Brian Wilson Eats Funny Stuff, 1968

In 1968, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys did a playful, surreal photo session known as “Brian Wilson Eats Funny Stuff.” The session was captured by noted Hollywood and music photographer Earl Leaf (now archived via the Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images). The shoot took place at a Los Angeles restaurant.

By 1968, Brian Wilson was retreating from regular touring and moving deeper into his famously eccentric, creative, and reclusive period post-Smile. Rather than a standard, clean-cut pop star portrait, Leaf captured Wilson playing up a bizarre, comedic bit for the camera. True to the series’ literal title, the photographs document Brian playfully chomping down on entirely inedible objects and messing around with the table setting.

The images show him biting into a vinyl record (reportedly an acetate of a Beach Boys track in one account, a shoe, a pepper grinder, other people’s food, and sharing bites with his dog. It’s a lighthearted, whimsical glimpse into his sense of humor during a turbulent period.