Ashley Duffy

Professor Johnson

ENG 1201

20 June 2021

“Good Vibrations”

The Beach Boys song “Good Vibrations” covered by Social Distance Sessions gives the

original song a new sound and provides a modern take on the classic music video. The new

version of the music video shows the viewer that good things can come out of dark times, while

the older version focuses more on the message of the song which is about having fun with the

simple things in life, through the visuals in the video. The original song was released in 1967 by

The Beach Boys while the newer version by Social Distance Sessions was released in 2021.

Since the music videos were released fifty-four years apart, the target audience was originally

different however now each music video can be watched and enjoyed by anyone.

In the Beach Boy’s version of the song, there are simple elements that make the viewer

appreciate the simple things in their own lives. The original video’s positive sound and story

could have been what made the video so popular. In the Social Distance Sessions version of the

video, released early this year, the group is all separated because of the pandemic. This video

could have given people a little escape from the world events because of its positive message and

showed the viewer that there are still ways to make social distancing more enjoyable. This

version sparks hope and gives the viewers the idea that good can come from being separated.

The intended audience is everyone because anyone can listen to either version and enjoy it. Each

song and music video also has a universal message and purpose.
 The two music videos tell extremely different stories. The Beach Boys’ original music

video tells the story of the group being firefighters. The visuals from this video tell an indirect

story about people enjoying the little things in life. In the video, the band is simply running

around a fire station, seeming to have a lot of fun even though to most, a fire station would be

work rather than somewhere to have a good time. The video also shows a girl bouncing a ball

between her legs, although this is a simple thing to do, the woman seems to be having a great

time. This part of the music video creates another reason to support the claim of the video that

people should try and enjoy the simple parts of life. Since the Beach Boy’s version of “Good

Vibrations”, there have been many covers of the song over the years. The Social Distance

Sessions version differs from other covers because there are so many members of the group that

are all contributing something different to make the version unique. It was also interesting to see

how they made the video possible while being away from each other, this gives the song

something that a lot of songs don’t have. Even though the cover version has a very different story

from the original, the main claim seems to be similar. A big group of people from different

places coming together to make a feel-good song during a dark time in the world. The story is

less direct in this video than the original however the message still comes across quite clearly.

This version of the video seems to be trying to show people that something good can come from

the time everyone has had to spend apart from each other. Each video has a similar theme of

enjoying life’s simple pleasures which is also the purpose of each video. While the actual song is

the same in both videos, the sound of each song is different making each video more unique.

Both versions of the video are using Pathos to appeal to the viewer’s emotions. Since the

song in both videos is an upbeat and happy song, it makes the viewer also feel happy. In the new

version of the video by the Social Distance Sessions, the group is all separated but are making a
single video, because of the context of the last year, seeing a group come together like that could

make the viewer emotional because everyone has to be separated because of the pandemic.

Seeing a group determined to make a final product while being separated definitely shows that

Pathos is being used. In the older version of the video, the song provokes an emotional reaction

in the viewer because the band is enjoying the simple parts of life. This could make the viewer

feel happy as well. The visuals of the band in a fire station also gives the viewer a happy feeling

because of the lighthearted and fun feeling the viewer gets from watching the video which shows

that Pathos is being used.

In conclusion, although each of the music videos for the song “Good Vibrations” by the

Beach Boys are different, they both communicate a similar theme of enjoying life’s simple

pleasures. Since the original song and the cover were released fifty-four years apart, the viewer

or listener can understand that the message of the song still applies even in today’s world. The

modern take on this classic song was effective in communicating the theme because even though

each member of the group was far away from each other, they were still enjoying making one

song to release as a single group. (883)

 Works Cited

“The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (Official Video)” YouTube, uploaded by Beach Boys, 10

October 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apBWI6xrbLY

“Good Vibrations (Beach Boys Cover) - Social Distance Sessions ft. Minhee Jones and Jesse

Hernandez” YouTube, uploaded by Social Distance Sessions, 21 January 2021,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWCkCSO8h9I
1. The main character of the Nine Inch Nails video was Reznor, the main character of the

Jonny Cash video was Jonny Cash. I think you did a great job explaining the videos in

detail.

2. I think you did a good job explaining the claim of each video which is about wishing to

have another chance to do things differently.

3. You did a nice job explaining the reasons by describing some of the visual elements that

contribute to the claim. It helped to understand so that if someone who hasn’t watched the

videos read the essay, they would understand what they were reading about.

4. The impact of each song was described which helps the reader understand the claim

better.

5. It is clear that pathos was used in both music videos by reading the essay. There are clear

reasons of why that was the appeal used because of how you explained about their broken

lives and regret.

6. The essay made it clear that each video had a different audience. The Nine Inch Nails

video is targeted towards anyone, and Jonny Cash has a more narrow audience for his

version.

7. I think the relationship between the two versions is that they both have the same claim.

8. You did a great job explaining the videos in detail. If someone who hadn’t watched either

video read your essay, they could understand what you are writing about still. Another

thing I think you did well was the structure that you wrote the essay in, it made it really

easy to follow because it was broken up nicely.

9. One thing that could improve you essay would be to use more transition sentences.

Another thing you could do is to fix the works cited page to be formatted correctly.
10. The works cited page is just links to the websites you used, I think they should be

formatted correctly.

1. The main characters of the first version mentioned are Annie and Michael. The main

characters of the other version were the little boy, and the band.

2. The claim of the Michael Jackson version was about being a smooth criminal while the

Alien Ant Farm version was about being a fan of Michael Jackson and his music.

3. The time stamps and explanations of what happens throughout each video give really

clear reasons to support your claims.

4. Each video is explained in detail which I think provides enough evidence to support the

claims for each video.

5. I think you could include information about the appeals used in each video in the 4th

paragraph.

6. From reading your essay I would think the intended audience for both videos would be

anyone but especially fans of Michael Jackson which I would agree with.

7. The relationship between the two videos was explained. I thought it was interesting how

they were connected since the Alien Ant Farm’s version was a tribute to Michael Jackson

8. I liked how you included time stamps in your essay so that the reader knows exactly what

part of the video you are writing about. Another thing I thought you did well was when

you explained what the song means to you, I thought it made your essay more interesting.
9. One thing you could improve would be to add in the artists name to the second paragraph

so that the reader knows what video you are talking about right away. Another thing you

could improve would be to include more about the appeals used in each video.

10. The works cited page looks good, I think the hanging indents don’t copy and paste over

very well but other than that it is good.