Micky Dolenz celebrates his 68th birthday today. In celebration, I'll talk about three of my personal favorite Monkees songs that he sings lead vocals in. They're not necessarily the absolute definitive favorite, but they're some that I've been hearing a lot lately, mostly from my phone playing random songs from the library.
"She" is off the second album "More of the Monkees." Micky sings from the point of view of a guy dating a real bitch. She tells him that she loves him and he'd never leave him, even though she'd turn around and break his heart. She laughs while he cries. She just up and leaves him, and "only does him wrong." Even when he recognizes he'd be better off alone, however, he still misses her. So seriously, whose fault is it? The sadist chick or the masochistic dude still longing to be with her and kiss her and all that.
It's not really the story in the lyrics that draws me to the song, because I'm not in that situation... I just really like the songwriting that makes the situation more complex. The girl isn't some angel that's perfect in every way... unlike every fucking Neil Sedaka song I've heard. It's a real situation and no one's really right on both ends. I just dig it for that.
If I ever wrote a movie and I had some character running to get somewhere quickly, I would choose "No Time," in the third album "Headquarters." The pace of the song is pretty quick and it's really lively and upbeat. It just works for me as a song, especially when I'm walking to work... and late.
"Mommy and Daddy" is off "The Monkees Present"... which is what... their seventh album? Anyways, this is one of those 'question authority' songs that usually come out from the late 60s. There's two different versions to this song. The original one that made it to the album has a happy ending. It's basically, "There's always this bad shit going on. Why is it happening? Oh well, I still love you if you don't know why." The alternate version is "Bad shit is happening... why is this happening? Why does the world suck? You don't know? Well would you know if it happened to me? Would you care then? Everything is a fucking lie... ALL OF IT!" Yeah... not necessarily something you'd hear on the TV show... and we wouldn't have anyway since this came out long after the second season ended and the show was cancelled.
I could have easily picked "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," "Porpoise Song," or any of the Top 40 hits, but I think I chose the deeper cuts and the ones people don't focus on to show my appreciation that The Monkees, to me, isn't just a couple of songs... it's their entire fucking discography that I genuinely like... and so for Micky's birthday, I just want to say to you all that while the other songs you hear in karaoke or Shrek are awesome, there's a whole bunch of other awesome that you need to hear.
Happy Birthday, Micky!
I have to confess, I had never heard the 3rd one. I like it. :-) I'm trying to think of my favorite. There are too many but D.W.Washburn makes me smile b/c he can make his voice sound like Ms. Piggy and I've always liked I'm not your Stepping Stone. One can start a Monkee mosh pit with that one, really.
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