[1] The first lines of the song chronicle one of Page's many late-night journeys to Sam the Record Man on Yonge Street.

The song generally tells the story of a man whose life parallels that of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, particularly during his time spent with psychologist Eugene Landy after Wilson was diagnosed with mental illness, and, more broadly, with lyrics about suffering from comorbid mental illness and obesity.

[citation needed] "Brian Wilson 2000" is a shortened form of the song for radio play, recorded to sound more like their live performance than the original Gordon version did.

The band's management worried that radio stations would not play the live version that had recently gained popularity.

"[2] A music video for "Brian Wilson 2000" was filmed at The Opera House in Toronto on February 22, 1998[3] and released later that year.