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Episode 1302 Talkback: Spotlight on The Monkees

In this episode we shine our spotlight on The Monkees. We discuss how we first got into The Monkees, our favorite songs, our favorite episodes, trivia, the upcoming tour and more. This episode was originally a CGS iPhone app exclusive but now gets a wider release (1:25:27)

Listen here.
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Comments

  • Looking forward to this one. I love The Monkees. Much better than The Beatles!

    *ducks to avoid incoming thrown bottles and rotten food*
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087
    edited November 2012
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087
    edited November 2012

    Looking forward to this one. I love The Monkees. Much better than The Beatles!

    *ducks to avoid incoming thrown bottles and rotten food*


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ycnykifslc

  • CaptShazamCaptShazam Posts: 1,178
    This is a title I think I am going to drop. The creative team just isn't working for me lately. Plus the price point for the material is way to high.
  • kiwijasekiwijase Posts: 451
    A fine fun episode. I'd be happy to see more of this sort of thing.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    Love the Monkees. Got to see them in the 80s with Weird Al opening for them.
  • The Monkees were definitely not the Beatles. But they were still fun and enjoyable. Pleasant Valley Sunday (written by that ace songwriting team of Gerry Coffin and Carol King) remains one of my favorite tunes after all these years.
  • shroud68shroud68 Posts: 457
    Huge Monkees fan. My first exposure to the Monkees was Saturday morning repeats in the early 70's. That is one of those vague memories that stayed in my head til the 1985/86 MTV explosion. My sisters and I really fell in love with them then and saw that tour in one of the AC casinos with Hermman's Hermits, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Grass Roots(maybe) .

    I bought all the re-issued CDs in the early 90's and have to agree that Andrew Sandoval's liner notes are like mini text books. My favorite album is Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. I love the eclectic nature of that album, every style is represented well and I think that range is the Monkees strength. Thru their short carreer they have classic timeless Pop( Last Train to Clarksville), Show Tunes( Cuddly Toy), Psychedellia ( Daily Night, Tapiaoca Tundra), Country Rock ( What Am I Doing Hangin' Round? ) brilliant social commentary( Mommy and Daddy, Pleasant Valley Sunday) .

    In 1991 when I broke up with my first love, I was so depressed that while at work in my Warehouse job, every trailer I loaded and unloaded and wrote "Love is Only Sleeping" in chalk on the back wall. I was unloading a truck some months later to see my pathetic graffiti still on at least one trailer.

    I met Davy in the mid 90's when he played a week long gig at my casino and i was his escort. He famously was hitting on each and every cocktail server, including my future wife and not surprisingly women 30 years his junior loved him with no real connection with the 60's Monkees.

    Met Mickey at Wizard World Philly or maybe Big Apple Con and have a photo of my oldest daughter and Mickey.

    I cant list my favorite episodes as I dont know the titles but they were very innovative at times, though the repeatition sometime hurts individual episodes. The Monkee Vs the Machine toy episode is great as you guys covered.

    If I have to list 3 favorite songs:

    3- Early Morning Blues and Greens A great Davy Jones song in the Norewgian Wood vein at least lyrically.
    2- Love is Only Sleeping I'm a Mike Nesmith guy and that opening guitar riff is killer.
    1- The Girl I Know from Somewhere. Best broken heart love song ever.

    I am seeing them Friday Night in Jersey and cannot wait though Davy's passing was a hard price to pay to see Mike.

    Great episode. This is why I love CGS.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    I want an entire CD of Pants singing songs.
  • GregGreg Posts: 1,946
    I got hooked on reruns of the Monkees during the '70's. They have always been one of my favorite bands while growning up and my dad only had one or two albums. When Pool It was released I was almost stuck in my heavy metal ways, but I was so excited for new Monkees that I carried the cassette with me everywhere I went for about three months and it had a cool translucent blue case.

    The Picture Frame is my favorite episode, Pleasant Valley Sunday, She and Valleri are my favorite songs.

