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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
 Posted - 16/01/2010 : 00:26:27
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I know we have plenty of Monkees fans here. We don't underrate them, as the
general public does.
As their popularity waned, their innovative music waxed...to the point where they
could hardly sell an album, while their creativity was at its height!
Share your favorite album, or Monkee, or story. Anyone ever see them live?
Here is a track from the great From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing by the always
esoteric Michael Nesmith.
An alternate mix of "RIO"...seven minutes with such great guests as David Briggs,
Lonnie Mack and Weldon Myrick on an in-your-face pedal steel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNwj-Z6ig-M
 Share yours all!
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Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my monkey. |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 16/01/2010 : 01:17:38
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about 1967 me and girl driving in hooky from school to micky dolenze home in the hills . we see his trash cans and car space. we were there , man! we were wild and crazy! we were there then we left.
...what the world needs now... |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 16/01/2010 : 10:56:31
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I don't have a particular story but I've always loved The Monkees (I'd rather listen to them than The Beatles anyday ) I love the film 'Head' which I watch on DVD quite often. I was too young to see The Monkees in the 60's and, when they toured over here a few years back I just couldn't bring myself to see them because, I guess, I associated them so much with my youth I just didn't want to see them 'old'! It's weird really as I havn't felt like that with other 'reunion' acts but 'The Monkees' were different. |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 16/01/2010 : 22:22:03
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Yeah - I've got a Monkees story.....no problem. It's January 1967....and The Monkees have been on the scene since August. They have released an album together with some attractive sounding singles. There is an ever growing demand for instant pop product and no one seems to mind the fact that they don't play their own instruments....or that they are a completely manufactured group. As for The Beatles.....well they're on their way out aren't they? We've not heard from them since last August...and anyway, aren't they all working apart from one another these days? In school playgrounds, the rumour is already rife that there will be a live 'do or die' contest between the two bands at Wembley Stadium....with the losers agreeing to stand aside for good.
......meanwhile, on this very day, 'The Four Kings of EMI' (as Mickey Dolenz would call them in his alternate title song)have been working quietly in Studio 2 at Abbey Road. It has been a long session and even though the song they have just completed won't be heard for at least another five months, it has been well worth it. And furthermore there has been a late addition to the lyrics...something to do with a report in the Daily Mail the other day.....about something going on in Blackburn.........Blackburn, Lancashire. |
Edited by - John9 on 16/01/2010 22:36:23 |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 00:03:10
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quote:
Originally posted by John9
Yeah - I've got a Monkees story.....no problem. It's January 1967....and The Monkees have been on the scene since August. They have released an album together with some attractive sounding singles. There is an ever growing demand for instant pop product and no one seems to mind the fact that they don't play their own instruments....or that they are a completely manufactured group. As for The Beatles.....well they're on their way out aren't they? We've not heard from them since last August...and anyway, aren't they all working apart from one another these days? In school playgrounds, the rumour is already rife that there will be a live 'do or die' contest between the two bands at Wembley Stadium....with the losers agreeing to stand aside for good.
......meanwhile, on this very day, 'The Four Kings of EMI' (as Mickey Dolenz would call them in his alternate title song)have been working quietly in Studio 2 at Abbey Road. It has been a long session and even though the song they have just completed won't be heard for at least another five months, it has been well worth it. And furthermore there has been a late addition to the lyrics...something to do with a report in the Daily Mail the other day.....about something going on in Blackburn.........Blackburn, Lancashire.
So we must presume you don't like The Monkees then, John? Oh well, each to his own though I do feel inclined to point out that on later Monkees recordings they did play their own instruments and recorded songs they had written themselves... but you know all that really, don't you?
And, personally, give me the complete works of The Monkees in preference to the complete works of The Beatles for my 'Desert Island Discs' any day, just personal preference really and we are all entitled to it |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 00:59:05
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My band, The Generals, use to play The Monkees' " Here Comes Tomorrow", in our shows in 1980, along with our originals and other covers such as "Kicks" and "Shapes of Things", because it was a good song, and was fun to hear. I loved, "I'm a Believer" and still do. what's not to like?
