Ear worm

[dreadnut]

So I'm sitting here with no music or TV playing, but I'm distinctly hearing The Monkees singing "Daydream Believer." Nobody else nearby has a radio on either.

Now I was curious, so I pulled up the song in youtube and I was perfectly in key with it. How does that work? Maybe because I've heard it so many times that my brain remembers the key as well as the vocals, instruments, etc?

And, by the way, as a young teenager, I absolutely idolized The Monkees. Watched the show every Saturday, had all their records...didn't have a clue that they weren't really making all that music, Haha.

 

[Brad Little]

So I'm sitting here with no music or TV playing, but I'm distinctly hearing The Monkees singing "Daydream Believer." Nobody else nearby has a radio on either.

Now I was curious, so I pulled up the song in youtube and I was perfectly in key with it. How does that work? Maybe because I've heard it so many times that my brain remembers the key as well as the vocals, instruments, etc?

And, by the way, as a young teenager, I absolutely idolized The Monkees. Watched the show every Saturday, had all their records...didn't have a clue that they weren't really making all that music, Haha.

Their first national tour, the opening act was some dude named Hendrix. A friend worked for one of the promoters at the Bridgeport show and said it would have been worth the price of admission just to see the reaction on the parents of the tweener Monkees fans.

 

[GAD]

The Monkeys were my first step into rock music! Probably the first LP I ever bought, too. One of my high school friends LOVED them and saw them on tour probably 4-5 times.

 

[walrus]

If you're gonna have an ear worm, "Daydream Believer" is a good choice!

walrus

 

[Westerly Wood]

yeah i had that album too. played it a lot.
was probably 11 years old, ,12...
would watch their show everyday after school.

 

[Brad Little]

FYI, Daydream Believer was written by John Stewart when he was with the Kingston Trio.

 

[dreadnut]

Yeah, and Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer."

Others who wrote their songs were Carole King and Gerry Roffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Andy Kim, Michael Martin Murphy, Harry Nillson, Jack Nicholson, Neil Sedaka, Paul Williams.

 

[cupric]

I always resented the fact that the Monkees were once a much larger band. Just before they made it big, sold their soul so to speak, the band fragmented because the other members didn't feel they were treated as equals. They were not being taken serious enough. They did go on to achieve limited fame, but it was relatively short. Thereafter, they completely disappeared, and were never seen again.
The name of this shooting star powerhouse of a band was.....
The Banana Splits. Some of us still remember!

 

[fronobulax]

Now I was curious, so I pulled up the song in youtube and I was perfectly in key with it. How does that work?

Pitch memory. And hearing the same thing over and over does reinforce it. Pretty cool when you realize it helps you play a song you've never tried to play before.

 

[Stuball48]

Went to Disney World 35 years ago and on one of the rides, the music played was l, "It's a Small World After All." That stuck in my head for years.

 

[Brad Little]

Pitch memory. And hearing the same thing over and over does reinforce it. Pretty cool when you realize it helps you play a song you've never tried to play before.

There was a study I read about years ago that determined that when fans chanted "airball" at college B-Ball games, they almost always started on the same pitch, 'G' if I recall. I guess an example of pitch memory in a group setting.

 

[Brad Little]

Yeah, and Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer."

Others who wrote their songs were Carole King and Gerry Roffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Andy Kim, Michael Martin Murphy, Harry Nillson, Jack Nicholson, Neil Sedaka, Paul Williams.

Well, I'd add Michael Nesmith to that list. IMO his songwriting deserved better than the Monkees.

 

[adorshki]

And, by the way, as a young teenager, I absolutely idolized The Monkees. Watched the show every Saturday, had all their records...didn't have a clue that they weren't really making all that music, Haha.

I always resented the fact that the Monkees were once a much larger band. Just before they made it big, sold their soul so to speak, the band fragmented because the other members didn't feel they were treated as equals. They were not being taken serious enough. They did go on to achieve limited fame, but it was relatively short. Thereafter, they completely disappeared, and were never seen again.
The name of this shooting star powerhouse of a band was.....
The Banana Splits. Some of us still remember!

Bob Marley wrote "Buffalo Soldier" in tribute to the Banana Splits theme (tra-la-la-la, tra-la-la-la... buffalo soldier....) although to be fair he thought they were the Banana Spleefs.

Always was kinda curious how the Monkees sounded live on that first tour, never heard any of it back then although I was a Monkees fan too. Still have a compilation CD and the original "Pleasant Valley Sunday" 45.

Both Mike and Peter were actually accomplished musicians already when they did the casting call, but on the tour they did have a backing band of Boyce-Hart's Candy Store Prophets, I've found out in the last couple of years.

