Heli0tr0pe
Heli0tr0pe
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The Monkees Were Good. So There.

Posted about 5 years ago
This is the first MP3 I've MOGified. Listen to this absolutely gorgeous song and tell me it's not the work of a good band. Sure, it sounds like Grace Slick singing...hell, maybe it is! Still, listen and then explain why, 40 years later, many people continue to think The Monkees are a joke band. "They didn't play their instruments." Sorry, does Justin Timberlake play an instrument? "They didn't write their songs." Does Beyonce write her songs?This is simply a damn great tune, regardless of who it's by. Listen!
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Comments (8)

  1. SKINEPUNK
    SKINEPUNK says I'M WITH YA! GREAT BAND, GREAT SONGS. THE MONKEES WAS THE FIRST CONCERT I WENT TO AND "WEIRD" AL OPENED THE SHOW....BRILLIANT!
    Permalink posted 02/08/2006
  2. Dale
    Dale says I didn't even know this was an issue. Going back through their songs, there's some stone-cold 60's classics: "Daydream Believer", "Last Train To Clarksville", and, od course, "Steppin' Stone".
    Permalink posted 01/22/2007
  3. chucky
    chucky says I'm totally on your bandwagon although I only recognize their bigger songs. I thought they were excellent.
    Permalink posted 01/22/2007
  4. ROCKNROLLPIMP1
    ROCKNROLLPIMP1 says i reallt like the monkees music most all of it it was da bomb in the day
    Permalink posted 01/22/2007
  5. fairportfan
    fairportfan says The Monkees were great at being exactly what they were - which was four likeable young guys who could sing and play instruments some playing a band. Later they developed into a band But, actually, the real shit they caught was for using a ot of session men and not writing all their own songs, like *real* bands. Of course, *Ringo* didn't play on the *Beatles*' early albums, replaced by a session man; ditto *Mick Avory* on the *Kinks*'s What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round?, Papa Gene's Blues, Listen to the Band, Joanne and Different Drum alone would qualify as a pretty good songwriting career, and there's a lot more. (And he even gave *Hulk Hogan* his first break in teevee/video.) Manymany years after the teevee show wet off, and many many years ago from now, the Monkees did a reuinio tour (Nes played some of the West Coast gigs, but it was Micky, Peter and Davy on this side of the country.) Great show. My first wife (not yet ex- then) and i went. It was like three old buddies hanging out and goofing on each other - which means it was incredibly tightly written and directed, and the three of them were absolutely great. My favourite bit involved a routine in which they all did costume changes - Micky wound up in drag in a red gown and Carmen Miranda frueitbowl headdress. They al went off stage tochange back, and Davy cam out first. He sat down between the footlights with his feet dangling off the edge of ths stage, and began quietly playing something on acoustic guitar. Then Pete came out. "David," says he, "*what* are you doing?" "Playin' the intro for the next song." "David, you can't do that. Don't you know it's a well-known, established fact that Monkees can't play their own instruments?" "Sure. I know that." (beat) "This is Micky's guitar." That sums it up about what was/is great about the Monkees - they were the best at what they did. And what they did was a lot of fun. And who the hell needs more than that, really? Which is why you can still buy every album the Monkees ever put out, forty-plus years after the show went off the air ... and, if you're lucky, you can buy "Greatest Hits" packages by the bands that slagged them off for eing "plastic"... (Oh - BTW - i mentioned than Nes put first Hulk Hogan in front of the cameras? (Ever see *Elephant Parts*? (If you did, remember Cruisin' - "Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam"? Well, that's Terry "Hulk" Hogan, selling watches on the street, with short hair and no mustache, wearing shades and a red speedo and not much more...)
    Permalink posted 01/23/2007
  6. Mike the Knife
    Mike the Knife says Don't forget my favorite Monkees song "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," written by Nesmith. (There are two versions, the B-side/album track with Dolenz on lead vocals and Nesmith on oh-lonesome-me back-up vocals; and a second - only available on an anthology - where they switch roles. Both versions are great.)
    Permalink posted 01/23/2007
  7. Heli0tr0pe
    Heli0tr0pe says WOW - thanks for the great response, Fairpy. So info-packed that it actually led to a rediscovery of a TV sketch I saw about 20 years ago and never forgot...a funny one for those of us with some Irish in our history. I remembered the line "Does the bride come with potatoes?" and that's about it...but through the wonders of the Internets, I unearthed this: It's from 1985's "Television Parts," hosted by Mike Nesmith himself. Even better, the Irish Language Instructor is played by none other than the wonderfully named Jonathan Schmock, a.k.a. the Chez Quis Maitre D' from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (as in, "I weep for the future!"). All this, just because of some fake '60s band. Not bad, Monkees!
    Permalink posted 01/24/2007
  8. Hammerogod
    Hammerogod says That sounds like Grace Slick but it is actually Dolenz. Or is it? Amazing either way.
    Permalink posted 02/10/2008

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