...what the world needs now... |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 01:05:16
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| No actually, I did quite like them Caryne...especially their early '67 single A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You. And like you, I admired Head....directed by Bob Rafelson of Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens fame. But to my mind there was very little that was organic about their music....it was like a kind of confection really......rather like X Factor today. But, I suppose, it was all pleasant enough....while it lasted. |
Edited by - John9 on 17/01/2010 01:10:01 |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 05:14:24
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It was the label and producers' control issues that kept the Monkees from playing their own instruments. The wanted a money making product that did exactly what they wanted. The "revelation" by the press that they didn't play their instruments was intended to discredit the Monkees, but was no different than any other band bringing in session guys. Everyone did it. Unfortunately it worked and they got little respect in the day. We just loved their music.
When the Monkees finally revolted and played all their instruments on the third LP, the producer quit in protest...and went on to produce a band he COULD control--The Archies! After that their label started to promote them less and less as the band become more and more independent.
The Monkees were actually quite good musicians and had individually earned their chops in the ol' Greennwich days and other venues. Their live performances were much heavier than on the LPs and well received...more of a power pop group in the vein of Badfinger or Todd Rundgren.
They also had some of the more interesting guest artists on their show...Tim Buckley, Frank Zapa...
My respect grew for the Monkees over the years as more info was revealed. No they are not the Beatles. Why compare them. Apples and oranges. They never earned their chops over several years as a group, playing dives in English and German dives, doing 14 hours shifts some days. But they were all veterans and good.
They both have their rightful place in my collection. I LOVE 'em!!
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Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my monkey. |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 11:00:13
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quote:
Originally posted by John9
No actually, I did quite like them Caryne...especially their early '67 single A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You. And like you, I admired Head....directed by Bob Rafelson of Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens fame. But to my mind there was very little that was organic about their music....it was like a kind of confection really......rather like X Factor today. But, I suppose, it was all pleasant enough....while it lasted.
I guess I just didn't really see why you posted such a sarcastic post in a thread that LK obviously set up to appreciate The Monkees.
You seem to put them in a 'throwaway' category, like today's 'X Factor' types but the fact that we are still talking about them over forty years later proves exactly that they were nothing like that.
Like LK said in a later post there did become far more than a 'confection' once they broke their chains and, as many of us here feel, they were a damn fine group. I commented on preferring them to The Beatles because I do but that's just my opinion in a thread that is meant to be 'pro-Monkees'. |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 11:01:12
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quote:
Originally posted by lemonade kid
It was the label and producers' control issues that kept the Monkees from playing their own instruments. The wanted a money making product that did exactly what they wanted. The "revelation" by the press that they didn't play their instruments was intended to discredit the Monkees, but was no different than any other band bringing in session guys. Everyone did it. Unfortunately it worked and they got little respect in the day. We just loved their music.
When the Monkees finally revolted and played all their instruments on the third LP, the producer quit in protest...and went on to produce a band he COULD control--The Archies! After that their label started to promote them less and less as the band become more and more independent.
The Monkees were actually quite good musicians and had individually earned their chops in the ol' Greennwich days and other venues. Their live performances were much heavier than on the LPs and well received...more of a power pop group in the vein of Badfinger or Todd Rundgren.
They also had some of the more interesting guest artists on their show...Tim Buckley, Frank Zapa...
My respect grew for the Monkees over the years as more info was revealed. No they are not the Beatles. Why compare them. Apples and oranges. They never earned their chops over several years as a group, playing dives in English and German dives, doing 14 hours shifts some days. But they were all veterans and good.
They both have their rightful place in my collection. I LOVE 'em!!
____________________________________________________________
Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my monkey.
Well put, LK, I totally agree |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 13:39:47
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Caryne - my initial post was not intended to be sarcastic and I'm sorry if it came across that way. But this board has become a place where perspectives are shared so that they can be debated. A couple of months ago, I posted a 'pro Jools Holland' thread.....and we know what happened to that! But I really didn't mind..... it was all fair game as far as I was concerned. Indeed, in deference to all the dissenting opinion, I altered the thread's title from "In praise of......" to "Various perspectives on........". Threads will lead where they will and I think that there is a sense in which we lose ownership of them once someone else has responded.
I also agree with every word Lemonadekid has written. The Monkees proved themselves to be good musicians from their Headquarters album onwards and of course Mike Nesmith went on to become a highly respected figure in 1970s country rock. But to my mind there is still no getting away from the fact that there was something synthetic about the way the act was put together. The four individual members were hired primarily for their television appeal...with Don Kirshner's new NBC comedy series in mind.
