” (26:53, Host 2)
-
On Orange Crate Art’s Underappreciated Status:
“I don't even know that most people know about it... It's an odd little number, you know, because it is. It's here in the 90s and it's kind of like Van Dyke's second to last album.” (08:38, Host 1)
-
On Nostalgia and Loss:
“There is this kind of slight darkness underlying a lot of these songs because it's music about a period of time and places that have disappeared or are disappearing.” (42:28, Host 2)
-
On Brian Wilson’s Role:
“Brian is supposed to have asked Van Dyke... like, why do you have me here? Why am I singing these songs? And Van Dyke replies, because I can't stand the sound of my own voice.” (73:05, Host 2)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [00:16] Van Dyke on creativity and security
- [01:20–02:34] Album background, name debate, Smile backstory
- [07:39] Randy Newman’s reflections on the album and legacy
- [13:35–18:49] Deep dive into actual orange crate art and California myth
- [21:53–24:32] Smile, California myth’s reach to the Wilson family’s roots
- [29:15] “Orange Crate Art” discussion
- [37:36] “Sail Away” live memories, lyrics analysis
- [47:02] “Sail Away” emotional climax, timelessness
- [55:03] Concept vs. non-concept tracks, emotional landscape
- [73:05] Brian Wilson’s function in the project
- [82:59] “Movies is Magic”—the big emotional peak / summation
- [88:36] Closing with “This Town Goes Down at Sunset” and “Lullaby”
Tone & Podcast Spirit
The episode is warm, conversational, and dense with history and personal anecdote. The hosts’ affection for these artists, the album, and the California myth shines throughout, blending deep record-nerd knowledge with a sense of nostalgia, humor, and occasional melancholy—matching the spirit of Orange Crate Art itself.
Conclusion
Orange Crate Art emerges as a nuanced, layered, and underappreciated album—serving both as a love letter to California’s mythic past and the complex, bruised friendship between Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. Its gentle melodies, oblique wit, and yearning for lost idylls make it an essential listen for students of the Beach Boys, American pop, and sunny, bittersweet dreams of the West.
Final word:
“A beautiful record from two beautiful men… They're going to come back together again in not too long, you know, another decade down the line to really reclaim the Smile legacy explicitly. But this is a delicious, you know, sort of appetizer along the way.” (93:34, Host 2)