The Monks

‘the monks(和尚樂隊)可能大多數人都不是很熟悉，但他們卻是真正意義上的第一支Punk樂隊，當性手槍和衝撞樂隊們尚未撤掉尿布的60年代中期，五位來自美國FRANKFURL軍事基地的士兵組建了世界上第一支真正的朋克樂隊MONKS，從60年代的眼光去看MONKS的音樂，外表與意義是古怪的超乎想象。MONKS們將頭頂的頭髮剃了精光，配上黑色的僧袍，“領帶”則是絞索，讓那些衞道士們看得目瞪口呆，而他們的音樂用言簡意賅的歌詞聯結了戰爭，死亡與憎恨，由主唱BUGER惡毒憤怒的誇張表情，抽搐不乾的口中吐出。他們是未來的先知。 1964年組隊，1967年解散只出版過3張正式的唱片，可他們的影響力將一直持續下去，向先驅者致敬！ 那些遠離搖滾本質的空中樓閣裏的藝術搖滾時髦電子之流的的動靜終究也必然只能是曇花一現，那些曖昧之音已經把我嗆的胃疼，你們難道不感覺到難受？回顧那些根源的搖滾樂吧，我不知道該對你們説些甚麼，這裏的朋克並沒有你想象的CHAOS或者ANARCH，也無法讓你玩鬧的POGO起來。因為THE MONKS不屬於那種吵鬧的PUNK音樂，有的只是另一種表達方式，他會冷冷的向你説出：我恨你們！暫且不説60年代我們都在乾甚麼，當然了我相信能看到這些胡扯的幾乎就不可能有那時代的人，可我覺得就算今天聽來THE MONKS一樣讓人感到殘忍的無望。這些感情隱藏的非常好，喃喃的充你嘟囔着SHUT UP!LOVE COME TUMBLING DOWN.LOVE CAN TAME THE WILD. 在THE MONKS眼裏這個世界根本不值得歌頌，只不過他們狡猾的用另一種手段表達了出來，我喜歡這樣的陰險這樣的玩世不恭。當然了THE MONKS會給你醉人的旋律，就好像他們是一支狂冒傻氣的爵士樂隊一樣，這可真有意思！難道你忘記THE MONKS了？去找來兒時看過的那本楊波編寫的黑色小冊子吧，小冊子上有4個字，朋克時代！其中選擇的THE MONK的那首complication不知讓多少孩子驚奇。同時在此向楊波致敬，藉以懷念只出版了3期就被文化局喊停的朋克時代，被朋克時代影響的孩子請舉手，我知道那裏面也許還有你！’ by Richie Unterberger One of the strangest stories in rock history, the Monks were formed in the early 60s by American G.I.s stationed in Germany. After their discharge, the group stayed on in Germany as the Torquays, a fairly standard beat band. After changing their name to the Monks in the mid-60s, they also changed their music, attitude, and appearance radically. Gone were standard oldie covers, replaced by furious, minimalist original material that anticipated the blunt, harsh commentary of the punk era. Their insistent rhythms recalled martial beats and polkas as much as garage rock, and the weirdness quotient was heightened by electric banjo, berserk organ runs, and occasional bursts of feedback guitar. To prove that they meant business, the Monks shaved the top of their heads and performed their songs — crude diatribes about the Vietnam war, dehumanized society, and love/hate affairs with girls — in actual monks clothing. This was pretty strong stuff for 1966 Germany, and their shocking repertoire and attire were received with more confusion than hostility or warm praise. Well known in Germany as a live act, their sole album and several singles didnt take off in a big way and were never released in the U.S., it was rumored, because the lyrical content was deemed too shocking. They disbanded in confusion around 1967, but their album — one of the most oddball constructions in all of rock — gained a cult following among collectors, and has ironically made them much more popular and influential on an international level than they were during their lifetime. Bassist Eddie Shaws 1994 autobiography, Black Monk Time, is a fascinating narrative of the Monks stranger-than-fiction story.