As Lemonadekid says, there is little to be gained from constantly comparing The Monkees with The Beatles. But if I might just say this:
The whole Monkees phenomenon was an mission to reactivate the formula that had made the A Hard Day Night and Help films so hugely popular. And fair enough, it made a lot of money and in so doing brought a great deal of enjoyment to millions......not least through all those delightful songs. And it proved eminently possible to replicate so much of what had characterised The Beatles....the mop-tops, the simple love songs and the teenage adulation. But what no one could have expected The Monkees to replicate was the drive, vision,innovation and ability to blaze a trail that The Beatles had in such large measure. My original posting.....made a little too obliquely perhaps...... was to comment on the irony that at the precise moment when it was widely believed that The Beatles had no answer to the Monkees craze, they were in fact on the verge of moving their music on to a different plain entirely. |
Edited by - John9 on 17/01/2010 13:42:04 |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 13:52:34
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You are right John, I guess I just felt that LK's question was directly asking for people to post their positive stories about The Monkees and you realy did seem to be taking the 'p*ss'. As you say, you didn't mean it to come over that way but, to me, it did, especially the way you began your post with the 'Yeah, I've got a story.. no problem' line. We all know how the Monkees came to be, what is the interesting point, for me anyway, is that they became, in spite of that, a bl**dy good act who produced a lot more than 'disposable pop'.
Of course they can't be compared to The Beatles, an act who 'served their time' and have influenced generations of artists but that isn't the point, as you yourself say.
Finally, yes, posts do move away from the original thread and people should debate and disagree (how boring it would be if we didn;t?) but I guess I just felt that your original post was a bit too sarcastic even though, as you say, you meant it to be ironic. Guess that's the problem with message boards sometimes, humour doesn't always come across in the way you mean it to. |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 14:43:37
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Thanks Caryne. I agree..... the 'Yeah....no problem' bit was crass and I apologise.
A futher irony is that in early '67 I really did prefer The Monkees. I felt at the time that the The Beatles had let their standards slip since their mid 60s heyday and their new psychadelic sound did little for me. It was only with Abbey Road more than two years later that they got me back on board. Of course I see things differently now...but we won't get into that!
By the way, there was a fascinating Radio 4 programme a couple of weeks back in which the presenter had a reunion with Davy Jones. The Mancunian Monkee had picked up the future presenter on a Californian highway in 1969...apparently saying that he could never leave a hitchkiker with a Union Jack standing. The half hour feature included some fascinating reflections from Jones forty years on. |
Edited by - John9 on 17/01/2010 14:48:25 |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 14:48:46
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quote:
Originally posted by John9
Thanks Caryne. I agree..... the 'Yeah....no problem' bit was crass and I apologise.
A futher irony is that in early '67 I really did prefer The Monkeys. I felt at the time that the The Beatles had let their standards slip since their mid 60s heyday and their new psychadelic sound did little for me. It was only with Abbey Road more than two years later that they got me back on board. Of course I see things differently now...but we won't get into that!
By the way, there was a fascinating Radio 4 programme a couple of weeks back in which the presenter had a reunion with Davy Jones. The Mancunian Monkee had picked up the future presenter on a Californian highway in 1969...apparently saying that he could never leave a hitchkiker with a Union Jack standing. The half hour feature included some fascinating reflections from Jones forty years on.
That's ok, John, glad it's all sorted now. It's always a problem wuth cyberspace that something you post as a joke doesn't always read that way to someone else
In 1967 I was only 4 so, I guess, it's hardly surprising that I preferred The Monkees then. I often wonder if I would have felt differently about The Beatles if I had been older in the 60's but I don't know, after all I love The Kinks most of all the British bands from the 60's so who knows? |
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Joe Morris
Old Love
3491 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 17:08:39
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Rhino Handmade is coming out with a 3 cd
of The Birds the Bees the Monkees
next month btw
their best album remains Headquarters of course, tho try to find the Headquarters Sessions 3cd if you can! |
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admin
Forum Admin
Denmark
40 Posts |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 19:29:35
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| Looks like things have been sorted out now, but I would like to remind you that everyone is entitled to their opinions and to have those opinions respected, and that the messageboard is not the place for personal insults or jibes about individual members. Also the board has managed very well without moderation for a lot of years and benefits from postings being instantaneously visible, however if there continues to be a lack of respect shown then perhaps this will need to be changed. |
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The Monkees