    I never knew about them passing on Sugar, Sugar, i kinda want to hear what they would have done with it.
  • @Pants I loved this stroll down memory lane with you, Jamie D, etal. Being just ever so slightly older than you guys, I actually watched The Monkees when they originally aired on TV. The Monkees, as well as Mr Ed & several of the other shows you mentioned that you enjoyed watching in their re-runs on cable.
    Thinking about the Monkees and these other shows got me thinking about all of the TV shows I loved as a kid: Winkie Dink, Gumby, Superman, Adam West's Batman, Underdog, George of the Jungle, Speed Racer, The Pink Panther, Green Acres, The Beverly Hill Billies, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie - the list goes on and on.
    But, like so many of you said on this episode, I have special and fond memories of The Monkees. I, too, of course, had the biggest crush on Davy Jones, was a member of the Monkees fan club, had the records, etc. etc.
    I live in So Cal, & The Monkees will be performing at The Greek Theater in LA I believe. They show isn't sold out, as Goldstar was offering reduced priced tix at one time. However, I am not going to be going to the show. While I loved all the members of the band, without Davy, it just won't be the same. It's a shame that -as popular as they were in their day - they never toured together as a complete group in many years (if ever! as I have no recollection of them touring, but I am old and my memory isn't what it used to be).
    Anyway, thanks for a fun show. And, BTW, how do I find @Pants singing on You Tube? How is it listed?
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087


    Anyway, thanks for a fun show. And, BTW, how do I find @Pants singing on You Tube? How is it listed?

    from the CGS main page's "videos" or :

    @Pants : you did awesome >>> CGS Glee Feature: Pants!

  • Thanks @John_Steed! I just watched the video. @Pants, you rock my world!
  • Alright guys, and gal.

    This episode made me SO SO happy to listen to. I have been a fan of you guys for a few years now and THIS episode pushed me over the edge to actually comment. My comment you ask?

    THANKS.

    My finance and I are seeing them at the Beacon here in NYC for our Xmas present. She has no idea but this will be my "perfect" gift since we are both fans and had a weird realization of it one day in the car. I will let her listen to this episode after December 2nd.

    Just to get it on there...the comic stuff you do is AWESOME as well but this one just made my one day off from the restaurant a VERY good one.
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    edited November 2012
    I first remember seeing the Monkees in reruns as a kid when one of the Boston stations we got as part of our cable package in Maine, WLVI Channel 56, aired the show as part of their weekday morning programming (usually back-to-back with The Banana Splits). That show blew my mind... not only was the music great, but it was the first time I can remember seeing a show with real people that played with the conventions of actually being a TV show. Kids shows like Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers broke the 4th wall all the time by talking to the camera, but those were always supposed to make you feel like you were there. The Monkees, on the other hand, was mostly like any other sitcom, but when Mickey couldn't come up with a plan one time, he walked off to talk to the writers. Or if they passed the same rock on a desert island 4 or 5 times, they'd call attention to the fact that they only had a few sets to use. I've loved programming that plays with media conventions ever since. No doubt about it, this show was as crucial to my pop cultural sensibility's development as The Muppet Show, Batman, or (later) MST3K.

    So I was already pretty familiar with them by the time the 20th anniversary revival came around, but that just made me an even bigger fan. Their Bangor, Maine, tour stop that year was my first real concert, and a hell of a show it was, too (even if Herman's Hermits couldn't play as scheduled because Peter Noone's visa ran out!).
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    And because I can't not participate in any sort of Top ___ list:

    Top 3 Favorite Episodes (I don't know titles):

    1. The Christmas episode where the show spoiled, bratty Butch Patrick the meaning of Christmas. One of my favorite Christmas episodes of any show ever, actually.

    2. The one with Julie Newmar where they all fight over her. For whatever reason I thought the repetition of "Do fish swim?" every time she asked one of them if they were really into one of her interests was very funny as a kid.

    3. The one where they're movie extras and they have to contend with the mean star played by Bobby Sherman, then plot to replace him with Davy.

    Top 3 Favorite Songs (as of right now):
    1. Pleasant Valley Sunday - the best song ever written about suburban ennui and first world problems!

