Zack: Ah The Monkees. The giant bag of Fruit Whirls
on the bottom shelf of the grocery store that your Mom hovered over for a
second, weighing the savings against the sin she would commit, before grabbing
the box of Fruit Loops like a true American…of bands. I never heard much about
them growing up, so my socialized view is pretty much entirely based upon that
flashback scene in The Simpsons when little-kid Marge is told by a bully on the
bus that the band on her lunchbox doesn’t record their own music and she has a
total breakdown. Apparently, that phase was only temporary. Headquarters
actually was primarily written and played by the members of the band, rather
than no-name scrubs. It was the first album where they were given the freedom
to do so, and they enjoyed an entire week as the top-selling album as a result
before the Fruit Loops ended up in the cart in the form of Sgt. Pepper’s being
released. And while I’m happy for them, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s
pretty boring. It’s sort of like the Drake-Meek Mill beef that is recent as of
when I wrote this post: Is it worse to have a ghostwriter or to live with the
shame of having actually written bars as bad as some of Meek Mill’s?
Headquarters was pretty dull from start to finish. Part of that is probably due
to my general disinterest toward the Beatles, the band they were so blatantly
emulating, which I’ve discussed on here numerous times. But part just has to be
due to how uninspired everything feels. It’s almost like they were a complete
corporate project, assembled by a soulless record company that could not
possibly comprehend how to build a heart into its design. I give The Monkees a
lot of credit for trying to insert their own heart here, but it just seems like
maybe they should have left it to the professionals.
Favorite Tracks: Sunny Girlfriend; Forget That Girl; No Time
Emily: My knowledge of the Monkees only stems from watching Brady Bunch reruns as a kid, where there were multiple (I think) episodes where Marsha is really into Davy Jones and then Davy Jones actually shows up. I'm not sure where the Monkees and the Brady Bunch intersect as TV shows and pop culture touchstones, but they definitely have the same aesthetic going on. Both are cheery, family-friendly, and not all that substantial - much like Zack's aforementioned sugary breakfast cereals, in fact. Headquarters is supposedly the Monkees first "real" album, in that they actually sang and played the instruments themselves, but that doesn't stop it from being sugary, manufactured pop. It's a fairly enjoyable way to spend 30 minutes, but you'll forget about almost as soon as the last notes play.
Favorite Tracks: Sunny Girlfriend; For Pete's Sake; No Time
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