Let's play "Monkees = Monkees"

Cafe Society
1

It’s the pop culture sensation that’s sweeping the nation – or at least getting written up in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Further elaboration on the criteria: “It’s a combination of longevity, era, critical acclaim, commercial success, and – most important – the aesthetic soul of each artistic entity.”

I haven’t read the book (Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs) that contains the author’s essay on his little parlor game, but I’m willing to give it a whirl.

Suggestions that occur to me:
Buddy Holly = The Honeymooners
The Rolling Stones = Saturday Night Live

And . . . um . . . this is harder than it seems.

Feel free to suggest other pairings. Feel free to criticize mine and each others. Feel free to check the book and figure out where we diverge from the author.

2

John Lennon said “The Monkees are the Marx Brothers.”

Elvis = I Love Lucy

The Beatles = Monty Python

The Doors = Twin Peaks

Barbra Streisand = Alice

3

They Might Be Giants = MST3K

ummm . . . that’s all I got. This is hard!

4

Sampiro, I wonder if Sinatra might not be a better match for I Love Lucy? I think Beatles/Python nails it; the article matches Python with the Sex Pistols, but I don’t think that’s quite right.

REM = Cheers
Both started as obscure cult phenomena in the '80s, then grew to become wildly successful. Michael Stipe’s lyrics becoming intelligible = Diane leaving the show.

5

The Beatles were the most popular band in the world for years; Python never really emerged beyond a vivid cult following. I think Pink Floyd is a better match-up with Python.

Beatles = All in the Family (they both rewrote the book on the medium)
Bob Dylan = Playhouse 90 (emphasis on writing, admired by critics)
Grateful Dead = Saturday Night Live (rotating ensembles best seen live)
The Monkees = Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (fluffy but popular)
Nirvana = The Sopranos (recent revolution that changed how you viewed everything afterwards)
Led Zeppelin = Hill Street Blues
The Beach Boys = The Andy Griffith Show (popular, a bit predictable, but underappreciated)
The Velvet Underground = The Twilight Zone
Parliament = Good Times (funk hits it big)
Run DMC = The Cosby Show (huge crossover with white audience)

6

Frank Zappa = the Prisoner

Both the musician and the TV show were popular but still had that “cult” quality about them.
Also, can anyone figure out what either was all about?

Prisoner dialogue:
“Who are you?” “The new Number Two?” “Who is Number One?” “You are Number Six.”

Zappa lyric “What would you do if the people you knew were the plastic that melted and the chromium too?”

7

Let me refresh your memory on the title of the game: Monkees = Monkees. I like many of your suggestions, but I think a better fit for the Beatles would be The Dick van Dyke Show. They were both top-notch '60s entertainment that hold up well even decades later. Contemporaneousness counts, don’t forget.

A couple of suggestions I’m less sure of, but seem okay for now until someone has a better idea, which seems likely:

Elvis Costello = Fawlty Towers – British fare with exemplary writing.
Dave Matthews Band = Trading Spaces
The White Stripes = Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Charlie Daniels Band = BJ and the Bear

8

Britney Spears = Baywatch

No substance, but it’s fun to watch 'er jiggle.

9

Radiohead = Twin Peaks?

I can see the Floyd/Python connection, especially if you consider Roger Waters = John Cleese.

Yeah, the Monkees should be so lucky. The only thing that’s ever reminded me of the Marx Brothers is (in parts) the Beatles movie Yellow Submarine.

10

Devo is “Fernwood Tonight?” I don’t see it. “Fernwood Tonight” would be a band with, like, no instruments or something. Or singing. Or music. ::scratches head:: I’m sleepy.

11

Sex Pistols = Max Headroom
Devo = The Simpsons
Radiohead = The Larry Sanders Show
The Cars = Friends
The Rolling Stones = Monday Night Football
Lynyrd Skynrd = The Dukes of Hazzard
The Eagles = The Six Million Dollar Man

12

Is that quote from Who Are The Brain Police?

I wouldn’t go so far as to call Zappa “popular.”

Zappa=Star Trek(s)

Mothers of Invention=Kirk & Spock
Frank Zappa=Picard & Data

Cult following, two distinctly different feels. Second generation (no pun intended) was decidedly slicker. Also, times fit perfectly.

13

They do have a fine song called Talk Show Host. :slight_smile:

Herman’s Hermits = Herman’s Head?

14

Hootie & the Blowfish = Home Improvement
Squirrel Nut Zippers = Antiques Roadshow

And I think the best fit for Devo would be Police Squad.

Ten exercises for the uninspired:

Solve for X
X = Sixty Minutes
X = Full House
X = I Dream of Jeannie
X = Bewitched
X = Mystery

Husker Du = X
Television = X
Johnny Cash = X
David Bowie = X
Talking Heads = X

15

Jefferson Airplane = Star Trek: Original Series
Jefferson Starship = Star Trek: the Next Generation
Starship = Voyager
Jefferson Starship: the Next Generation = Enterprise

16

Oh c’mon, The Next Generation was as good if not better than the original. All incarnations Jefferson pale in comparison to 'Airplane.