"What memory is evoked when having heard this song the first time, recently or whenever . . .?'
"This is mine--It was the power outage entertainment event of our growing up together--The boom box stereo-system ran on batteries, we had plenty so Jesse (left this earthly plane and passed over 7/23/00) and Dad saved the night by flicking it on in the middle of the second of violent rainstorms that took over our little apartment building. The several storms were warm winds but fast and hard-hitting rain while the lightening patterns we video-taped and watched were the Creators genius at work ! Even though cassettes drain the batteries faster, we decided to put in some music Jesse was familiar with 'in utero'. He was the 'monk-ey' himself and that was the island he fondly remembers.
It played throughout his utero experience and later when he finally popped into the world !
The song is about an abandoned island ran by primates and other stranger creatures like 'fish who jump out of the water and walk home' ! It is an interesting visual when you only have sound and music. The visual is left up to you and a few beers on a raining stormy night, well it got very funny.
All the lights in the complex were out including some very near-by streetlamps so the four of us agreed any music or sounds coming from anywhere would be by 'battery-operated' sources, i.e. radios in home or compact disc players in cars. It is funny how even close-proximity and terrible weather conditions, only two neighbors were curious how all of us were holding up. Heck we had candles, away from windows and high winds, there was food and drink in the fridge and there was dad, the story-teller who had us cracking up despite how miserable it was outside. We were quite happy inside laughing, joking, singing, eating, drinking and definitely being as merry as we could be.
This abandoned side of the city, this 'monkey-island' was inhabited by thinkers and doers and we would laugh when just the be-ers couldn't be anything because the rain messed up their hair, drowned their tee, made their clothes soaking wet, or some ranting of complaint that was mind-boggling, etc etc etc. Thank goodness for batteries and the freedom to choose to be a thinker, doer, or be-er (no not beer pun not intended) . . . did anyone say Milwaukee's Best ?
Artist: J. Geils Band
Song: Monkey Island
Album: Monkey Island
Year: 1977
LOCATION: apartment complex, 2nd floor balcony , Eastlake, Ohio
YEAR: 1995
Originally composed on May 9, 2008//enlightenment-psych.net©2003-2009

