Monkey / Journey To The West
Album: Journey To The West   Collection:General
Artist:Monkey   Added:Oct 2008
Label:Xl Recordings  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2008-12-07 Pull Date: 2009-02-08
Week Ending: Feb 1 Jan 25 Dec 28 Dec 21
Airplays: 1 2 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jan 28, 2009: Hand Wash in Coleslaw
The White Skeleton Demon
4. Dec 24, 2008: After hours
Heavenly Peach Banquet
2. Jan 24, 2009: Music Casserole
Battle In Heaven
5. Dec 20, 2008: Lost and Found
Heavenly Peach Banquet
3. Jan 23, 2009: orangeasm
Monkey's World
6. Dec 16, 2008: Mmmm...Tastes Like Xmas
Heavenly Peach Banquet

Album Review
Your Imaginary Friend
Reviewed 2008-11-29
Brief tracks because this is a sorta indie rock opera based on 16th century Chinese opera. Make no mistake, this is not classical or world, its arty fuckers. Chamber Pop if I dare say, just what I’ve been talking about, the new brand of interesting pop coming to KZSU. All over the map and cool as shit. As I said, all tracks are brief so they are perfect interludes into your set, and since they are really undefined musically they’ll fit in anyones show. Interesting if not outright beautiful stuff. Trust me, just this once.

1) disjunct start/end to a simple electro pop ditty that’s not that’s simple in that it gets noisey and heavy but retains the cool beat
2) brief ambient interlude
3) a tangerine dream/kraftwerk synth loop melody predominates another brief one
4) a “pretty” ballady thing with female vocals, almost freak folk
5) a march feel with militaristic drama and buried male vocals
6) pretty strings with bizarre vocs
7) tangerine dream synths again, chill brief
8) this one is a genuine song as it clocks in at 3:32 and has lovely female vocals and a nice pop melody and flavor, play this one if you like indie rock/pop at all
9) definite Chinese flavor to this one, turns very classical, operatic with distinct changes throughout including brass melodies
10) brief, electro, silence, halting
11) slow phrased near whispered yet operatic vocals, very surreal, give a listen
12) brief near air raid siren quality
13) operatic quality with male/female vocals, indiscernible over a Phillip Glass’ian looped classical feel
14) simple guitar, folky with kodo quality (wait, is this a kodo?) with a certain eastern feel, not to mention asian vocals, pretty, ends with string chamber for sure
15) very bizarre percussion, very “Chinese” in a certain stereotypical way
16) straight composition followed/ended by heavy dischorance, brief
17) kodo with female vocals, very Chinese, qualifies as “world” music
18) waltzy, playful ditty with fun noises and melodies, almost “normal”
19) operatic singing
20) simply pretty slow and dramatic, vocals through a garde hose
21) longer song: steady beat, vocals, more songlike
22) dramatic instrumental , watch false ending midway followed by a field recording at 1:50 remaining of a live a capela recording with their roosters, maybe the best track on the cd so its worth fast forwarding to it

Track Listing
1. Monkey's World   12. Tripitaka's Curse
2. Monkey Travels   13. Confessions Of A Pig
3. Into The Eastern Sea   14. Sandy The River Demon
4. The Living Sea   15. March Of The Volunteers
5. The Dragon King   16. The White Skeleton Demon
6. Iron Rod   17. Monk's Song
7. Out Of The Eastern Sea   18. I Love Buddha
8. Heavenly Peach Banquet   19. March Of The Iron Army
9. Battle In Heaven   20. Pigsy In Space
10. O Mi To Fu   21. Monkey Bee
11. Whisper   22. Disappearing Volcano