The Monkees "DW Washburn"

When I was a little kid, I was a HUGE fan of The Monkees.

Oh sure, the TV series had been cancelled years and years earlier.  But the show lived on in syndication.

And during the show, they would run commercials for this amazing, incredible, one-of-a-kind "Greatest Hits" LP.

It had all the songs I loved, plus many many more.

It seemed like the most colossal, important and special thing a Monkees fan could ever ever own.

It would make my life complete.

I pestered and pestered and pestered my folks to get it for me.  And they did.

I watched the mailbox every day for months for my package.

And it arrived.

I may have only been around 8 or 9.  But I was old enough to know that I'd been rooked.

The album cover was some very, very basic pencil drawings of the guys.  And the BACK of the album cover, which would normally list an album's songs, was just the same image repeated.  And it it was on cheap, cheap cardboard.

The paper sleeve was plain and you could find the song titles, written on the sticker.

But there was no gatefold.  No liner notes.  No song credits.  Nothing.

This spectacular spectacle of a once-in-a-lifetime collection, was as minimal as possible, and pretty darn cheap-ass.

That being said, the music was still great, and I got to know some fun deeper cuts like "DW Washburn." 

I wore out all 4 sides of "The Monkees" on my little record player, a bit wiser in the knowledge that while the music can move you, the TV is probably lying to you.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Julian Velard "Experience The Great Happyfication"

Here's another "I Looked At The Internet Today So You Don't Have To" feature.

We've come a long way from Neil Young's "This Note's For You."

In the last decade, more and more young, credible artists, are turning over their talents to TV commercials.  It's a way for a struggling newcomer to cash a check that allows them to make the next record, buy that new touring van, or just eat something that isn't Ramen Noodles for a change.

Some musicians just license the songs they've previously written.

And others are actually recording things specifically for the spots.

This one goes a step further.

The super-talented and entertaining Julian Velard provides the voice (talking and singing) for the main character, Pete, in this extended Coca-Cola commercial/animated short.


See the movie on Youtube.

Jon Astley "Jane's Getting Serious"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Here's an 80s hit that I remember being ubiquitous back in the day, but never hear anymore.

And as an added bonus, the song used in a commercial, starring a pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc!


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.