Oh The Monkees. Many have a warped love/hate relationship with them. You do not want to admit that you like their songs but they are so incredibly catchy. How can one deny “I’m a Believer” or “Daydream Believer” or anything that has to do with believing in something. The songs latch themselves onto your susceptible minds and quite literally need to be knocked out of there by another, equally as catchy song. May I suggest today’s Song of the Day. “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” by the annoyingly catchy four, The Monkees.
The Monkees were obviously just a poor man’s Beatles in their joking attempt to create a band name that misspells one letter in an animal/insects name. No respect to our beloved Monkeys and Beetles. But, over their vast list of material one song is a pretty solid piece of social commentary. Yes, social commentary, fighting the man, you heard it correct. “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” while recorded by The Monkees in 1967 is actually a song by the tremendous lyric writing duo of Gerry Goffin and Carole King who wrote over 30 hits for different artists from 1960-1970. That is simply remarkable. “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” one of these hits that hit #3 on the Top 100 in 1967, is actually about life in suburbia, particularly in Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, New Jersey. The song is a musical version of “keeping up with the Joneses’” which basically is another way of saying keeping track of people’s social status.’
The song, like all Monkees’ songs, is catchy and stays in your head. Partly because the lyrics are somewhat humorous and also partly because the song is based off a Beatles guitar riff on Revolver in the song, “I Want to Tell you.”
Check it out on your own Pleasant Valley Sunday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0bnT4QRIc (Awesome video also)
The Music Court 
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