Comments on: Black Monk Time

Black Monk Time

MetaMonkey — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:44:39 -0800

The Monks
Formed in the early '60s by American G.I.s stationed in Germany. After their discharge, the group settled in Germany to concentrate on finding a unique sound, and soon began to shave their hair into Monk's tonsures and appear in cassocks. One of the truely original bands of the 60's, The Monks are now often refered to as 'proto-punk'. The Monks experimented fervently, developing a unqiue sound, with heavy bass, repetitive but amelodic rhythms, nursery rhyme style, yet powerful vocals and a good helping of feedback. They recorded only one albumn, Black Monk Time, until their 1999 reunion.
Hear some tracks from the albumn (in realmedia), See and hear The Monks Live in Germany, Also, check out Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback, a documentary (with trailer, though there seems to be something wrong with it). [Trivia: the song I Hate You can be heard in the background in one scene in the bowling alley in The Big Lebowski]

By: MetaMonkey

MetaMonkey — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:45:17 -0800

Oops, link correction: Black Monk Time

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:46:56 -0800

Hey, hey, we're the Monks.

By: tula

tula — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:53:27 -0800

Other Monks.

By: AJaffe

AJaffe — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:56:43 -0800

I saw them at the 1999 Cavestomp show -- really fun, and I love the backstory...

By: elr

elr — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:06:23 -0800

The Monks entry in the Hall of Dynamic Greatness great band! great post!

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:07:05 -0800

Minneapolis has sort of claimed them as a local band, for no real reason other than one of the bandmembers hailed from these parts.

By: bardic

bardic — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:07:36 -0800

Very cool. I'm surprised and glad this isn't a double.

By: tula

tula — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:09:24 -0800

Black Monk Time link still not working. Awesome post though, fascinating. I'm having one of those 'how have I never heard of these guys?' moments.

By: cloeburner

cloeburner — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:10:58 -0800

A fellow mefite and I have been enamored with the youtube videos for quite some time. The Monks were truly a force to be reckoned with, sad that they weren't more popular.

By: MetaMonkey

MetaMonkey — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:12:08 -0800

Right, here it is: Black Monk Time.

By: modularette

modularette — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:08:45 -0800

The Monks have long been a favorite of mine.

By: nylon

nylon — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:10:21 -0800

Awesome post! Those youtube videos are fantastic for so many reasons - the way Gary winks to the camera, the way they're just effortlessly cool and recklessly out there and raw, the way the audience dances, the way a guy in tie and blazer kind of jigs his way onto stage near the end. It's all so beautiful.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:10:49 -0800

Great post Monkey! I agree with tula, how have I never heard of these guys? The real audio tracks are awesome.

By: skallas

skallas — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:13:01 -0800

Wow, this makes Devo even less legitimate as an original act (if that was even possible). Love it, especially the clips of the kids trying to figure out how to dance to this.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:19:19 -0800

One of the truely original bands of the 60's, The Monks are now often refered to as 'proto-punk'. The Monks experimented fervently, developing a unqiue sound, with heavy bass, repetitive but amelodic rhythms, nursery rhyme style, yet powerful vocals and a good helping of feedback. Wait, what? All of that and no 'Wall of Sound'? What the hell kind of half-assed band doesn't produce a Wall of Sound? Oooooh, ok, it's a Steamroller of Sound. The band also assaulted the crowds sonically, demanding their complete and undivided attention. If the audience tried to interact socially with one another, the Monks turned the volume up to ear-splitting levels. "We didn't want anybody to do anything but listen to us," Roger Johnston said. The results were electrifying. Phil Spector might have invented the legendary "Wall of Sound," but the Monks hammered out a "Steamroller of Sound." Ahhh, the good ole sonic assault.

By: Decani

Decani — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:26:13 -0800

Very old news indeed to aged punks like me, but always nice to see stuff about these guys again. The Fall's version of "Black Monk Time" knocks the original into a cocked hat, however. But then I believe The Fall are the most godlike band ever to walk this earth.

By: modularette

modularette — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:49:06 -0800

"But then I believe The Fall are the most godlike band ever to walk the earth." Yeah, you and 49,999 fans. ;)

By: Decani

Decani — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 18:26:50 -0800

Yeah, you and 49,999 fans. ;) There are only four real Fall fans. John Peel, who is dead. Me. My mate Moos. And my mum. And I lied about my mum.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 19:36:34 -0800

I thought the MC5 and the Fugs were the original proto-punks.

By: destro

destro — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:17:55 -0800

Monks predated those guys. And they preached some anti-war rhetoric with fervor. Is there a torrent for the documentary anywhere?

By: quonsar

quonsar — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:38:25 -0800

awesome!

By: yakcat01

yakcat01 — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:11:55 -0800

Great post. I just stumbled upon The Monks though YouTube about two weeks ago, and was utterly agog. Like tula said - how is it I'd never heard of them before? The YouTube videos are from 1966, for God's sake. How many utterly original bands have there ever been, much less bands that produce a sound-template as compelling and radical as these guys? They kind of remind me of the Velvets in that way, but in other ways ways, they were even more radical, especially when you throw those insane "reverse mohawks" into the bargain.

By: Ohdemah

Ohdemah — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 08:24:30 -0800

So many Monks.

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:17:20 -0800

Woah, thanks!