The Monkees: Classic or Dud?

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Gonzo from crawlspace gave me head once, it was great!

Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 20 December 2002 08:48 (twenty-one years ago) link

one year passes...
Private joke that which prob Di didn't even get

Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 10:31 (nineteen years ago) link

No, she would've actually.

Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 10:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Listening to "Birds Bees Monkees" now, "The Poster" is a pretty funny idea, the Beatles did "Mr Kite" so let's do a song about a circus poster too

Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 10:50 (nineteen years ago) link

A Monkees thread without a single mention of Neil Diamond?

shookout (shookout), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:58 (nineteen years ago) link

classic when rodney bingenheimer sits in with them

ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 19:58 (nineteen years ago) link

The non-Tork songs from Head are beautiful of course but my aboslute favorite, and I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, is Randy Scouse Git from Headquarters. I've always thought of it as in the vein of,though superior,to most Kinks songs. Dolenz' lead vocals on the track are furious and fun. The song has a neat structure as well, nice old-timey piano intro and outro, contrasted sharply by the punk rock chorus.

theodore fogelsanger, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 21:44 (nineteen years ago) link

three months pass...
(Way after the fact I know, but Theodore I mentioned "Randy Scouse Git" in the question text!)

VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 13 August 2004 14:39 (nineteen years ago) link

hh my...so you did. well I'm sorry I neglected to notice that but I don't regret going slightly further into the subject of Randy Scouse Git's greatness.

herbert hebert (herbert hebert), Saturday, 14 August 2004 04:04 (nineteen years ago) link

da da da Da! da da da Da!

My teenage years would have somehow been a little less fulfilled without "She" from their second album. Or was it their second hit from their first album?

Never ashamed to wear my Monkees badge here...

jim wentworth (wench), Saturday, 14 August 2004 04:46 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Girl
I don't wanna fight
I'm a little bit wrong
You're a little bit right
Girl
You know that it's true
It's a little bit me
And it's a little bit you
Too

Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Sunday, 26 September 2004 18:35 (nineteen years ago) link

Also, "Words" is another song with Peter singing in lead capacity (he trades off with Mickey on the verse).

Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Sunday, 26 September 2004 18:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Best Monkees song? "If I ever get to Saginaw" of course. Best damn sentimental countrypopsong ever.

dr do-good, Sunday, 26 September 2004 21:12 (nineteen years ago) link

six months pass...
I'm so glad I'm not alone here! I just got these songs off of iMusic:
For Pete's Sake, Take a Giant Step, She, Papa Gene's Blues, Auntie Grizelda, A lil bit me A lil bit you, Goin' Down...

verdict: CLASSIC!

Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:29 (nineteen years ago) link

"For Pete's Sake" is totally on my fantasy cover-band set list. We have a "Favorite Episodes" DVD from Netflix right now and watched a couple last night — CLAHSSIC. EPIC. RACK 'EM.

Curious George (1/6 Scale Model) (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:35 (nineteen years ago) link

Pretty dang good through the first four albums.

Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:55 (nineteen years ago) link

Sold back the discs after Mickey left, but everything up through Head, now that's mighty fine.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 01:57 (nineteen years ago) link

"Porpoise Song"!

Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 03:23 (nineteen years ago) link

The Birds, the Bees, and the Monkees is kind of crap, though.

Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 05:08 (nineteen years ago) link

Some more Pete love: "For Pete's Sake" was more punk than "Steppin' Stone," and "Do I Have to Do This All Over Again" is the best rock song about reincarnation ever.

Some more Davy love: "You And I" called the star game what it was far more accurately than "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star."

Some more Mike love: "Carlisle Wheeling" is one of only 3 or 4 songs I will always always always know every every single word to.

Some more Micky love: His morning radio show here in NYC is occasionally humorous, at least when he's not being snarky to people asking him Monkees questions.

Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 07:05 (nineteen years ago) link

Mickey has a morning radio show? which channel?

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 07:57 (nineteen years ago) link

and "Do I Have to Do This All Over Again" is the best rock song about reincarnation ever

Fairly easily one of the best things any of the Monkees ever did. That bridge is pretty astonishing.

Eric H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 08:23 (nineteen years ago) link

That's Stephen Stills playing guitar on that that is!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 09:44 (nineteen years ago) link

Mickey has a morning radio show?

'Sometime In The Morning' perhaps?

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 09:46 (nineteen years ago) link

is that really stephen stills? wow! sounds way too good for him, not nearly lumpen enough. For some reason (wishful thinking I guess) I imagined Peter played it himself.

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 09:56 (nineteen years ago) link

Stephen Stills was a great guitarist, listen to Buffalo Springfield - it wasn't all Neil Young ya know!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 09:57 (nineteen years ago) link

I'd say classic, although the fact that they didn't write their own songs (at least not the good ones) is a hint of dudness.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:01 (nineteen years ago) link

In fact they wrote a lot of their best songs - as has probably been mentioned upthread

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:02 (nineteen years ago) link

No, they wrote none of their best songs. Their best songs were the ones that sounded English, with absolutely no R&B nor country elements, and they were all written by outside songwriters.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:25 (nineteen years ago) link

Classic, as long as Mickey, not Davey, is singing lead. Davey sings crap.