    2. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone - Maybe the hardest song the Monkees ever recorded, and one that translated very well to punk (love the Sex Pistols' version).

    3. Sweet Young Thing - Mike wrote a lot of great songs, but I like how this combines his country sensibilities with some funk and psychedelia.

    Honorable mention (tie): Gonna Buy Me a Dog and Zilch... I love it when they get silly.
  • PantsPants Posts: 567
    I'm glad so many people liked this episode. I really wanted to do it, but it didn't necessarily "fit" into a regular CGS episode which is why it was originally an iPhone exclusive. I had an absolute blast recording this one.
  • JamieDJamieD Posts: 210
    Pants said:

    I'm glad so many people liked this episode. I really wanted to do it, but it didn't necessarily "fit" into a regular CGS episode which is why it was originally an iPhone exclusive. I had an absolute blast recording this one.

    Was it FANtastic? ;-)
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    Pants said:

    I'm glad so many people liked this episode. I really wanted to do it, but it didn't necessarily "fit" into a regular CGS episode which is why it was originally an iPhone exclusive. I had an absolute blast recording this one.

    I love the episodes where you guys diverge into other things you're interested in... wouldn't want it all the time, but they make a nice change of pace, and enthusiasm is always fun to listen to. That's what I like Jackie Kashian's podcast, The Dork Forest, so much: I really enjoy people talking about their interests and passions, even if I'm not always into those specific things. I guess I'm kind of a philophile... I'm interested in interests!
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    Oh, and to answer Dani's question, you do not need to be in a chemically altered state to watch Head. Insomnia will do the trick just as well! :D The first time I watched it all the way through was a night where I just couldn't sleep, so I popped the tape in at about 3 a.m., and it was truly one of the best movie watching experiences of my life because it felt like I was having a very lucid dream.
  • NKQNKQ Posts: 24
    Great episode in the CGS tradition. The group's enthusiasm was a joy to listen to and made me get up off my ass and go to YouTube for Monkey tunes. My two older sisters attended the Monkeys concert in Phoenix back in the day and I think that's when The Monkey's went shopping around town. I think they had police escorts and mobs of fans every where they went! I also remember that my sisters were disapointed because you really couldn't hear much of the music because everyone was screaming. My sister also owns several of the group's vinyl albums including Headquarters.

    Thanks for this great episode. I've already listened to it several times.
  • Really, really enjoyed this... particularly since some of you are my own age and we also got a younger perspective. I always associate the show with month long vacation with my dad on Sanibel Island... watched the reruns every day (along with Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp... made for a very wacky hour). Plus my wife does some social media work for JCPenney and that info about the "More of the Monkees" cover photo will make great Facebook fodder!
  • You can look up YouTube and find the full version of Head. That was how I finally saw that movie earlier this year a few days after Davy Jones's death. I watched it without any drugs and understood some of it. I think I picked up on the theme of free will in it. The rest, I cannot figure out. War is bad, other stuff like that.

    And the football player in the war scene is Ray Nitschke, former linebacker great of the Green Bay Packers in the 60's. He was also in the original and better version of The Longest Yard.

    Loved this episode, guys. I made the personal discovery of the Monkees during the MTV marathon of the show back in '86 or '87. Whenever that show was on MTV or Nickelodeon, I watched it and was hooked ever since. For Christmas of '87, I got a vinyl copy of That Was Then, This Is Now...The Best of the Monkees and played that album non-stop. I was greatly disappointed when Nickelodeon stopped showing reruns of the show and when I moved from my old home over a decade ago, I somehow lost that record and a bunch of others. Somehow they may have ended up in a box that got thrown away by mistake.

    I now own a few MP3s of some of their music (no full albums) and can watch the show on METV. The nostalgic feeling I have for this group still lives on.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    Saw Head one night in a theater after a showing of Rocky Horror. I was in an "altered state" and loved the film. Never seen it since then. Mainly cause I get a feeling it won't compare to that first viewing.
  • LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803

    You can look up YouTube and find the full version of Head. That was how I finally saw that movie earlier this year a few days after Davy Jones's death. I watched it without any drugs and understood some of it. I think I picked up on the theme of free will in it. The rest, I cannot figure out. War is bad, other stuff like that.

