With Lifelike Action!
Year: 2001
Label: Tastes Like Chicken Records
Songs: Your Mom Is Hot, Take Over the World, Bulletproof, Not the One, Zero, Turn It Up, Knock Me Out, Happy Going Nowhere, Alone, Spy Girl, Bachelor Pad, Cartoon, Do You Know the Way To San Jose?
Studio: R & P Audio, San Jose, CA.
Produced by: Michael Rossi and Tomas Puig
Availability: Available in San Francisco Bay Area stores now, or by mail order
Kid Tested, Mother Approved
Year: 1999
Aversion.com, 10/13/99:
With Blink 182 hiding behind a thin veneer of respectability gained through its more heartfelt songs (or whatever type of respectability you can have while running around on stage naked) and Nerf Herder getting lost along the way somewhere, nerdcore is really hurting for some real direction. Stunt Monkey may be the band to provide just that.
In a confused effort to gain credibility or to prove maturity, it seems most nerdcore bands foolishly inject a touch of philosophy into their work. Stunt Monkey, either out of sheer love for outright fun or the understanding that songs featuring themes of underwear, masturbation and other middle-school buffoonery shouldn’t try to address the world’s ills, stick to straight-up humor with Kid Tested, Mother Approved.
With lyrics bent on all-out stupidity, Stunt Monkey aims for nothing outside of laughs. Serving up songs like "Martian Girlfriend" and "White Trash Puppet Show" its lyrics are every bit as silly as their titles imply. While neither side-splittingly hilarious nor sporting a highbrow wit, Stunt Monkey’s lyrics are at least funny in the see-it-a-mile-away way like Tom and Jerry cartoons are. Though many of the band’s rhymes are as predicable as its jokes, it refrains from forcing anything where it shouldn’t be, sparing listeners the torture of horrible slant rhymes and lines that don’t scan in pursuit of a joke.
Musically, Stunt Monkey brings a little bit more to the party than the average novelty band does. While not as driving as the typical nerdcore, sounding more like dorky indie rock than dorky punk rock, the band can hold its own against nearly any pop-influenced band. With clean guitar figures, bass lines sporting melodies independent of guitar work, and stable, though not flashy, stick work, this album delivers more than the standard overblown guitar work and punk beats of typical nerdcore. Best of all, the band keeps everything short, not overstaying its welcome, keeping shorts mercifully short and to the point instead of driving its jokes into the ground. With this album’s eight songs flashing by in less than 18 minutes, the band avoids overexposure.
Sarah Quelland, Audiofile, Metro, 9/16/99:
Sometimes people just need something to smile about, and Stunt Monkey understands that need. This irrepressible local trio offers some of the peppiest, poppiest, silliest punk around (a la Blink 182 and Home Grown) and is getting tons of attention. LIVE-105 promotes the heck out of Stunt Monkey, spinning songs from the group's first disc, For the Ear (most often "White Trash Puppet Show," which is included on this album as well), and showcasing the band on the local stage at BFD. Delivering delightfully juvenile lyrics, the band also incorporates a fun surf-rock vibe into "Stay in Bed" and "Martian Girlfriend." While Stunt Monkey enthusiasts seem partial to "White Trash Puppet Show" and "Martian Girlfriend," "Hypochondriac" jumps out. Vocalist and guitarist Aram Sarkissian worries, "Double mocha heart attack; one cigarette my lungs are black, gin martini, liver's shot, I don't know how much time I've got." Maybe it's a song only a fellow paranoid can fully appreciate.
Label: Tastes Like Chicken Records
Songs: Stupid, Stay In Bed, Hypochondriac, White Trash Puppet Show, Crimes, Word Problem, Martian Girlfriend, Bake A Cake
Studio: Skylab Sound, San Jose, CA.
Produced by: Jeff Pinn and Stunt Monkey
Availability: In San Francisco Bay Area stores now!
Reviews:
Year: Tape 1997; CD 1998
Sarah Quelland, Audiofile, Metro, 1/15/98:
"Stunt Monkey has a funny way with words, and the mild punk accompaniment contributes to the band's quirky sound. On "Bachelor Pad," Stunt Monkey sings, "Martha Stewart hates our new decor/We matched the sofa to a stain that's on the floor." On
"Cartoon," a song about wanting to be a cartoon character, the lyrics run "I'll never age/I'll never die/My life is sponsored by Eskimo Pie." With themes ranging from an elementary school crush ("Handball Queen") to more serious topics like depression ("Suicide"), For the Ear will take you for an enjoyable ride that ends all too quickly."