Only classic as long as Davey sings lead. He was the one who managed to sound English. Mickey sounded like a fucking American country singer. The Monkees - like absolutely everybody else - were at their best when they sounded like The Beatles, like on their debut album.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Sorry Geir, it's not working today, you're trying too hard

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 10:33 (nineteen years ago) link

No, they wrote none of their best songs. Their best songs were the ones that sounded English, with absolutely no R&B nor country elements, and they were all written by outside songwriters.

geir shouldn't you be looking for a white whale somewhere?

He was the one who managed to sound English.

that, almost creepily coincidentally, is cos he was english

Stephen Stills was a great guitarist, listen to Buffalo Springfield - it wasn't all Neil Young ya know!

i know buffalo springfield well, and i always thought of him as very competent, but lacking taste or focus, too prone to meandering and throwing out boringly weird counterintuition. Not something I'd say of the utterly direct and thrilling guitar lines in 'do i have to do this...'

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:31 (nineteen years ago) link

Actually, you're right, his playing on "Do I Have to Do This..." is probably as good as he ever got - mind you his acoustic playing on "Bluebird" takes some beating

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:34 (nineteen years ago) link

yep no argument on that! as far as buffalo springfield goes i think of neil young as having the same flaws but somehow transcending them through his lack of polish, his ramshackle grace

speaking of which, i believe neil young plays (beautifully) on 'as we go along' from 'head'

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, sounds like him but, as I remember it, the CD credits about 6 guitarists on that track including, bizarrely enough, Carole King. He's supposed to be on "The Porpoise Song" too.

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Geir I hope yr either joking VERY well, or convinced the other three Monkees were also trying to sound English

Schwip Schwap (schwip schwap), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:41 (nineteen years ago) link

Mickey sounded like a fucking American country singer. The Monkees - like absolutely everybody else

I imagine Geir means Mike here. Does Geir usually swear? Is this in fact Geir at all?

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:43 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah, now i remember, haha ry cooder too! (xpost)

i still have this slight cognitive dissonance that the beatles are being characterised as having no r&b or country influences upthread. why i'm letting it worry me i don't know but it just takes sheer myopia and wishful thinking into the realms of performance art

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:46 (nineteen years ago) link

or trolling, of course. sigh, i took the bait cos i love the monkees so much

debden, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:48 (nineteen years ago) link

The Beatles were surely far more R&B influenced that the Monkees ever were!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:48 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm not normally that attentive to production, but I do think the mix (is that the technical term?) is really good on monkees records, with the percussion effects well to the fore and with clear ringing guitars.

Bob Six (bobbysix), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:50 (nineteen years ago) link

Apart from on the 2nd album which is well ropey

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:54 (nineteen years ago) link

What about "That Was Then, This is Now"?

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 11:57 (nineteen years ago) link

That was very poor.

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:22 (nineteen years ago) link

Production wise you mean? Is that the album with two Ian Hunter songs on it? Or was that "Pool It"? I know it wasn't "Justus" 'cos I actually own that one!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Well, I remember the song being poor. I haven't heared it since so can't comment on the production.

One of these days the kids will see some Monkees TV shows and we'll be watching that intensely. (I have "Head" but I'll spare them that for the moment...)

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:27 (nineteen years ago) link

The production on 'Words' I like a lot...and the check out the maracca action on 'Circle Sky'.

Bob Six (bobbysix), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:30 (nineteen years ago) link

Mike Nesmith on the Monkees show = Ross from the Friends show...

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:31 (nineteen years ago) link

Wow, let's not get on to the production on "Circle Sky" - like why did Mike bury his vocals on the album version? Monkeebore time. (xpost)

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:32 (nineteen years ago) link

Dammit, Mike was my favourite Monkee and I hated Ross even more than i hated everyone else on Friends but... you're right!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:33 (nineteen years ago) link

What Are The FBI Doing Hangin' Round?

Buckfast At Tiffany's (Tom D.), Tuesday, 30 August 2022 19:08 (one year ago) link

Listen to the Band (Using Covert Surveillance Devices)

Buckfast At Tiffany's (Tom D.), Tuesday, 30 August 2022 19:10 (one year ago) link

Look Out (Here Comes COINTELPRO)

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 30 August 2022 19:11 (one year ago) link

Habeas Corpus Song

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 30 August 2022 21:41 (one year ago) link

Gonna Bug Me a Dog

Buckfast At Tiffany's (Tom D.), Tuesday, 30 August 2022 22:23 (one year ago) link

lol

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 30 August 2022 22:29 (one year ago) link

Ladies FBI Society

Last Train to Quantico

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 30 August 2022 23:33 (one year ago) link

"Mary, Mary (Why ya buggin?)"

Hongro Hongro Hippies (Myonga Vön Bontee), Wednesday, 31 August 2022 00:52 (one year ago) link


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