    Free will is a big part of it, I think. After a couple years of following strict production and network dictates, I think they were eager to show that they could do more than be squeaky-clean purveyors of tween bubblegum pop but still be The Monkees. At least that's what I got out of it.
  • alienalalienal Posts: 508
    I think I'm approximately a decade older than Jamie. I saw most of the Monkees shows when they originally aired. I never really thought of them as a "real" band. I just thought of them as actors or comedians. I guess that's just me: I was more into Marvin Gaye and the Motown sound at the time and only listened to The Beatles sporadically (things like Yesterday, Sgt. Pepper). However, I did like some of The Monkees music enough that I remembered some of it when Pants played the songs. A few months back (long before this episode) I bought a Monkees greatest hits CD and didn't really get into it at all. Maybe I'll give it another listen. Anyway, I listened to this originally through the APP and I thought it strange that you didn't mention the car!! What was it? The Monkee Mobile? Well, whatever the name of it was, I thought it was a cool-looking car, almost as good as the Batmobile!
  • RocketdogRocketdog Posts: 3
    edited November 2012
    Pants said:

    I'm glad so many people liked this episode. I really wanted to do it, but it didn't necessarily "fit" into a regular CGS episode which is why it was originally an iPhone exclusive. I had an absolute blast recording this one.

    Great episode Pants! I, too, am glad you did it, and really enjoyed it. I often found myself wishing I could have been a part of it. So many times during listening, I wanted to jump right into the conversation with some of my own personal insight.

    I've been a major Monkees fan since I first discovered them via re-runs of the show in the early 70's. (I was also born the same year the show was - 1966. Coincidence, perhaps?) The first albums I ever owned were original copies of their albums passed down to me from one of my Aunts, who bought them herself when they first came out. I've been hooked and collecting ever since. Sadly, the only time I got the chance to see the band live was during the '86/'87 reunion tour.

    Pants, If you ever want to talk The Monkees sometime, hit me up with a PM or my email. We seem to have very similar taste when it comes to them. Our Top 3 songs (while for me, was nearly impossible to narrow down to just that few) are almost identical. I'd only swap out "You Told Me" for "You Just Me Be The One". I love the joyful count in, and the way Nesmith hangs on the "ing" part of "Times have made me shy of girls and all the games that they are play-----ing". Other than that, was happy to see you chose "As We Go Along" (an underrated classic from Head, featuring Ry Cooder, Danny Kortchmar and Neil Young on guitar) and "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere" as your other two faves. Peter's Harpsichord solo on the latter may just be one of my favorite things in any song, ever. Kinda surprised you didn't play some of Nesmith's demo version, where he handles the lead vocals on the song. As much as I'm fond of Nesmith, I am glad that Micky ultimately sang lead on it. I also think that Micky was/is one of the finest Pop/Rock singers ever. There are times on some of their recordings where he is not only doing the leads, but doubling and even tripling himself on the harmonies. Impressive stuff.

    If you, or anybody else is interested in more of what I think of the Monkees music, here's a link to an "Album by Album" thread I was leading in another forum over at DVDTalk.com., back after Davy Jones passing earlier this year. We only got through up to Then And Now - The Best Of The Monkees, and didn't end up covering Pool It or Justus, but it's a fun and insightful read.

    http://forum.dvdtalk.com/music-talk/599480-album-album-thread-monkees.html

    Thanks again for this show!
  • WebheadWebhead Posts: 458
    Great Episode

    I'm like Jamie D I use to watch The Monkees after school never got tired of watching the reruns. I think it was the music I was more interested in, to this day I can sing along with most of the songs and have a bunch of them on my iPod but can only describe a few of the story lines from the episodes.

    Here are a three of my favorite songs, I tried to list songs that did not get mentioned in the episode.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URb8h4dLKps

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Flqv6oSeE

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMNize7s8nc
  • WebheadWebhead Posts: 458
    BTW

    Here is the famous video of Pants singing Pleasant Valley Sunday

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug4_hglgNYg
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