Second Class Citizen 'Zine, June/July 1998:
Well, if my girlfriend was a spy, I wouldn't sing so nonchalantly about it, but that's the difference between you and me and Stunt Monkey. You've got great taste in music. Listening to the tape For the Ear makes me wanna jump up, rip off my shirt, and start singing along with the words that you've so conveniently placed on that little paper thingy along with the tape. Punk with talent, god damn the world needs more of that. I don't have to pretend to like this band... I really like the way Stunt Monkey perfectly blended the monotone voice with bouncy fast music that doesn't suck. For the Ear contains seven non-distorted pop-punk songs and is definitely worth checking out.
Spoiled Whine 'Zine, 1/99:
Surf-influenced punk rock that will get you dancing in no time. The songs on here are very catchy and very fast-paced. Try and keep up with them if you can. Songs: Spy Girl, Bachelor Pad, Cartoon, Handball Queen are some of the many great songs on here. Lookout material?
Andrea Connor, Andrea's Web-o-Rama, 9/17/98:
...The California Bay Area band Stunt Monkey was kind enough to send me a tape of
For the Ear. So here I am, keep in mind - a total non-expert in the matters of music, giving
my review of it. Here goes.... Things started off well, when I saw the tape's lovely shade of blue. Being a
visually stimulated person, this made me quite happy. Then I popped the tape
into the deck and told myself to get serious and listen to the tape with a
reviewer's frame of mind. But I quickly realized I didn't know how to do
that, so I got over it and listened to it like I would to any other music. All right, time for the details. Spy Girl, the first track, is a damn fun
song (actually the whole album is). It's a good song for dancing around and
acting like a spazz. Even Suicide is a catchy little ditty. Yep, it is a
song about suicide, but it's not angst-ridden, woe-is-me fare. You'd just
have to hear it yourself. Bachelor Pad is one of my favorites off the album.
With lyrics like "Empty bottles stacked on dirty socks/ My last six meals
came out of a can or box", I'm glad I'm not a guy though. I also really like
the intro for White Trash Puppet Show, but I'm illiterate when it comes to
music terms so I couldn't really tell you what exactly I like about it. I
just like it. As for the lyrics of White Trash, I actually know a few people
like that... which is funny and scary at the same time. And the line "My
sister's got the Franklin Mint in her wedding registry" cracks me up.
The song Cartoon has probably saved me from bashing my head into a wall. I
had that awful Goldfish crackers jingle stuck in my head for about a week
(a week!), until I heard it. Now, thankfully, Cartoon is stuck in my head,
and believe me it is MUCH more enjoyable. Handball Queen is a good song too,
but for some reason my least favorite. I really like the back-up singing in
it though. Who was that singing back-up? Hmm, I don't know. The last song is
High Mass. It's about a guy who gets drunk right before going to church.
This concept amuses me, and I believe I would not have quit going to church
when I was 14 if I could've witnessed something like that.
Label: Originally self-released; re-released on Tastes Like Chicken Records
Songs: Spy Girl, Suicide, Bachelor Pad, White Trash Puppet Show,
Cartoon, Handball Queen, High Mass,
My Alabi (CD bonus track),
Selfish (CD bonus track)
Studio:Skylab, San Jose, CA.
Produced by: Jeff Pinn and Stunt Monkey
Availability: In San Francisco Bay Area stores now and available by mail order:
click here to get your grubby little paws on it immediately.
Review(s):
Overall, here's how the album holds up in a series of personal tests:
Is it fun to sing along with?
Yes, it definitely is. It's got clever lyrics that are often downright
funny.
Is it fun to listen to while taking a bubble bath? (i.e. -- is it bubble
worthy?)
Yes it is, but I recommend something like Mr. Bubble. A bubble bath with a
floral bouquet doesn't mix well with Stunt Monkey.
Is it good whether you're drunk or sober?
Yes I think so. To be honest I haven't listened to it while drunk yet. But
I'm sure it will be enjoyable then too.
Is it possible that any one of the songs will get stuck in your head? And
if so, is it annoying?
Yes it is very likely that the music will get stuck in your head. No, at
least in my case, it's not annoying at all.
Click on the song title to view the lyrics.
Click on the choppers to hear sound samples.
Stunt Monkey E.P.
Year: 1997
Label: Self-released on tape only
Songs: Spend the Day, Selfish, Bottom of the Ocean,
No Not Really, Fun in the Sun
Studio: Skylab, San Jose, CA.
Produced by: Jeff Pinn and Stunt Monkey
Availability: Out of print.