The death of the poet laureate of adolescent heartbreak was announced by his family on Wednesday: “We are at a loss for words right now.”

I'll never forget the first time Brian Wilson made me see God. It was 1973, and I was sitting in the mostly empty balcony of a second-run movie theater finally watching “American Graffiti,” the movie everyone in my high school was talking about.

"We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away," the statement read. "We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving.

I think the most comforting thought right now is that you are reunited with Carl and Dennis, singing those beautiful harmonies again,” founding member Al Jardine said.

The Beach Boys' founding member never seemed to encounter a genre, instrument or movement he didn’t want to incorporate into his soundscape. That’s why it’s equally surprising and totally believable that at the very start of the '90s he recorded a rap song,