SO found this just the other day and realized the sounds on some of the Monkees tunes weren't so far removed from Jimi's at the time.
A Nesmith tune, BTW, was always one of my favorites:



Another Nesmith tune, "Mary Mary", already covered and released on Butterfield Blues Band's legendary East West in '66 before the tune ever appeared on the show:


Sure the first 2 albums made extensive use of the Wrecking Crew, but by Headquarters they were 100% in charge of material and backing musician selection but playing their own instruments extensively.

OK, last up, one of my favorite Tork tunes, conceived at a late night after-sessions jam where, well, you know what musicians do late at night.... Was used as the closing theme in season 2, "For Pete's Sake". The album take.



Mickey had one of the all time great voices of pop rock, too.

And speaking of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" Peter was still doing it years later with his trusty F30 he'd had ever since at least a '67 episode of the Monkees on which it makes a playing cameo appearance

:

 

[adorshki]

Pitch memory. And hearing the same thing over and over does reinforce it. Pretty cool when you realize it helps you play a song you've never tried to play before.

Yes. First realized it back in my busking days, decided to just test it one day: "Can I sing an A440?" and by golly I could. (And more, I discovered.)

 

[adorshki]

Yeah, and Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer."

Others who wrote their songs were Carole King and Gerry Roffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Andy Kim, Michael Martin Murphy, Harry Nillson, Jack Nicholson, Neil Sedaka, Paul Williams.

David Gates, later to form Bread, wrote "Saturday's Child".

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Now I was curious, so I pulled up the song in youtube and I was perfectly in key with it. How does that work? Maybe because I've heard it so many times that my brain remembers the key as well as the vocals, instruments, etc?

As someone who plays guitar quite often I'd be surprised if you didn't hear it in the correct key! After years of hearing these songs they get ingrained.

To appease a past guitarist in a former band, we tried tuning down half a step as is the common practice. It was an abysmal failure! It might be good for original music, but when your playing covers that you've been hearing for 40 years it messes with you ears! We tuned back up after one song!

And speaking of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" Peter was still doing it years later with his trusty F30 he'd had ever since at least a '67 episode of the Monkees on which it makes a playing cameo appearance.

Pleasant Valley Sunday has an interesting backstory, especially if you're from NJ.

 

[dreadnut]

"Well, I'd add Michael Nesmith to that list. IMO his songwriting deserved better than the Monkees."

Absolutely, a fine musician. My favorite Nesmith song: "Propinquity." My favorite version, as done by the Dirt Band.

 

[matsickma]

Haha! The first album I ever purchased was "The Monkees" ! $3 for a LP. What a deal cause you got about 10 songs instead of $1 for a "45" and only 2 songs!
Interesting tidbit was "Paul Revere and the Raiders" recorded "I'm not your steppin

stone" before the Monkees. They also recorded "Louie, Louie" with Mark Lindsay playing a Sax.
"PR & R" were a pretty cool band and had great songs. Shame their music has fallen to obsecurity.
M

 

[Brad Little]

>Interesting tidbit was "Paul Revere and the Raiders" recorded "I'm not your steppin stone<
Forgot about that, I think I played it in a short lived college band freshman year, We did another Raiders tune, too, no idea what it was any more.

 

[adorshki]

"PR & R" were a pretty cool band and had great songs. Shame their music has fallen to obscurity.
M

Just heard 'em in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" the other night. Quentin Tarantino loves using '60's stuff in his soundtracks.
In one scene Sharon Tate teases Jay Sebring about being afraid people will find out he was dancing to 'em, "because they're not cool enough" .

There was a lot of that in '69.

>Interesting tidbit was "Paul Revere and the Raiders" recorded "I'm not your steppin stone<
Forgot about that, I think I played it in a short lived college band freshman year, We did another Raiders tune, too, no idea what it was any more.

"Hungry" and "Good Thing" were featured in "OUTIH", "Kicks" was another big one for 'em.

More PR&tR "Trivia": They were produced by Terry Melcher, the guy Dennis Wilson introduced Manson to and who vacated the house Tate moved into on Cielo Dr, shortly before Charlie decided to get revenge on Melcher for dropping him as a (potential) client.

Melcher was actually Doris Day's kid and might be recalled as the guy who brought us Grand Funk Railroad.
Meanwhile, while looking for "Kicks", stumbled across this June 3rd '67 episode of American Bandstand with the Jefferson Airplane, riding the crest of pop single fame.

Marty looks decidedly disgruntled, shuffled off behind a keyboard (he didn't play) 'cause the 2 tunes featured Grace's vocal. You know the ones.

Cues up at 9:30.
Jack's got cables hanging all over him and his bass. But the interview following the set (cue up at 16 min) is AWESOME!!!!