Did anyone grow up watching The Monkees on TV?
I remember watching reruns all the time time as a kid, but I’d be hard pressed to give you an example of what of the shows were about. I am sure if I watched the Monkees now… it would be an unsettling adventure in Deja Vu.
The Monkees were a “rock band” styled after the Beatles to be a TV series that ran for a couple years in the late 60s. They also concurrently released albums which, during the height of the Pre-Fab Four… all topped the pops.
I recall The Monkees being derided as being a joke band or not real. Considering we live the era of bullshit artists… I guess I have softened on what The Monkees are all about.
They did stage a revolution with their corporate overlords for greater artistic control and direction of the Monkees brand. This led the musical mastermind to be fired (or quit). The guy’s name was Don Kirshner and he hated that The Monkee’s were actors and not real musicians (fun fact, the guys actually were decent musicians and song writers). He didn’t treat the Monkee’s well and the boys had no love for him. It came to a head during a meeting were Monkee Michael Nesmith punched a hole in the wall and said, “next time its your face.” Now that is pretty rock and roll.
At some point Kirshner finally fucked up and violated his contract so the Monkees could get rid of him. So what did Don do? Formed a new pre-fab band… ala The Gorillaz. An animated cartoon group called The Archies who could not revolt and wrestle away creative control.
The Monkees music is pretty pop-tastical (well the ones that are famous that I can remember). Walking to the Zone today, “Last Train to Clarksville” popped on the iPod.
The song is very fun, but the story is actually kinda dark. Its about a man asking his wife or girl to get on the last train to Clarksville so they can spend a final night together before he ships off on a dangerous mission where he might die (Vietnam). Heavy.
Go with yourself.
The Morning After 