Editing Pet Sounds (section)

===Totemic status and criticism===
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 |quote=[T]wo or three generations of music fans will secretly believe you have no soul if you don't announce your allegiance to it [...] "Influence" is a loaded concept here [...] Certainly, regardless of what I write here, the impact and "influence" of the record will have been in turn hardly influenced at all. I can't even get my dad to talk about ''Pet Sounds'' anymore.
 |source=—''Pitchfork'' reviewer [[Dominique Leone]], 2006<ref name="Pitchfork2006" />
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Prominent public figures continued to frequently commend ''Pet Sounds'' as a work of significant artistic merit through the 2000s.<ref name="Pitchfork2006" /> In 2000, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' founder Ryan Schreiber rated the album's latest reissue 7.5/10 and decreed that ''Pet Sounds'' had been "groundbreaking enough to {{sic|perma|nantly}} alter the course of music", its "straight-forward pop music" had become "passe and cliched" compared to albums like ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', ''Loveless'', and ''OK Computer''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/beach-boys/pet-sounds.shtml|title=Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (Remastered) [Capitol Reissues]|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=October 10, 2000|access-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001010180925/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/beach-boys/pet-sounds.shtml|last=Schreiber|first=Ryan|authorlink=Ryan Schreiber|archive-date=October 10, 2000}}</ref> For the 2006 ''40th Anniversary'' edition, ''Pitchfork'' contributor [[Dominique Leone]] awarded the album 9.4, affirming its enduring acclaim but expressing a preference for the Beach Boys' post-''Pet Sounds'' recordings. Leone highlighted its "hymnal" qualities and themes as having retained their emotional potency, observing that generations of listeners treat admiration for the album as a [[litmus test (politics)|litmus test]] for musical sincerity.<ref name="Pitchfork2006" />

In a 2004 essay, [[Robert Christgau]] described ''Pet Sounds'' as a "good record, but a [[wikt:totem#noun|totem]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |date=October 14, 2004 |title=Get Happy: Brian Wilson: "SMiLE" |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cdrev/wilson-rs.php |url-status=live |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406225801/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cdrev/wilson-rs.php |archive-date=April 6, 2013 |access-date=March 29, 2013}}</ref> Jeff Nordstedt's essay in the 2004 book ''Kill Your Idols'' critiqued the album's legacy, arguing that discussions often prioritized its influence over substantive analysis of its music. Nordstedt considered the album's hit songs to be "disjointed" and the remaining tracks "downright insane", criticizing its perceived role in fostering [[overproduction|overproduced]] exemplified in 1980s popular music, and questioned its artistic authenticity, citing its "inoffensive aesthetics", absence of "visceral charge", and collaborative origins with a commercial jingle writer: "it offends every [[Rockism|notion of truth]] that I hold dear about rock 'n' roll"{{sfn|Nordstedt|2004|pp=22, 24–27}} ''[[Stereogum]]'' writer Ryan Leas observed in 2016 that ''Pet Sounds'' had grown to be "arguably even more of a totemic presence than ''Revolver''".<ref name="Leas2016"/>

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 |quote=It keeps going back to ''Pet Sounds'' here in my life, and I'm going, "What about this ''Pet Sounds''? Is it really that good an album?" It's stood the test of time, of course, but is it really that ''great'' an album to listen to? I don't know.
 |source=—Brian Wilson, 2002<ref>{{cite episode|last=Aspinall|first=Sarah|series=Art That Shook the World|network=[[BBC]]|date=July 20, 2002|title=The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds |time=49:00}}</ref>
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The television series ''[[Portlandia]]'' (2011–2018) featured a character, portrayed by comedian [[Fred Armisen]], based on his observations of recording engineers fixated on ''Pet Sounds'' and vintage studio equipment, whom he likened to 1950s car enthusiasts in their technical obsession.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Danny |date=May 28, 2019 |title=Fred Armisen Talks SNL, Portlandia And Comedy For Musicians |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dannyross1/2019/05/28/fred-armisen-talks-snl-portlandia-and-comedy-for-musicians/ |work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> Musician [[Atticus Ross]], who composed the [[Music from Love & Mercy|score to ''Love & Mercy'']], acknowledged "an element of cliché that's grown around" the album, exemplified in ''Portlandia'': "your classic hipster musicians [...] are building a studio and everything is like 'this is the mike they used in ''Pet Sounds''.' This is exactly the same as ''Pet Sounds''.'"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Jeff |date=June 3, 2015 |title=Atticus Ross talks Brian Wilson, 'Pet Sounds,' 'Portlandia' and his Beach Boys mash-up |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2015/06/atticus_ross_talks_brian_wilso.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416095920/https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2015/06/atticus_ross_talks_brian_wilso.html |archive-date=April 16, 2019 |publisher=[[Oregon Live]]}}</ref> {{clear}}