Say goodbye to The Monkees - 1966-1987

I LOVED The Monkees.  Nickelodeon re-aired the series in 1986, exposing me and the rest of my generation to the silly antics and slapstick comedy of Mike, Peter, Micky and Davy.  Oh, and their music.  Those catchy, light-hearted, whimsical, innocent songs.  The show's theme alone is sweet enough to give you a toothache.  To me, their music reminds me of two things: sitting cross-legged on the carpet, inches away from the television... and doing my laundry.

Why does it remind me of laundry day?  Because EVERY freaking time I go to the laundromat on Lincoln and Ocean Park either Day Dream Believer, I'm a Believer or Last Train to Clarksville (Believer?) plays on the radio.  It's like I'm stuck in some weird Groundhog Day loop that will only come to an end when my wife and I finally buy our own washer/dryer unit.

The owner and operator of the laundromat apparently feels separating colors from whites is most enjoyable when listening to sounds of the 60's.  I couldn't disagree more.  Which is why I always bring my iPod to help pass the time.  Unfortunately, the voices of Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork and Jones penetrate even the loudest (post 1991) NOFX.

So... The Monkees are gone.  (With the exception of their 1996 release "Justus" which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the group and features the return of Michael Nesmith*.)  Or are they?  I'm not suggesting we eliminate the series.  Or their movie "Head."  And as a result, music featured in these productions are permitted to stay.  But only in this form, no soundtracks on CD or cassette are permissible.   

As I write this post, I am informed that Davy Jones has announced the following:  Monkees 2011  With my luck they'll be playing the Blockbuster Video next door to my laundromat.


*As a kid, Mike was always my favorite and even now I'm usually drawn to the straight guy in comedies.  And even though I respect his attempt to "fight the machine" by insisting on playing and writing their own music, I can't help but think he's a bit of a douche.