Meaningful Songs: The Monkees - A Better World (PETER TORK)

The Monkees - A Better World

Ever since learning of Peter Tork's death the other day I and maybe even moreso my wife thought of him and THIS SONG.

See, my Monkees-lifer wife felt that THIS song "A Better World" was actually the best or her favorite track from the much praised Good Times! from 2016.

And it seems to receive very little to no love or attention!

It's really wonderful. The string arrangement, the sort of sad, cynical and in some way optimistic way it sounds and the lyrics specifically.

And so in thinking about Peter, this tune does not seem to leave my head. 


IT WASN'T EVEN ON THE STANDARD GOOD TIMES! BUT ONLY A BLEEPING BONUS TRACK!

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I dunno, I love a lot of Good Times!

Birth of an Accidental Hipster, You Bring the Summer, She Makes Me Laugh, Me and Magdalena and some others...

but I may be siding with my wife now.

This is such a haunting, sad, beautiful tune.

And Peter never performed it live, I don't think. Not with The Monkees anyway, maybe at 1 of those solo shows he did in 2016 or 2017? I'd have to look it up.

It is kind of haunting me now..like his or his brother Nick's feeling about food and Global Food supplies. Why are people starving when there's more than enough food to go around.

It reminds me of "Earth Song" from Michael Jackson or a conversation I had with Johan Hallgren of Pain of Salvation in 2002 or 2004 at ProgPower USA.

In this song, it seems we are in a "Better World" and like Star Trek alludes to, starvation and famine are gone. A thing of the distant past, etc.

"Joytown" from Kevin Gilbert also comes to mind. Sort of a dream/fantasy utopia in some ways.

Rest in Peace Peter. Hopefully this song will reach even just more Monkees fans now posthumously.
I'm sure now you are living in this "Better World."

Maybe your brother Nick will at least be around to see that.


Bonus track from The Monkees' 2016 album GOOD TIMES
Credits Written by Nick Thorkelson
Peter Tork – Vocals, Guitars and Percussion
Micky Dolenz and Coco Dolenz – Backing Vocals
Joe Boyle – Lead Guitar, Bass and Backing Vocals
Sturgis Cunningham – Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals
Katlin Wolfberg, Corinne Olsen, Emily Elkins and Eliza James – String Quartet


A Better World"

A better world is needed
I believe anyone can see it
A better world is coming
If we live as we believe
A better world is started
No need to be broken-hearted
No need for longing
We can have all we need

There’s more than enough
To feed all the hungry
To mend every broken heart
We can bring this about
If we mean it
It’s not gonna be easy
So start, so start, so start

The way we live is funny
Anyone can see it’s gonna
Take more than money
It’s gonna take all we got
The way we live is tragic
Anyone can tell it’s gonna
Take more than magic
But believe it or not

There’s more than enough
To feed all the hungry
With enough heart and soul
And if we don’t tire
We can bring this about
It’s not just my imagination
It’s not just you and me
And it’s not just two or three
It’s the whole wide world
On fire

You’ll get your money back
Your heart’s desire

A better world is needed
I believe anyone can see it
A better world is coming
If we live as we believe
A better world is started
No need to be broken hearted
No need for longing
We can have all we need

There’s more than enough (There’s more than enough)
To feed all the hungry
To mend every broken heart
We can bring this about
If we mean it
It’s not gonna be easy
So start, so start

Whole wide world
On fire
Whole wide world
On fire

Band/Artist and What Album-Generation Fan Are You? (Pt 1)

I was thinking about this in a discussion with the wife about her generation of being a fan of The Monkees. How she came along when The Monkees hit MTV and Nick at Nite in the mid 80's ('86-87) and the new studio album at that time was Pool It! for her.

It's not exactly a "1st Generation, 2nd Generation, 3rd Generation" (or 1st, 2nd or 3rd Wave, etc) exactly, but more based on the newest album released.

