Cheer Up, Sleepy Jean

The first album I ever purchased with my own money was The Monkees Greatest Hits. I must have been 12-years-old at the time and my sister’s boyfriend drove me to the local strip mall so I could buy it. With a potent mixture of sunshine pop, bubblegum, and garage rock and backed by talented studio musicians and songwriters, time has been kind to the Monkees and their music. While many people now consider the group hip, when I was a kid the “Pre-Fab Four” were still the butt of jokes and critics savaged them as a sort of ‘60s equivalent to Mili Vanilli or the Spice Girls. Yet all I cared about was the Monkees' music and how it made me feel good during a terrible period in my life: the onset of puberty!

My first album (well, cassette tape)

A couple of years later I began dipping my feet into punk and straightedge music and both the Sex Pistols and Minor Threat cover versions of “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” definitely made those genres and groups more palatable to me. I’m guessing John Lydon and Ian MacKaye still are- and have always been- loyal Monkees fans because real punks don’t care if you make fun of us. That’s why we’re punk! Here are my favorite Monkees songs. (Wow, many of these songs still make me want to slam dance!)

Poster which proudly hung on my bedroom wall circa 1986

01. The Monkees – “Valleri” (1968)

02. The Monkees – “Last Train to Clarksville” (1966)

03. The Monkees – “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” (1967)

04. The Monkees – “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” (1967)

05. The Monkees – “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (1967)

06. The Monkees – “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” (1967)

07. The Monkees – “I Wanna Be Free” (1966)

08. The Monkees – “You Just May Be the One” (1967)

09. The Monkees – “Daydream Believer” (1967)

10. The Monkees – “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round?” (1967)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...  

Recommended Links:

Little Steven's Underground Garage

Rhino Records / The Monkees