Monkees Fans

[mojobone]

The Rutles were definitely a parody band, and if you're lucky enough to have Neil Innes (aka Ron Nasty) play your town, you should definitely go. (he played here, but I had a gig the same night) I think anybody on this forum should hear the Rutles as an example of how to nail an "A La".

I don't think the Monkees were meant to be a parody band, though it's possible that the Monkees themselves thought so. I went to wikipedia and learned something about the Monkees I'd never heard before; that at their peak, they outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, combined.

[funsongs]

Seems to me they benefited from the TV exposure at the time when "teeny-bopper" music was bringing in,
or appealing to, even younger crowds.

[Len911]

Forgive the Monkees? How about give credit to the wrecking crew??

https://youtu.be/hhl-3EOYTkc

I love me some Wrecking Crew; I think Denny Tedesco is a forum member.

Now just how cool is that!!

[mojobone]

They went on tour with Jimi Hendrix as their opener, but he was rather quickly replaced, because he didn't play well to their teenybopper audience. According to Wikipedia, Jimi didn't much care for their music, either.

[stevetwosheds]

Them were the days when you could see Jimi Hendrix, The Who and the Stones or a similar line up of top names playing what was in effect a small cinema - I was too young, about 7 I guess but I remember my elder sisters taking me to the "cinema" in Hanley Stoke-on Trent, (where they make some of the posh pottery like Wedgwood and not so posh bogs - toilets - loos) - just to see the posters (wish I'd nicked some - they'd be worth a bob or two now!) and to have my very first milk shake - I lived under a rock you see.

Anyway they went that night and apparently everyone was boo-ing Jimi - had mainly come to see The Who - but my sisters were into him and felt sorry for him getting such a lousy reception. Kept their concert tickets for years, which would also have been worth a bob or two on ebay now, till one sister threw the others prized stuff like that in the bin after a row. Awkward.

I adored Jimi's sound even as a kid, the first record I ever bought, PURPLE HAZE, played it to death - So I wasn't that popular at junior school! (Or ever after!) - Everybody else into mainstream pop. I carried a copy of HOW DOES IT FEEL (B side to???) (kids have never even heard of B sides these days - THAT comes as a shock even though it should be obvious) - but I carried HOW DOES IT FEEL in my school satchell for three months knowing the teacher in my English class planned for us to one day bring in music that MEANT something to us... So I planned for that momentous day...

...The day came and all the other kids brought in "I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING" or whatever else and deep conversations ensued (I guess - Can;t actually remember too clearly) - My turn came and my record crackled like it was being played with a Brillo Pad / steel wool - But I think ONLY the teacher got why the words were important - the other kids were too busy pontificating no doubt about my horrible choice in music.

And it;s been the same ever since I suppose - I'm always out of step I'm afraid. T.Rex, SLADE, ACDC, ELO when everybody else had got into The Eagles - which I KINDA liked but not enough to actually buy and didn't need to seeing as friends forced me to listen to it endlessly on their eight track to and from work. "When are you gonna like some decent music Steve?" they'd say - in an aggressive manner I should add! So I got my own back whenever possible playing WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE etc etc to pee them off.

It's a funny old world, music - gets a bit personal. I've always TRIED very hard to not judge other people's tastes no matter how dire it sounds to me, to give everything a chance. ACDC seems mainstream now - You can't get a ticket too easily - Stadium gigs only, getting showered with warm liquid thrown up in pint pots that I initially assumed was beer - til some landed on me and "Warm beer? ugh" - I was lucky enough top see them play small halls where you could be right at the front getting Angus's sweat (or snot) flung at ya with all his headbangin. - My missus said she wanted to bottle it! Wierd.

Gotta go but quick one Mojo - I'm looking hard to find some of those (peter Tork etc?) songs you reckon rival Diane Warren etc - struggling a bit where to start looking and just keep kinding early Monkee's stiff and interesting interviews with the various band members - Would like to have a good listen to their material if you have any tips on their best songs? I;m just curious as I'm learning what music I;ve been missing over the years. A while back I was downloading all the US charts from the 70's and then the Billboard top 100 end of year stuff to compare directly with the UK end of year top 100 - 46 differnet at the end of 2014 if at all curious - Just wanted to know how two nations perceive hits differently after learning just how many sounds I had been emulating weren't even relevant in the States, not even released - TAKE THAT in their come back form for instance, who were massive here again for a few years, not even released or played in the US as they all had separate publishing agreements making it unviable for subpublishers in the states, plus only one station playing them - Just felt odd, never really knowing without constant research what was/is known there VS here. EUPHORIA, a big EDM track for instance.

I could natter for ages but am late - probably a relief to you! Soz.

Thanks if you can point to their best songs, just a couple would help then I can find more.

Cheers - Steve

[mojobone]

I'd start with these terrific records: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BKt07B3A6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWTa9CE51sA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB9YIsKIEbA Great songs, great arrangements, but hardly representative of the tastes/style of the actual band; they were created for AM pop radio and the TV series, which needed/wanted hits) and were very successful. The boys' own rock sensibilities sounded a bit more like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sezVApK9rTk By the time "Head" came out, they'd heard Led Zeppelin and Mott The Hoople and were all about the FM sound. There's maybe a bit of Status Quo in there too, though they did next to nothing over here.

[stevetwosheds]

Cheers Mojo - I'll have a really good listen in a bit - just spent an hour or two checking out other stuff so ears need a rest and I need a bath! A quick in and out before TTV - I'll probably fall asleep in the bath and drown knowing my luck at the mo!

Thanks again for the links - looking forward

Steve

[stevetwosheds]

Hi Mojo, thanks again for the links to Monkees songs. Appreciated.

Enjoyed having a good listen but I already know these tracks well as I played them to death as a kid and still love em. I'M A BELIEVER still sends a shiver down my spine when I hear all those hooks. They were big hits here too as you can imagine. Not the porpoise song - Didn't know that one and that was an eye opener, so thanks. Surprised to read it was written by Goffin & King. Never a big fan of the psychidelic (can't spell) thing, but interesting to hear that one.

Maybe I explained badly what I was looking for - The songs you mentioned that the band members themselves wrote on a parr with Diane Warren and Neil Diamond. Ne' mind - I was just curious , wondering if it was pointless for a guy like me trying to reach Diane Warren standard if guys as famous as the Monkees could do it yet not have Diane Warren's kind of success in pure songwriting terms.

In other words - is there more to DW's success than meets the eye - Is it that they (Diane and her business partner if I understand correctly) seriously have their act together on the promotional front, taking tight control of every stage in addition to consistent song quality? A rhetorical question really.
Either way, I'll keep trying to reach her standard, if only because I LOVE the process of tearing songs up and starting again - Which reminds me...

...Back to The Monkees - I once heard that the mother of one of them invented TIPPEX! (The typewriter correction fluid / liquid paper - may go under a different name in the US)

I just thought it was a co-incidence - I used to use a lot of Tippex! Now I have the delete button. Mine is worn out.

Thanks again - Steve

[mojobone]

Yeah, that'd be Nesmith; he's independently wealthy cuz his mom, a research chemist, invented what we call Liquid Paper, and left him tens of millions, back when a million was a mil. If you want to learn to write like Diane Warren, I'd humbly suggest you study DW's songs and buy Robin Frederick's book, Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting. The stuff on the new Monkees record is in my opinion as good as anything they've ever done, so I'd have a listen there, too.

[funsongs]

cuz his mom, a research chemist, invented what we call Liquid Paper...

I thought that was just some recycled white latex paint, maybe juiced a little with some turpentine.