The 1st new album that comes out either after you become a fan, or I suppose it works best, before if it is relatively recently.



There were some fans that reacted to The Monkees album Good Times! in 2016 as being not nearly as good as Justus, which it was based on partially at least, Justus was the new/1st/most-recent album from The Monkees at-the-time they became a fan.

Mind you, some actually did or do prefer Justus, but my wife and many others thought that album sucked. And many like her and myself really liked Good Times!.



And she also likes Pool It more than Justus, maybe a lot of it just based on how much she likes the music, but also she says based on nostalgia for when it came out around the time she became a fan.

So she's a Pool It!-generation fan of The Monkees. Maybe consider 3rd generation or wave by some, but it seems easiest to just label per the album that was out or came out around the time she became a fan.




So I'm gonna make some more of these entries per time/discipline, etc. But here's 10 artists and the Generation I fall under.

Off the top of my head, I think only 2 or 3 artists I would be in the 1st release/album generation (The Dear Hunter, Kimbra, Janelle Monae kind of..and a few others..Hotel of the Laughing Tree).

Oddly enough though, I told her the whole nostalgia for the new/most recent when I got into the artist doesn't always work for me. Open Your Eyes and Calling All Stations are 2 perfect examples of that. 2 of my least favorite albums from those artists.

Kevin Gilbert: (2004) The Kaviar Demo-generation
Marillion: (1995) Afraid of Sunlight-generation
Fates Warning: (1995) Inside Out-generation
Rush: (1992) Roll the Bones-generation
Dream Theater: (1995) Awake-generation
King's X: (1996) Ear Candy-generation
The Dear Hunter: (2007) Act I: The Lake South, the River North-generation
Yes: (1996 or 1997) The Open Your Eyes-generation
Genesis: (1997) Calling All Stations-generation
Pink Floyd: (1991 or 1992) A Momentary Lapse of Reason-generation

Small Vinyl Update Video (The Monkees + Hawkwind + Yes item)

The Monkees - Good Times! (Barnes and Noble) + 7"
Hawkwind - Levitation (Blue)
Yes - Wall Pick

as I said in the video, a more in-depth review of Good Times! should come soon.

Also I forgot to mention, but given how history goes, I'll probably see 4 or 5 used copies of Levitation in the next year, lol.

The Monkees - You Bring the Summer [Official Video]

Nice animation which Jason Nesmith I guess made, and I imagine required a lot of work to finish. The big thing beyond it is most of the Monkees aficionados have been dissecting this and spotting Easter eggs left and right.

-For one, just the styles of clothing, looks, are homages to different parts of episodes of the tv show. Even just the end of course with the four faces.

The color sequences blend together and segue into different eras.

-Daily Nightly newspaper
-Andy Partridge's name in the newspaper
-Love to Love in the newspaper
-a Keg/Case of Root Beer in the car (Root Beer in the lyrics)
-different nations flags in the background towards the end including Mexico and Japan.

it only has 9 thousand plays on YouTube, which it was shared a couple of days ago, but I'm still surprised by that number. More people should see this video, even if they don't spot a lot of the visual references.

The Monkees - Good Times! LISTENING PARTY review

Today was a big day for my fiancee, and here's her comments about the actual Listening Party experience at Down in the Valley.

There's obviously more to the story, but I guess it may not be worth elaborating about it here/now, etc. But to be vague, I guess a "Listening Party" was not exactly what she and I imagined. The one's Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree and Mutemath I recall were much more FAN ORIENTED, and more eventful. But per a video in California at Amoeba Records, it was more like that.

But then again, this is Minnesota and it was hardly promoted, so the numbers that we saw, and maybe Down in the Valley anticipated were not huge, or maybe comparable for a typical "Listening Party"?

I can at least be happy I found a copy of a record I was looking for on RSD back in April.

But, when it comes down to it, a new album from The Monkees doesn't come out much, and the 1st one in 20 years. So this is the 1st New Release date from them in that long.