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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 6, 2008 20:35:49 GMT -5
Personally, I consider The Monkees to be the MGM episodes of the music world.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 7, 2008 18:37:46 GMT -5
Okay, if you think the Monkees are groovy, and you also love the MGM episodes, then what is there to disagree about?
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Post by zootmoney on Aug 7, 2008 19:00:46 GMT -5
The Monkees had a lot of great songs.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 7, 2008 19:18:19 GMT -5
I would rate their best songs as 'very good' but not 'great.' But I also think these songs are outnumbered by the mediocre and (dare I say it?) bad songs. Which makes it sort of like the MGM Our Gangs. Just my opinion, of course, folks.
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Post by antifrodis on Aug 7, 2008 23:30:41 GMT -5
The Monkees as a music making entity had some of the best songwriters and musicians at the time working on their songs, which provided them with a lot of great music. Not to mention, Michael Nesmith was one of the pioneers of country rock music and a solid songwriter himself with a number one hit under his belt ("Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt). Peter Tork was an accomplished musician and his instrumental work was featured on several of their songs. People like Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Paul Williams, The Wrecking Crew wrote and performed on the Monkees albums and the list goes on and on. The Monkees were never meant to be a REAL rock band. They were a tv show about a fictional rock band, with soundtrack albums of the songs featured on the show. They kind of morphed into a real band at one point and did an admirable job pounding out their hits (just the four guys) in garage band fashion in front of screaming crowds. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, but to just scoff at the Monkees or to dismiss their music as uninteresting or lame (i.e. MGM Our Gang shorts) would be a musical oversight.
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Post by antifrodis on Aug 7, 2008 23:51:17 GMT -5
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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 8, 2008 1:37:50 GMT -5
Okay, but you guys realize I was just making a snarky comment because of jrsl1988's repeated comments about the MGM era, right?
Oh, and "Gilligan's Island" was an unbearably bad sitcom. (Let's see if that touches any nerves!)
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Post by rhapsody on Aug 8, 2008 12:54:57 GMT -5
The Monkees as a music making entity had some of the best songwriters and musicians at the time working on their songs, which provided them with a lot of great music. Not to mention, Michael Nesmith was one of the pioneers of country rock music and a solid songwriter himself with a number one hit under his belt ("Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt). Peter Tork was an accomplished musician and his instrumental work was featured on several of their songs. People like Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Paul Williams, The Wrecking Crew wrote and performed on the Monkees albums and the list goes on and on. The Monkees were never meant to be a REAL rock band. They were a tv show about a fictional rock band, with soundtrack albums of the songs featured on the show. They kind of morphed into a real band at one point and did an admirable job pounding out their hits (just the four guys) in garage band fashion in front of screaming crowds. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, but to just scoff at the Monkees or to dismiss their music as uninteresting or lame (i.e. MGM Our Gang shorts) would be a musical oversight. Ach, you took the words right out of my mouth as I was reading this thread. The Monkees had very few bad songs. Their material was comprised of extremely well-made pop music for the era and the boys' transformation from fake band to real band would make Pinocchio proud. Not to mention, Mike Nesmith is a fantastic singer/songwriter in this own right, and probably would be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame today if he hadn't gotten mixed up with the Monkee thing. (I mean, if Gene Pitney made it in.....) I also believe the Monkees music had a huge impact - maybe even more so than the Beatles - on bands like the Ramones and the Clash and the Sex Pistols (Steppin' Stone, anyone? Anyone?) I know Michael Stipe of REM has said the Monkees were one of his biggest influences. So to imply that the Monkees sucked because they weren't in the same league as the Beatles really isn't fair. Although for me, there is one similarity between the MGM shorts and the Monkees TV show. I wouldn't watch either one of them when I was a kid. And that's saying a lot when you have only a half dozen channels! |
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Post by rhapsody on Aug 8, 2008 13:02:29 GMT -5
Nice job! "Listen to Band" is an old fave of mine. They play it at Fenway Park quite often; one of the more unusual selections. |
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Post by Mark on Aug 8, 2008 18:39:06 GMT -5
Back on topic- Bob, which of these eras do you think is best for the Beatles: the early years (1962-1965), the psychedelic years (1966-1967), or the late years (1968-1970)?
I personally easily go with the 1968-1970, with their more serious and mature sounds. Their song writing peaked during these last years (and they were still great several years after the breakup and still had that "late Beatles" sound when they went solo).
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Post by Mark on Aug 8, 2008 18:54:13 GMT -5
I love watching Yellow Submarine on DVD in a room completely dark. The flashing during "Only a Northern Song" is especially trippy!
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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 8, 2008 19:30:02 GMT -5
Back on topic- Bob, which of these eras do you think is best for the Beatles: the early years (1962-1965), the psychedelic years (1966-1967), or the late years (1968-1970)? I personally easily go with the 1968-1970, with their more serious and mature sounds. Their song writing peaked during these last years (and they were still great several years after the breakup and still had that "late Beatles" sound when they went solo). I tend to agree. It seems like the whole rock scene transformed from music for teenagers to music for adults in the late '60s/early '70s, so I guess it shouldn't be any surprise that I prefer that era at the age of 45. But it's really a slight preference. I'm more impressed with "Hey Jude" than with "She Loves You," but I don't necessarily enjoy it more. My iPod contains Beatles tracks from all eras pretty equally. And I'm also a big fan of early '70s solo Beatles. It's a little known factoid that the Beatles dominated the singles charts in 1973 moreso than any year since '64. |
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Post by Mark on Aug 8, 2008 20:15:36 GMT -5
All Things Must Pass is my favorite post-Beatles album. It's incredible. George is my favorite Beatle, next to John Lennon.
I also own Lennon Legend, which I enjoy a lot. I just wish it included "Isolation" and "You Are Here." Other favorites are "Love," "Stand By Me," "My Mummy's Dead" (very short), "Mother", "Cold Turkey," and "Imagine."
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Post by ymymeatemup on Aug 8, 2008 20:41:04 GMT -5
"Isolation" is one you don't hear people mention very often, but I think it's one of his best songs.
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Post by imnotallenhoskins on Aug 12, 2008 21:54:08 GMT -5
I have a favorite director that I don't always agree with what he says. He is an independent director and writes all his films. He doesn't allow the actors and actresses to improve because he doesn't have time to foll arounf with lines. He had his own group of actors and actresses he calls Dreamlanders . Most of them had died and he uses famous people. He has been very mainstream since them. You're probably think what does this have to do with The Beatles. He says that The Beatles were honkies who ruined Rock And Roll. What a racist jerk this guy is. He hates the Beatles because they were white. Let me tell you that they didn't ruin rock and roll, they made rock and roll an artform. Give me the Beatles, Herr Director can take Chuck Berry and Little Richard. |
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