The sublime and the ridiculous, they coexist.
Tonight I inveigled my friends M. and R. into turning our scheduled Game of Thrones catchup session into an impromptu Monkees marathon, having finally caved and bought both seasons on DVD in memory of Davy. Who wasn't even my favorite Monkee.
M. had never seen a full episodes, and like many people I've inflicted this band on in the past, she got sucked in despite a cultural predisposition to dismiss the Prefab Four. And even I, after all these years, was surprised to see that the show really does hold up, especially now that I'm in a position to pick out all the cultural influences-- obviously, Hard Day's Night but also the anarchic visual humor of the Marx Brothers, and a country-rock sound half a decade ahead of popular tastes.
Personally, I wish Jann Wenner would pull his head out of his ass and let 'em into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (it's not like he's such a brilliant arbiter of taste... I mean, I subscribe to Rolling Stone for the journalism, and not for their amazing ability to find new reasons every month to feature the crustiest of aging classic rock acts. And occasionally Bruce Springsteen). Yes, they were put together by a studio, teenage rebellion packaged, processed and marketed back to teenagers, rock and roll neutered and declawed for John Q. Public's Monday night living room. Get THE FUCK over it. How many major acts of the era didn't play or write their own songs? Motown, I'm looking at you. Brill Building, I'm looking at you.
They'd be worth paying attention to even if they hadn't eventually rebelled and become a real band, just for the craftsmanship that went into the original product.
Also, phwoooaaarrrr:
But Mike's still a prick.
M. had never seen a full episodes, and like many people I've inflicted this band on in the past, she got sucked in despite a cultural predisposition to dismiss the Prefab Four. And even I, after all these years, was surprised to see that the show really does hold up, especially now that I'm in a position to pick out all the cultural influences-- obviously, Hard Day's Night but also the anarchic visual humor of the Marx Brothers, and a country-rock sound half a decade ahead of popular tastes.
Personally, I wish Jann Wenner would pull his head out of his ass and let 'em into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (it's not like he's such a brilliant arbiter of taste... I mean, I subscribe to Rolling Stone for the journalism, and not for their amazing ability to find new reasons every month to feature the crustiest of aging classic rock acts. And occasionally Bruce Springsteen). Yes, they were put together by a studio, teenage rebellion packaged, processed and marketed back to teenagers, rock and roll neutered and declawed for John Q. Public's Monday night living room. Get THE FUCK over it. How many major acts of the era didn't play or write their own songs? Motown, I'm looking at you. Brill Building, I'm looking at you.
They'd be worth paying attention to even if they hadn't eventually rebelled and become a real band, just for the craftsmanship that went into the original product.
Also, phwoooaaarrrr:
But Mike's still a prick.