#I DID IT MONKEES FANS PLS DON'T KILL ME

[moth-sounds]

The Monkees | The Monkees

ok FULL DISCLOSURE: 

- I’ve never purposely listened to the Monkees until like a month ago and I don’t know much about them except that they’re fun funky lads who started out as a fictional TV band that then became a real band and that’s very valid of them

- I spent this whole album calling Davy ‘Peter’ bc I thought Peter was the British one and then I couldn’t figure out who the fourth Monkee was. my brain cells are dedicated to appreciating tunes not remembering names

- I didn’t know this album was considered Controversial(tm) and I am going to keep pretending that I don’t know because I enjoyed it anyway

- Spotify gave me the Super Deluxe version which has like 30 songs on it so idk what was on the actual album vs. what was added later. this actually goes for every Monkees album I have listened to thus far so all my notes are a mess. for this reason I will not be reviewing every single track because holy tork, batman, that’s a lot

- right now I have a Vulfpeck song stuck in my head (this one, to be exact) so apologies if this comes out a bit scattered

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ONTO THE REVIEW:

ok so listen. about that controversy i’m totally pretending i don’t know anything about. why is having a backing band so bad? or having your songs written by other people? tons of artists do that now. a good tune is a good tune, whether it’s coordinated by engineers or not. I get that these boys could play their own instruments and write their own music and just weren’t allowed to, and I imagine that must’ve been frustrating. but they got their redemption arc later so it all works out.

something I observed is they really seemed to like starting songs with a guitar riff and a tambourine shake. there were at least four songs that did this. I can’t remember which ones. I just noticed it enough to put it in my notes.

anyway, SOME RANKINGS (all links lead to Spotify I’m sorry):

(Theme From) the Monkees: “people say we monkey around, but we’re too busy singing to put anybody down.” what an admirable philosophy. that’s the kind of life I want to lead. also this song directly inspired TMBG’s song The Mesopotamians. 4/5

Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day: oh this is one of the tambourine ones. catchy and uplifting, but a bit repetitive. Micky’s voice is as smooth as butter and I understand why people stan. 3/5

Last Train to Clarksville: aww YEAAAHHHH. 5/5

Sweet Young Thing: squeaky fiddles in the left ear, bong bong bong in the right ear. bad sensory experience. 1/5, would be 0 if not for Nesmith’s voice. I’m sorry you got stuck on such a bad track, Michael.

The Kind of Girl I Could Love (Alternate Mix): THIS IS MORE LIKE IT, MICHAEL. YOU SOUND SO GOOD, MICHAEL. 4/5

(I Prithee) Do Not Ask for Love (Alternate Mix): this one gets stuck in my head SO MUCH. it’s nice to hear Davy singing a song in a minor key. and also a love song that doesn’t objectify the woman in question. 5/5 IT’S REALLY WELL-COMPOSED OK and the way the voices join in on the refrain is mmm YES

I Won’t Be the Same Without Her: I’m just a sucker for four-part harmony. 4/5

Monkees Radio Spot: GOSHAROONI, MIKE, WHAT IS MORE FUN THAN A BARREL FULL OF MONKEYS?? 100/10

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CONCLUSION: for a band that wasn’t even at their Full Creative Potential yet, this was pretty darned fun. admittedly some of it was rather forgettable, but the tracks that stand out really stand out. I also just realized I couldn’t figure out who the fourth Monkee was because you NEVER HEAR HIM. poor Peter. your time will come.